Summary of sermon by Erlo Stegen, 08 Nov 2015
Prov 12:22
Lying lips are hateful to Jehovah, but those who deal truly are His delight.
When someone lies, we do not take it seriously, but God’s Word says that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. But the one who speaks truthfully is a joy to the Lord.
That is why we must live truthfully at all times, to bring joy to the Most High. When Cain killed his brother, God asked him about his brother, but he answered that he was not his brother’s keeper.
Deception has many varieties. Lies have many shades of colour. Sometimes lies can be taken so lightly that the liar laughs afterwards about the deception.
But we read in
Rev 22:15 “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood”.
God puts liars in the same category as dogs, witchcraft, the sexually immoral, murderers and idolaters! Let us be careful about this. All these will have their place in the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
Four boys arrived late at school, and the teacher asked them why they were late. They said they had a flat tire. So the teacher asked each one to write down which tire was flat, and they had different answers, and so were caught out.
Lies also travel with a terrific speed and are told easily. It’s difficult to speak the truth.
Where does lying originate? From satan. He is the father of lies and liars. Jesus said to the pharisees that their father was satan (John 8:44). From the very beginning satan has lied. He speaks it according to his nature, for he is a liar. Whenever he opens his mouth he speaks lies. He occupied a high place in heaven, until iniquity was found in him and he was cast out of heaven.
Satan asked Eve if God really told them not to eat of the fruit, and then he contradicted God. Whenever you read of satan in the Bible, he is lying. When satan spoke to Eve, he accused God of lying. When he spoke of Job in the Bible, he accused him of lying. Realise this about satan, his character is lies.
The crucifixion was all about people who lied about the Lord Jesus. Right to the end, the antichrist is full of lies. From the beginning to the end, satan is the liar. And if we lie, we are identifying ourselves with him, bringing upon ourselves a curse and condemnation. Lies brings us into death.
Sin entered this world through lies, so never take lying superficially or lightly.
People like to excuse lies by saying they are just white lies. But God is the truth, and when you lie, you are exposing yourself as the child of satan.
There are many forms of lying. It might be through gossip, where you slander someone else while excusing yourself. If you steal someone’s money, and repent afterwards, you can return that money. But when you have lied, you cannot restore all the damage you’ve caused through your gossip and slander. This is a sin that is typical of women.
A certain lady brought about much friction in the church through her gossiping. They tried to correct her but nothing helped. One day the pastor called the lady and gave her a chicken. He told her to pluck its feathers while walking a distance of about 10km. Off she went and did it, and returned to him. He congratulated her and then told her to go back the same way and gather all the feathers! She answered that that was impossible, since the wind would have blown it all over! Then he told her that her gossiping was exactly the same, and like the feathers she could never gather those lies together again.
When you lie it has the potential to cover the whole world and return to you again. Even when you tell a friend of yours something very personal that’s just for her ears, she will do the same with the next and so the story will spread.
Some people are addicted to lies. Blessed is the person who can speak the truth without being crooked like the snake. You might go and ask for advice, and are told to do what is on your heart as you feel God leads you. But you then twist the story and says that so-and-so told you to do this and that. That is a lie and makes you a liar.
The Bible tells us to cast off lying, and live the truth. If you have not lived a life of truth, then repent today from a child of satan to a child of light.
Eph 4:25
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body”.
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