The Sin of Lying

The Sin of Lying

Of all the sins that man may commit, lying is perhaps the most destructive. Lies, per se, aren’t all that harmful; they’re just words, but their consequences are destructive. When people base their decisions on lies, they make bad choices which ends up destroying their and other’s lives. Moreover, lies conceal the truth, which may lead to injustice for both the guilty and innocent.

The sin of lying contradicts the very character of God.

The sin of lying contradicts the very character of God.

The sin of lying contradicts the very character of God. The Bible teaches that God cannot lie (Titus 1:3, Hebrews 6:18); it is against His very nature to advance that which is false. However, Jesus says that Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44). Hence, to lie is to choose not to be like God and to imitate the character of Satan and Proverbs 6:19 says lying is among the things that God hates. It is no wonder that one of the ten commandments is, Thou shalt not bear false witness (Exodus 20:16).

The Bible acknowledges different categories of lies, but never once teaches that any lie is less significantly damning than another. The little white lie is equally condemning as perjury, though, the consequences may not be entirely the same. John writes in Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. John certainly didn’t discriminate on what kind of liars would be lost; he simply said, all liars.

Christians must be people who speak truth. Ephesians 4:25 says, Wherefore, putting away falsehood, speak ye truth each one with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. The context of Ephesians four tells us that speaking truth is part of what it means to be a new creation in Christ; it is at the heart of being a Christian. Colossians 3:9 parallels Ephesians;  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.

For the Christian who is striving to follow Jesus’ teaching, it is a simple matter of observing Jesus’ teaching on this subject. In Matthew 5:37 Jesus said, But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. James echoes Jesus comments in James 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. The Jewish people had turned oath taking into another way of lying. Such was forbidden by Jesus and by implication, lying as well.

Sometimes it is hard to tell the truth. People don’t always want to hear it because it exposes the darkness in their lives and people love darkness better than light (John 3:19). As Christians, however, we are obliged to tell the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) and we speak truth because we do love (1 Corinthians 13:6). Let us do so and be people who love truth regardless the consequences of speaking it and let us never be involved in the sin of lying.

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Our Families are Broken

Our Families are Broken

Our church families are broken. And as I travel across the nation, what I see rather than efforts to heal and repair, are efforts to conceal and minimize. My interactions with Christian families and elders often peels back layers to reveal:

Discipline, compassion, time, listening, directing: The family needs this.

Discipline, compassion, time, listening, directing: The family needs this.

We have children using drugs and alcohol.
We have young people that have already mentally left the church.
We have youth who are growing up with a dulled conscience.
We have sons and daughters who are embracing a secular worldview.
We have children who are committing idolatry through their materialism.
We have young people committing fornication.
We have youth bullying or using profane language.
We have sons and daughters being arrested.
We have grandchildren addicted to pornography.
We have children who are worldly.
We have young people who have no problem lying to their parents.
We have sons and daughters experimenting with homosexuality.
We have children who do not sing during worship and look bored.
We have young people who are on their phones during Bible class and worship.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Sadly, these issues do not even include what is going on between the parents. Divorce, materialism, lying, and adultery are rampant—yes, even in the church. I’ll say it again: our families are broken.

Yes, these things are going on. But the question that I’m struggling with is: “What are we actually doing about it?” The honest answer is not much. Sure we have activities, VBS, retreats, and even some service projects. But the reality is we aren’t addressing the core of the problem—we are not rearing up children with a heart for the Lord. And add to this we have totally forgotten God’s command for church discipline.

My observation is that we are trying to “love” our children into the right behavior. As a result we have children that rule the house and have no fear of their parents. (And by default have little to no fear of the Lord.) Yes, we are to love our children—but a part of that love should be to love their souls enough to discipline them.
“Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, and deliver his soul from hell” (Proverbs 23:13-14).

Friends, wake up—there are souls at stake here! The souls of our children, grandchildren, and members in our church families.

It’s time we stop tip-toeing around and start dealing with some of these issues. It’s time the church get into repair business instead of the “program” business. It’s time we start addressing the heart. How ironic is it to see young people in a worship assembly wearing youth retreat t-shirts and yet they look bored and refuse to sing. Maybe it’s time we stop worrying so much about the design of the t-shirt and instead focus on what’s under the shirt—their heart!

It’s time we have family forums and Bible classes to help train parents how to raise children using Scripture. It’s time we humble ourselves and admit our families are not perfect. It’s time we roll up our sleeves and invest the time necessary to repair homes. It’s time we teach our children to blush again and weep over sin. It’s time we hold fathers responsible to be spiritual leaders. It’s time we acknowledge it is the parent’s responsibility to train up his or her own children in the Lord. The church should not be a welfare state where parents drop off their children to activities, and expect someone else to make their children faithful.

And finally, it’s time elders start addressing these issues among their flock. Yes, the preacher can address some of these issues from the pulpit, but it is not his job to fix it. It’s past time we employ church discipline—even to our young people. (If they are old enough to be “accountable,” make the decision to follow Christ, and be baptized, then they are old enough to be disciplined when their behavior brings reproach on the church.) If a parent gets upset because members or elders talk to their baptized children then maybe the parents should ask themselves soberly: Are they more concerned about their reputation than they are the child’s soul?

