Let's Be Honest

Book: James

Context:

Written to Jewish Christians 15 years after Jesus Resurrection

Text: James 5:13-18

Teaching:

If you’re suffering… pray. (v13a)

CSB Study Bible: Notes Chapter 5

not a reference to physical illness; it is instead a spiritual burden caused by misfortune or poor choices.

Poor choices

Doing things that you just know are wrong

Disobeying your parents rules

Misfortune

The consequences of your actions.

If you’re cheerful… praise. (v13b)

If you’re sick… call the elders… pray. (v14)

The prayer offer in faith will restore the one who is sick (v15)

CSB Study Bible: Notes Chapter 5

Prayer is not a magical incantation or a guarantee of healing, but when offered fervently by a righteous person, God will respond in a way that best fits his good purposes.

Confess your sins to one another. (v16)

What’s the power of confessing to others the places we fall short?

I want to focus on how we lie to each other and how this keeps us from healing.

What role does honesty play in God healing our hearts?

When we say that everything is "fine", we are lying to our church family. We should be honest in how we are doing, so that people can help bear our burdens. All you get by saying “fine” is more time carrying your burden by yourself.

We lie to ourselves, each other, and to God. Lying comes from a heart that is ruled by evil motives. Self-protection, self-image, etc. It leads to our destruction! When we're honest with ourselves, each other and God, we are living in truth.

HONESTY Definition: A virtue that entails being devoted to truth and truthfulness. As a virtue, honesty gives rise both to pursuing truth (intellectual honesty) and being truthful in relationships with others (moral honesty). Christian ethics adds an additional dimension, that of “being in the truth,” a concept that suggests that honesty can refer to a person’s entire existence.

Book: Proverbs

CONTEXT

Proverbs are short truth nuggets about humans

Written 1000 years before Christ.

Wisdom comes from the fear of the Lord Proverbs 1:7

Text: Proverbs 6:16-17, 19

Teaching:

6 Things God Hates

Not only 6 things… this list isn’t the complete list

The strong word ‘hate’ is used to make the point of the Lord’s attitude.

He doesn’t hate the people who do these things, rather the ways the wicked choose to live.

1 of the Six Things are Lying (and it’s mentioned twice)

Scriptures clear that lying is a sin, but it’s also clear what will happen to those who lie

Proverbs 21:28 - ‘a false witness will perish’

Scripture is also clear on what will happen to the one who tells the truth

Proverbs 12:19 - ‘truthful lips will be established forever’

Point: God hates lying.

But why?

Lies are the opposite of God’s nature. Titus 1:2

Point: God hates lying.

Point: Self-preservation will in end self-destruction.

Point: When we are honest about who we really are (doubts, sins, struggles, etc.), we will experience the God's healing that comes through community.

Gospel:God showed his love on the cross and made a way for us to find healing! We can't keep living in lies. The Truth (Jesus Christ) will set you free, all you have to do is believe and trust in Him.

Takeaways

We are people who go through real challenges.

The only way to be a real person, is to be real with the people around you.

We need real solutions to our real problems.

Our God is real, really loves us, and has real solutions to life’s real problems.