When Christians Lie

 (taken from Bible.com)

There is a plague that is grieving the heart of God because it is preventable and can be stopped. It has spread among all churches and is particularly rampant in society. Even God’s ministers are not immune and many of them are infected with it.

What is this evil plague? You may be surprised as it appears rather harmless at first glance. It is now so commonplace that people are deceived into just accepting it as normal, instead of recognizing and resisting it. This epidemic is the practice of lying and dishonesty.

What does the Bible say about lying? A lying tongue is not only something God hates, it is also something that is an abomination to Him.

Proverbs 6:16-19 says, "These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."

Examples of Dishonesty

As the moral climate of our society has been deteriorating, lying has become a major problem. The business world is particularly plagued by this problem--men’s dishonesty with each other, meetings "forgotten", company theft, promises not kept, contracts broken, etc. Lawyers have increased in numbers over the last decade, mainly because of irresponsibility and broken contracts among men due to lying. A news organization recently did a survey here in America and asked people several questions to determine the percentage of people who lied or were dishonest about things. Some of the questions were:

Do you cheat on your Income Tax Return?
Do you compliment people when you really don’t mean it?
Do you tell your spouse to tell callers you are not at home when you there?
Do you tell "little white lies" if it will keep you out of trouble?
Do you tell creditors that "the check is in the mail" when you have not yet mailed it?
Do you exaggerate in repeating things you have heard?

The results of this survey determined that 90% of Americans are not truthful under certain circumstances. This is understandable when we look at the morals of our society but what about Christians? Have they fallen into the habit of lying also? Also, what constitutes a lie according to the Bible? Anything that is not the truth is a lie and God’s Word the Bible tells us what is truth. The Bible is the standard or measuring rod we must use in determining truth. Sadly, Christians are also succumbing to this epidemic of lying. Lying to each other has now become so commonplace, Christians too, have become liars.

The Father of Lies

Have you been lied to lately? Was it another Christian that lied to you? A minister perhaps? Each of us have had our trust in people undermined, or in some cases even destroyed because of lies. We would all agree that lying is an ugly evil. The Bible tells us that lying began with the devil and that he is the father of lies.

John 8:43-47 says, "Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God."

The Bible is filled with admonitions against being dishonest and lying. One of the Ten Commandments states:

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." Exodus 20:16

Before we point our finger at another for being a liar that we feel God needs to deal with, let us examine our own lives to see if we are infected with the same disease. What kind of witness are we to those around us? Are we deceived and have we become liars ourselves? Let us first give a definition as to what a lie is according to Webster’s dictionary:

1.) To make a statement that one knows is false, especially with the intent to deceive.
2.) To give a false impression or action or false statement, especially with the intent to deceive.
3.)To make a false statement in order to evade the truth.4.)The invention of a false story or excuse in order to deceive.

Perhaps for a Christian, a Biblical definition of lying could be summed up in this statement:

Any time our word does not agree with God’s Word.

In Numbers 23:19 the Bible says, "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"

When we do not keep our word we are guilty of lying. Over the last year I have lost track of the number of times Christians have failed to keep their word to me. I am not angry or resentful or bitter over this, as the Lord has worked those attitudes out of my life. I have learned to take every offense to Him in prayer and He then removes any personal ill I might have and He gives me a forgiving and gracious attitude toward others. However, since I began to notice how many of God’s people were not keeping their word, I received a prayer burden of intercession for this evil to be removed from God’s people.

I first began praying about my own life and ask God to expose any areas where I might be guilty of this sin. I have tried to obey Romans 12:17-21 which says, "Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."

Most of the time I would just forgive these lying offences and would just pray for them and try to "live peaceably with all men." However, in prayer, the Lord spoke to my heart that I must go one step further and "speak the truth in love" to my brothers and sisters if I truly loved them.

Ephesians 4:15-16 says, "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."

If we, as the body of Christ, are to mature and grow up we must conform to the truth which is Jesus. The devil is behind every lie and as Christians we are admonished not to lie to one another.

Colossians 3:9-10 says, "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."

Two Roots of Dishonesty

The two main reasons we lie are usually rooted in either fear or pride. Fear is the first reason. We are afraid of the consequences if we tell the truth. Yielding to fear shows a lack of trust in God to take care of the situation. If we yield to God and do it His way He will usually give us favor with those that we fear. The other reason is pride. We are prideful and concerned about what men will think of us (desiring man’s approval instead of God’s approval.)

Jesus always kept His Word. God still keeps His Word and is faithful to keep every promise He makes in the Bible. That is why He is reliable and we can trust Him. We are called to be like Him. The Bible says that out of a man’s mouth proceeds what is in His heart. If we tell lies or fib then it means that we need a heart cleansing.

Matthew 15:18-20a says, "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man..."

We need to ask God to cleanse our hearts and begin reading and studying the Bible so that His Word resides in our hearts. As we keep His Word and water it with prayer it will produce good fruit in our lives. Lying is not only speaking an untruth; another form of lying is not keeping our word to others.

Luke 8:15 says, "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."

Little "White" Lies

Let us look at some specific ways the devil gets us to lie. We will expose some of his devices. These sorts lies are being practiced by many Christians. Now remember, we are guilty of lying when we do not keep our word. Even if these sorts of lies seem harmless and don't appear to really hurt anyone else, they are harmful to our own souls. The more we practice telling untruths of any kind, the duller our concience becomes.

1.) "I will call you back tomorrow." (This excuse is often used with a deliberate intent to decieve. The person does not call back at the appointed time and will call back at a much later date with excuses of why they were unable to call which usually goes something like: "I just was so busy, I meant to call , but did not get around to it." We all have been guilty of this, but we need to realize when we say we will do something we need to keep our word. We do understand there are legitimate reasons that make it impossible at times to keep our word. This is not the case we are referring to here. It would be better to not make this promise or to say, "I will try to call you back tomorrow.")

