Series: The Judged
Message: Questions
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Mark Witas
Live Wonder: Jessyka Albert
Live Adventure: Jessyka Albert
Live Purpose: Kyle Smith
Editor: Becky De Oliveira

Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.

Read: Romans 3:1-8 in the English Standard Version (ESV). Note 1–3 insights or questions. 

Reflect: Lying is in our DNA. At least I think it is. I’m convinced that as science gets closer and closer to unravelling our genetic codes, some doctor in Switzerland is going to discover the liar gene.

I remember the first time I lied. Well, I remember the first time I realized I was lying. I had to have been between two and three years old. An ice cream truck would regularly make its way through my neighborhood in West Covina, California, and I would stand at the edge of the driveway waiting for it to pass by. Each time this happened, the truck would stop and my dad would buy me an ice cream. Somehow, I must have got my timing wrong on this particular day, and while looking for the ice cream truck, I ended up wandering down the neighborhood streets until I got hopelessly lost and ended up in a café. There was a policeman eating lunch at the counter, and I muttered something about ice cream. The policeman put some change on the counter and the nice man behind the counter gave me an ice cream cone. Problem solved.

I left the café (I can’t believe these adults didn’t take me into custody and help me find my parents!) without a care in the world. I walked along and licked my strawberry ice cream until I saw that I was miraculously in front of my house again. I had gotten away with breaking one of my dad’s rules (Don’t leave the yard alone!) and had been rewarded for the effort!

As I walked toward the front door, my dad (who was outside working on his car) saw me and said, “Hey, where’d you get the ice cream?”

My synapses started firing and my genetic predisposition toward lying took over. My little three-year-old mouth said, “Deloris gave it to me.” Deloris was our next door neighbor who often babysat me. I lied. For the first time in my little life, I lied.

As soon as I lied, the guilt hit me. I’ve just deceived my dad. What had I become? Guilt flooded my body. I dropped the ice cream cone on the driveway and I ran to my mom, crying and confessing my sin.

When the Bible says, “Let God be true and let every man be a liar,” it’s not lying. Jesus said that He is the way, the truth, and the life. Ultimate truth lies in God. He always tells the truth and He always sees the truth. That’s what makes Him so able to judge fairly. And it’s why we aren’t supposed to judge others. We only see situations from our slanted point of view. We are so susceptible to deception that sometimes we can be convinced of a “truth” that isn’t even close to 100% true.

Have you ever found that something you believed to be true wasn’t as true as you thought it was? Have you ever had your mind changed?

Recalibrate: Is it ever OK to lie? When would that be?

Respond: Pray that God will give you the courage to always speak truth.

Research: Read this article on humans and lying.

Remember: “God keeps His word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth” (Romans 3:3, MSG).

Mark Witas is the lead pastor at Pacific Union College Church in Angwin, CA. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Mark has served as a youth pastor, Bible teacher, college and academy chaplain, and lead pastor in the United States and Canada for the last 33 years. He has also authored four books: Born Chosen, Live Out Loud, Portals, and Just Jesus.

Discuss (maybe even with your child) how you deal with punishment in your family. Talk about how punishment is something that is not done out of anger, but out of love. Pray and ask God to show you how to care for others in a way that is loving.

Have you ever done something bad and been in trouble with your parents? What happened? Did you have to go to time out? Maybe you didn’t get any desserts or sweets that day. Why do you think your parents punish you when you do something wrong? Do you think they want to do it? God wants to give us grace when we do things wrong. Why do you think this is?

Is there anything you really don’t like doing? I am not a fan of doing dishes. I tend to have a problem with coming up with excuses as for why I can “put off” doing them. I’m not sure if you are picking up on this, but in Romans 3 Paul is addressing those who make excuses for why their sinning is OK in the sight of God. He lists the arguments they use, and he is trying to make us familiar with them. Have you ever cherished a sin and have struggled to give it up? I have! It can be easy to come up with excuses, but Jesus is calling us to something deeper. What sin do you need to give to Jesus today?