WHOSOEVER LOVES AND MAKES A LIE
By Derwood Stewart
A lie is a false statement, event or idea that is presented as
being true. It is very, very important for those who have
accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour to know and understand
the depth of importance in adhering to the truth. God's holy
written word, the Bible.
In this study, we will find that anything but the truth is
unacceptable and that in deferring from (taking away from) or
adding to God's holy written word is NOT acceptable with God or
His only begotten son, Jesus.
In Revelation 22:14-16 we read:
"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may
have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the
gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers,
and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters and
whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 'I Jesus have sent mine
angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am
the root and the offspring of David. and the bright and
morning star.'"
Through the years I have heard various people say, "I or we have
'rights' as an American citizen." This proclamation in and of
itself is true, if in fact they are citizens. However, if for
some reason a person does not meet the requirements of
citizenship, some privileges and rights are not applicable.
In the above scripture, there is a prerequisite or action that is
required in order for a person to possess the rights afforded to
saints, the children of the Most High God. They must be born
again [for the truth on being born again see the study on this
website] in, through and by the precious blood of Jesus. They
must be baptized into the body of Christ and they MUST observe
and do (practice) the Commandments of God.
You will note that everyone else - including ALL liars (those
that "loveth and maketh a lie" and practice doing that which is
construed as a lie - are (will be) on the outside looking in and
that they have NO hope of entering into the Kingdom of God and
His only begotten son, Jesus.
We read in Revelation 21:27:
"There shall in no wise enter into it (the Kingdom of
Heaven) any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh
abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in
the Lamb's book of life."
The angel of the Lord in essence told John that it is impossible
for anyone that loveth and maketh (observes or practices doing) a
lie to enter into the Kingdom of God. If God in His holy written
word has not specifically told us to do a certain thing the, it
may not be an advisable thing to do.
For instance, there were two sons of Aaron the priest that
presumptuously did something that they no doubt thought would be
acceptable and pleasing to God, but it most assuredly wasn't.
"And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his
censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and
offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them
not," (Leviticus 10:1)
Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the
Lord (see Numbers 26:61). It would seem that the Lord considers
it an abomination for a person to do what seems right "good
enough" (a lie)- in his own eyes that which the Lord has given
specific instructions to do differently.
In Revelation 21:8 we read:
"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."
In this Scripture you should note that God considers liars as
deserving the same end or punishment as that of murderers and
other sin ners. Therefore, it behooves us to know that we are
following and practicing the truth and not a lie.
We read in Exodus 20:16, "Thou shalt not bear false witness [lie]
against thy neighbour." God is so emphatic about His disgust for
liars that He included a law against lying in His Ten
Commandments for mankind to follow. In Leviticus 19:11 we read,
"Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to
another."
The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 3:9-10:
"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old
man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is
renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created
him: ...."
When we lie to someone or when we practice doing that which can
be construed as a lie (following a false belief/practice), we are
like a person who has just finished a hard day's work, taken off
his dirty clothes, taken a shower or bath and put on the same
dirty clothes that he had just removed when clean clothes are
readily available to him.
Another way to look at the above scripture is this: A person
should not just take off dirty work clothes and put clean clothes
on without first cleaning up his body (taking a shower or bath).
A person who does this might look good from a distance but when
he gets close to you he will still stink and be dirty.
In I Timothy 1:9-11 the Apostle Paul wrote:
"Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man,
but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for
sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers
and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers,
for them that defile themselves with mankind, for
menstealers, for LIARS, for perjured persons, and if there
be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which
was committed to my trust."
The Law of God was made to show each of us that which is wrong,
that which we should not do. It is like a road map that, when
followed, keeps the traveler going in the right direction.
If a person observes the laws of the land that govern the public
highways, as a general rule, he does not have to worry or be
fearful when a law enforcement officer comes up behind him with
his overhead lights flashing. The officer may just want him to
pull over so the officer can pass safely by, or the officer may
need the person to pull over in order to contact him for some
reason other than a traffic violation. In like manner, if a
person has been born again in, through and by the precious shed
blood of Jesus and has been doing his best to know and observe
the written word of God, he has no need to be fearful because he
has broken no laws.
The Prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 44:24-25:
"Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee
from the womb, 'I am the LORD that maketh all things; that
stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad
the earth by myself; that frustrateth the tokens of the
liars, and maketh diviners mad, that tumeth wise men
backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; ...."
The Lord has said that He will work against those who make and
practice a lie. I don't know about you, but I don't want the Lord
to work against me. I want Him to be on my side working for my
good.
King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 17:4, "A wicked doer giveth heed
to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue."
Mankind has the human nature of doing that which they are
accustomed to doing. For most of us, change is neither desirable
nor easy; therefore, we need Jesus and the power of the Holy
Ghost in order to change our lives from the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes and the pride of life in order to become
saints, the children of the Most High God.
The Apostle John wrote in I John 2:21, "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." This scripture is very profound in
that it proclaims that that which is to be attributed to the
written Word of God can NOT have any implication of a lie. This
is where I need to "stir up your pure minds" (as written in 2
Peter 3:1) by bringing to your attention a few things that many
professing Christians observe and do that are NOT mentioned in
the Bible. These observances are Easter, Halloween and Christmas
and the weekly observance of Sunday, the first day of the week,
as a replacement for God's holy Sabbath, the seventh day of the
week. The roots of all of these customs come from paganism and
the devil.
I do not think that either God or His only begotten son, Jesus,
is at all pleased with people who call themselves His children
yet participate in any of these pagan customs - especially when
they attribute these observances to honoring and worshipping Him
when He did not ask us to honor Him in this fashion.
It is virtually impossible for the Lord Jesus Christ to have been
born on December 25 since that would have been during the winter
months in Israel and the shepherds would not be watching their
sheep in the fields. They would have brought their flocks into
warmer lodgings months before this time. Also, as a general rule,
sheep, goats and cattle were prompted to bear offspring in the
spring and fall. Jesus, therefore, as the "Lamb of God that
taketh away the sins of the world," (St. John 1:29) was more
likely born in the fall and died in the spring when He was about
thirty-three-and-a-half years old. So observance of this date as
His birth is not based upon truth.
Furthermore, I have found no scripture that specifically
instructs the saints to observe the date of His birth, nor the
resurrection of Jesus as a memorial practice, nor is there one
scripture in the Bible (God's holy written word) that stipulates
that mankind is to observe the first day of the week, Sunday, as
either a holy day or a day of rest. Therefore, we should let the
word of the Lord suffice because it stands alone. In other words,
the word of the Lord does not need help from mankind to establish
what mankind is required to do.
In Proverbs 30:5-6 King Solomon wrote:
"Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that
put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he
reprove thee, and thou be found a liar."
It has been written that King Solomon was reported to be the
wisest man that ever lived. Therefore, as saints, it behooves us
to listen to His righteous words of advice.
The word of God is PURE; it does NOT in any way come from, nor
did it derive from, nor does it resemble paganism. If a person
presumes to add to or take away from the written word of God, he
stands in jeopardy of judgment. We, therefore, can be thankful
for the Gospel, the "Good News", that Jesus has provided His more
abundant grace for mankind in order that we still have the
opportunity "to come to the knowledge of the truth" (see I
Timothy 2:4) of His holy and righteous written word. Praise His
Holy Name!
The big question now is: What are you going to do as a believer,
washed by the precious blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, the only
begotten son of the Father? Are you going to choose to know and
observe the written word of God? Or are you going to continue to
observe the lies propagated by the devil? Choose you this day:
Truth or Lies!
..........
Derwood A. Stewart, Minister House of Prayer Sabbath Ministries
From the March/April "Acts" magazine, a publication of the
General Council Churches of God (Seventh Day), Meridian, Idaho,
USA.
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