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Tuesday December 30, 2008 ~ 30 Comments
I must confess that I find many things perplexing in the Christian life-- why does God not always heal?, why are there so many without Christ?, and many other questions. But one question has been really troubling me lately: why do Christians lie about each other so much? I first noticed this several years ago. I found that speakers came where I served and misquoted and mischaracterized those they did not like (in this case and at that time, it was primarily contemporary churches). So, rather than criticize or challenge (which I think is fine) they build their case up with falsehood, or as the 9th commandment puts it, they "bear false witness," or as I will put it, they lie. "Do not give false testimony against your neighbor."
Ex. 20:16 (HCSB)
This malady seems to be everywhere, but it is surprising to me how common it is among the most conservative of Christians-- those who speak often of their belief in the authority of Bible. People like me. We are quick to defend the authority of God's word, but are not always as quick to apply what it say about lying to our own words. It struck me most forcefully when I saw one well-known polemic pastor bear false witness against some friends of mine, be confronted on it, admit he was wrong, and then not publicly address, retract, or apologize for what he said. My guess is, even if he had corrected himself publicly few would have noticed, and fewer would have thought it a big deal. The truth is that "all is fair" in some wars. We often give one another a pass when someone bears false witness because they were being passionate for truth; or at least for a truth that they believe is being attacked. John Calvin said, "slander is often praised under the pretext of zeal and conscientiousness. Hence it happens that this vice insinuates itself even among the saints, creeping in under the name of virtue." And, to my own shame, I think I began to notice it more when I saw the lying directed at churches like mine. It is funny how I did not care as much about all the 9th commandment issues until some of those 9th commandment issues were directed at me. That shows my own carnality. And, it left me wondering how many times I had carelessly provided a false witness before I was sensitive to it. The benefit of experiencing some of these false allegations is it sensitized me-- and convicted me that I had not been careful in my own speech. But it's important to note that if we are going to take the 9th commandment seriously we have to do more than not lie-- we must tell the truth, and even defend those who are being lied about. So, occasionally, I have defended the victims of false witness. In some quarters of my denomination and other conservative evangelical expressions, those lied about are often church planters and contemporary or emerging church pastors. (One of the reasons so many contemporary pastors have left my denomination is that they were tired of being misrepresented and caricatured from the platform of the denomination they supported-- something I believe is changing.) Even people with whom we have differences need to be spoken of truthfully. Although I am not where Bill Hybels is on some issues, this past summer I wrote about the need to be truthful about Willowcreek and their Reveal study in my monthly Outreach Magazine column and here at the blog. The same goes for people as diverse as Joel Osteen, Brian McLaren, and Jeremiah Wright. Regardless of how much we disagree and how passionate we feel, in all cases, people should be spoken of truthfully, even when we are disagreeing with them. We cannot not let a passion for the truth make it OK to not speak truthfully. God is never honored when we defend His truth by speaking falsely. Because God does not lie and is always trustworthy we value the truth. As followers of Jesus, who called himself "the truth," we must be a people of truth. This demands that we not bear false witness, but speak honestly and plainly of ourselves and others. Posted on December 30, 2008 at 10:09 AM ~ 30 Comments 30 CommentsLeave a comment |
  
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Thanks for the clarity and charity.
Peace,
David Zook
Ed,
If you keep that up, you will be the next point in someone's illustration!
I read your posts. I even listened to a sermon or two online!
What you have said here is some of the most important things you have written. Too many of my friends outside of our denomination have been assassinated by these kinds of words. Recently you offered the Penn Jillette piece. He offered a line that represents your own words. He noted that being an atheist he had a deep difference with the man who gave the Gideon bible but that did not keep him for showing genuine respect. If an atheist can get this, it is overwhelming when Christians don't.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Great Post! I definitely need to start with myself on this first .. watch what I say, and take up for others more
Well said Ed.
I find it easy too to allow certain taints to go unnoticed until they are directed at me or my Reformed denomination and heritage. I believe that labeling is often a form of bearing false witness more for our own comfort than for the truth. I have found myself confronting fellow preachers or speakers about their slander of others. It is amazing to me how many think there is nothing wrong with embellishing the truth which turns it into a lie. Satan uses the same tactic on us.
We certainly must hold one another more accountable, especially in ministry.
