The Shepherd Press Blog

Lying to God

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet.

Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God." Acts 5:1-4

In one sense all lies are lies to God. However, as this passage in Acts shows, there is a particular type of lie that qualifies specifically as lying to God. I think of this as “lying on steroids.” Often, this lie is not about hiding things that are wicked, but about misrepresenting things that appear to be good, even righteous. This is where the greatest danger lies for children raised in Christian homes. That is why your parenting must go beyond addressing behavior.

Why Children Lie

Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."
   Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
   But he said, "Yes, you did laugh." Genesis 18:10-15

When children lie it is often tempting to see the reason for the lie as a mystery. For example; “Why would my child lie about taking that toy from his brother, when it is so obvious that he did do just that?” Then, deepening the mystery, parents often ask, “Why would he make up such a far-fetched story to cover up his actions? The lie and cover up seem so illogical and unnecessary.” Thus, parents sometimes tend to treat the problem as one of logic and intelligence; they puzzle over why their children would lie. Scripture solves the mystery. Children are born liars. When we sin, we lose the ability to be logical. We are blinded by self-interest (Proverbs 4:19).

Jesus is Life

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. John 1:1

Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:68

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:3-6

 

The Gospel of John provides the setting for this final post on life that is truly life. John’s gospel is rich with references to the Trinity. It is rich with Christ. Two themes that we have been exploring are brought to a perfect conclusion by John. We have looked 1) at God’s Word being life and 2) that parents must present life to their children. In the first chapter, John identifies Jesus as the Word of God. Then, in chapter 14, He says that Jesus is life, the life. Christ does not lead toward the illusory life that I Timothy warns us to avoid. No, following Christ leads to life itself, for he is the life.

Life that is truly life

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. I Timothy 6:17-19

Paul makes an interesting distinction here. He urges Timothy to instruct people to “take hold of the life that is truly life.” This exhortation comes right after a warning to those who are rich in this world. Much can be drawn from this passage about the use of wealth, but I want to focus on the distinction Paul makes between “life” and “true life.” Recall that Moses urged the Israelites not to take the word of God as idle words, but as their very life (Deut. 32:47). I believe Paul is making the same distinction here in I Timothy.

These words are your life

They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.— Deuteronomy 32:47

How can you make the Bible real to your children? This is a question many Christian parents ponder. But there is another question that is more important – How do you make the Bible real to yourself?

Protected From the Heart

How can a young man keep his way pure?
  By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart;
  do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart
  that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:9-11

Our children need to be protected by God’s word when they sleep. We know this, at least in part, because Scripture promises it will offer protection while one is sleeping. By implication, those who do not seek the protection the Scriptures offer are vulnerable to spiritual attack during sleep. The question at the end of the last post was How do children acquire this protection? The verses above, from Psalm 119, are a good place to start.

A prayer at night on going to sleep

I lie down and sleep;
       I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. Psalm 3:5

O Lord God, who has given man the night for rest, as you have created a day in which he may employ himself in labor, grant, I pray, that my body may so rest during this night that my mind cease not to be awake to you, nor my heart faint or be overcome with apathy, preventing it from adhering steadfastly to the love of you. While laying aside my cares to relax and relieve my mind, may I not, in the meanwhile, forget you, nor may the remembrance of your goodness and grace, which ought always to be deeply engraved on my mind, escape my memory. In like manner, also, as the body rests may my conscience enjoy rest. Grant, moreover, that in taking sleep I may not give indulgence to the flesh, but only allow  myself as much as the weakness of this natural state requires, to my being able thereafter to be more alert in your service. Be pleased to keep me so chaste and unpolluted, not less in mind that in body, and safe from all dangers, that my sleep itself may turn to the glory of your name. But since this day has not passed away without my having in many ways offended you through my proneness to evil, in like manner as all things are now covered by the darkness of the night, so let everything that is sinful in me lie buried in your mercy. Hear me, O God, Father and Preserver, through Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.

This prayer is taken from a collection of prayers by John Calvin recorded in The Christian Life, edited by John H. Leith.  The short prayer can have a tremendous impact on families. In the next few posts we will examine this prayer as it applies to young children, teenagers and yes, even to parents. But for now, read it carefully and thoughtfully. Ask God to help this be your prayer as you prepare for a night’s sleep.

May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.

Fairness and Jesus Christ

…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  Matthew 20:28

Fairness is an unchallenged Goliath in the army of humanism. The modern days soldiers of humanism see the “fair” treatment of humans as an inalienable right of individuals, to the exclusion of the old notion that there is a God to whom man is accountable. The Humanist Manifesto mockingly scorns such notions. (See the Humanist Manifesto.) John Dewey and other important educational thinkers and psychologists had no use for the idea of obedience to a God who is no longer needed by an enlightened culture. These humanist thinkers have dominated educational philosophy for the last 100 years. In support of humanism, school textbooks have become increasingly politically correct. The educational texts of the early days of the American republic, such as McGuffy’s Readers or Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language spoke of a God to whom man is accountable and a Bible that was worth studying. Humanism and its advocates, such as Dewey and Piaget, openly scorn the Scriptures and God’s authority. They have exchanged the eternal truths of God for pragmatic lessons learned by observing children playing marbles. This is but one reason why the U.S. Supreme Court has gone from quoting Scripture in its decisions to blatantly rendering decisions that defy the Bible.

 

It’s Not Fair – part two

So the last will be first, and the first will be last.  Matthew 20:16

The modern concept of fairness is rooted in achieving justice. Biblically, however, both fairness and justice must be defined as doing things God’s way. From a Christian perspective, the only way to be fair is to apply God’s word accurately to a given situation. Is this the same thing as making sure each child gets the same number of minutes to play with a toy, or making sure that each child has the same number of toys to play with?  Not really.

In the last post we looked at the parable of the workers in the vineyard to gain a biblical perspective on the concept of fairness. I made the point that what is right or fair must be associated with what God wants rather than what we think is right or fair.

It’s Not Fair – part one

So the last will be first, and the first will be last. Matthew 20:16

In a recent post I identified fairness as a Goliath of humanism. The Goliath metaphor represents an idea or a practice so culturally accepted that it becomes a champion of conventional wisdom, even while standing in opposition to the truth of Scripture. So this metaphor represents concepts that are seemingly unchallengeable. There are several such modern day champions which challenge biblical truth. Humanism is the modern source of these champions, though the issues they represent are as old as sin. In the days ahead we will look at several of these humanist champions, these modern-day Goliaths. Let’s begin with fairness.