From “How to become a Christian”: Chapter 7 – The Ten Commandments – proof that you and I are sinners, not just other people
Are you a liar?
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour
Deuteronomy 5:20 (NIV)
Translated in more simple terms, this means ‘you shall not lie’. But have you ever told a lie? If you look at it frankly and try not to kid yourself, then you will accept that you have lied on many occasions. Human beings lie to each other daily at work, in their marriages, in their families and everywhere else. We do it both directly and indirectly. Lying and deception are endemic in all societies. But, if you have ever told a lie, even once, then you are ‘a liar’. Remember that according to the book of James, that makes you a lawbreaker across the board. However, the reality is that you have not lied just once, but countless times. I have too. You even lie to yourself. Our very hearts are crooked. Look how the prophet Jeremiah puts it:
The heart is deceitful above all things
Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV)
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
