Bad Apples .......... Parables 618

November 10, 1998 

If bad apples do not ruin the barrelful, they certainly make life miserable for the good apples. In our home, if I asked “who did it?” and one child lied, all were made to sit on the sofa until the guilty confessed. They told me their teachers did the same thing; if one student cheated, the entire class had to stay after school. In business, those who take home everything from pencils to expensive tools raise the cost of doing business. It affects their wages and the price of whatever that company produces.

Bad apples give religion a bad rap too. For instance, the French government took a good look at the activities of a certain group and denied them church exemption. They also slapped a lien on their property for $50 million including penalties and interest for past taxes. Obviously, something was wrong with this apple.

Even though it is unfair to assume every religious group or person is hypocritical or dishonest, Jesus did warn that people would claim to be Christian when they were far from it. These “wolves in sheep’s clothing” might talk the talk, but without faith, they do not live it out.

With a little help from the Bible, discerning people can separate true religion from false. This prevents being duped yet allows an honest exploration of genuine faith. Use these criteria.

False religions deify people. Acts 14 describes Paul and Barnabas healing someone only to have the crowd worship them. They protested, “Why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things (idols) to the living God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and everything in them.” Scripture clearly distinguishes humanity from our Creator. While He made us in His likeness, we are not God or gods. This lie echos Satan’s lie to Eve: “You can be as God . . . .”

Second, false religions demote God by denying His attributes: He is not holy, or not a God of love. Or, they claim many gods, or that God is in everything. They describe Him in human terms as if He does wrong or changes His mind. Although God took on human flesh when He came to die for our sins, He never stopped being God.

Third, false religions minimize sin. For them, sin either does not exist or is overrated. It has little to do with daily life and as long as a person does their best, a few sins will not affect their eternal destiny. God says otherwise. Only the first two people began life free from sin, and that did not last. Since then, He says we are born with a sin nature. The fact that children do not have to be taught to do wrong confirms it. Without His help, we cannot be righteous or obey Him.

False religions mess around with the Bible too. They change it, add to it, say it has errors and generally work on it until it suits their point of view. They interpret a different Jesus, a different salvation and a different Holy Spirit than the Bible describes. For them, Jesus is not God the Son, but rather a prophet or an angel or merely a son of God, just another god.

With that, they also dismiss salvation by grace through faith and replace it with a system of rules and leaders who dictate how to live. Most stop thinking for themselves. Many are ruled by fear and guilt. Further, reducing the Holy Spirit to an impersonal force leaves them without His guidance and power. To live right, Scripture must be interpreted and applied correctly.

Last, false religions are founded by a person or “prophet” who claims to be the only true spokesperson for God. This leader offers “revelations,” adding ideas to Scripture and claiming his way is the only true way. If you do not follow their organization (not Christ but them), you are without hope. Some go one step farther and teach that those who believe in biblical, historical Christian teaching are demonized.

A $50 million tax is staggering even for a large religious group. Yet who can put a price on the eternal cost of belonging to such a group? Without the truth of God’s Word, those caught in false religions stand in a dangerous place.

Rules and absolutes? .......... Parables 510

May 14, 1996

Youth leader and speaker Josh McDowell says that young people today usually agree that lying is wrong, but most of them are unable to explain why. I asked a young friend about this and she could only say, “It’s wrong because it’s wrong, that’s all.”

According to McDowell, parents often teach rules, such as “do not tell lies” but neglect to give any foundation that supports or explains those rules. Rules or precepts without reasons for them amount to legalism. We may teach that telling lies is wrong because it is immoral, but adding that principle is a no-no in today’s culture. Too many now insist that there are no absolutes, that truth is subjective and what is true changes relative to time and situation.

McDowell says people need to know absolute truth does exist. Not only that, truth is objective, universal and constant. It can even be tested. According to Webster, truth is “fidelity to an original or a standard.” Therefore, to test if something is true, all one needs to do is measure it by the original standard.

For instance, if you wanted to test whether a liter of milk actually contained a liter, you could take it to the place where standards for weights and measures are located. A careful comparison would show if your liter is truly a liter.

In the case of lying and other moral issues, the standard is the person, character and nature of God. He is the Original, the Creator of all things who made us in His image.

Even those who doubt the existence of God would say, if God did exist He would be perfect and true, not a liar or an immoral being. The Bible confirms this: “God is light; in Him is no darkness at all” and “...it is impossible for God to lie.”

We can safely measure truth by God because He is the author of it. Obviously, lying cannot pass the test. Not only are lies the opposite of truth but they, and the act of lying, are contrary or opposite from the Original Standard.

Also, McDowell suggests that children (and adults) need to know God’s purpose for precepts, such as “do not lie.” While most people think God makes rules to ruin our fun, in reality His precepts protect us from being harmed and from harming others. In the long run, lies are destructive. They ruin relationships, undermine trust, destroy confidence and produce emotional instability. God does not want us to experience those consequences.

One of our biggest difficulties is that immediate consequences from disobeying Him may not look so bad. People steal or do other illegal and immoral things but negatives are either delayed or do not happen, at least in this life. Today’s instant society finds long-term effects difficult to visualize and ridicule the idea of eternal judgment.

Faith in God can look at eternity. As the Bible says, it is “the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” Faith believes God without seeing because sight has nothing to do with it. Faith is based on who God is and He stands firm as its foundation. Because God does not lie, we can believe what He says about the effects of lying and other wrongs.

In contrast, Jesus speaks of the fallen angel, Satan, as “a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Ultimately, lying is also wrong because of its source. Truth, and the reality of its nature, is good and right because of its source. It is grounded in the absolute and flawless character of God.