Yes, Yes. No, No

Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, so that with me there will be yes, yes and no, no at the same time? But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no. For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him. For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

2 Corinthians 1:17-20 NAS95

For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.

Romans 7:15-16 KJV

Confused? Paul the apostle was the master of what almost sounds like doublespeak. Check out those verses from Romans 7:15, 16. I purposely chose the KJV here because it is some of the toughest to read. When we dissect either passage they make sense, however, I am only interested in the Corinthians passage today. Paul is saying to the Corinthian church something my dad used to say to us kids, “I said what I meant, and I meant what I said.” That usually preceded a whooping. Paul is in no way suggesting a whooping, he is simply ratifying his previous teaching. We were plain and clear, and that is the way it is. Silvanus and Timothy preached the same things and they are the promises of God and they stand true. There are no maybe’s here. It is yes and no. Black and White.

Have you ever bought something that said one thing but in the fine print virtually everything promised in the advertisement was negated by the disclosures? A couple of years ago I saw an ad for a prescription medication that said they had greater than a 90% success rate. The ads promised a cure for a condition I had and needed treatment for or surgery to correct. I tried the medication, twice. It only made the situation worse. So I began to investigate the claims and disclaimers.

The fine print disclosed that the medicine was effective in less than 50% of all cases and that the 90% rate was determined by those who benefited from the medication, and stayed on the medication for at least 4 months, (or something like that). The efficacy of the drug did diminish with time, so the final result of those who stayed on the medication full-time and were helped by the medication was something in the 70% range. Not 70% of those who used the medicine, but 70% of those who were initially helped by the medicine. The bottom line was about 38% of those who tried the medicine got help, not the plus 90% the advertising said.

It was a typical case of doublespeak. Saying one thing when another is the truth. It happens all the time in advertising, politics, and even in the hiring of employees. You will be hard-pressed to find any medical professional that will tell you that you will have a specific outcome if you do a specific thing. Honestly, I would be afraid if they did. Just about the only truthful medical advice they can give is that one day you will die. Unless we figure out how to live forever. Not because they are bad doctors and nurses, but because there are too many variables.

Paul, the Apostle, gave the Corinthians the formula to live forever. It is salvation in Christ Jesus. No disclaimers other than if you choose not to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior you will die an eternal death. In this passage he is simply saying, we told it to you, we were not lying, we were not double-speaking, we were not wavering, we gave it to you straight, simple, and truthfully.

So here is the challenge. Are you truthful in what you say you will do? I saw a great little meme today, it reads “I had a lot of stuff to do today, Now I have a lot of stuff to do tomorrow.” Somedays I have too much to do so I do have things carry over to another day. But what about the promise you made to your boss, employee, customer, client, children, or spouse? Did you follow through? Yesterday the day got away from me and I wore out before I did the shopping with my wife that I said I would do. I promised today I would do it. I did it!

In the days ahead, and I happen to be writing this October 30th, (and the same is true just about every year) there will be lots of people promising a lot of things. Look at their track record. Is their yes, yes and their no, no? In the last few days, the Prime Minister of England had to resign because her yes was not yes.

The bottom line is this:

"God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

Numbers 23:19 NAS95

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:8 NAS95

I really cannot say it any better than how these verses say it. When God has said it and it is settled in heaven and earth. Paul was trying to clearly state he had told them the truth of God’s word and there was no wishy-washiness in his letter.

If someone is writing the story of your life, what would they say about you? Would that say you were always truthful? Would they say you kept your word? Mark’s dad had just passed away. He turned to me and said, “he never lied to me.” What a testament to his dad. Will your family say the same about you? Is your yes, yes, and your no, no?

I hope the next time your yes is no or no is yes you will think about Paul. Have a blessed day.