An Honest Person Luke 8 :15 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
There are several passages in the Bible that deal with honesty. Today we want to concentrate on just three of these because they are so important to your life. In order to be an honest person you need to have:
An honest heart – Lk 8:15 – you can’t be an honest person without an honest heart – we went to the sea wall today after the nursing home and lunch to pass out tracts – I was telling the young men afterwards about some good visits I have had out there in the past – the people who really receive the word are the people who listen with an honest heart – you can tell because they respond normally and truthfully to the preaching – these folks are the ones who usually get saved in time – and after you get saved, you need to have an honest heart for the word to bring forth fruit in your life – you must be honest with the word – since the heart is deceitful and human nature does not deal honestly with God’s word you must agree with God when he points out your true condition and standing before him – otherwise you are a hypocrite.
Honest thoughts – Phil 4:8 – you cannot be an honest person without honest thoughts about yourself – you need to identify in yourself your true motive [ambition], your true assessment [pride], your true affections [world or heaven], your true spirit [bitter or happy] – there is a committee inside of your head made up of me, myself and I – every member of that committee is a lying dog – do you know how you know? Because every time you consult with them, they give you ideas about how to respond in certain situations to certain people and the conversations always turn out differently than they led you to believe – lying dogs – they are not honest!!
Honest conversation – 1 Pet 2:12 you cannot be an honest person without honest conversation – conversation refers not only to the words you speak but also to your behavior – you are not honest it you pretend to be something that you aren’t – to use spiritual words and to portray a spiritual demeanor in order to make yourself seem spiritual when, in fact, you are very carnal is dishonest – you just need to be who you are and not what you want people to think you are.
Conclusion: for the word of God to bear fruit in your life your heart needs to be honest with the words of God – when it is, the word of God will produce honest thoughts in your mind which will lead to honest conversation in your life and you will become an honest person.