Temptation and Scripture

I suppose everyone likes to hear something good about themselves once in a while, but one must be cautious about what he hears and what he allows to be said about himself. There is a time to encourage someone by telling them something good about themselves, and a time to hear something good about yourself as well. There is also a time for the devil to try to puff someone up with flattery, for the sake of seeing them fall. He loves to use that tool because there are so many willing recipients to it, and so few who will refuse and reprove it. The Bible has some serious things to be said on the subject: "For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue" (Psm. 5:8). It doesn't sound to me like flattery keeps very good company. That verse in fact shows that it is the wicked who practice the art of flattery, and they think nothing of it. But the spirit that is moving them thinks a whole lot of it, because it knows that anyone who receives and relishes flattery is going down, as the next scripture shows: "A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet" (Prov. 29:5). That simply means that the flatterer is putting something in the person's path to trip them. People can become so accustomed to giving and receiving 'the honor of men' that they even believe that they can apply it to God, and that he will be impressed by it: "Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant" (Psm. 78:36,37). Job declared that practicing the art of flattery, which is to say give honor to men, will have repercussions on one's children: "He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail" (Job 17:5). Someone who is prone to the flattering honor of men is obviously going to pass that spirit on to their children, which in turn will cause them to be spiritually blind to the reality of the fear of God, and to the love of God.

Jesus certainly understood the damage and detriment of receiving flattery, or the honor of men; and he knew that it was not of the love of God to do so: "I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you... How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?" (Jn. 5:41,42,44). He also practiced what he preached: "And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God" (Mat. 19:16,17). Some people flatter someone that should be receiving a rebuke, and even think that it is love to do so. While that may seem like a blessing at the moment, the result of it is not good: "He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue" (Prov. 28:23). Another proverb makes that point even more clearly: "He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him. But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them" (Prov. 24:24,25). A lot of folks feel that it is love to "not hurt someone's feelings" when they are in a fault, but the previous scriptures show clearly that it is a lie to think like that. So does this one, which incidentally is from Jesus: "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him" (Lk. 17:3). That my friend is the "love that covers the multitude of sins," for that is the love that GETS RID of someone's sins (I Pet. 4:8). The love of God that is manifested by rebuking sin, which Jesus spoke of, is the same love that James spoke of: "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins" (Jas. 5:19,20). To 'cover up' for someone's sin by letting it remain hiding in darkness, is not love at all; or at least not according to Jesus and the apostles.

Many do not understand this facet of the love of God, and do not WANT to understand it, because it is what draws persecution from those who refuse to receive reproof for their sins. They need to consider the powerful truth of the ancient proverb: "Open rebuke is better than secret love" (Prov. 27:5). Jesus said plainly that he was going to send his Spirit for that very purpose: "And when [the holy Ghost] is come, [it] will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (Jn. 16:8). And in regard to this the scripture is clear on who the true children of God are: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:14). The Spirit of God does NOT lead ANYONE to either give or receive the flattering honor of men, any more than it led Jesus to do so. It DOES however lead those who are led by it to REPROVE sin, especially when the sin is with brethren, as Jesus also stated. The crybabies who get their feelings hurt when reproved for their sins, will always pull out the "that's not love" card, or the "stop the hating" card. But as we have seen from overwhelming evidence of the scriptures, as well as from Jesus, that is a big fat lie. Anyone who wants to "attain unto the resurrection of the dead" had better get conditioned to being rebuked, because I assure you that a whole lot of it is on the way. God's going to have a people who literally "love not their lives unto the death," and they are going to singe this world along with the body of Christ with the rebuke of the prophets of old. And it will come by the broadest degree of the love of God that this world has ever seen. Those who condition themselves to flattery, whether in personal things or spiritual things, will call it 'hate,' and their love will wax cold (Mat. 24:12). The entire Bible shows that it is the wicked who hate righteous reproof, and that the righteous love it (Prov. 9:8; Prov. 13:18; Prov. 15:10,12,31,32; etc.). So let's get accustomed to calling love love, and to calling sin sin. It won't make you popular with men, but it will gain you favor with God. I think that's a pretty nice trade-off, if you ask me. God bless.