Lying seems to be a way of life for many people in America today. The book The Day America Told the Truth says that 91 percent of those surveyed lie routinely about matters they consider trivial, and 36 percent lie about important matters; 86 percent lied regularly to parents, 75 percent to friends, 73 percent to siblings, and 69 percent to spouses.
When we hear those figures perhaps it’s no surprise that there is so much unhappiness in the world today. Lies are easy to tell but seldom do they help make a situation better. In general lies create mistrust and doubt. That’s why we can give thanks that God doesn’t lie to us. This morning we listen as God through the Apostle John tells us the:
The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The Truth - 1 John 1:1-2:2
I. Listen to It (vv. 1:1-5)
II. Live it (vv. 1:6-10)
III. Love it (vv. 2:1-2)
Several hundred years before the birth of Jesus, a crucial battle occurred between the Greeks and the Persians upon the plains of Marathon. The battle raged for hours. In many respects it was a fight to the finish. Finally the numerically inferior Greeks, the underdogs, managed a tremendous tactical win, but there was a problem. Soon the Senate, many miles away in Athens, was to vote and would most certainly ratify a treaty of appeasement. In desperation they sent a runner in full battle gear to go the twenty-seven miles to tell of the news. By the time the young boy got to Athens he had run a Marathon. It is said he was totally spent, that he literally ran himself to death. In his exhaustion he was able to utter only one word to the Athenians: "Victory." As you might have expected that one word made all the difference in the world when the Senators voted whether or not to accept that treaty of appeasement.
In a sense the Apostles are like that soldier who ran to deliver the good news. They were eyewitnesses to the events of Jesus’ life. They watched as Jesus stood alone on the spiritual battlefield against the temptations of the devil and the evils of this world. They saw him hang on that cross in humility, looking like one who had been taken captive. They watched as he took his last breath, certain that this battle had ended in defeat. But on Easter Sunday morning they became the eyewitnesses to the truth of it all. They saw the empty tomb and for the next 40 days they saw the risen Jesus on numerous occasions. Thomas even had the chance, with his very own hands, to touch the places where the nails had punctured Jesus’ flesh and where the spear had pierced his side.
While the political spin-doctors were concocting their own story to hide the truth about what had happened early that Easter morning, the Apostles
delivered the truth. They declared that he is indeed true God and true man, with the Father from all eternity, but also born of the virgin Mary. He is the living Word of God. They proclaimed that God’s plan of salvation had reached its culmination and conclusion in one person, Jesus Christ. How could they be so sure? Because he was not dead, but he had risen just as he said. The eternal Son of God came to win the victory over Satan and offer eternal life to all people.
That’s the testimony they spent their lives delivering. That’s the testimony they continue to share with us today through the Scriptures. They testify to Christ’s victory. That testimony makes all the difference. They share that testimony with us so that we don’t resign our lives to appeasing Satan. They testify to Christ’s victory because that means Satan’s stranglehold has been broken. We no longer have to live as his slaves. We have been set free to live lives in service to our good and gracious God.
That’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth from the mouths of eyewitnesses. Listen to it! But don’t stop there. This testimony is more than just fun facts to wow your friends with while your playing Trivial Pursuit. This testimony is truth to live by.
One of the greatest complaints from those outside the church against those who are church members is that they are all hypocrites. It is certainly possible that this is one of many misguided excuses for staying away from church, but is it possible that we sometimes help promote that view? Are we the ones whom the Apostle addresses when he warns against saying one thing and doing the opposite when he says, "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth"? (1:6)
There is an example of this kind of behavior that is told about a rather pompous-looking deacon who was endeavoring to impress upon a class of boys the importance of living the Christian life. "Why do people call me Christian?" the man asked. After a moment’s pause, one youngster said, "Maybe it’s because they don’t know you." Perhaps it would be good if we asked ourselves the same question: Why do people call you Christian? Is it just because you hold formal membership at a Christian congregation? Would they have trouble calling you Christian if they saw the way you lived during the week? Or do people recognize you as Christian because the words you speak on Sunday morning also match with the way you live your life all week long? God wants us to live by the truth every hour of every day of every week, both in word and action for the entire world to view.
