Double Down on Falsehood?
From 1 Timothy 1 – 1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,
2 Timothy, a true son in the faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia – remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is faith.
5 now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some have strayed and turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for the righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the unholy and the profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manlayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers
A close contender for my twice-a-month purchase on Audible was the biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson emblazoned with the captivating title A Mind on Fire. I suspect part of the reason why his mind continued aflame and did not consume itself was his avowed commitment to continual re-examination. A foolish consistency, he extolled, is the hobgoblin of little minds. State today's position strongly, he insisted, and if life changes our minds, state tomorrow's position strongly as well.
Paul lists for Timothy and for us that the alternative to a re-examination of our convictions is the very definition of unrighteousness. We act in ugly fashion, Paul narrates, because lies accompany our thinking as a seductive soundtrack. Paul then pairs such lies which we may pass off as a joke, a distraction, a result of fatigue, or a moment of pique, with perjury. There comes a time, the Holy Spirit insists through him, when we double down on sentiments contrary to Scripture simply because we have gotten used to them, because we are anxious about what the alternative will require, or because we have attested to them before men.
There is a perjury more frightening than changing our minds, however. Christ says we will be accountable for our every idle word before Him. What HE swears will stand fast. He will not perjure His assertion that His Word will remain forever. Where today convicts us that we have thought or spoken falsely, His mercy that is new this morning is another breath, a fresh perspective from which to repent rather than tighten our grip on what we now know to be false.
2 Timothy, a true son in the faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia – remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is faith.
5 now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some have strayed and turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for the righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the unholy and the profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manlayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers
A close contender for my twice-a-month purchase on Audible was the biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson emblazoned with the captivating title A Mind on Fire. I suspect part of the reason why his mind continued aflame and did not consume itself was his avowed commitment to continual re-examination. A foolish consistency, he extolled, is the hobgoblin of little minds. State today's position strongly, he insisted, and if life changes our minds, state tomorrow's position strongly as well.
Paul lists for Timothy and for us that the alternative to a re-examination of our convictions is the very definition of unrighteousness. We act in ugly fashion, Paul narrates, because lies accompany our thinking as a seductive soundtrack. Paul then pairs such lies which we may pass off as a joke, a distraction, a result of fatigue, or a moment of pique, with perjury. There comes a time, the Holy Spirit insists through him, when we double down on sentiments contrary to Scripture simply because we have gotten used to them, because we are anxious about what the alternative will require, or because we have attested to them before men.
There is a perjury more frightening than changing our minds, however. Christ says we will be accountable for our every idle word before Him. What HE swears will stand fast. He will not perjure His assertion that His Word will remain forever. Where today convicts us that we have thought or spoken falsely, His mercy that is new this morning is another breath, a fresh perspective from which to repent rather than tighten our grip on what we now know to be false.
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