2.) "I will be happy to do that for you." (Whatever promise was made, it was not kept and their word about the matter causes them not to be trusted. The Holy Spirit is trying to purge this lack from His people and is using a group of men known as "Promise Keepers" to help restore trustworthiness back in the heads of families by stressing that they need to keep their promises.)

We could list numerous examples but these two cover a lot of territory; any time we say the words "I will" we need to be responsible to do it. We all, on occasion, fail to do the things we have good intentions of doing or we are hindered in some way and can’t do them. However, if we are unable to keep an appointment we should be thoughtful enough to call and cancel, or tell of our delayed arrival. We are living in an age when there are so many uncaring attitudes expressed. As Christians, we can be good witnesses by being different.

One of the biggest faults of many Christians, and our society as well, is that we tend to over-commit and then we are unable to keep our word. It is disheartening to see this shift prevalent in businesses. They commit to the jobs, then, are not able to produce them on time and thus the standard for business practices is shifting to not expecting them on time. Business people must now factor in lengthy time delays just to compensate for people’s lack of business ethics.

People that tend to over commit sometimes have a pride problem and are people pleasers. They want people to like them so they offer to do things for them, and because they are unable to keep their promises to all they end up not being able to keep their word; thus they are dishonest. In business it is usually greed that tends to cause them to over commit. They want more business and more money, even when they must work from a backlog that was promised timely.

As Christians we need to ask the Lord to forgive us if we are guilty of lying or deceit. It is a very serious matter with God when we lie. (We can read of the incident of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5 in the Bible. They both fell dead when they lied to the Holy Spirit.)

The Bible also lists this sin of lying as one that can lead us to hell along with some other grievous ones.Revelation 21:7-8 says, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 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."

We can be overcomers through the power of the Holy Spirit as we seek to be like Jesus. We not only do not want to lie, but we also want to keep our word so that people know we are honest and trustworthy. As Christians, we want to represent our Father well in this life and be honest and free from fabrication and fibbing.

We also have an obligation to our brothers and sisters to keep them accountable by bringing this sin under conviction.  So often I hear "he's just human" or "don't judge 'em , just love 'em" - both are not only excuses, but are actually harmful excuses which can lead to eternal damnation.  God hates sin and will not tolerate sin. Our sins have been forgiven, but there is a condition - repentance. 

 

 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”  Luke 13:3

Friendship

So many times we meet another Christian and we are blown away.  They are everything WE want to be - or so we think.  They may be cheerful all the time (or so we think); always polite (or so we think); fluent in the Word (or so we think); free of sinful behavior (or so we think); accepting of all (or so we think).  You get the drift.  And maybe there are a few Christians out there that come close to this.  Perhaps they have been on their journey a long time and perhaps God has done a great work in them.  But most of the time it's our own imagination that has created their greatness.  And so we try hard to be just like them.  We want to be their best friend in order to mimic everything about them.  Until something happens that brings them tumbling off that pedestal we put them up on.  And our own world crumbles a little or a lot on that day. But the point I want to make is that the opposite can be true, too.  While we are so busy racing with others to be around those who are admired by all, we often ignore and push aside those who need our friendship even more.  The less admired, the less "worthy" in our minds.  The ones who are hurting, lost, confused, shunned.

Instead of admiring the "perfect Christians" and trying so hard to be like them, let us admire and mimic the One who IS perfect.  The One who will NEVER let us down or topple off His throne.  And remember how he loved ALL his brothers and sisters the same.  Were they all different?  Absolutely.  And did one of them, in our opinion, deserve less love and friendship?  Most likely.  Yet, as Max Lucado illustrates below, Jesus was his friend to the end.  Now that is an example to follow. 

Jesus Betrayed by Judas

by Max Lucado

When betrayal comes, what do you do? Get out? Get angry? Get even? You have to deal with it some way. Let’s see how Jesus dealt with it.

Begin by noticing how Jesus saw Judas. “Jesus answered, ‘Friend, do what you came to do.’ ” (Matthew 26:50)

Of all the names I would have chosen for Judas it would not have been “friend.” What Judas did to Jesus was grossly unfair. There is no indication that Jesus ever mistreated Judas. There is no clue that Judas was ever left out or neglected. When, during the Last Supper, Jesus told the disciples that his betrayer sat at the table, they didn’t turn to one another and whisper, “It’s Judas. Jesus told us he would do this.”

They didn’t whisper it because Jesus never said it. He had known it. He had known what Judas would do, but he treated the betrayer as if he were faithful.

It’s even more unfair when you consider the betrayal was Judas’s idea. The religious leaders didn’t seek him, Judas sought them. “What will you pay me for giving Jesus to you?” he asked. (Matthew 26:15) The betrayal would have been more palatable had Judas been propositioned by the leaders, but he wasn’t. He propositioned them.

And Judas’s method … again, why did it have to be a kiss? (Matthew 26: 48–49)

And why did he have to call him “Teacher”? (Matthew 26:49) That’s a title of respect. The incongruity of his words, deeds, and actions—I wouldn’t have called Judas “friend.”

But that is exactly what Jesus called him. Why? Jesus could see something we can’t...

Jesus knew Judas had been seduced by a powerful foe. He was aware of the wiles of Satan’s whispers (he had just heard them himself). He knew how hard it was for Judas to do what was right.

He didn’t justify what Judas did. He didn’t minimize the deed. Nor did he release Judas from his choice. But he did look eye to eye with his betrayer and try to understand.

As long as you hate your enemy, a jail door is closed and a prisoner is taken. But when you try to understand and release your foe from your hatred, then the prisoner is released and that prisoner is you.