"He who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness, deceit." - Proverbs 12:17
As a Pastor, I have often prayed that I might receive wisdom and insight from God regarding His will. Life, under the dominion of sin is complicated. In 1 Corinthians 13:12, the Apostle Paul says that we currently " see in a mirror, dimly", but offers the promise that we will see "face to face." In John 16:13, we find that the key to understanding a heavenly perspective is found in partnership with the Holy Spirit. I quote, "...when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth." Furthermore, Ephesians 6 reminds us that our battle is not "against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places"(Ephesians 6:12).
Recently, I was sharing with my grandkids that prayer, regarding life, is central to success, because it aligns our thoughts and actions with God who in covenant relationship assumes responsibility to fight against our enemies. This is helpful at a very practical level because our battle is a spiritual one in which we are doomed to failure should we attempt to fight in our own strength.
Herein lies the genius of today's text. Our verbal witness is to proclaim the rightness or righteousness of God because it is His will that the sin problem be dealt with in manner that is just and true. In other words, the sin problem must be resolved in a way that will ultimately vindicate God Himself, as the God of Love that He declares Himself to be in 1 John 4:8.
By our words, we establish our standing in the judgment on this issue. In Matthew 12:37 scripture states, "... by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” So, it is that our witness will either align with, and build the kingdom of Light, or fall short of God's will and detract or diminish the light of truth.
For myself, the central truth of the gospel is best understood in the context of Christ's atonement. Jesus, assumes many roles to help us to experience the fulness of salvation.
According to John 1:29, Christ is "the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world" and in 1 John 2:2, "He Himself is the propitiation (or atoning sacrifice) for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." It is in Jesus that we find hope and righteousness because it is through him that God gifts us eternal life. I remind you that"...the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"(Romans 6:23).
Of ourselves, because of sin, we have nothing whereby we can commend ourselves to God excepting our great need of redemption. In Isaiah 64:6, we find that "...all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." God, in His mercy and compassion "...has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. for He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust."(Psalm 103:10-14).
The book of Proverbs not only directs our thoughts and attention towards the will of God, but also asks us to reflect upon and to testify of His goodness. Why? Simply because our Heavenly Father's desire is for "all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth"(1 Timothy 2:4). He wants everyone to be aware of the issues concerning our redemption that we might intentionally choose life; Life in Christ. To this end, I pray that God will continue to lead us as we study.