Chapter 7: Emptying “Falsehood”

Chapter 7:

Emptying “Falsehood”

 

 

 

 

In the previous chapter, we examined “hypocrisy,” which arises from the gap between the way we appear before people and who we actually are before God.  If hypocrisy is putting on a mask to hide who we really are, falsehood is hiding or altering the truth for our own benefit and, beyond that, even distorting the truth of God.

 

Falsehood does not end simply with saying something that is contrary to the facts.  Falsehood begins in a heart that rejects the truth and accepts what is advantageous to itself as though it were true.  In John 8:44, Jesus referred to the devil as “a liar and the father of lies.”  At the root of falsehood is a power that causes us to believe something other than the Word of God and ultimately leads us away from God.  Therefore, before trying to identify the falsehood in others, we must first ask ourselves: “Am I living truthfully before God?”  “Am I hiding or altering the facts in order to protect my own interests and reputation?”  “Do I accept the Word of God as it is, or do I accept only the parts I want to hear?”  Emptying falsehood begins by honestly examining ourselves before these questions.

 

Falsehood Keeps Us from Knowing God

 

Jeremiah 9:3–6 shows us what Judah was like when it was filled with falsehood.  The people shot lies with their tongues as though drawing a bow. They deceived one another and did not speak the truth.  The more serious problem was that, in the midst of such a way of life, they refused to know God.  Falsehood does not merely destroy trust between people. It also destroys our relationship with God.  If we say with our lips that we believe in God while treating lies and deception as normal in our lives, then although we claim to trust God, in reality we are relying more on the ways of the world.  Psalm 62:4 portrays people who bless with their mouths while inwardly cursing.  Their words and their hearts are not the same.  We easily take the small lies of everyday life lightly.  We may alter the facts slightly in order to hide our mistakes, leave out important details in order to avoid responsibility, or shift the blame to someone else in order to protect our reputation.  But when we repeatedly allow small lies, our conscience gradually becomes numb.  At first, we may feel uneasy, but after repeating them, we can eventually lie without feeling troubled at all.  Therefore, emptying falsehood does not simply mean refraining from telling major lies.  It means learning to love the truth before God and to choose the truth even when doing so costs us something.

 

False Teaching Leads People Away from God

 

One form of falsehood that Scripture warns against with particular severity is speaking falsely in the name of God.  In the days of Jeremiah, there were false prophets who claimed to have been entrusted with the Word of God but were actually proclaiming things that God had not given them.  Jeremiah 6:13–15 shows that the people were consumed by greed and their leaders practiced deceit.  Yet they treated the wound of the people lightly, saying, “Peace, peace,” when there was no peace.  This is the danger of false teaching.  Telling people what they want to hear is not necessarily love.  If a person’s relationship with God is being broken because of sin, telling that person that nothing is wrong cannot be life-giving comfort.  True comfort does not cover up sin; it leads the sinner to Christ.  True love does not give false peace to someone who needs to repent.  Instead, it helps that person recognize his or her condition before the Word of God and return to Him.

 

We Must Not Speak in God’s Name When God Has Not Sent Us

 

When Jeremiah rebuked the false prophets, he repeatedly pointed out one particular problem: they claimed to have been sent even though God had not sent them.  In Jeremiah 28:15, Jeremiah said to Hananiah: “The LORD has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies.”  The same problem appears repeatedly in Jeremiah 14, 23, and 27.  God had not spoken, yet they said, “God has spoken.”  They proclaimed their own thoughts, dreams, and desires as though they were the Word of God.  This is a sin that pastors, in particular, must fear. 

 

A pastor has no authority to turn his own thoughts into the Word of God.  Nor should he declare that his own political views, personal desires, expectations of success, or experiences are the will of God.  A preacher is not someone who creates the Word but someone who has been entrusted with the Word.  Therefore, a preacher must continually ask himself: “Is this really what the biblical text is saying?”  “Am I confusing what God has said with what I want to say?”  “Am I saying what the congregation wants to hear, or am I faithfully proclaiming the Word God has given?”  The more a person uses the name of God from the pulpit, the more reverently and fearfully that person must stand before these questions.

 

Words That Please the Ear Are Not Always Good Words

 

Second Timothy 4:3 warns that a time will come when people will not endure sound teaching but, “having itching ears,” will gather around themselves many teachers to suit their own desires.  Two problems appear together here.  One is the problem of leaders who proclaim only what people want to hear.  The other is the problem of listeners who seek only what they themselves want to hear.  False teaching becomes even stronger when these two meet.  The preacher wants the applause of the people, and the listeners want sermons that affirm their desires.  Eventually, each side gives the other what it wants to hear.  But the Word of God does not always make our ears comfortable.  Sometimes it comforts us.  Sometimes it rebukes us.  Sometimes it exposes our sin.  Sometimes it commands us to turn away from the path we have been following.  And it always leads us to Jesus Christ.  Therefore, the standard for true preaching is not: “Does this sound good to me?”  Instead, we must ask: “Does this message come from Scripture?”  “Does this message lead me to Christ?”  “Does this message cause me to examine myself, repent, and obey?”

