Lying is Sinful!!!

There are many sins of the tongue. Cursing, hateful speech, railing, ridicule, foolish talk, or jesting, blasphemy, murmuring, and gossip. The idle speech that one utters can bring about the loss of the soul. "And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment (Matt. 12:36). The teaching of Jesus here is that we need to be careful of the things we say, because things said carelessly might condemn us eternally.

Lying is a sin of the tongue that condemns the liar. "But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and

all liars,

their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8). Perhaps no sin is so closely associated with the character of Satan. Jesus told the disbelieving Jews, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof" (John 8:44). It was by the lie that Satan brought sin into the world. "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ" (2 Cor. 11:3). And Satan does all he can to encourage his followers to lie as well. In Acts 5 we read of the deception of Ananias and Sapphira, how that they lied about how much they sold their land for. "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?" (Acts 5:3). And Paul confronted Elymas of Cypress for the doctrinal lies he uttered, "O full of all guile and all villany, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?" (Acts 13:10).

We are warned the the disciples of Satan use deceit primarily to accomplish their work. "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works" (2 Cor. 11:13-15).

A great tragedy concerning the workers of Satan, is that the first person they deceive is often themselves. "But evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Tim. 3:13).

There are any number of reasons one might lie, and none of them are justified before the Lord. The purpose of lying is to deceive, to give the wrong impression. Very little good has ever been gained by hiding the truth, and that imagined good is always offset by the evil of the lie.

Sometimes lies are told to hurt, sometimes to protect the supposed interests of the liar. Some justify the lie in order to "spare the pain" of telling someone else the truth. Someone told me recently that the purpose of his deception (he refused to admit the word "lie," though he did admit to "misleading," or "giving the wrong impression") because the truth was none of the lied to’s business. Why not say then, "I would rather not tell you, it is none of your business." Would not that be preferable to lying. John said

Solomon said, "There are six things which Jehovah hateth; Yea, seven which are an abomination unto him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood; A heart that deviseth wicked purposes, Feet that are swift in running to mischief, A false witness that uttereth lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren (Prov. 6:16-19).

There are several ways that lying might be perpetrated. But the intent is to deceive. One might even tell the truth in such a way as to give the wrong impression. What has he done? He has lied, just as Satan often used the truth to deceive and lie. But God will not have the lie or the liar in heaven. "Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie" (Rev 22:15).

Beloved, we should be given to the truth, so much so, that all can trust our word and our handshake. Jesus said as much when he decried the necessity of some to swear they were telling the truth. "But let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: and whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one (Matt. 5:37). Our reputation should be such that we don’t have to swear.

Consider these passages, if you will:

"The mouth of the righteous bringeth forth wisdom; But the perverse tongue shall be cut off. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable; But the mouth of the wicked speaketh perverseness" (Prov. 10:31-32).

"For thine iniquity teacheth thy mouth, And thou choosest the tongue of the crafty" (Job 15:5).

"Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait for him" (Jer. 9:8).

"Lying lips are an abomination to Jehovah; But they that deal truly are his delight" (Prov. 12:22).

"Thou wilt destroy them that speak lies: Jehovah abhorreth the blood-thirsty and deceitful man" (Psa. 5:6).