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Scripture Readings : Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9

Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another . . . Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds.

One would hardly think it necessary for the Spirit to warn Christians against lying, but evidently it is. Sometimes even Christians do lie. If we would admit it, no doubt most of us have on occasion failed in this regard. The Scriptures do not say for nothing, "Let God be true but every man a liar" ( Rom. 3:4). However, this in no wise excuses a Christian when he/she sins. Let us always consider lying a very serious sin. How easy we sometimes exaggerate when it is to our advantage to do so, or to minimize when we feel the case warrants. Let us be cautious, when we speak, to tell the whole truth and only the truth. Let us never tell a lie even for the greatest benefit to ourselves.

Example of Christians telling lies

The story is told of a preacher who held an old time Gospel tent-meeting where trouble arose between two Christians. Both came to the visiting preacher to see if he could help straighten out the difficulty. The first one said, "Christians should not lie, should they brother?" And then he accused the other Christian of lying about him. Then the second said of the first, "That Christian can lie faster than a horse can trot." The wise preacher told them both that he did not feel he could help them as long as they were accusing each other of lying, with stories that did not agree.

The father of lies—the devil

The Lord Jesus says of the devil, "When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44). So when a Christian lies, he acts like the devil. We certainly do not want to be like him. He lied to Eve in the garden of Eden, and what dread consequences followed that lie—our sorrow and trouble resulted from it. This should forever put lying in a serious light. Satan is still telling lies. He is always putting thoughts of doubt in the hearts of the lost and Christians alike, even as he put thoughts of doubt in Eve's mind. He also puts in our hearts thoughts of rebellion against God. As in Paul's day, there are those today who profess to be servants of the Lord, perhaps even leaders such as elders, deacons, and preachers, who are really servants of Satan himself (see 2 Cor. 11:13-15). Falsehood is Satan's special tool, so let us be determined to always tell the truth.

Jacob’s lies

Ever since Satan's deceit in the Garden of Eden, lies have brought dreadful consequences. Jacob deceived his blind father Isaac, claiming and feigning to be his brother Esau (Gen. 27). While this gained him the blessing meant for Easu, he paid dearly for it. He had to flee from Canaan to Haran where he remained for twenty or more years. Even then, when he went home, how terrified he was upon hearing that Esau was coming out to meet him with four hundred men. It caused him to cry out to the Lord. The Lord then intervened and delivered him.

Doeg’s lies

Doeg was there when Ahimelech the priest gave David¹ shew bread to eat and Goliath's sword. David did not tell Ahimelech that he was fleeing from Saul and Ahimelech thought that he was only helping the king's son-in-law. Doeg only told king Saul that Ahimelech had helped David to escape, and this half truth caused Saul to kill not only Ahimelech, but eighty-five other priests and all the men, women, and children who lived in the city of Nob (1 Sam. 22:9-23). What dread results can come from a single lie.

Absalom’s deceit

Absalom, David's son, sat in the gate of Jerusalem , and as the people of Israel came to the city he deceived them into believing that he was solicitous of their welfare, and that his father David had no care for them. In this way he stole the hearts of the children of Israel and caused an insurrection against his father. This caused much bloodshed among the people, and Absalom himself was slain by Joab as he hung by his hair entangled in an oak. Surely we do not want to be deceivers like Jacob, Doeg, Absalom, Ananias and Sapphira, or many others mentioned in the Word of God².

A universal sin

Lying is a universal sin. Many mothers wonder who taught their little ones to lie. As soon as they are able to talk, falsehoods start coming from their mouths. They start acting lies even before that. "The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies" (Ps. 58:3). Adults lie too, even Christians. They may not tell blatant lies like unbelievers, but how easy it is to exaggerate. Sometimes Christians color a story to make themselves seem more important. There is also danger of exaggerating the faults of others in order that they may be less highly esteemed than the speaker. An equal deceit is to minimize one's own faults and belittle the good in others. Deceit is often used in business matters. When tying to sell sometime, how easy it is to overstate the case, or under-state it when trying to buy. “’It is good for nothing,’ cries the buyer; but when he has gone his way, then he boasts” (Prov. 20:14). Let us be careful to state facts just as they are. To do anything else will “grieve the Holy Spirit³ of God” (Eph. 4:30).

Lying, a great sin

Christians should hate and abhor lying. It is a great sin and does much damage to the cause of Christ. Many a Christian has lost credibility because of failure to always tell the truth. Once an unbeliever catch us in a lie, it is useless to speak of Christ. "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight" (Prov. 12:22). Satan gives the poisoned bread of lies, but our Lord Jesus gives the heavenly bread of purest truth. Let us put away everything that is false, pretense, or sham.

Speak every man truth with his neighbor

Our verse (Eph. 4:25) tells us to always speak the truth with our fellow Christians. True religion should always produce a truthful man, and a sound faith should produce an honest tongue. Instead of vain, false, and filthy words that cut like razors, words of comfort and enlightenment, words of love and sympathy should flow from our lips. How important it is that we be extremely honest in even the smallest matters.

Christ the Truth

To tell lies is to be like Satan, to speak truth is to be like our Lord Jesus. He could say, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John14:6). From the day of His birth to the time He ascended up to heaven He never told a lie. Even as a youth, our Lord Jesus was absolutely sinless. If He had told lies, He would have had sins of His own to answer for, and would not have been able to make atonement for our sins. His every word and every action was absolutely true. As His children, we should certainly desire to be like Him.

We are members of one another

Being members of one another is the reason given in Ephesians 4:25 why we should always speak the truth to our fellow Christians. In other words, to tell lies to our fellow Christians is like lying to ourselves. The Scripture pictures every Christian as a part of the body of Christ and surely parts of the same body should not set out to deceive one another. The various parts of our human body never do it. A hand never deceives a foot, nor does an eye deceive an ear. Every member of the human body is subject to the head, so every member of the body of Christ should be in absolute obedience to Christ, the head of the church.

Put off the old man with his deeds

Colossians 3:9 gives a different reason for not lying to our fellow Christians. It says, "Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds.” Ephesians 4:22-25 tells us to put off the old man and put on the new. The old man is the old nature that we have because of Adam and Eve; the new man is the new nature we receive from Christ when we are born again⁴. Let us put off the old man of authority and hold him in complete subjection, manifesting only the new man. Colossians 3 is a wonderful chapter. It tells us of the many disagreeable traits of the old man, including lying, that we should put off, and the many fine characteristics of the new man that we should be manifesting to the world. Let us heed this chapter and seek to please our Lord.

Footnotes:

¹ For more information on David, see The Life and Times of David in Additional Resources section of StudyJesus.com.

² For more on the Bible, see God’s Word in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.

³ For more on the Holy Spirit, see God the Spirit in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.

⁴ For more on salvation, see God’s Salvation in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.