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.
This is partly because, lying is associated with the most serious of sins. We’ve looked at the lie that began it all in Genesis. A lie near the middle of world history in Acts 5, and now, here near the end of the Bible, we see another aspect to lying.
“A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, And a flattering mouth works ruin.” (Pro. 26:28)
4. Lying is Associated with the Most Serious of Sins
If we lie, we often say, “Well, at least I’m not a murderer or an adulterer.” But you want to know what? If you think this, you are believing a lie. In Revelation 22:15, God is talking about some of the gravest of sins, those with the worst consequences, and He lists sorcery, sexual immorality, murder, adultery and…lying.
Lying is right up there with murder and adultery, both of which, God also hates. This is because these sins are completely contrary to God.
“These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.” (Pro. 6:16–19)
5. Lying is Completely Contrary to God
Why is this? Because God is truth and light (Psalm 31:5; John 14:6; 1 John 1:5), lying is completely contrary to God. In Him there is no darkness, there is no falsehood. Lying is the exact opposite of what God is.
Who is the greatest evil being in the universe? Obviously, it is Satan, or the Devil. Lucifer. And what is the devil’s primary activity? Well, according to verses like John 8:44 the most evil being in the universe spends most of his time lying. He knows that one of the best ways to pursue his plans is through lying. He is the greatest of all counterfeiter. Everything Satan does and says is a lie. He comes to steal, destroy and kill.
Besides discouragement, did you know that lying is the main weapon of the devil? We’ve already seen how he used it at the beginning to instigate the fall of mankind into sin, but he uses it still to darken the eyes and hearts and minds of all people. Lying is the main weapon of the enemy in his fight against God.
Therefore, when we lie, we are joining with Satan in fighting against God. Speaking the truth is joining with God in fighting against the devil. We will talk more about this when we look at the spiritual armor in Chapter 6 – and specifically the belt of truth, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Lying is completely contrary to God and his purposes, who is the God of truth and light. But another reason not to lie, is because liars are often self-deceived.
6. Liars are Often Self-Deceived
Satan is so good at what he does, he has even lied to himself. He has deceived himself into thinking he can defeat God. This again shows the seriousness of lying. Those who lie are often self-deceived. They can often tell when others are lying to them, but they are never able to tell when they are lying to themselves. A liar has often pulled the hood over his own eyes. They often think that lying is not so bad, or that God doesn’t care too much about it.
Sometimes liars become so good at lying that they don’t even think they are lying. They can twist words, and twist the meaning of words so that they can say one thing but mean another, and all the while, they are thinking to themselves that they are not lying. Some politicians and lawyers are experts at this – but we all do it at times. That’s because lying is so easy to do.
7. Lying is So Easy to Do
The difficult part about lying is that it is so easy to do. A young boy was once asked by his mother what a lie is, and he said, “A lie is an abomination to the Lord, but a very present help in time of need.” That’s the way it seems sometimes, doesn’t it? Sometimes the lie just pops out. We’ve all had it happen.
Illustration: When things are not going good for us and someone asks us how we are doing. We say fine. Is that a true statement? Of course, if you really are “fine” then by all means, say “Fine.” We just need to concentrate in a world full of lies and deceit to speak the truth in all things, at all times. Now even though it’s easy to do, lying is hard to keep up.
“I would not tell one lie to save the souls of all the world.” (John Wesley)
8. Lying is Difficult to Maintain
The person who lies must have an incredible memory, because they have to remember what their lies were and who they told them to. This is known as a web of lies. And often, in a web of lies, the spider who spun the web gets tangled in it himself. In fact, one lies generally leads to another and another. In order to keep the truth from being found out, you usually have to tell more lies.
And the cure is simply the second command in Ephesians 4:25. To give it, Paul quotes from Zechariah 8:16 and it’s simply this: speak truth. So, command number one: Don’t lie. Command number 2, tell the truth.
“A lie has no legs. It requires other lies to support it. Tell one lie and you are forced to tell others to back it up. Stretching the truth won't make it last any longer. Those that think it permissible to tell white lies soon grow color blind.” (Austin O'Malley)
(B) How to reverse lying? Tell the Truth. (vs. 29-32)
Just as we are to guard our words against the intrusion of lies, we are to guard it against the intrusion of “rotten speech.” The word “corrupt” refers to that which is “rotten.” It was used of “rotten fruit, vegetables, and other spoiled foods.” Just as we would never eat a rotten apple or a rotten piece of meat, the believer should never engage in rotten speech.
Tell the Truth
Jesus said in John 8:32 that the truth will set you free. And it will. Telling the truth is much more enjoyable and causes many less problems than trying to protect yourself by lying. If you’ve been caught in a web of lies, the solution is to speak the truth.
Now, if you’re a liar, which we all are, this is much easier said than done. But there are some steps which can be taken.
(i) The first step to defeating lying is to admit that you are a liar.
In fact, it has been my observation that one of the tell-tale signs of a chronic liar is the absolute refusal to admit that they lie. They are, first and foremost, lying to themselves!
So, the first thing to do is to admit that you lie. We all lie at times, don’t we? King David says in Psalm 116:11: “All men are liars.” So, if you say you are not a liar, you are lying, which makes you a liar.
Once you have seen the truth that you are a liar, then you need to pray to the only true God. Ask Him to forgive you for the lying you have done and ask Him for the strength and ability to speak only the truth. Make this prayer the constant prayer of your heart.
People who spend a lot of time kneeling don’t do much lying. So, first, confess.
(ii) Second pray.
And then, the only thing left to do is to commit yourself to speaking the truth. It will take an act of the will, and constant watchfulness and discipline, but there really is no other way to stop lying.
It’s just like any other area of life. If you’ve been showing up to work late, and your boss points it out to you, what steps do you take to get to work on time? Well, you apologize to your boss, tell him you’re going to try harder, and then you train and discipline yourself to go to bed earlier, get up earlier and get to work on time.
Speaking the truth is how we set ourselves apart from the world, how we associate ourselves with God, and how we defeat the devil and his schemes in this world. Let us all endeavor to put away falsehood and speak the truth. Let us strive to be men and women of the truth.
Application: We are believers, and we are to be characterized by the truth. After all, the One Who is “the truth,” is our Lord and Savior. We are indwell by the “Spirit of truth.” Anything less that the whole truth is a complete lie. There is no such thing as a “little white lie.” All lying is sin, and it is contrary to who we are in Jesus Christ. By the way, a life that is characterized by a steady stream of lies gives clear evidence that it has not been redeemed, Rev. 21:8. Christians may fail and fall into a lie occasionally, but they are never characterized by lies.
When the heart is right, the tongue will reveal it by speaking words that help others grow. We will edify others by being helpful, encouraging, constructive, uplifting, by being a blessing to other. There may be times when our speech must be corrective in nature. Even when those times arise, we will say what we must say from a heart of love, with the goal of helping the other person grow in the relationship with Christ. We must never use the tongue to tear down but to build up.
