Perhaps we realize why we put such an emphasis on the truth last week and in Bible study. The world serves the lie 1st, denying God and elevating themselves over the neighbor. But, the lie also is found in the Church and James says that ought NOT to be. It is because we are still in the flesh. But we are called to control our members and God knows we need to be warned in this regard. We must love the TRUTH, confess it, speak it, and control the little member that is able to cause great disaster.

We are distinguished from creation in that we are able to fellowship and communicate with each other, but more than that....we can communicate with the Living God! We are able to do that with that little member in order to have fellowship with Him and to serve Him! We can speak and confess in our office of all believers. It is a beautiful thing by creation...but what went wrong? In the fall God's gifts were turned into the opposite and it now is full of the lie and "man sets himself against the heavens" enslaved to the lie. The lie runs rampant in the world, but you and I are called to task!

We too have a problem with the lie and controlling our tongue with the flesh coming to the fore. This Lord's day expands in practicalities. Back biting, slander, condemning a man, falsifying and/or resting a man's words, and the list goes on. It now gives us much to talk about in regards to OURSELVES! Actions and gestures that speak falsely, slander and backbiting the neighbor even though they may be true and we say them in a nice way while the damage to him or her is done. And these things we find in the Church and we all stand condemned! We are called to subject our member to the new man in Christ as is fitting our office. We often too judge un-rashly, not knowing, never having talked about, or speaking of another while we have not even heard from them. How can we be "tapped into" Christ, yet have the lie in our mouths? It cannot be, except for the flesh and our words MUST BE FACT and be REALITY! We must walk in truth, seek it, and yes even speak it in love. It needs to be the truth of God concerning God, the neighbor, redemption, EVERYTHING! We live in a world of palaginism that does not believe in total depravity and we are called to speak the truth in love (for God and the neighbor) in everything we say! If you speak for the neighbor....build him up!

Before we speak, we must ask ourselves if it shows God's love or does it have our own motivation?! Then we will speak or we will hold back. Speak the truth and speak it in love! We must honor, promote (here's one you don't see happening in the me, myself, and I world today,) and defend our neighbor. Defense only comes when we are assulted and we must defend each other with the TRUTH! Honor one another (if we don't we won't speak nicely about each other.) It brings the wrath of God upon us. It can set on fire of hell and we are spent and consumed of one another.....how far from the posative that we live in fellowship/communion with God and one another?!