Ndi the one whom GOD raises up! Yassou testimony of eloquence. If you reject the correction of a friend, you will receive the flattery of an enemy. A famous French quote says: "Every flatterer lives at the expense of the listener. Be careful not to take friends in your life for granted, despise friends in your household, and idealize friends in your ministry. Martin Luther King (1929-1968) said “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends”. Be one of those who speak before it is too late.
Part 1 (read the article)
1. GOD wanted to preserve Adam.
2. Eve consciously disobeyed.
3. GOD spoke the truth: created in His image and likeness.
Part 2:
4. GOD speaks the Truth: He never lies.
5. Lies: what GOD does not say
6. Telling a lie vs. lying: words and complicit silences
Part 3: (soon)
" And the LORD GOD commanded the man, saying, “Of very tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.”
____ Genesis 2:16-17 (KJ21)
"1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD GOD had made. And he said unto the woman, “Yea, hath GOD said, ‘Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, GOD hath said, ‘Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’”
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, “Ye shall not surely die; 5 for GOD doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and ate, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he ate. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves things to gird about." __ Genesis 3:1-7 (KJ21)
"15 “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil, 16 in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy GOD, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply; and the LORD thy GOD shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 17 But if thine heart turn away so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare unto you this day that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land whither thou passest over the Jordan to go to possess it. 19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live, 20 That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him; for He is thy life and the length of thy days, that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” _____ Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (KJ21)
4. GOD says the Truth: He never lies.
"And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent." (1 Samuel 15:29, KJV)
GOD does not need to lie. He is Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Transcendent and Immutable. He knows all that has been, all that is, will be and could be. His knowledge is perfect, complete and limitless (Psalms 139:3-4; Proverbs 15:3; Job 34:21; Hebrews 4:16; Psalms 139:12). He is everywhere simultaneously, in time and space (Isaiah 46:9, Psalms 139:7-8). Nothing is impossible for GOD, (Genesis 17:1; Luke 1:37; Matthew 19:26, Numbers 23:19). He exists by Himself. Before we are, He was and after us, He will continue to be eternally (James 1:17, 1 Timothy 6:16). He has no beginning and no end. He has always existed and He will always exist. Therefore, He can call the end of a thing from its beginning. He Himself says "I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the LORD GOD, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8). He is the creator of the universe and of all that exists. Unlike us humans, GOD can create out of nothing, I would even say out of a vacuum. Creation is the fruit of His Word (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16-17). "For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." (Psalms 33:9, KJV).
It is explicitly written in the Bible that GOD hates lies (Proverbs 6:16-17, Proverbs 12:22, Deuteronomy 5:20, Leviticus 19: 11-12). David said "Righteousness and justice form the foundation of your throne; goodness and truth are before you." (Psalms 89:15, LSG). Otherwise translated as "The foundations of your throne are justice and righteousness. Love and truth go before you." (Psalms 89:15, BDS). A cocoa tree cannot produce papayas. An orange tree cannot produce pineapples. An olive tree cannot produce lemons. Love, I specify "of GOD" and not "for GOD" cannot produce hate. Truth cannot create lies. Holiness has no fruit except that which is holy. Again, GOD never lies.
5. Lies: what GOD does not say
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it." (John 8: 44-45, NKJV)
Relying on the inner witness of the HOLY SPIRIT and drawing inspiration from the Westphal and King James biblical dictionaries, I define a lie as anything that GOD has not said, anything that GOD does not say, or every word of GOD diluted of its intention or stripped of its context. In other words, a lie is anything that is not found in JESUS CHRIST (confer my article JESUS, my Truth). GOD is Love, Truth and Holiness. We know that his Love is eternal and unconditional (Jeremiah 31: 3; Romans 5: 8; Ephesians 2: 8). We also know that He is omniscient and that He never lies. He is therefore always aware, among other things, of: what He says, why He says it, and to whom, He says it. We further know that GOD is immutable (He does not change) and Eternal. He is the master of times and circumstances (Daniel 2:21). In other words, He makes the times and orchestrates the circumstances. He is not surprised by any event. GOD does not discover the truth, He reveals it. Thus, anything that GOD does not say is a lie and any word of GOD reported out of context is a lie.
It is common to define a lie as "any consciously false (inaccurate, corrupt, distorted) statement made with the intent to mislead, deceive, persuade, manipulate, hurt, harm or profit". This definition is far from being wrong. However, it is not enough for me. Just because a person is sincere and full of good intentions does not mean that he or she is necessarily telling the truth. One can be sincere and ignorant. One can be full of good intentions and still be wrong (mistaken). How many products (additives, cosmetics, toys, medicines, etc.) declared harmless a few years ago are now declared harmful or banned? How many people consider themselves useless, without gifts or talents? How many people think that they (or others) are not "this" or "that" enough to succeed, edify, encourage, win souls and save lives? I can't just say that because someone is sincere they are necessarily telling the truth. Do you know why? Because Truth is not an opinion and any truth out of context is a lie. Truth is demonstrated, proven, established, confirmed. That is why I add to the common definition that a lie is also any statement, not approved by GOD, declared about oneself, another person, a situation or an event.
6. Telling a lie vs. lying: words and complicit silences
"‘Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another." (Leviticus 19:11, KJV)
He who tells a lie is in error, he tells the false believing he is telling the true, so he is himself deceived. As a courtesy, we usually say: "what he says is not true". He who lies knows the truth, but refrains from telling it, he wants to manipulate, he wants to deceive. The liar is not only the one who speaks. He is also the one who withholds the truth in order to deceive his neighbour, to manipulate circumstances or to take advantage of the benefits of a lie. Withholding information is lying. For example, a pharmaceutical company that hides the risks associated with the use of opioids, a (highly additive) painkiller responsible for the deaths of more than 400,000 people each year in the United States. The difference between "the one who tells a lie" and "the one who lies" is therefore the intention. Through His Word, GOD exhorts us to be prudent (Proverbs 10:19) and righteous (Exodus 20:16, Leviticus 19:11, Proverbs 20:7, Psalms 15:2-3). The wise man is cautious in what he says because he does not want to tell lies, he wants to avoid error and save himself from trouble. The righteous man refrains from lying because he loves GOD and his neighbour.
"For with Thee is the fountain of life; in Thy light shall we see light." (Psalm 36:9, KJV)
** Ndi = Good morning in Ewe (Togo)
** Yassou = Hello in Greek
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