HOUSMAIL HM#066 -                                                                                                                           8 November 2000

“He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and ALL LIARS, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.” (Rev 21:6-8)

“But nothing unclean shall enter it NOR ANY ONE WHO PRACTICES, abomination or FALSEHOOD, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.” (Rev 20:22-27)

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, AND EVERY ONE WHO LOVES AND PRACTICES FALSEHOOD.” (Rev 22:14-15)

The verses above say clearly that, along with other sinners identified, liars of ALL KINDS will be excluded from the Kingdom Of God.

How very challenging that statement should be for those who hope to inherit the Kingdom of God! Yet sometimes it almost seems as if lies have become such an accepted part of daily life, that no one seems to notice or care about the significance any more! (Especially when we come to “religious lies”!)

Just how far should we take our definition of lying and falsehood? Where do we draw the line?

* Does it extend to false theology about the Trinity?
* Does it include Gospels offering a false hope for eternity? (i.e. The immortality of the soul
   and disembodied life in Heaven, INSTEAD OF the Resurrection of the Body and inheritance
   of the Abrahamic Promises and the Kingdom of God on Earth?)
* Would it include being wrong about whether or not the devil is a fallen angel?
* Would it include wrong speculations about prophecy? (i.e. Setting wrong dates for the
   Second Coming?)
* Would it include promoting a Church creed which accepted both Warmaking and Pacifism
   as equally acceptable to God?

I have deliberately NOT reported answers to these questions, because I believe that we must each answer to God for our own personal claim to believe and teach only TRUTH. However I do have two final questions!

If we do get it wrong, and tell people that some particular lies don’t matter, (when the Bible says ALL LIES really do matter!) we are promoting a terrible and destructive lie! Where does that leave us?

Are we prepared to gamble our place in Eternity against the possibility that we might have inherited lies from the “Traditions of our Fathers”? (Gal 1:14) Are we actively searching for God, with ALL our hearts?

HOW VERY IMPORTANT IT IS THAT WE SHOULD GET THIS RIGHT!

HOW VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND ESSENTIAL TRUTH WHICH MUST BE BELIEVED IN ORDER TO HAVE SAVING FAITH.

HOW IMPORTANT THAT WE SHOULD NOT PROCLAIM AS TRUTH, THINGS
WHICH ARE NO MORE THAN OUR OWN UNRESOLVED PRIVATE SPECULATION.

HOW IMPORTANT THAT WE LOVE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT IS SIN AND WHAT IS NOT ..... LEST WE BE AMONGST THOSE SUBJECT TO STRONG DELUSION.
(2 Thess 2:11-12)

HOW IMPORTANT THAT WE REJECT ALL LIES THAT ARE AN ABSOLUTE BARRIER TO FAITH AND TRUE REPENTANCE! (Mark 4:11-12; John 5:1-5)

FINALLY, DO WE YET UNDERSTAND THAT TRUTH ABOUT THEOLOGY, AND ETHICS, AND HOLINESS, CANNOT BE EASILY SEPARATED?

THEY ARE ALL FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE SAME “GOSPEL PACKAGE”!
 
 

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