If we are going to display this truth outwardly than we have to be truthful about what continues to cling to us inwardly. This kind of examination requires an honest evaluation. Skirting the issue won’t help solve the problem. Stubbornness to admit the truth or willful ignorance of the truth does not lead to bliss. Nor do these things change the truth that we are sinful people. Maybe we can learn a lesson from a gentleman who was having a philosophical argument with President Lincoln. Lincoln said, "Well, let’s see how many legs has a cow?" "Four, of course," came the reply disgustedly. "That’s right," agreed Lincoln. "Now suppose you call the cow’s tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?" "Why, five, of course," was the confident reply. "Now, that’s where you’re wrong," said Lincoln. "Calling a cow’s tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg." Calling sin a minor error, a mistake, or a pet vice doesn’t make it any less sinful. When we fail to recognize our own sinfulness we are only fooling ourselves. Ignorance about our own sinfulness leaves us in the bleak situation that John describes in chapter 1 verse 8, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."(1:8).
When we fail to recognize our own sinfulness we put ourselves in a precarious position as John says, "If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."(1:10). Sin is sin - whether that sin is murder or hatred, stealing or coveting, idolatry, or lust because that is what God has told us. To say otherwise is to tell the judge who presides over the affairs of heaven and earth, who decides your guilt or innocence for eternity, that he is a liar. I don’t know about you but I don’t think that it is ever a good idea to make the judge your enemy when you are on trial, and he controls your verdict!
So how should we live? We should live in the truth. Come before the judge daily and confess that you haven’t lived up to his perfect standard. Acknowledge your sinfulness. Ask for his forgiveness trusting that because of the work of his Son he has forgiven you. A forgiveness that purifies you totally and completely not like a wet washcloth that gets a little dirt here and there, but like a shower that douses you constantly, bathing you in his innocent blood so that not a spot of guilt remains. Then live with joyful hearts, expressing your gratitude to God in all you think say and do!
That is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That is truth to live by - sinners until the day we die, but sinners who have been purified in the river of righteousness that flows from our Savior’s side. We live by that truth because we love that truth. We love the truth that God reveals to us about the final outcome of our trial before his judgment seat.
As we draw closer and closer to that day of Judgment the Apostle John encourages all Christians, "I write this to you so that you will not sin." (2:1). That’s quite a goal he wants us to shoot for! Yet isn’t that the desire of every Christian? Isn’t that our desire to live apart from sin because we know just how serious sin really is. We know that when we sin it’s like we’re slapping God in the face because our sin shows our rebellion against God and his design for our lives. We wouldn’t dream of slapping a loved one who has given us a wonderful gift in the face! So why would we want to do that kind of thing to our loving God who gave us the priceless gift of his Son’s life?
Truthfully we never attain that goal here on this earth because we still have a sinful nature that clings to us. That truth would lead us to despair had the Apostle John not shared this final truth about our God with us this morning, a truth we have to love. When we do sin, and we will, we can rejoice because the truth of the matter is - God has given us the best defense attorney there ever was. He is wiser than Johnny Cochrane and more powerful than John Ashcroft. He knows the Law codes perfectly. In fact he’s kept every one of those laws right down to the fine print. He can see we need help. But he didn’t sit in his comfortable chair waiting for us to come to him, instead he came to us. What’s more - he volunteers his services because he knows we can’t afford his fees. Out of the goodness of his heart he wants us to be his clients.
As if that list of qualifications weren’t long enough the Apostle John calls our attention to one other truth about this attorney. He is willing to take our case even though he knows we’re guilty. He has decided to defend us even though there aren’t any loopholes that he can exploit to set us free. He has decided to represent us even though he knows that he can’t win our cases. There’s no way that he can get us a verdict of not guilty, unless he would volunteer to take our place. I don’t know about you, but I’m not aware of any attorney who is willing to take a client whom he knows is guilty, whose case he knows he can’t possibly win, and volunteer to take his client’s place in the sentencing chair to hear a guilty verdict that brings with it the death penalty. But isn’t that exactly what Jesus has done for us?
That’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That’s the truth we love! That’s a truth we love because it means that our place in heaven is a sure thing. It means that our innocence is guaranteed. It means that paradise awaits each and every one of us. That’s the truth of the gospel.
Give thanks, my dear friends, that your God does not lie to you. Give thanks that he loves us enough to do more than just stroke our sinful egos. He loves us so much that he is willing to point out our sin so that he might introduce us to our Savior from sin. Give thanks that he continues to tell us exactly what we need to hear for our eternal good - the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Amen.
