Xmas And The Sum Of All Fears

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Although Gentiles aren't contracted with God to comply with the covenant that Yhvh's people agreed upon with Him as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; it's useful for revealing God's feelings about certain kinds of behavior; for example:

Lev 19:11 . . You shall not deal falsely, nor lie to one another.

Once a Gentile is made aware that their maker disapproves of dishonesty, henceforth they get in hot water every time they're less than truthful because God is lenient with uninformed liars but has little patience with scofflaws.

Num 15:30-31 . .The person, be he citizen or stranger, who acts defiantly reviles the Lord; that person shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has spurned the word of the Lord and violated His commandment, that person shall be cut off-- he bears his guilt.

So; what might "cut off" amount to? Well; for one: no liar will be allowed entrance to the holy city.

Rev 21:27 . . No one who practices lying shall ever come into it

Rev 22:14-15 . . Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are whoever loves and practices a lie.

The Bible's task then; is to instill fear in dishonesty, and make liars aware that if they opt to take their chances, and stand before God to be judged on their own merits; that they haven't the slightest, slimmest possibility of coming away unscathed. It's a 110% forgone conclusion that they will come away dead.

Rev 21:8 . . All liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

I am willing to bet that nobody can get through the day without dishonesty-- we need dishonesty, we have to have dishonesty or interactions with our friends, with strangers, with associates, with superiors and loved ones would be very strained indeed. It is just humanly impossible to be honest all the time. I would even go so far as to say that in the world in which we live; it's not smart to be 110% honest all the time; viz: "Honesty is the best policy" just isn't true; not in the world we live in anyway; which is a bit of a catch-22.

Q: Why does everyone find it so easy to lie?

A: Because human beings are natural-born liars.

Ps 58:3 . . The wicked are estranged from the womb; these who speak lies go astray from birth.

That's an interesting statement. It's saying-- in so many words --that although infants are too young to lie; they are born with a proclivity to lie; i.e. a natural predilection, and that's what makes them wicked because that inborn inclination to lie is in them and will eventually have its way with them.

Q: How are people supposed to obey that commandment seeing as how we're all natural-born liars?

A: Nobody can, it's impossible.

Jer 13:23 . . Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are accustomed to doing evil.

Well; the Bible's goal is not only to frighten liars and make them nervous; but also to show them the God-given way out of their predicament.

On the night Jesus was born, a heavenly messenger made the following announcement:

Luke 2:10 . . Don't be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

The cross' first and foremost purpose was to satisfy justice for all kinds of sin, including dishonesty. That right there should make liars breathe a little easier in respect to the sum of all fears.

1John 2:2 . . He himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

Isa 53:6 . . All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him.

FYI: The June 2017 issue of National Geographic magazine contains a very interesting article titled: Why We Lie. There's actually been studies done about this.

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