AKD
Another of my reserve soapboxes. Thanks for posting about it.
Someone once said "The truth told, with ill intent, beats any lie which you invent". I could ask you if you heard about a bank robbery and you could say you hadn't; the next morning, the papers could headline "When questioned about the robbery, Stetzer denied all knowledge". And you know what many would think.
Love goes beyond just speaking the truth, and demands it be spoken in love. Which includes the right reasons.
Many people apparently don't trust God enough to simply do it His way.
Good post.
Thanks for this convicting essay. It seems like we have stretched the old "extremism in defense of liberty is no vice..." to "lying in defense of truth is no sin..."
And how very true and poignant the fact that it is so much more noticeable when we are the ones being lied about!
I suspect that I'll be much more careful in my criticisms of the "other side" from now on.....by God's grace.
Good words clearly (and cleverly) written.
"The truth is that 'all is fair' in some wars." Don't you mean "the sum is that 'all is fair' in truth wars?" ;-)
May the Lord help us to speak truth in love.
Thank you for this convicting word. The ends do not justify the means- but Brian McLaren sacrifices bunnies to the Syberian hampster god.
I read a study a while back that said that religious people were more likely than non-religious to commit "small sins". They justify it to themselves because they feel that they are generally good people. They are even more likely to commit those sins in order to further their religious background (ie, someone that is not their brand of Christian can be lied against because it is furthering people to know the truth about Christianity.)
I will have to see if I can find the study.
Great insight Ed, and it is a personally convicting post. Thank you for it.
By the way, it is probably even more important that we not bear false witness against (and defend aganist false witness) those that are outside the church. This is an issue I know many of my non-Christian friends jump on.
This really seems to come down to a "love your enemies" issue.
Great post, Ed.
This is an absolute great post! May ALL of us in the SBC take this to heart - and apply this principle to all trustee boards.. or the "cooperation" in our Cooperative Program will continue to decay and ultimately die.
great post.
(i take back all those things i've been saying about you behind your back)
i'll just say "amen."
So true...and so convicting. Who can really feel spotless on this? The law is so damning...which only magnifies why grace is so amazing. May we all walk in that grace so as to speak truth and shun lies.
Thank you for your defense of the victims of false witness. I saw it tonight after a difficult and painful memory came to mind earlier this evening.
My pastor (now former as we are no longer there), in an attempt to shore up his authority and image, bore false witness against me to my face in front of a group of people.
Todd above used the word assassinated. Well, it did feel like a stab to the heart and it has been a hard struggle to work through the emotional and spiritual aftermath.
Adam,
A good point... thanks for adding it!
Ed
Ed,
It takes great strength, courage, and confidence to “speak honestly and plainly of ourselves and others”. And it is sign of our own weakness when we fail to do so.
Thanks for the reminder that “God is never honored when we defend His truth by speaking falsely.” This is something that we all needed to hear… this is something that “I” needed to hear.
Grace Always,
great points Ed...hearing people misrepresent you or the particular theological/missiological circle you run with is very frustrating and ought to make us all the more careful not to return evil with evil or perpetuate this sin in other directions.
Ed,
Thank you for this wonderful post.
Ed,Why don't you let your readers discover for themselves who is speaking truth. I encourage them to watch You Tube videos of Rick Warren sharing his version of the Gospel.Watch John MacArthur's video regarding the purpose driven church vs his version of the gospel and let your readers decide for themselves the truth. I encourage your readers to review Rick Warrens many You Tube videos and see for themselves who is speaking truth. All a watered down gospel does is create a falling away.Why don't you encourage your readers to review Rob Bell's You Tube videos and Brian McClaren's You tube videos and they can decide for themselves.
Dan,
You obsession with Rick Warren is a bit much (though you did add Bell and McLaren). I do not see Warren's name in my post. And, as usual, your comment just uses the blog topic to criticize Warren and others.
I rarely post your comments but did this time since they were less vitriolic than usual.
Please go start your own blog and write long posts about how bad Rick Warren (and the others) are.
And, the point of my post is lying-- so, let me encourage you to tell the truth when you do. I have no problem with disagreement and that is why I posted your comment here. But, my point is that we should do so honestly.