If someone in your congregation was in the intensive care unit (ICU) how would you respond? Every congregation I visit has families that, spiritually speaking, are in ICU. Yet, we continue to conceal and minimize. It’s time we treat and heal.

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Your Fruit Should Abide

Your Fruit Should Abide

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

John 15:16

The fruit of the apostles is still be reaped today.

The fruit of the apostles is still be reaped today.

Contextually, Jesus is talking to his apostles here.  It’s the night on which he will be betrayed, arrested, and put on trial.  Tomorrow he will die on the cross.  Three days after that he will be resurrected.  Forty days after that he will ascend into heaven to the right hand of God.  So he knows that his time with these men, his closest companions and followers, is coming to an end.  Chapters 13-17 of John contain his final thoughts and wishes which he shares with them, along with his final prayers for them.

He chose each of these apostles and appointed them to bear fruit…to be, as he told some of them, “fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19), his ambassadors pleading for reconciliation to a sinful world (2 Cor. 6:20), messengers of the gospel to the whole creation (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8).  The fact that two thousand years later we are still following, studying, and discussing their Spirit-inspired writings which make up the New Testament (Eph. 3:3-5; 2 Pet. 1:19-21) is testimony to the fact that their fruit does indeed abide, and will continue to abide throughout time (Matt. 24:35).  As apostles, whatever they asked for in the Father’s name (i.e., by his authority) would be granted to them, just as whatever they bound or loosed on earth in the church through their Spirit-inspired doctrine would (literally in the Greek) have already been bound or loosed in Heaven (Matt. 16:19; 18:18; John 20:23; cf. John 14:15, 25-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; Acts 1:8a; 2:1-4, 42a; 1 Cor. 2:10-13; Eph. 3:3-5; 2 Pet. 1:19-21).

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EL PECADO DEL MIEDO

EL PECADO DEL MIEDO
Caminar por un cementerio a las doce de la noche completamente solo, podría pintar una mala impresión en la mente de muchas personas, casi en unanimidad todos nosotros rechazaríamos tal oferta. El miedo de este tipo no es del que está en discusión en esta ocasión sino el miedo a los hombres. En muchas ocaciones la verdad se ve opacada por el miedo que algunos tienen de los hombres.

Tiene el miedo a los hombres?

Tiene el miedo a los hombres?

