Demolishing Strongholds: Lies Series

Opening illustration: Play the video: “Ananias and Saphira”

Let’s check out the stats on “LYING” published in USA Today …

Introduction: The preceding text builds on what Paul has been saying about the new life we have been given in Jesus. Since the old man of sin has been “put off,” v. 22, since the mind has been “renewed,” v. 23, and since the “new man,” has been put on, v. 24, the child of God is expected to life a transformed life. I would remind you that the putting off of the old man, the renewing of the mind, and the putting on of the new man, are events that took place in our lives when we were born again.

Defining Lying ...

The Greek word used for lying here is pseudos. It means false, or that which is other than the truth. We all have heard of a pseudonym, which means a name other than your real one – or a false name. Pseudos – a lie. Here, the word pseudos is translated as lying. Now we all think we know what a lie is, but we need to be careful.

(A) What is the fruit of lying? (v. 25)

1. Lying Causes Disunity

Paul says we are members of one another. When you lie to another Christian, you are actually lying to yourself, because we are all part of the Body of Christ. Now think about it. What would happen if certain parts of your body started lying to the rest of the parts of your body? Chaos would result, right? The hand can’t do anything without the eyes and the nerves. But what if the eyes and the nerves decided to tell the hand that there was a big juicy hamburger in it – when there really wasn’t? The hand would try to bring the hamburger to the mouth, but the mouth would refuse to open, because maybe it wasn’t being lied to. But if the mouth was being lied to as well, then it would try to eat a hamburger that wasn’t there, and the end result would be starvation … or the eating of the hand. Self-cannibalism.

We, as Christians, as members of the body of Christ, if we lie to one another, we will become the spiritually insane. So that’s the reason Paul gives, and considering the topic of his letter to the Ephesians –what the church is, and what the church is supposed to be and do, it makes sense that he provides this reason.

2. Lying is the Sin that Began it All

It was through lying Adam and Eve sinned in the first place. They were told just one little lie. In Genesis 3:1, the first thing the serpent does is implant a little doubt in their minds. And after Eve answered in Genesis 3:2-3, the serpent told the first lie in Scripture. The first lie from a human. But the serpent tells the first lie in Scripture when he says in Ephesians 4:4-5. Now, was this a lie? Well, yes and no. They didn’t really die, did they? At least not physically, at least not right away. And they did gain a sort of knowledge about good and evil, didn’t they?

So, in that sense, it was truth. But it was a lie in the sense that they did die spiritually – which is the more important and serious kind of death. Satan knew this, and so he lied and introduced spiritual and physical death to the world. So, how serious is lying? Every sin and evil and catastrophe and death in the world is a result of that first lie. You think one little lie is no big deal? The whole mess this world is in began with one little tiny lie. One little tiny falsehood from Satan started it all. But lying also results in physical death.

3. Lying Resulted in Physical Death

Not only did a lie begin human history as we know it, but it also began church history. Now, when Adam and Eve lied way back at the beginning, they, and all who followed after them died spiritually.

But when church members in the early church lied, it was fatal. Do you remember the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5? They sold a certain piece of property and got more for it than what they had anticipated, so they kept the extra and gave the rest to the church. Now up to this point, you must understand, that they really had not done anything wrong. But when Peter questioned them about it in vs. 3, they lied and said that they were giving the full amount to the church. The result of this lie was that both of them were struck down. For them, the lie resulted in physical death.