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| Volume 21 Number 12 December 2019 | Page 12 |
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| Volume 21 Number 12 December 2019 | Page 12 |
Cliff Holmes
“Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause” (Job 2:3 NKJV). It may seem that with so many people living on this earth today, we are so small and insignificant that God might not care to observe our day to day actions. If this were true, we might be able to hide our sometimes sinful actions from the Almighty Creator of the universe. That is not now, nor has it ever been, a possibility. God created the universe of stars, planets, comets and moons. He made the human body with all of its functioning systems to make us live, breathe, walk and talk. Then, He placed us exactly where He wanted us, in an environment perfect for our ability to sustain life and to grow. Consequently, He has an eye on each of us as His creation.
The proof of that is evident when God conversed with Satan concerning His servant Job. God knew the very heart of the man Job. He knew there was no other man like him on the earth, blameless, upright, always fearing God and always turning away from evil. Job was a man holding his integrity even in the face of Satan’s onslaught to do total evil to Job. Satan’s goal was to get Job to curse God to His own face. Thus, Job would have become hated by God, and Job would have suffered eternal punishment.
Today, there are millions more people alive and walking this earth than ever before. Is it possible that God cannot keep track of all of His creation and His creatures? Certainly not because our God Who created all that now exists is all wise, all powerful and all knowing. He sees our every action whether good or bad. He knows our every thought, and He feels our joys and our despairs. He knows when we are weak in our service to Him. He knows the thoughts of our hearts for good or for bad. He knows if we lose our integrity.
Allow me to leave you with the same admonition that I have given to many young Bible class students, and to my own children and grandchildren “Never do anything that you would not do if you knew God was standing beside you and watching you. For to tell the truth, He is with us and knows what we think and do.”
Dean Kelly
First Kings 13 records that a young prophet went and prophesied against Jeroboam. God had told him not to stop and eat or drink, but to go straight back by a different way than he came. An older prophet wanted to spend some time with him on his way back. Here is what Scripture says at this point: “He said to him, ‘I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ (He was lying to him.)” (1 Kings 13:18 NKJV). As you know, the young prophet was killed by a lion after he believed this lie and disregarded what God had told him to do. I could not help but think of some points right here.
There are many who lie in the name of Jesus. It may be that some lie in the name of Jesus because of ignorance of the truth. Others may lie in the name of Jesus because others have deceived them. Some lie in the name of Jesus, knowingly and willingly. The fact is that when anyone teaches anything concerning religion other than what is authorized by the Word of God, he spreads lies. Paul called it a “different gospel,“ which is not “another” (Galatians 1 :6-7)—a “gospel” of a different kind, one that is not from God.
There are always consequences to believing a lie. Believing a lie, when it comes to religious truth, always has a serious consequence. Ultimately, the consequence is death—spiritual death that leads to eternal separation from God. Religious lies are not innocuous; they are not harmless. So many have been led to believe the lie that what is taught and believed really does not matter. It most certainly does matter, and our eternity is dependent on the truth.
We must diligently examine the Scriptures to make sure we are not deceived by the lies of the world. There is a truth that is always true. Truth is not evolving and changing, but instead, it is established and certain. Our responsibility is to seek it out, as well as to ward off and avoid whatever is contrary to truth. Jesus said, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). No one likes someone to lie to him. The fact is that we are victims of lies every day in our society, as well as from false religious teachers.
I do not want to stand before God responsible for lying in the name of Jesus. I also do not want to stand condemned for believing such lies. May we love the truth, seek the truth, stand firmly on the truth, live the truth and serve according to the truth.