Straight Paths Bible Church

Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Mat 3:3)

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A Lying Tongue

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: (Eph 4:25)

This subject seems to come up so much these days, and there seem to be so many who are deceived in this area that we feel it needs to be dealt with.

Many times people have said to me that they think it is all right to lie in order to further God’s work. If it is necessary, or more convenient, then surely God will overlook it, or He will agree that a lie is the best way to make things go forward. They have studied it out and found their examples in the Bible to justify their viewpoint in this matter. Rahab the harlot is the Christian liar’s heroine. She lied to save the spies and that is proof that God approves of lying under certain conditions. They also invent hypothetical situations in which lying would be the only way to save the life of your family or yourself, and then arrogantly ask, “Now, what would YOU do in this situation?” Anyone can see that is simply situational ethics, and not Bible Christianity.

The major flaw in all the logic to justify lying in certain situations is very easy to point out. It is not based on what the Bible says, but rather on the examples of other human beings. We should never forget that the men in the Bible were only men, and the fact that they did something doesn’t necessarily mean that God approves, or that it is not sinful. We simply shouldn’t try to justify our actions by the actions of others. The Word of God is our judge now and will be when we stand before God. Also, anything that leads us downward, away from holiness, and not upward toward a cleaner and more holy walk with the Lord cannot be the HOLY Spirit leading and teaching us. The Holy Ghost will NEVER tell a man to lie. Lying is SIN, no matter what the conditions are under which it takes place, and God HATES a lying tongue.

When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (John 8:44)

The DEVIL is the father of a lie. When your lips utter a lie, you are being used as an instrument of Satan, according to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. God is NEVER the author of a lie. Yet I have had people claim to be Spirit-filled Christians and tell me that they just can’t help lying at times — that it is just necessary sometimes. This cannot be true. God does not have to resort to the devil for help to do his work and accomplish his purposes. The best thing that could be said about someone who feels it necessary to lie is that they have very little faith in God. I think of the martyrs who have been burned, whipped, and stoned to death because they wouldn’t deny their faith in Christ. Why didn’t they just throw out a little lie? Surely God would understand, after all, it would have been to save their life so they could go on serving God! But the thing was they had faith in God and had committed the keeping of their souls to Him. They esteemed their faith in God and their testimony for Him of much more value than their own earthly lives. There are many now who profess to have that same faith, but would not hesitate to lie in order to save their lives. In so doing they would deny the Lord they claim to serve because the DEVIL is the father of a lie. They would trust the DEVIL to deliver them, so they could serve God longer! What a foolish bunch of blasphemy!

For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: (1 Pet 3:10)

God sees all deceit as lying, not just the most blatant outright lies. If you deliberately deceive someone with words designed to make them believe something not in conformity with the truth, you have lied to them. This form of lying is called “guile” in the Bible. We are told that Jesus had no guile in his mouth. The words He spoke were pure and meant to direct men to the truth, and in no way were they designed to mislead or deceive anyone. Yet many who profess to know God continually speak with guile in their mouth. They skirt the edges of the truth and don’t outright lie with their tongue, but they manipulate their words in such a way as to make others assume something that is not the truth. They do this and comfort themselves by thinking they haven’t REALLY lied, but they REALLY have, and they will be held accountable for every deception they have propagated.

People seem to classify lies and assign degrees of guilt to them depending upon how “big” the lies are. The fact is, that the person who is unfaithful in little is unfaithful in much, and the person who will tell a little lie to save face or to “keep from offending” someone will tell a big lie if he deems it necessary, and without a doubt a situation will arise which will prove it necessary to tell a big one. God doesn’t distinguish between big lies and little lies, but says He hates them all. The person who has the “mind of Christ” will not tell a lie under ANY circumstances. If Jesus wouldn’t do it, we shouldn’t do it.

It should scare the stuffing out of people who have the idea that it is OK to lie sometimes when they read what the Bible has to say about it. The very clear teaching of the Bible is that ALL liars are going to hell.

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Rev 21:8)

And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Rev 21:27)

For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. (Rev 22:15)

To read verses like these and then take the devil’s side in this issue is outright foolishness. It is dishonesty and self deception. Again, selfishness is the ultimate motive behind a lie, no matter what justification is put forth. God doesn’t need to lie to get his work done, and He doesn’t need a Christian to help him out by telling lies and deceiving people. It is outrageous to expect God’s blessing upon a lying tongue. If a professing Christian lies in order to further the work of God, and it appears that God blesses him, there are two great possibilities. One, that God has approved of his lies and agreed with him to do evil in order to do more good. The other possibility is that what he and everyone else is counting as blessings from God on his work are not really that at all, but the answer of the father of all liars as a reward for one of his own. There you have it. It is no wonder that the idea that lying is OK under certain circumstances is believed so much. This is the state we are in, and you need to realize it: generally, professing Christians will sooner call in question the clear teaching of the Word of God than they will the testimony of some other professing Christian who happens to have a “great work” to prove that they are approved of God. In other words, the Word of God is not our final authority for faith and practice, but the experience and example of other Christians is.

… when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? — Luke 18:8

Mike Miller
5/3/1997

1-573-223-3308
email: bromike50@straightpathsbiblechurch.com

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