 

Micaiah Proclaimed the Word God Had Given Rather Than the Words People Wanted to Hear

 

First Kings 22 records an event that clearly shows the difference between false words and the true Word.  When King Ahab was preparing to go to war against Ramoth Gilead, many prophets told the king what he wanted to hear. They said that if he went to war, he would be victorious.  But Micaiah was different.  People urged Micaiah to speak the same favorable words as the other prophets.  But Micaiah said: “What the LORD says to me, that I will speak.”  This one sentence reveals the attitude that a true servant of the Word must have.  A preacher is not someone who invents the words the congregation wants to hear.  He is not someone who says what a king will like.  Nor is he someone who softens or changes the Word in order to protect his own popularity.  He is someone who proclaims what God has said.  The message Micaiah delivered was not what the king wanted to hear.  As a result, Micaiah was hated and suffered.  Yet he did not change the Word of God because of people’s reactions.  A true servant of the Word fears the Word of God more than the applause of people.

 

True Preaching Leads People to Repentance and to Christ

 

How, then, can we discern between a true pastor and a false pastor?  We cannot judge merely by whether someone preaches well, attracts many people, is famous, or delivers moving sermons.  From Scripture, we can examine at least three things.  First, we must ask whether the pastor proclaims the Word entrusted to him by God.  Rather than speaking his own thoughts as though they were God’s Word, he must faithfully proclaim what Scripture actually says.  Second, we must examine whether the message contains the substance of God’s Word.  The false prophets in Jeremiah’s time proclaimed their own dreams and thoughts as though they were the Word of God.  But the true Word does not arise from human imagination. It is rooted in the Word of God.  Third, we must examine whether the preaching leads people to repentance and obedience.  True preaching does not end by merely condemning people.  It makes people aware of sin, leads them to the cross, and helps them hold on to the grace of Christ and move forward into a new life.  When comfort is needed, there should be comfort.  Crushing a wounded person even further is not true preaching.  But refusing to speak of repentance where repentance is needed is not love either.  A true shepherd is not someone who causes the sheep to follow himself but someone who helps the sheep follow Christ.

 

Believers Must Also Discern the Word They Hear

 

Responsibility for false teaching must not be placed only on pastors.  Believers also have a responsibility to discern the Word they hear.  We must not automatically accept someone’s words as the Word of God simply because that person is famous.  A pastor’s position, academic credentials, or the size of his church does not automatically make everything he says true.  When listening to a sermon, we should open the Bible and examine it.  “Is this really what the Bible teaches?”  “Is the meaning of the biblical text being communicated correctly?”  “Is this consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ?”  Respecting a pastor and treating a pastor as absolute are two different things.  A true pastor should not want believers to become dependent upon him. Rather, he should help them read the Word for themselves, pray, seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and follow Christ.  The ultimate object of our faith is not a human being but God.

 

Falsehood Can Destroy Another Person’s Life

 

The Bible treats false testimony very seriously.  The ninth of the Ten Commandments is clear: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  Lying is not merely a matter of words. It can destroy a person’s reputation, family, workplace, and life.  In 1 Kings 21, Jezebel arranged false witnesses in order to seize Naboth’s vineyard.  She had them falsely testify that Naboth had cursed God and the king, and eventually the innocent Naboth was put to death.  Greed produced falsehood, and falsehood took a man’s life.  Therefore, when we hear something about another person, we must not rush to judgment.  Scripture teaches us not to establish a serious matter on the testimony of only one person but to confirm the facts through sufficient testimony (Deut. 19:15). 

The same applies in the church.  Simply because we have heard something negative about someone does not mean that we should assume it is true or spread it to others.  We must first verify the facts.  Nor should we condemn a person after hearing only one side of the story.  Those in positions of leadership must be especially careful.  If they believe unverified statements and make judgments based on them, they can inflict wounds on a person that may be very difficult to undo.  A person who loves the truth is not someone who quickly spreads rumors but someone who carefully verifies the facts.

