KEY SCRIPTURE Revelation 21:7-9 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.
RELEVANCE God calls us to walk the pathway of sweet-smelling savours. He designed His Word to offer up two paths—one of the glories of the divine nature and the other the stench of a leprous soul. The specific behaviour of lying offers its own insult to the nostrils of righteousness and holiness, and resides on the second path.
Lying is off-smelling conduct—an objectionable, unclean meat of impoverished character. We use it to save ourselves from the possibility of loss or to achieve unworthy gain. If we're successful the first time, we can easily repeat the process until the quality of truth withdraws itself from our vocabulary, and we become known as liars.
Some say lying is a part of life. What do you say?
Our key scripture shows that God placed lying in a gang of evil heavy hitters. He ensures we understand that lying is a close companion of the fearful and unbelieving (God means nothing to them) and the abominable (no behaviour is too disgusting and no sin is off limits), murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, and idolaters.
God sentences them all to the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, the second death.
This lake is the exact destination for Satan, the Beast, the False Prophet, Hell and Death, and all whose names Judge Jesus cannot find in the Book of Life when He opens it and searches. God takes lying seriously.
We must ask why the destination of a committed, consistent liar is a lake that burns as hot as the discharging lava from a newly erupted volcano.
The Book of Life contains the names of people who have made God their Father. Many people say God is their Father, but to make that accurate, they must also believe that Jesus is His Son. Which many will not do! To them, Jesus was just a man, prophet, revolutionary, or wise sage, but not the resurrected Son of God—the Way, the Truth and the Life. (John 14:6).
J
ohn 8:44 sees Jesus identifying some people who made Satan their father. 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.
Here, Jesus calls Satan the father of lies, an imposter trying to appear genuine, just as liars do. When someone tells a lie, they want it to appear trustworthy when they know it is not. It looks like steel, but it's plastic. Lying increases inevitably when Christ is removed.
Seeing a real estate sign stating an upcoming auction will be $650,000-$700,000 when the real estate company knows it will bring closer to $800,000. But fewer bidders will turn up if they put $800,000 on the signboard. Online marketplaces are now riddled with deceptive products for the unwitting, as are dating sites where some spread their nets to catch unsuspecting fish.
But some people prefer to believe a lie, such as, "If you invest in this product, within six months, you'll never need to work again!" We all want to believe some things are true. It's innate. But blind trust in anything other than God has a sandy foundation, and we need to stay in reality and do our homework.
Confusion is the long-term result of lying, and Satan is also the father of confusion. (1 Corinthians 14:33). He gets immense joy (if Satan can get joy) from seeing God's creation confused. And world confusion now is unprecedented, except for the final days of two previous eras, Noah and Sodom. Even the Church, supposed to be the gold standard of wisdom, knowledge, understanding and truth, is confused about the most bizarre topic of sexual identity, thus assisting our current world leaders as they deceive kingdoms and churches into signing over to policies of Sodom.
Why is lying so evil? It displaces truth and trust, upon which the Kingdom of Heaven is built. Truth and trust are foundational to all relationships, except the ones people make with Satan. His ending is the Lake of Fire, yet, like the pied piper, he tells the world to follow him, and they do. As those who follow God become His sons and end up with Him, Satan's followers end up with Satan.
Lying is akin to thievery. That which is stolen depends on the lie. It can be a few dollars to help a disguised beggar, not realising she's made $300 for the day and pays no tax, to stealing a person's future. I knew a thirteen-year-old boy whose natural father criticised him to the point that he left home to live with his mother. Had he remained with his biological father, his self-belief would have been shredded, possibly leading to a life of crime and prison.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all deceived someone, although Jacob's was for the sake of the Kingdom of God. But they were not ongoing deceivers. They lied in certain instances and were ashamed of it, but they weren't liars.
To find out God's definition of a liar, we look at Revelation 22:15, For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. This interpretation is the crux of the matter. If we love lies and use them as part of our everyday language, we become professional deceivers who jeopardise our relationship and future with Jesus Christ.
When the foundations of a person's belief are shaken to the point of distrust, who can you trust? Even trust in God becomes difficult.
Lying and deception chip away at foundations, and we should play no part in the erosion of trust. It starkly contrasts our spiritual armour to stand, having our loins girt about with truth, inner and outward truth.
PRAYER Dear Lord, please help me speak the truth in all circumstances. I read of the Apostle Peter lying and the Martyr Stephen telling the truth, both caught in affairs outside their control. Please help me choose right.
Photo by Pawel Czerwinski
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