Destitute of the Truth - Jeremiah 9-11 and I Timothy 6
Life must be based on truth, or we will have serious problems. Truth is not a concept, it is a Person. Jesus told us that He is Truth. Living a life of truth is living in right relationship with Him. A person or a group of people who have problems with lying are showing a spiritual problem.
Israel had a serious problem with lying. Jeremiah said that they bent their tongues for lies, and they were not valiant for the truth. He was saying that their lives were oriented toward lying instead of toward truth. They were shooting the arrow of their tongue in the wrong direction. It was aimed at deceit, instead of truth. This tendency or this "bent" led them farther and farther from the Lord. God had to shock them back to truth through the exile. He led them back to Himself. That is what any good parent would do for his or her child. God can't let us live by lying any more than we can allow our children to grow up thinking that lying is acceptable.
Paul warned Timothy of this situation. He told Timothy that he would encounter people who were destitute of the truth. Their lives would be characterized by all kinds of envy, strife, evil suspicions, and useless wranglings, because there was no truth as the foundation. Paul told him to stay away from such people. At the end of the chapter Paul again warned Timothy to avoid contradictions which are falsely called knowledge. Contradictions come from a lack of truth and the presence of half truths. We need to see that partial truth or half truth is a lie. God can't bless a life that is based on lies. How much of your life is characterized by truth? If you are walking closely with the Truth, your life will be based on 100% truth. That is what the Lord wants for all of us. He wants us to know the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 12-14 and II Timothy 1.
Israel had a serious problem with lying. Jeremiah said that they bent their tongues for lies, and they were not valiant for the truth. He was saying that their lives were oriented toward lying instead of toward truth. They were shooting the arrow of their tongue in the wrong direction. It was aimed at deceit, instead of truth. This tendency or this "bent" led them farther and farther from the Lord. God had to shock them back to truth through the exile. He led them back to Himself. That is what any good parent would do for his or her child. God can't let us live by lying any more than we can allow our children to grow up thinking that lying is acceptable.
Paul warned Timothy of this situation. He told Timothy that he would encounter people who were destitute of the truth. Their lives would be characterized by all kinds of envy, strife, evil suspicions, and useless wranglings, because there was no truth as the foundation. Paul told him to stay away from such people. At the end of the chapter Paul again warned Timothy to avoid contradictions which are falsely called knowledge. Contradictions come from a lack of truth and the presence of half truths. We need to see that partial truth or half truth is a lie. God can't bless a life that is based on lies. How much of your life is characterized by truth? If you are walking closely with the Truth, your life will be based on 100% truth. That is what the Lord wants for all of us. He wants us to know the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 12-14 and II Timothy 1.