The Lie of Denial

“Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is Christ. Such a man is the antichrist – he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also” 1 John 2:22.

The other evening I attended a social event where a large group of women had gathered, representing a core group of a large Bible study. The hostess was their previous teacher whom the Lord had led to a different community Bible study. She had already told me that some of the women had ‘more love of money and less of Jesus.’ Her charming southern demeanor was undercut with her true spiritual honesty and conviction…a 2014 John. I met some wonderful Christian women that evening, but one woman in particular shared with me that she had hosted her own large party. There were Gnostics, Jews, Buddhists and Christians who were among the guests. She stated that she felt it was a wonderful evening because it had the mix of all beliefs, and that everyone had to make up their own mind as to which spiritual path they would follow. At her party, she was offering a selection of beliefs that night, alongside her selection of appetizers.

God did not send His Son into the world to die for us as one of our choices. He is the only choice and the only way for us to be reunited with our loved ones and enjoy eternity with God. We live in a culture where we are served a selection of spiritual walks like a tray of desserts after a meal. Christ gave up His choice to live so we could have the certainly of life. But to claim that gift without claiming the One who made it possible is to offend both Father and Son for they are One. We lie to ourselves when we claim to have God but deny Jesus. We lie to ourselves when we celebrate Christmas without acknowledging that Jesus is the only way to the Father. We can’t have it both ways when living out our life.

Some people might take the stance that this is merely the bias opinion of a friend of Jesus. If that is the stance we are to take, then we must claim that there are untruths in the Bible. If we claim that some of the Bible is factual and some of it is not then how do we measure that? What part is called into question and what part is not? How can believe in the promises of God's comfort, provision and protection for our children in one part of the Bible without believing that God sent His only Son into the world to reconcile our sins in another part? God’s word is not up for dissection, and certainly not for us to determine its original intent or accuracy. John’s words are strong but necessary, as he was warning his beloved community of believers against those who had walked away from the truth in Christ. His words were spoken with a sense of urgency, and an understanding that sometimes believers don’t recognize the liars among them – those people who do not believe in Jesus Christ.

With the birthday of Jesus upon us let us claim to all that we believe in Jesus Christ as God who came in the flesh to do what we couldn’t do for ourselves. Let us loudly proclaim that the person of Jesus was born as a baby, lived and died according to the will of His Father so we could live. His very life is our gift 365 days of the year so let’s live like we believe it. May our words and actions show that the lives of others depend on our testimonies of Christ. Lastly, let us proclaim that the Holy Bible, God’s inherent truth was breathed, spoken and translated for our good, enduring forever.

‘I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him’ Eccl 3:14.