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What Is Needed: Intellectual Honesty Introduction:
Honesty is to be admired and dishonesty is to be rejected and despised. Our God
is the God of knowledge, I Samuel 2.3.
He is the God of truth, Psalm 31.5.
Dishonesty is rampant in our world. People admit to often lying, stealing
cheating, etc. Honesty is essential to being godly. I)
The Virtue of Honesty A)
Leviticus 19.36 1.
we are to have “honest weights” in business dealings 2.
Remember the famous statement by George Washington, “I can not tell a lie, I
chopped down the cherry tree.” B)
Dishonesty is condemned 1.
Proverbs 11.1 dishonest scales is
used to represent just one area of dishonesty. 2.
A person that is dishonest in one area will have trouble being honest in another
area of their life. 3.
“Me, I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be
dishonest." – Jack Sparrow C)
Intellectual honesty 1.
Speaks on how we reason and the way we reason. 2.
No double standard, or hypocrisy; desiring to be consistent, uniform principles
should be applied. 3.
David acknowledged his sin against God without trying to justify himself, 2
Samuel 12.13
a. Right is right no matter who we are talking about.
b. An honest person may do something wrong but they will
acknowledge their wrong and repent. D)
Intellectual dishonest 1.
We accept a lie in place of the truth while pretending to want the truth.
a. Purposeful ignorance
b. Neglecting the truth so as to believe a lie 2.
a. Isaiah 30.8-10 tell us God’s word as long as it tells us we are
fine
b. Jeremiah 5.31 speaks of false teachers being desired and truthful
teachers being despised. Later one they said “peace, peace, where
there is no peace.” II)
Examples of Intellectual Dishonesty In the Bible A)
The Jews 1.
Jesus points out their dishonesty in how they treated John and them Him, Luke
7.31-34 2.
They would not confess Christ, John 12.42 B)
Claiming to love God and not keep His commandments 1.
1 John 5.3 if we truly love God we
will keep His commandments 2.
Not keeping His commandments means we do not love Him.
a. Don’t tell me you love God and then forsake His assembly
b. Don’t tell me you love God and then live an immoral life C)
Claiming to love God and not loving one’s neighbor 1.
1 John 2.9-10; 1 John 3.10-11 and 1 John
4.20-21 2.
One can not love God and hate or despise his fellow man. 3.
Of the 10 commandments, 6 dealt with man’s relationship to his fellow man.
a. One can not say I love my neighbor and lie about him.
b. One can not say I love my God and then covet his neighbor’s wife
c. One can not say I love my brother and then bear false witness, etc III)
Modern Day Examples of Intellectual Dishonesty in Religion Today A)
Talk about “man’s sinful nature” and then tell people to repent 1.
The fundamental doctrine of most denominations today is Calvinism. It says that
man is totally depraved and wholly given over to do evil.
a. If such is true then man is helpless and incapable of ever
repenting.
b. Some will argue that God changes man through the Holy Spirit, if such
is true then man is saved without the Gospel of Christ. 2.
The Bible teaches that man is saved through the Gospel of Christ, Romans 1.16.
a. The apostles preached and told people to repent and be saved, Acts
2.40-41.
b. We are told to add to our faith,
2 Peter 1.5ff. B)
Can not say one church is as good as another 1.
Commonly said today it does not matter where you go to worship God.
a. Resulting in religious division, John
17.20-21
b. Many will say the above but they act as if it does matter. Talk to a
Baptist about leaving their church and goes to another church. 2.
Different churches exist because they are different from others. They have
different doctrines or salvation, worship, etc.
a. They may all be wrong but they can not all be right.
b. The only right religion is one pleasing to God 3.
Which one is right?
a. The one established by Jesus, Matthew
16.18.
b. The one with Jesus as its head and foundation, Colossians
1.18; 1 Corinthians 3.11 4.
Any church not established by Jesus or has Him as its head and foundation is not
right. C)
One can not say one religion is as good as another and say they believe the
Bible to be the word of God 1.
The Bible will not lead one to be a Muslim, or a Buddhist, or a follower on
Confucius
a. We read of many different types of religion in the Bible.
b. Idols were worshipped and condemned 2.
The Bible will lead one to acknowledge the one and only true God, Jeremiah 10.10 3.
Three times in the New Testament when one reads of the “true God” they read
of the Son of God, John 17.3; 1 Thess.
1.9-10; 1 John 5.20 D)
One can not claim to be a Christian and not keep His word 1.
Many claim to be a Christian but then live an immoral lifestyle, they neglect
the assembly of the saints, do not read His word, and are nothing more than
worldly. Luke 6.42 2.
Christians are followers of Christ. Just ask yourself, is this what Jesus would
do?
a. Would Jesus be sexually immoral? 1
Corinthians 6.15
b. Would Jesus take drugs, get drunk, use profanity? Romans
6.8-14 Conclusion: You may disagree with me about what is right but you have to agree that there is one way to God and that is through Jesus, John 14.6. An honest person will strive to do what is right and obey God. A dishonest person will reject or neglect the truth. Which are you? -- Dennis Tucker |