Lesson No. 17 

Lesson No. 17 Truthfulness Concerning this moral attribute of God, the Holy Scriptures also contain abundant references. As examples, let us consider the following:

Numbers chapter 23: verse 19: “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”. 51

John chapter 17: verse 17: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth”.51

Jeremiah chapter 10: verse 10: “But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation”.51

Deuteronomy chapter 32: verse 4: “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he”.51

Truthfulness, like all others, is an attribute that God possesses to perfection. This virtue is what makes all His judgments accurate and everything He says undeniable, thus making it impossible for Him to lie.

The consideration of this attribute of the Divine Creator produces in His faithful believers a profound sense of joy and security, knowing that He neither lies nor is mistaken.

Why does the human being often lie? Lying is a means of deception used by people for various reasons; among them, we will consider the main ones so that through detailed analysis, we can understand why God never lies. Let us compare the disposition of humans and God in such circumstances, according to the following points:

a) Man: A human lies when they want to claim rights that do not belong to them.

a) God: God is the owner of the entire universe, and with His knowledge and infinite power, He can satisfy all His desires without needing to deceive anyone for it. Being God, the Creator of everything that exists, everything belongs to Him; thus, He will in no way want to claim rights that do not belong to Him. He is worthy of all honor and all glory.

b) Man: To evade duties that he is supposed to fulfill.

b) God: We already know how God, in His infinite goodness, acts towards His creatures and how He exercises His justice with humans, as His Holy Word says in Matthew chapter 5: verse 45: …He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.51

Therefore, we cannot at any time think that God wants to evade any of His duties towards His creatures.

c) Man: To conceal their bad behavior from others.

c) God: Being holy and perfect, an impeccable example of morality, who teaches us and corrects our behavior through His Holy Word, we cannot accept, therefore, that He has anything to conceal about His conduct.

d) Man: People often lie with no ill-intentioned purpose, but to omit or alter bad news that could affect someone at an inappropriate time or simply not to share their private or family matters with others, etc., that are not everyone's business.

d) God: Regarding this concept about lying, God says things when He knows He should say them, and when not, He remains silent, despite how much we plead. Therefore, in this case, God does not need to lie either.

e) Man: At other times, a person lies to avoid punishment or sanction intended for them, and even though the penalty is the just retribution for their deeds, the person lies to evade it.

e) God: Finally, being eternally just and holy, our perfect example of morality, it is inconceivable that He could commit any crime. He is the King of the universe, the Supreme Creator, omniscient and omnipotent, and no one can impose any kind of repression against Him. Therefore, He has absolutely nothing to fear.

Thus, it is proven that God has no reason to lie.

Humans often also fail regarding truthfulness when they make mistakes. Sometimes people make promises based on projects that do not turn out as they conceived, as they generally do not know the arbitrariness of the future and fail in their plans without being able to fulfill what was promised, no matter how good and noble their intentions were.

God, however, has unlimited power to do everything He desires and infinite and perfect knowledge of all things, including discernment of future events, making it impossible for Him to make mistakes.

Therefore, the undeniable fulfillment of divine promises can be deduced from the truthfulness of God.

We conclude, convinced that God's word is true, whether it refers to the present, the past, or the future.

The truthfulness of God encompasses His fidelity and includes, therefore, the fulfillment of His promises and the execution of His warnings.