1 John 2:1-6 My little children, these things I write to
you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our
sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Now by this we know
that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and
does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But
whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we
know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to
walk just as He walked.
“Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.” Quote from
Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), an Anglo-Irish writer, poet, playwright and
physician.
Sadly, the quote rings loudly of the mentality and ethics
held by far too many. Lies and deception are so commonplace we are stunned when
we hear and recognize the truth. I do not need to list the reasons people
justify lying…we all know them and have at one time or another used all them ourselves.
Before we were walking with Jesus Christ, we were numbered among the liars and
deceivers. Since choosing to follow Christ…sadly, we are numbered among the
liars and deceivers. We just think we have better motives now for the half-truths,
omissions, and assumptions we allow people to believe, right? Wrong!
My little children, these things I write to you, so that
you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not
for ours only but also for the whole world.
There ya go…the rationalization some Christians use
to let themselves off the hook for their sins. “But”, you might say. “it is
scripture!” Of course it is…and Jesus will stand as our advocate for us when
our shortcomings slap us in the head. But read on… Now by this we know that we know Him, if
we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. This may
sting, Friends, but in case you missed it, He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
Harsh? Perhaps…but why is it we would want use Jesus as our ‘life
preserver’ per se, if we really KNOW Him? I can’t imagine that Jesus would want
His Bride to be known for being deceptive and sinning while waving the ‘Jesus
flag’, can you?
But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is
perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. That’s where
we should be…
in Him…not using Him as our scapegoat as in the days before He died
on the cross for us.
He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk
just as He walked. Jesus didn’t deceive or lie or lead people down
the merry path of sin and destruction as He paraded through waving His own ‘Son
of God’ flag. He IS truth! He IS love! He IS mercy! He who says he abides in Him ought himself
also to walk just as He walked.
“Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.” has NO
place in the life of a person who abides in Christ. This hits me hard because I'm guilty of that. Quoting myself, "My private life is just that...private." I do not believe we need spill our guts to everyone we know but there is a fine line between maintaining my need for 'privacy' and allowing people to believe that which is not true. Sadly, some people ask questions out of curiosity more than concern and are lying to themselves when they pass it off as such. Holy moly! Fine line, indeed!!
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