You are God’s Masterpiece

by LEWIS

You are God’s masterpiece, a work of his own hands.

No one else has a vote on who you are. You’re free to be you instead of imitating someone else. You’re free to use your unique, God-given gifts, and there’s no need to compare your gifts to the gifts of others.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them —yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. – 1 Corinthians 15:10

2 + 1 = 2 Truth ? Lies ?

The God of Truth

The Creator of the universe is the “God of truth” (Deuteronomy 32:4), and He is “not a man, that He should lie” (Numbers 23:19). The author of Hebrews said that it is “impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18), and Paul taught the same in Titus 1:2. Because God cannot lie, God’s Word—the Bible—is true (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

Jesus is God, and He declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and John stated that Jesus is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus told Pilate that He came to “bear witness to the truth” and that everyone “who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37).

The Deniers of Truth

We live in a world where even the concept of truth is mocked in favor of self-contradicting truth claims, such as, “There are no absolutes!” and “All truth is relative!” Man prides himself on his supposed wisdom to the point of convincing himself that intelligence came from non-intelligence, information from non-information, and life from non-life.

This vain thinking arises whenever men suppress the truth of God. Although “they knew God,” they do not glorify Him as God, and they become fools (Romans 1:21–22). Because men exchange “the truth of God for the lie” (Romans 1:25) and do not like to retain God in their thinking, good is viewed as evil, and evil is praised as good (Romans 1:28–32; Isaiah 5:20). Yet the Lord catches the wise in their own craftiness and knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile (1 Corinthians 3:19–20).

The Proclaimers of Truth

Followers of Christ have been called out of this world and its fruitless thinking. Instead of conforming to this world and its wicked ways, we are to be transformed into imitators of Christ (Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 11:1). We must be people who speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). And since God’s Word is truth (John 17:17), we must proclaim His Word before an unbelieving world of scoffers. Paul told Timothy to preach the Word both “in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2).

God’s Word is certainly “out of season” today. Speaking the truth in love requires us to say offensive things that will often anger unbelievers. Although the message we deliver is offensive, we must deliver it in a manner that is not (Colossians 4:2–6). They must hear that their sin will be judged by the holy Creator and Judge, and that they can only be saved from eternal punishment if they repent of their sin and trust in Jesus Christ alone; He is the One who died in our place and conquered death by His Resurrection.

Speaking the truth in love isn’t always easy. This world loves darkness rather than light (John 3:19), and those who are blinded to the truth love their sin too much. They will call us bigots, homophobes, racists, sexists, child abusers, and more. We must not be intimidated. Rather, we need to fulfill our calling to share the good news, knowing that we will be hated just as Jesus was (John 15:18).

The solution is not to retreat from a sin-loving culture, nor is it found in compromising with worldly thinking. The answer is to stand boldly upon the authority of the Word of God and, in the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, lovingly engage individuals and expose the lies of our culture by teaching the truth—God’s Word. As our Lord despised the shame of the Cross for the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2), each of us must be willing to follow Him and “become a fool” in the world’s eyes so that we “may become wise” (1 Corinthians 3:18–19).

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Don’t Be the Devil’s Fool : Why God Hates Lying

by Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell, AiG–U.S.

April Fools’ Day is here, and while it is not a national holiday, many people around the world celebrate the day with practical jokes. The bounds of social pressure confine most tricks to the good-natured and harmless, and most of us use the day to innocently have a good time with our friends. Nevertheless, the time seems right to briefly explore the subject of foolery and lies.

History and literature offer a number of tidbits relating to the day, with Chaucer’s “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” in Canterbury Tales being a fourteenth-century contributor. In the tale, Chaucer—the first man to eventually be buried in the Westminster Abbey’s Poets’ Corner—retells the fable of “Chaunticleer and the Fox” set on March 32—which of course is the first of April. The tale involves not just falling for a lie but doing so due to pride—a lesson that should make us pause to think about every gullible person from Eve to the one in the mirror.

God hates lying. Why? The serpent’s deception of Eve led to mankind’s rebellion, which brought a curse upon the world God created. The result was untold suffering to those He had made in His image. The serpent deceived Eve into doubting God’s goodness and then lied as he accused God of being a liar. Man was made in God’s image. God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19). Therefore, man was designed to be truthful, not deceptive.

In stark contrast to God, the devil—in the words of Jesus—“was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is not truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). All suffering—from the first thorn-prick to the murder of Abel to the Crucifixion of God’s Son Jesus Christ—all of it began with a lie. No wonder God takes lying seriously.

Integrity is a major issue in all areas of life as practical people try to determine whom they can trust. The world watches believers for inconsistencies in their words and behavior. When we stumble, unbelievers get an inaccurate glimpse into the character of God and they seek to justify their own sinful behavior.¹ Romans 3:7 explains that even if a lie were spoken for God’s glory, it would still be a sin. “For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?” In 1 Timothy 1:10, Paul lists lying along with other reprehensible behaviors that are “contrary to sound doctrine.” Finally, Revelation 21:8 lists “all liars” among those sinners who—apart from the grace available through Christ’s blood—merit punishment in the lake of fire.

Titus 1:2 clearly states God “cannot lie.” Assertions to the contrary can be resolved by a careful study of the text, “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). We always need to see what the Bible actually does and does not say, lest we, as Alfred Edersheim warned, be guilty of “elaborate trifling with the most sacred things.”²

Not only is lying foreign to God’s holy nature, but the original lie in the Garden of Eden had horrible consequences that led to man’s sin and the need for Christ’s sacrifice. Integrity and trustworthiness make you the sort of person people trust, rely on, and respect. But if you begin playing loose with the truth, those who know and love and even respect you—like your spouse and children and coworkers—will forevermore wonder if they can rely on what you’re saying.

Just a white lie? Jesus spoke of being trusted with small things before being trusted with big ones. He trusts us with many opportunities to get in the good habit of telling the truth. At the same time, we will be building a reputation of truthfulness and trustworthiness. But if we’re in the habit of using little lies of convenience, we will have little conviction holding us back when it “really” counts.

Lying is such an easy sin to slip into. Hebrews 12:1 warns Christians to lay aside “the sin which so easily ensnares us.” Furthermore, remembering that God “cannot lie” (Hebrews 6:18), we as Christians should strive to “be imitators of God as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1). As we seek to please the Lord Jesus Christ whose blood has bought us, and to show our Savior to the watching world, we should all ask the Lord to help us cultivate the habit of gracious honesty and integrity. So when the fun of April Fools’ Day is over, don’t let the devil’s subtle tricks make a fool of you.

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Footnotes

1. For example, see my articles on Abraham’s deceptive statements before unbelievers and the unintended consequences that followed, Feedback: Did Abram really lie? and Feedback: Were the Plagues on Pharaoh Because of Abram and Sarai Unfair? Back
2. Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 3^rd edition copyright 1886, printed by Hendrickson Publishers of Peabody, Massachusetts, page 466 of Book III. 

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2012/04/01/april-fools-god-hates-lying#continue