Truth Or Consequences Series

INTRODUCTION

A pastor announced one Sunday that next Sunday he was going to preach on lying. And as preparation for the message he wanted the congregation to read the 17th chapter of Mark. The next Sunday the preacher began by asking those who read the 17th chapter of Mark to raise their hands. More than ½ of the people raised their hands. “Very good,” the preacher said. “You are the very people I need to speak to. There is no 17th chapter of Mark.”

When you take an oath before giving testimony in a court of law you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Why must we define what telling the truth is? Mark Twain said there are 869 different kind of lies. I don’t know about that but there are lots of ways to not tell the truth. Here are a few:

Bold-face lie White lie Flattery Slander

Gossip Excuses Propaganda Spin

Exaggeration Half-truth Hypocrisy Saving face

Falsehoods Shading the truth Mis-representation Perjury

False advertising Embellishment “Ministerally speaking”

Today, I am speaking on the 9th Commandment. It says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” This doesn’t just mean don’t lie to the man next door. Jesus said to one man, “You should love your neighbor as you love yourself.” The man asked, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus responded with the story of the Good Samaritan.

God does not like lying. In fact, God hates lying:

Proverbs 6:16-19 (3 references to lying here)

16 These six things the LORD hates,

Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:

17 A proud look,

A lying tongue,

Hands that shed innocent blood,

18 A heart that devises wicked plans,

Feet that are swift in running to evil,

19 A false witness who speaks lies,

And one who sows discord among brethren.

There are 3 categories to my message today: (1) The Source of lies, (2) The Seriousness of lying, (3) The Solution to lying

I. THE SOURCE OF LIES

John 8:44

44 He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. NKJV

When we first see Satan in the Bible he is lying (Gen.3:1). Speaking to Eve he said, “Has God said?” Turn to Genesis chapter 2. Satan is the king of liars and the source of lies. Here are three big lies of Satan to all of us today:

A. God is a Kill-Joy (God is out to stop your fun in life)

Look at Genesis 3:4-5. Satan says to Eve, “God wants to limit you. God wants all the good stuff for Himself.” But, the consequences of his lies he hides from us. What happens to Adam and Eve? They lose their innocence. Now the are running and hiding. Look at verses 7-11.

It is perhaps the biggest lie that Satan uses, “My way is fun, God’s way is failure.” It is just the opposite. Listen to Jesus:

John 10:10

10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

I like Stephen Curtis Chapman’s song, The Great Adventure. One line says, “Saddle up your horses, you’ve got a trail to blaze, through the wild blue yonder of God’s amazing grace.”

B. What People Think You Are is More Important Than What You Are

Ananias and Sapphira in the 5 chapter of Acts shows this well. The early church had a great benevolent spirit. Everyone was giving to meet the needs of others in the church. Ananias and Sapphira wanted credit for being big givers so they sell some property and pretend to give all the money to the church but they were lying, they kept part of the money for themselves. They wanted others to think they were more important than they were. They paid dearly for their mistake.

The Bible has a word for this kind of behavior – Hypocrisy! Jesus never got angry with those who admitted their own sinfulness. You’ll never find Jesus getting angry with a swindler, prostitute, thief, murderer or adulterer. But, He did get angry with hypocrites. Look at Matthew 23:13,15,23.

Are you a hypocrite?

1 John 2:4

4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. NKJV

1 John 4:20

20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? NKJV