Ciertamente en la Biblia aprendemos de varios ejemplos, y ni siquiera los apóstoles escapan de este pecado. Pedro en primera instancia negó al Señor tres veces por temor. Los apóstoles todos excepto Juan huyeron al momento de la crucifixión de su Maestro, Judas por miedo decidió terminar con su vida ¿Pero que es el miedo en sí? Vines lo define así: fobos (fovbo”, 5401) tenía al principio el significado de huida; luego vino a denotar aquello que puede provocar la huida. Se traduce como «miedo» en Mt 14.26; 28.4; Lc 7.16; Jn 7.13; 19.38; 20.19.  En forma de verbo 1. fobeo (fobevw, 5399), 2. deiliao (deiliavw, 1168), cf. deilia, , y deilos, COBARDE. Se traduce «tenga miedo» en Jn 14.27.  Y sin duda alguna los cobardes están en la lista de residentes del lago de fuego de Apocalipsis 21:8. Si  en algún momento usted a pensado que el miedo no es pecado le animo a que lea de nuevo Ap 21.
Los cristianos tenemos una esperanza suprema, si la Iglesia de Cristo hubiese sido destruida el chance más grande sin duda alguna fue al cierre del siglo primero e inicios del 2 siglo con; Nerón, Dominicano, y otros  emperadores más pero eso no sucedió y todos ellos están muertos. Si ese era el chance más grande entonces ¿de que tenemos miedo? La Iglesia no debe temer al gobierno, ni a la corte suprema o a el presente electo y ni mucho menos al avance de las denominaciones. El miedo es categorizado como pecado, sino lo cree así solamente observe la frase que Pablo usa respecto al miedo de Pedro en Gálatas 2: 11 “…era de condenar”. Desde la antigüedad de hecho Dios estaba resguardando del miedo a sus principales piezas de batalla como lo fue el general Josué al decirle a él: “…No temas ni desmayes…”(Josué 1:9). Con miedo, es imposible conquistar una batalla. El Salmista en Salmos 56:3 expresa que cuando tenía miedo el depositaba su confianza en el Señor, sin duda alguna Dios desea eso, espera que  nuestro ser, nuestros afanes y nuestras cargas sean puestas en El. EL miedo es un pecado ya que arrastra consigo la inseguridad. Los primeros que deben deshacerse del miedo son los predicadores del Evangelio de Cristo, y 3 elementos fundamentales si usted quiere superar el miedo como predicador o como miembro del cuerpo de Cristo: 1) Preparase bien. A pesar que el movimiento “anti” continúa oponiéndose a las escuelas de predicaciones, son han sido y continuarán siendo la sangre vital de la Iglesia. Le animó a que asistir a una de ellas  sea su deseo pero por sobre todo le exhorto a que busque una escuela o universidad de la Iglesia de Cristo donde puedan preparar predicadores competentes. Donde lo preparen como un verdadero profesional en la Biblia y a la misma vez donde la humildad sea un énfasis de la institución. Si usted no ha profundizado en las materias Bíblicas ha como debería, lamento mucho informarle que usted no va a conversar a nadie, recuerde que Apolos era elocuente y poderoso en las escrituras (Hechos 18:24). 2) Desaparezca usted de la ecuación. Los predicadores que son exitosos son aquellos quienes no permiten que la atención se centre en ellos sino en lo que ellos están diciendo y enseñando hay muchos que asistieron a la “Escuela de Herodes” (Hechos 12:20-25) para lucirse en Público y recibir alabanza de hombres, ¡cuidado! La Gloria es de Dios siempre (1Tim 1:17) y es mejor ser ignorado por el publico y que la gloria sea de Dios porque después es Dios quien nos va a exaltar (Santiago 4:10). Como hombres siempre nos van a acusar de pecado y eso nos da miedo y aterroriza pero si desaparecemos de la ecuación el resultado será el mejor de todos= Regresemos a la Biblia, en tal caso la Biblia es perfecta y Jamás se equivoca aunque yo sí. 3)  Ser consistente. En esta semana hablaba con un hermano que insistía en esto de la consistencia y defendía cierto asunto cuando un minuto después atacaba aquello que defendía anteriormente. Muchos hermanos ni siquiera saben que es ser consistente. Amigo una persona puede estar equivocada pero al mismo tiempo ser consistente aunque le suene extraño. Nosotros en la Iglesia de Cristo estamos en la verdad y necesitamos ser consistentes. Es decir; morir predicando lo mismo, sosteniendo las mismas verdades y posiciones doctrinales aunque el mundo se de vuelta y vivir desacuerdo a esa verdad, eso es ser consistente.
Mis héroes sin duda alguna son aquellos hermanos que no tienen miedo a nada ni a nadie, que pueden debatir con el ateo más influyente del mundo y estar convencido que tal persona está en error y probarlo, tal como lo hizo el hermano Thomas B.Warren con el inglés Antonthy F. , hermanos que no tienen temor de escribir artículos, predicar sermones hacer conferencias o grabar videos exponiendo públicamente falsas enseñanzas y dejando en evidencia el error de hombres mentirosos y estableciendo la verdad. Aquellos hermanos que no tienen miedo ni al demonio mismo en persona, de esos quiero ser yo, de esos espero usted también pueda ser.  No se trata de nosotros,  ni de que somos orgullosos o arrogantes como algunos quieren acusarnos falsamente, no hay nada especial en mí o en usted, se trata del mensaje divino que proclamamos (Judas 3). Recuerde Hebreos 13:6 “Así que podemos decir con toda confianza: «El Señor es quien me ayuda; no temeré.¿Qué me puede hacer un simple mortal?»” Amigo, hermano Dios está de nuestro lado (Rom. 8:37) no tema en lo absoluto lo que pueda hacer el hombre (Mateo 10:28).
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Worship or Play Church?

Worship or Play Church?

I will never forget that cottonwood tree just outside the back door of the house I lived in for my entire childhood. It was where we built our treehouse and where the ropes for young “Tarzans” and swings for young children were anchored. But, the best memory I have of that tree was that several times every week we “played church” in its shade.

Are you just playing Church?

Are you just playing Church?

We were serious about “ playing church ”— I preached hundreds of sermons and lead hundreds of songs under its huge branches. However, just to be entirely truthful, if my mother offered us treats or suggested we go get a special toy at the “five and dime” store—talk about inflation, they are now called the dollar store—church ended!

Sometimes as I worship, I wonder if even now I fully comprehend the seriousness of worship. How far have I come from those days when I “played church”? The words God gave to two of His messengers come to my soul and create a longing for Him to help me to do more than “play church”—they help me to worship. “The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him…Guard your steps as you go into the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools…for God is in heaven and you are on the earth” (Hab. 2:20; Ecc. 5:1-2).

It sometimes is far easier to “play church” and to just sing rather than to worship and praise Him. I know the words and melody of many songs but at those times when I sing, they come from my body and not my soul. Do you ever do this?

As I listen to godly men proclaim His message, I sometimes lose the attitude expressed by Cornelius, “We are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God” (Acts 10:33). God, at these times, help me. Mold me and make me…thou are the potter I am the clay. Do you ever do this?

We prayed under that cottonwood tree, but sometimes we missed the seriousness of prayer. Paul was in prayer, and when in prison, he asked others to pray for him because he truly believed he would be released from prison because of these very prayers (Phil. 1:19). Do you ever do this?

We used to pretend to give as we “played church.” Sometimes, I lose sight of how my giving is designed to help minister to the needy, to proclaim the gospel to the lost, to enable the church to be edified especially in our building and to “help” God accomplish His work. Do you ever do this?

The same is true of the Lord’s Supper. When I forget the cross, I close the door to spiritual maturity (2 Pet. 1:8-9). Do you ever do this? God help me to be changed by worshiping you. Forgive me when I just “play church.”

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