Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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From a sermon by Preacher Clark in 1969.
Reel 6, CD-19, track 2.
When I was in high school, some students performed the play “The Sandbox”, in which one of the characters stands in center stage and asks the audience, ‘What kind of liar are you?” The guy who asked the question was comical, and his question made everybody in the auditorium burst into laughter, but God always has the last laugh.
Paul said, “Let God be true and every man a liar.” That phrase, “let every man be” sounds tame in translation, but the original Greek words are very clear: Every man is a liar and God alone is true.
Preacher Clark pointed out the nature of man to tell lies in these words: If you happen to see someone pass by the window and think it is Jim, and then you tell the people with you in the house that Jim is coming, but when the door opened, it is not Jim but Bill, you have not told a lie. You simply made a mistake. You said something that was not factually true, but your heart intended to tell the truth. On the other hand, suppose that you saw someone pass by the window and really thought it was Jim, but in an attempt to deceive the people in the house, you told them that it was Bill. Then, the door opened and to your surprise, it was Bill. You have lied, even though what you said was factually true because you intended to deceive the people with you in the house. Lying is never a matter of words; it is always a matter of the heart. So is the truth. When Samuel was afraid to go to Bethlehem to anoint the young shepherd boy David to be king instead of Saul, God told Samuel to tell the inhabitants of Bethlehem that he had come there to hold a feast. Was that a lie? After all, it was not, factually, what Samuel had really come there to do.
Get out of the flesh, and judge righteous judgment! Life is a matter of the heart.
Clever people may excuse themselves for lying because their lies go unspoken. They know how to leave the wrong impression with a quiet smile. And that is very good news for those of us who want to do good. We can rest in peace while we live, even if we make mistakes, because we know that God will not judge us by what men hear but will reward us for what He alone sees.