From the very beginning, the prophets of Israel and the witness of the Gospel remind us that justice cannot stand without truth. “These are the things you shall do: Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace” (Zechariah 8:16). To name injustice, to confront oppression, to defend the poor and marginalized…none of this can be done if we are content to live by lies.
Yet how often in our own day do we see “lying for Jesus” dressed up as righteousness? Scripture is clear: to lie is to break the commandment, “You shall not bear false witness.” To lie in God’s name is to break another: to take the Lord’s name in vain. To manipulate people’s faith for political gain or personal power is not an act of devotion but of desecration. It reveals not love for God, but contempt for the truth that sets us free.
Throughout history, people have distorted the Gospel to fit their own ends. Some misrepresent it to consolidate political power, others twist it to shield themselves from accountability, and still others wield it as a weapon against the very neighbors Christ commanded us to love. When religion is corrupted this way, the results are deadly. We see it in policies that scapegoat immigrants, in rhetoric that fans the flames of white nationalism, and today in Gaza, where the distortion of God’s word to justify violence against innocents leads not to peace, but to genocide.
The merging of politics and religion has always been a dangerous game. Jesus himself warned against it when he said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When faith is pressed into the service of political power, it ceases to serve God. It begins instead to sanctify human ambition, greed, and violence. The fruit of such a tree is plain: division, cruelty, corruption, and death.
We are called to examine the fruit of the trees we plant. Do our words and actions bring peace, mercy, and justice? Or do they yield bitterness and destruction? The truth is that the Spirit of God cannot be advanced by lies. To proclaim Christ while distorting his message is to betray him all over again.
If we want to walk the way of justice, we must begin with truth. Even when it is uncomfortable, even when it challenges the powers of our day, even when it costs us. Anything less is manipulation. Anything less is sin. But when we speak the truth in love, we align ourselves with the prophets, with the Gospel, and with Christ himself… the Word of God, in whom there is no deceit.
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