Sermonette for Saturday
I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 1 John 2:21
The religion of Islam has a concept called taqiyya. According to taqiyya, a Moslem is allowed to say something that is not true about Islam in order to advance the cause of Islam. This is why Moslems are allowed by their religion to say that Islam is a religion of peace even though it clearly – according to their so-called holy writings – is not. Lying about this is justified by taqiyya because it helps break down resistance toward Islam and make Islam appear to be benign. But taqiyya is just one of several Islamic justifications for lying. Another is muruna, which allows Muslims to break some Islamic laws in order to advance other Islamic purposes. Under muruna, the terrorists involved in the 9-11 attacks were justified in going to bars and drinking, which is prohibited by Islam, so that people would not suspect them of being Muslim terrorists. The concept of tawyira allows a Moslem to lie in order to create a false impression. Some people who claim that former US President Barack Obama is a Moslem say he invokes tawyira when he claims to be a ‘Christian’. Now, I’m not saying that Obama is a Moslem, but I am saying that if he is and says he is not, that is just fine by Islam’s tawyira. So, with a good many verses in the Islamic book Quran justifying lying in order to deceive an enemy, when can you trust the word of a Moslem? Good question. Ok, then when can you trust the word of a Christian? The answer to that question should be always.
Unlike the Quran, the Bible makes no provision for liars or deceivers. In fact, the Bible declares that all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8). Christians are not to lie to each other, according to Colossians 3:9: ‘Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds’. The lying that was so easily a part of us in our unsaved days should disappear. Deceiving people in order to present the Gospel to them is also wrong, because the ends do not justify the means if the means involves anything that is false or deceptive. Deception is the way of the cults, but should never be the way of the child of God.
Why is honesty so critical to true Christianity? Our text answers that question: no lie is of the truth. Do we have the truth? The Lord Jesus declared Himself to be the truth (John 14:6). He did not, cannot, and will not lie. The Bible contains no lies because it is the Word of God, unless it has been tampered with. So as Bible believing followers of Jesus Christ, we must not lie but always tell the truth.
If you think you need to lie about something, think again. Jesus would never tell you to lie. But the devil would. – Jim MacIntosh