THE SANCTITY OF OUR WORD

 

 

God’s Word is sacred and holy. This is why we call the Scriptures the “Holy Bible.” Consequently, it must not be violated:

 

·       You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32: Revelation 22:18-19)

 

We are to be holy as our Lord is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Therefore, our word should be as is His Word – holy and undefiled. When I was a child, we had a way of making a lie okay. We’d cross our fingers behind our back, thinking that this gave us the right to nullify what we had promised.

 

It seems that Israel’s religious leaders also had a way to nullify their word and promises. They would simply make an oath on something that they could later violate (Matthew 5:33-37). Instead, they had to stand behind everything they said, even without an oath:

 

·       But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. (James 5:12;)

 

When we violate our word, it is the same as violating our word or pledge to God. Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Apostles. They claimed that they had given the Apostles all the proceeds from the sale of their property, but they had kept some of it for themselves.

 

·       But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” (Acts 5:3–4)

 

Primary, when we lie, we lie to God. As a result, the couple fell dead, and the fear of God filled the Church. However, it seems that the fear of God is a needful fear:

 

·       Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, (Acts 5:12–14)

 

We too must learn this lesson about speaking truth. Nor should we minimize the lie by calling it a “white lie”:

 

·       Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy. No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble. Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight. (Proverbs 12:19–22)

 

Faithfulness means that we speak the truth – our yes must be a “yes.” When I was a new Christian, I went to see my pastor, a highly respected man. As he was just coming for me, the secretary informed him that Mrs.____ was on the phone. The pastor told his secretary to tell her that he wasn’t there.

 

I was shocked by the way that the pastor had so casually lied and had required his secretary to lie for him. This conveys the wrong lesson: “If it’s okay for this godly pastor to lie, then it’s okay for me to tell ‘white lies.’” However, the Bible never distinguishes between “white lies” and lies. Instead, we are not to lie to one another at all:

 

·       Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:9–10; Revelation 21:7-8)

 

The word we speak must be the word we live by. If we say that we are going to call at 9 AM, this is what we must do. If we fail to do so, we must take responsibility for our lapse by humbly apologizing. To fail to keep our word and not apologize is to say, “You are not worth my effort.” This is not love.