Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another (Eph 4:25).
"Image is everything." We've swallowed that lie hook, line and sinker. America is the land of image. The land of pretend. The land of make believe. We continually put up a front and pretend to be something we're not. We put on the mask of health, wealth and happiness to fool folks into thinking we've got our stuff in one little bag with a twist tie. But the truth is, we're horribly jacked up. Behind the image, there's pain. Behind the image, there's loneliness. Behind the image, there's brokenness. If you think this is some sort of 21st century phenomenon, you've got another thing coming.
Paul pleaded with his friends in Ephesus to stop managing their image and start being honest. "Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another" (v25). As followers of Jesus, it's time to take off the mask. As followers of Jesus, it's time to tell the truth. Or in the words of one famous TV psychologist, it's time to get real. Stop pretending. Stop playing a role. Stop putting up a false front. Lying divides. Truth unites.
It’s time to get real.
Paul begins with the assumption that folks who follow Jesus have already "put away falsehood" (v25). This should be a done deal. Do we really need to go over this again? He uses the same verb (Gr. apotithemi) as he did before when telling us to "put off our old self" (Eph 4:22). Throw away falsehood. Throw it as far away as you can. Chuck it. Give it the old heave ho. "Falsehood" is the Greek noun pseudos. Look familiar? It describes a lie, an untruth, an imitation or something fake. The apostle's not talking about unintentionally saying something that's untrue. This is a conscious effort to dupe someone. Deceit. You're selling pseudo-truth. You're peddling half-truth. Throw that mess in the garbage. Get rid of it. All of it. Pseudo-truth has absolutely no place among God's people.
It’s time to get real.
From his Roman prison cell, Paul wrote to the people in Colossae at the same time he wrote to the Ephesians. And, no surprise, the two notes share a lot of the same themes. Check this out for instance. "Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices" (Col 3:9). Yeah, I told you these epistles are a lot alike. But God has made it VERY clear from the beginning that lying is a sin. Hey, it made the Top Ten that He handed to Moses (Ex 20:16). It’s right up there with murder, idolatry and stealing. Why did lying crack the Top Ten? Well, consider who's the big daddy of deception. Satan is not only just any liar but the father of lies (Jn 8:44). And it will not end well for him or those who keep lying. Eventually they take a nasty swim in a lake of fire (Rev 21:8). Stop lying. Stop pretending.
It’s time to get real.
Lying is SO much more than intentionally saying something wrong. Stop exaggerating. Stop cheating. Stop making promises you can't keep. Stop betraying each other's confidence. Stop making excuses. Stop pretending to be someone or something you're not. Take off the mask. Get naked. Admit who you are. Confess your sin. When you bring that crap out into the light, it loses its power. And I think you'll be surprised to find out that you're not alone.
It’s time to get real.
Paul now moves from the negative to the positive. Once we have "put away falsehood" and taken off the mask, it's time to "let each one of you speak the truth" (v25). He's actually dropping a quote from Zech 8:16. The Greek word for truth (Gr. aletheia) also means what's real. Speak reality. Once the mask comes off, it's time to get real. Don't just stop lying, start telling the truth. Just up the page, the apostle encourages us to "speak truth in love" (Eph 4:15). Unvarnished truth without love can do a ton of damage. Speaking the truth in love is like using a velvet hammer.
Speaking reality to one another includes telling each other the truth about THE Truth (Jn 14:6). Jesus. We live in a society that preaches "you have your truth and I have my truth and everything is just unicorns and rainbows." There's just one problem with that so-called truth. IT'S NOT TRUE!!! Speaking truth means telling each other the truth about Jesus and our need for Him. The truth is that we need the One who is "Faithful and True" (Rev 19:11). That’s Truth with a capital "T." That's Jesus with a capital "J."
We need to stop lying and get real because "we are members of one another" (v25). In Christ, we now belong to each other like members of His body (Rom 12:5). Lying cuts us off from one another. Lying amputates. Lying dismembers. Lying separates. Lying divides. Truth heals. Truth reconciles. Truth unites. Jesus is bringing everyone together into His body. He's calling us to a supernatural unity in Him (Eph 4:3-4). One body of Christ. One faith in Him. One baptism of the Spirit. One heavenly Father. Jesus' goal is for us to be united in our faith in Him (Eph 4:13), eventually so interdependent upon Him and each other that we move as one (Eph 4:15-16). Lying tears all of that apart. Truth brings us together.
It’s time to get real.
So what do we do with this truth? How do we put the rubber to the road in real life? The best way is by being a member of a small group in your bigger church. Only in these smaller communities can you truly take off the mask. Only in these small groups can you truly speak the truth in love. Your small group needs to be a safe place where you can be the real you. Where I can be the real me. Where we can stop pretending. Where we can lovingly speak the truth to each other. Where we can stop managing our image.
It’s time to get real.
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