 

Falsehood Cannot Erase the Truth

 

When Jesus rose from the dead, the chief priests and elders gave money to the soldiers and told them to spread a lie: “His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.”  They created a lie with money in order to protect their positions and reputations.  But their lie could not erase the truth of the resurrection.  People may try to hide the truth.  They may use money and power to distort the facts.  But they cannot erase the truth that God has accomplished.  This truth is also an important source of comfort for those who suffer injustice because of falsehood.  Not every truth is revealed at the time we want it to be revealed.  Sometimes we may be misunderstood for a long time.  But believers must not try to defeat falsehood with another falsehood.  We must speak the truth, fulfill the responsibilities that are ours to fulfill, and entrust the final judgment to God.  The way to overcome falsehood is not with a more sophisticated lie, but with the truth.

 

We Must Also Guard Against Adding Anything to the Gospel

 

In Galatians, Paul strongly warns against false teaching that attempted to add human merit to the gospel of Christ.  Salvation is not obtained through our works or merits.  We receive by faith the grace of salvation that Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross.  Therefore, if human merit is added to the gospel and taught as though it were a condition of salvation, the very essence of the gospel can be obscured.  In 2 Corinthians 2:17, Paul also says that he does not corrupt the Word of God.  We must not use the Word of God for our own benefit.  For a pastor, the Word is not a tool for achieving success.  It is not a product for making the church larger.  It is not a means of winning people’s favor.  The Word belongs to God.  Therefore, the person entrusted with the Word must proclaim it purely, without mixing it with his own desires.

 

Emptying Falsehood Means Honestly Examining Ourselves Before the Truth

 

When we read what Scripture says about falsehood, we must not stop after identifying false pastors and false believers.  We must return again to ourselves.  A pastor should ask himself: “Am I claiming that something is God’s will when God has not said it?”  “Am I changing the Word for the sake of church growth or my own reputation?”  “Am I avoiding a message that must be preached simply because people do not want to hear it?”  Believers should also ask: “Am I seeking only the messages I want to hear?”  “Do I welcome messages that comfort me while rejecting messages that rebuke me?”  “Am I relying more on a preacher who tells me what I want to hear than on the Word of God?”  And in our homes and workplaces, we should also ask: “Am I altering the facts to hide my mistakes?”  “Am I explaining promises differently for my own benefit?”  “Am I shifting the blame for my wrongdoing onto someone else?”  Emptying falsehood is not a movement to expose the lies of other people.  It is first bringing the falsehood within ourselves into the light of God’s Word and emptying it.

 

Sincere Faith Brings Even Its Doubts Honestly Before God

 

In 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul speaks of the “sincere faith” in Timothy.  Sincere faith does not mean a faith that never wavers.  Nor does it mean that only those who have no fear or doubt possess true faith.  Rather, sincere faith is faith that honestly brings even its own weakness before God.  If we are struggling to believe, we do not need to say, “I am not afraid at all,” simply to appear to others as though we have strong faith.  If we are struggling, we can say that we are struggling.  If we are afraid, we can confess that we are afraid.  If doubts arise, we can bring even those doubts to God.  And there, in that very place, we can once again hold on to the promises of God.  Abraham’s faith was not confidence in his own ability.  Romans 4:21 says that he was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”  True faith is not self-confidence that says: “I can do it.”  It is trust in God that says: “I cannot do it, but God is faithful.”  Therefore, sincere faith is not faith that tries to appear strong.  It is faith that acknowledges its own weakness and yet holds on to the faithfulness of God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Principles and Practical Guidelines

for Emptying “Falsehood”

 

 

How, then, can we continue to empty falsehood from our lives at home, in the church, and in the workplace?  Falsehood often takes root in the heart not by suddenly beginning with a major lie, but through repeated small compromises.  Therefore, we need to examine ourselves daily before the Word of God and train ourselves to choose the truth even in small matters.  The following five practices can be put into practice in our daily lives.

 

1.     Make the Word of God the Standard of Truth

 

My thoughts and feelings are not always right.  Even something I desperately desire may be different from the will of God.  Therefore, I must not place my thoughts above the Word of God but place them under the Word.  Pastors, in particular, must be careful not to speak too easily as though their own thoughts were the will of God.  When preaching, they must first examine what the biblical text actually says and must not force their own ideas into Scripture.  Believers also should not accept something unconditionally simply because a famous person said it.  They should develop the habit of examining it through Scripture.  Making the Word of God, rather than human words, the standard of truth is the first step in emptying falsehood.

 

2.     Tell the Facts as They Are, Even in Small Matters

 

Falsehood begins with small compromises.  We may intentionally leave out information that is unfavorable to us, alter a story slightly to reduce our responsibility, or exaggerate the facts in order to make a good impression on someone.  But a truthful person does not change the facts even when the truth is unfavorable to him or her.  In the home, do not make excuses when you have done wrong.  You should be able to say: “I was wrong.”  At work, do not shift the blame to someone else in order to hide your own mistake.  In business, do not reinterpret contracts and promises in a way that favors you.  Choose honesty even when it costs you something.

