We have been looking at the topic of lying and whether as Christians we have become comfortable with others, and ourselves, telling lies. One thing to consider is how our background shapes a lot of our morals and that is why the apostle Paul instructed the believer not to be conformed to the way the world thinks or its pattern of thinking but to be changed in how we think guided by the word of God. (Romans 12:2) If you haven’t read the first two articles with this title please do so first before proceeding with this article. They are linked together so if you miss one article in this series there will be holes in the reasoning behind my argument.
In article one I discussed what God thinks about lying as a whole based on scripture. It is so easy to say I don’t “feel” God would have a problem with lying. Instead, we should draw our conclusions from the word of God. We established the Ten Commandments as the foundational basis for our morality regarding how we treat God and our fellowman. The ninth commandment directly deals with lying and falsely testifying. Next, a major passage directly states that God “Hates” lying and relates to this behavior in man as an abomination. The reason why he has such a view of lying is because lying is destructive and Satan is the author of deception and lies.
Article two talked about statistics which say that 90% of all people lie is some form or another during their lifetime. Given that, lying is still a choice each of us makes and, according to Deuteronomy 30:19, Moses told the children of Israel to choose between life or death. Finally, we talked a little about why people lie in general. It could be because of some fear, insecurity, perceived opportunity, advancement or financial gain. Regardless of why a person lies, it’s a choice. At the end of article two, I left the reader with three passages of scripture to think about so I would like to bring them up now to set the stage for this article.
1 John 3:4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
At its core lying is a sin. It doesn’t matter who did it or not. That may sound black and white but according to God’s word that is the fact of the matter. If a two year old lies, it’s a sin. The difference between a two year old and a teenager or adult lying is their understanding the right and wrong. The two year old doesn’t yet comprehend morality but the teen and adult do. Stick with me even if you don’t agree with me. Keep reading so we can sort out the dilemma regarding the perception that some lies are seemingly innocent.
Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
Lying should be looked at as part of our old life before Christ. Our old habit pattern was directed by evil, even if it didn’t look like it. Remember that Satan is the author of lies and therefore lies can be traced back to him and his purposes. I know a lot of people that were in all appearances “Good People” before becoming Christians yet the Bible says they were in rebellion to God and his word. Remember, God looks at the heart and man looks at appearances. Understanding your rebellion before Christ helps you see the need to break with the old you and embrace the new you. Not seeing you were a lawbreaker and a rebel gives all kinds of excuses for compromise in our Christian walk.
Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
Paul basically states in this passage that when we speak the truth in love we are “Able” to grow in all aspects of becoming like Christ. When we speak the truth without love or try to love others without the truth we basically lie (falsehood or deception) against the nature of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 3 Paul talks about such believers who should have been more mature in their faith except they were still living out their old sin patterns. In other words, they corrupting the truth of Christ’s transformation.
Let me say that God does not expect perfection in our lives because he knows we are, to a degree, broken living in a broken world. What he does expect is for us to take ownership of our brokenness and let the Holy Spirit remake us in the image of Jesus. That can happen when we understand the basics and then move on to more complex issues. I believe lying is a very basic issue in our lives. Lying has to do with the “Ethics” of what we believe is right and fair conduct. The definition of Ethics is – “The moral principles that govern a person’s behavior and activities”. Our ethics in life come from many sources and is often a real mixed bag. The only real reliable source is the word of God. We only honestly embrace ethics based on the word of God when we become born again and even then only if we are in the word of God and being taught by a pastor that does the same in heart and action.
Here is a problem. Human being are often moved by our emotions rather than by truth. In reality it’s often a mixed bag but we just can’t seem to see it that way and assume we operate with complete understanding and truth. We often see the idea of what justice is through our own personal experiences, good or bad, and often compromise God’s word in our heart accordingly. That would be defined as “Situational Ethics“, which is defined as follows: ‘The position that moral decision making is contextual or dependent on a set of circumstances”. Here is my position on this. I believe God also looks at the circumstances and judges accordingly. The problem with us is that once we look at different justifiable reasons to lie we start compromising our ethics to the point that we can justify any action that benefits us, regardless of how true it is or not, which becomes very problemmatic.
Article four on this subject will deal with a number of situations, in both Old and New Testaments, when a believer lied. I want to unpack the consequences in these different situations so that we get a better veiw of why lying is such a dangerous behavior. First and foremost, lying ruins your intimacy with God. I will leave you with a passage in which King David understood these consequences.
Psalms 66:18 If I had not confessed (seen) the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened.
Questions:
1) How you see lying affects not only your behavior but your intimacy with God….. Do you need adjustment? Let the Holy Spirit search your heart as king David said – “Search my heart O Lord and see if here is any wicked way in me”
2) Have you allowed lies to cloud your judgement in letting your upbringing or education shape your morality? Only allowing your mind to comprehend what is just and what is not from scripture will set you free! Jesus said – “You will know the truth and truth will set you free”
Loving to reason together,
Pastor Dale
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