Ed
When people fail to speak the truth, they will sooner or later destroy their own case in the eyes of those seeking truth. I have often pursued a matter to utter exhaustion in order to get at the truth. I routinely go outside the box as the saying goes in order to look at all the sources. It is amazing what one can learn by such a procedure. Hats off to Dr Stetzer for his thought provoking and needful remarks on the issue of using the ends to justify the means, a favorite selling point of Satan, but one which our Sovereign Lord, Judge, and Savior holds in the greatest of contempt. It is enough to make all of us tremble for our own failures to be as absolutely truthful as possible. God grant mercy to us all as we shall give an account in the great day of Assizes.
Thanks, Ed; your post is convicting. There is a strong temptation to slight people we don't like: repeat unsubstantiated rumors, make insinuations that cause others to question their character, and allow lies about them to go uncorrected. I have been too timid in confronting misinformation when I knew that doing so would upset the apple cart.
I'd like to put in a warning about systemic lies. At the network and denominational levels, there is often pressure to manage information in such a way that keeps the constituency happy. Ambiguity and shading of truth can quickly evolve into lies. When we conveniently leave false assumptions uncorrrected, we're guilty.
Blessings on you.
Ed,
Thank you so much, Amen and Amen again. This is personally convicting having caught myself too many times getting "passionate about a truth" and making a point that was far less than accurate (read truthful).
Would that those within our convention involved in the ongoing dust up over the John 3:16 / Calvinism debate read and heed.
You know, I am a "C" who teaches youth in a church where the pastor, youth pastor, all the staff are not - they are godly men with a passion to see people come to faith and to disciple and grow believers - thank God for them that we agree on the Gospel and go forward lovingly, graciously and truthfully discussing our minor differences.
Thank you, for the reminder. I am embarrassed by my former self; who I was before I knew Jesus. I would fabricate my own truth whenever needed. It rarely fooled anybody, although I thought I was clever at the time. It’s only been through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit that I have become a better person. Even so the sinful seed of deceit is still present waiting for the opportunity to attack when I am weakest.
Heavenly Father,
I confess my lips are unclean; I ask that you guard my thoughts and convict me before I speak sinful lies. I am truly thankful that by your mercy you hear my prayer and that I am saved by the blood of your son, Jesus Christ, in who’s name I pray.
Amen.
Ed,
As others have said, great post. Your point about not lying about others--even in small ways--is right on, and well taken.
I'd like to add that I think it's also important for Christians to be willing to "speak the truth in love" on behalf of those with whom we might oftentimes disagree. Yes, we should speak honestly about all individuals, even those with whom we disagree. There are also times, however, when we need to be willing to stand up for someone, even someone with whom we might have great differences, even when doing so might cause ridicule to be directed our own way.
I'm sure many of your readers would like to say, "Yes, I'd be willing (especially after reading Ed's post) to speak truthfully about others, and, when necessary, to publicly correct myself when I have not." I wonder, however, how many of us would be willing to rush to defend someone who has been lied about--especially someone with whom we might have great differences--instead of just sitter there quietly, somewhat saddened at the fact that someone else has lied about this individual, but somewhat happy that we, ourselves, did not.
Oh, come on . . . be honest . . .
Right on, Ed. Too often I am quick to criticize people's shortcomings rather than acknowledge their accomplishments, and that distorts who they are. That just makes me a complainer. I believe the Bible says something about being slow to speak and speaking truth in love...
Dear Ed: Why don't you gt a movement started to try reconciliation and conflict resolution. This parting of the ways is going to jeopardize 10,000 missionaries. I kind of tremble, when I think of that. Archbishop Desmond Tutu's reconciliation commission in South Africa might not have accomplished much, but it is a singular thing in history. Could it be one of the indications that the time is coming, when the nations will beat their swords into plow shares and learn war no more? The most liberal, radical, and pivotal theology the world has ever seen produced the great awakenings, the missionary movement, religious liberty, the uniting of Separate and Regular Baptists, the utilizing of both educated and uneducated men in the ministry. The original theology of Sovereign Grace is two-sided, apparently contradictory, synthetical, and designed by producing a tension in the mind to make believers, balanced, flexible, and creative.I think a re-examintion of the original views with understanding, praye, and application could be the route to another awakening, the greatest of all, one that wins the whole earth in one generation and perhaps for a 1000 generations.