 

3.     Verify the Facts Before Passing Along Something About Another Person

 

Creating a lie yourself is not the only sin.  Passing along something you have not verified as though it were true can also cause great harm to another person.  If you hear something negative about someone, do not immediately pass it along to others.  First ask: “Is this true?”  “Have I verified it myself?”  “Is it really necessary for me to pass this along?”  Especially within a church community, a rumor can seriously damage a person’s faith, family, and reputation.  If you love the truth, verify before you speak. If you cannot verify something, do not carelessly treat it as fact. 

 

4.     Maintain Honesty and Transparency in the Workplace and in Business

 

One of the most practical settings in which we must empty falsehood is the workplace, where money and profit are involved.  We must not change the meaning of a contract in order to gain a little more profit, hide important facts, or take advantage of what another person does not know in order to obtain an unfair benefit.  Keep what you have promised.  Acknowledge what you have done wrong.  Take responsibility for what is yours to bear.  Sometimes honesty may seem to bring an immediate loss.  But for a believer, faithfulness before God is more important than success.  Do not abandon the truth in order to gain a profit.  When maintaining the truth requires giving up a profit, trust God.

 

5.     When Your Wrongdoing Is Exposed, Choose Repentance Rather Than Excuses

 

Falsehood produces another lie in order to conceal wrongdoing.  At first, we may lie to hide a small mistake, but then another lie becomes necessary to protect the first lie.  Therefore, when your wrongdoing is exposed, do not add another lie in an attempt to protect yourself.  Acknowledge it.  Apologize.  If necessary, make it right.  And repent before God.  Acknowledging your wrongdoing is not shameful.  Rather, knowing that you have done wrong and yet continuing to hide it and protect yourself through lies draws the soul into deeper bondage.  Being able to repent is grace. 

 

However, we must not think that these five practices alone can remove all falsehood from our hearts.  We need the grace of God and the help of the Holy Spirit.  Falsehood does not stop with deceiving other people; it can deceive even ourselves.  We may mistake our own desires for the will of God, and we may believe our own thoughts to be the truth.  Therefore, every day we must ask the Holy Spirit to shine the light of the Word into our hearts.  We can pray: “Lord, show me the falsehood within me.  Do not let me hide or alter the truth in order to protect my own interests or save face.  Do not let me seek only the messages I want to hear, but help me stand honestly before Your Word.  Keep me from claiming that my own thoughts are Your will, and as one entrusted with Your Word, help me proclaim Your Word faithfully.  In my home, church, and workplace, help me choose the truth even when it costs me something.  When I do wrong, help me acknowledge it and repent rather than make excuses.  Empty my heart of falsehood and fill it with the truth of Christ.” 

 

Emptying falsehood does not merely mean being careful with our words.  Emptying falsehood means abandoning a life in which we create the truth we want and instead placing ourselves under the truth of God.  It means not altering the facts for our own benefit, not changing the Word in order to gain people’s applause, and not sacrificing another person in order to hide our own wrongdoing.  A pastor must not turn his own words into the Word of God.  Believers must not place human words above the Word of God.  In the home, we must choose honesty over excuses.  In the workplace, we must choose truth over profit.  In the church, we must verify facts rather than follow rumors.  And when we have done wrong, rather than protecting ourselves through falsehood, we must repent before the cross.  The purpose of emptying is not to become an empty person.  It is to empty the place in our hearts that falsehood has occupied and fill that place with Jesus Christ, who is the Truth.  Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life.” 

 

Therefore, the ultimate purpose of emptying falsehood is not simply to become “a person who does not lie.”  It is to become a person who loves Christ, who is the Truth, and lives truthfully in His Word.  Falsehood changes the truth in order to protect itself, but faith entrusts itself to God and chooses the truth.  Falsehood fears people’s reactions, but sincere faith considers God’s gaze more important.  Falsehood hides its wrongdoing, but the gospel leads us to acknowledge our sin and hold on to the grace of the cross.  Therefore, every day we must ask ourselves: “Am I speaking the truth right now?”  “Am I receiving the Word of God as it is?”  “Do I love the truth more than my own interests?”  And whenever we discover falsehood within ourselves, we must not hide it but bring it to the cross.  Emptying falsehood one by one and filling that place with the truth of Christ—this is the path of “emptying falsehood” that we must walk every day in our homes, churches, and workplaces.