Truth is a Witness of the Spirit

Scandal broke on the Washington, D. C. establishment. We sang psalms in worship, as is our practice. There was a repeated emphasis regarding judgment of the liar, hatred for the deceitful, and the silencing of those who swear falsely. Psalm Selection 5A, "Evil doers Thou dost hate; Liars Thou wilt bring to naught." The Psalmist declares, "Thy precepts understanding give; I therefore hate deceit" (Psalm Selection 119M). "But the mouth will be made to stop of those who declare a lie" (Psalm Selection 63B).

As we sang these and other Psalms, I asked myself as I looked at several visitors in our congregation, "Will these people think we have it in for the President of the United States and are improperly entering the political realm?" The answer to my own question immediately followed. We are not intoning against the President. If there are indictments made against the conduct of political officials, they are charges leveled by God through Scripture. It is good for us to sing of these indictments against sin and sinners, to testify in song against lying, deceit, and perjury, to have the concepts of Scripture worked into our minds and hearts.

The New Testament echoes the Psalter. With regard to the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:27 proclaims, "Nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." Revelation 21:8 declares, "The cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

Why this judgment against liars? Jesus explains. He upbraids those who claimed Abraham as their father. "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). The devil is a murderer and a liar. He therefore does what comes naturally. He murders and lies. Men and women manifest their spiritual parentage. They lie. They practice lying. They openly show they are children of the devil headed not for heaven but for hell.

New birth is necessary. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. He guides us to a proper understanding of Christ. "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me" (John 15:26). The work of the Spirit is to set forth the truth concerning Christ. The Spirit of Truth also leads us into a proper understanding of the truth set forth in Scripture. "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13). The truth here is Scripture. Jesus affirms this in John 17:17, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth."

I had the privilege of attending and graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point. There is a code of honor at that institution: A Cadet shall not lie, cheat, or steal or condone the same. Anyone violating this code by cheating on an exam, stealing the property of a fellow-cadet, or lying about anything, no matter how trivial, is subject to dismissal. Lying always has consequences. Truthfulness is a mark of a disciple of Jesus Christ.