Liars Beware

I once heard a preacher say, “Don’t be surprised when the lost act like the lost.” In other words, disciples of Christ should just expect those who have no desire to walk in the footsteps of Jesus to live according to the pattern of this world. But amongst those who profess to follow Jesus, we should expect to see a desire to live a life pleasing to God—a life where we take God’s word seriously and surrender ourselves to pursuing the goal of being progressively conformed to the character or image of Jesus Christ.

But the sad reality is that, often times it happens that I meet lost people who are more honest and have more integrity than so many of the professing Christians that I know. We should not be surprised when lost people lie, cheat, and steal. But when professing Christians regularly, willingly, deliberately, and with forethought, do the very same thing while making light of it or even joking about it—we have got a problem.

Now I certainly do not claim to have lived a life of absolutely perfect integrity ever since beginning my pilgrimage of following Christ, but because of what the Bible has to say on the subject of lying and deception, no true Bible-believing Christian (myself included) should ever feel comfortable or “ok with” telling lies. In light of these very clear and sobering passages from the book of Revelation—let all liars beware! Let us notice in these passages from Revelation, that the unbelieving are not the only ones who will miss heaven and that there are no exception clauses for “Christian liars”.

Rev 21:8: “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Rev 21:27: “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

Rev 22:14-15: “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”

So according to these very clear verses, it appears that unrepentant liars will be eternally separated from God. This means that lying is a very serious sin and is therefore no laughing matter. At the very least, it is certainly nothing to be played with or made light of. We should always fear sinning willfully (Heb 10:26).

God’s View of Lying

Unfortunately, many people who claim to be Christians have ignored what God’s word and their conscience tells them regarding the sinfulness of lying, and they have done so to the point that their conscience has become desensitized to this deadly sin. Their conscience no longer convicts them when they tell a lie—it has become calloused, dull or “seared with a hot iron.” Through their repeated lying and ignoring of their conscience, they have developed the forehead of a harlot—meaning that lying no longer causes them to blush, whereas at one time in their lives it would have. To them, lying is “no big deal.” But how does God view lying? Consider the implications of the following passages:

Prov 6:16-19: “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.”

Prov 11:1a: “Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD,”

Prov 12:22a: “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,”

Acts 5:1-5: “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles feet. But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Whey have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.” [And then in v.10, Sapphira is also struck dead for lying.]

Knowing how God views lying, we should not get too hasty in trying to justify ourselves by resorting to “situational ethics” or by saying that “the end justifies the means”, or by pointing to narratives in the Old Testament where people who are considered to be heroes of the faith clearly did lie. Instead, let us resolve to err on the side of caution and avoid using our self-justifying, worldly human reasoning and a few sketchy, incomplete stories of the Old Testament in order to overturn many clear statements of scripture that clearly show that God condemns the practice of lying.

The Source of Lies

The Bible clearly shows us that God is a God of truth. He loves the truth and delights in the truth. Jesus, speaking of Himself, said that He was the way, the truth, and the life. All true Christians know what it means to be set free by the truth and they have the Spirit of truth dwelling in them. The Bible also clearly shows us that Satan is the source of lies. Jesus said, speaking of Satan, that:

“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.” (John 8:44)

Satan is a deceiver. It is what he does! So knowing how deadly the sin of lying is and how God feels about it and who the source of lies really is, Christians should beware of ever coming to the point in their spiritual lives that they view telling lies (especially deliberate, premeditated ones) as a small and trivial matter or as “no big deal.” If we are ever in a situation where we are tempted to tell a lie (even if we think it might be justifiable in the eyes of God), we should rightfully be concerned for our eternal souls and consider that it is spiritually safer for us to err on the side of caution and just go ahead and tell the truth—even when we know that it could possibly be damaging to us (in this temporal life) to do so.

Liars Can Change

While the book of Revelation shows that Satan’s fate has already been sealed, it is not too late for us to change. Our probation period is not yet over. Any person who has developed a habitual pattern of lying can change—they can humble themselves and repent. When we surrender ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ by being placed into Him through water baptism, the Spirit of Truth—the Spirit of living God—will take up residence within us and regenerate us. We become recreated in the image of Christ or born again—and born again people can live above sin. They can be released and set free from lying. The Spirit of Truth can overpower and overcome Satan and his forces of darkness. The apostle John wrote that:

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

So if you have been caught up in the habit of lying, take heart! There is hope! Whether you have never been truly regenerated or whether you are simply a baby Christian who has yet to realize the power that is available to you as a member of Christ—there is hope for you in breaking the cycle and habit of lying.

But after being born of water and Spirit, the growth in Christ-likeness does not come automatically—regardless of what some well-meaning preachers and teachers may tell you. As a newborn baby needs to feed and grow, so the spiritually newborn baby needs to feed on the Word of God and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. And if he or she does not, not only will they not grow, they can also die. If we do not move forward in our spiritual lives, we will move backwards—possibly to the point of returning to our a lost and spiritually dead condition.

It is absolutely essential for those of us who have become new creations that the new life keeps coming in and that the old life keeps going out. The Bible calls born-again believers to put certain things away—and this includes lying. The apostle Paul wrote this to the Christians in Ephesus:

“Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another.” (Ephesians 4:25)

Paul spoke this way to the believers in Ephesus because Christians are to constantly keep on conforming to the image of Christ. They are to put on the mind of Christ and develop thinking as Jesus Christ thinks. Christians should be putting away lying as taught by Jesus Christ and the Scriptures. This does not all come at once, nor does it come automatically to those who are “really saved.” It is a growth process that we are genuinely involved in. We must cooperate with God’s working in us and take heed not to allow His work in us to be negated due to our rebelliousness or be corrupted by false doctrine. That is why the apostle Peter warns and exhorts people who have already “really” been born again, telling them:

“You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:17-18)

None of us are saved in the final sense until we actually enter the gates of heaven. At some point in our lives we enter a “saved” state and then, as we continue to walk the narrow road we are “being saved,” but it is not over until it is over. Let no one think that just because “are saved” that this means they can purposely lie and be unconcerned about how such sin affects their spiritual condition. If you believe this, then you have fallen for the original lie that was told by the father of lies (see Gen 3:4).