Lies
One of the names given to satan is the ‘father of lies’.
From the beginning of creation, satan has lied, in the deception of Eve, to the deception of mankind, generation upon generation, of lies, designed to maintain his rule over the minds of men.
Jesus said it this way:
Joh 8:44 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.
I would not tell one lie to save the souls of all the world. John Wesley
We see this ‘father of lies’ described throughout Scripture:
2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Joh 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
We know that Jesus is the way the truth and the life.He cannot lie.
Nu 23:19 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?
God cannot lie! His Word is true, and so should His people be.
1Jo 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
Re 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
Re 21:8 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.
A lie has no legs. It requires other lies to support it. Tell one lie and you are forced to tell others to back it up. Stretching the truth won’t make it last any longer. Those that think it permissible to tell white lies soon grow colorblind.
Austin O’Malley.
1Ti 4: 1 ¶ Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
This is the last days! Finding truth among men, can be a challenging task, but it must be done. As we come closer to Jesus, and begin to walk in His Word and his power, hearts of people around us are revealed, and must always love people, but if there is a decision between any person, and the truth of God’s Word, we must choose the Word, and lovingly separate ourselves from certain people.
Hell is a real place. God never designed it for people, rather for satan and his minions:
Mt 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar. A. Lincoln
Yet, it is clear many people will go there. I repeat a story, I read in a book, ‘A Divine Revelation of Hell’ where a sister in the Lord, claims Jesus took her to hell. In hell, walking with Jesus, she saw and heard a man in fiery cell, in torment, cry out to Jesus, and say: “Lord, give me one more chance, you know I will do better this time!”, The Lord looked at this person, with eyes of steel and replied: ‘You are still a liar, even here!’
Re 21:8 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.
Eternity is real, and even if people choose not to believe, this very word, will be remembered in their life, forever.
From the French Enlightenment essayist, Michel de Montaigne, based on a proverb traced to the fourth century church father Jerome:
Lying is indeed an accursed vice. We are men, and we have relations with one another only by speech. If we recognized the horror and gravity of an untruth, we should more justifiably punish it with fire than any other crime. I commonly find people taking the most ill-advised pains to correct their children for their harmless faults, and worrying them about heedless acts which leave no trace and have no consequences. Lying — and in a lesser degree obstinacy — are, in my opinion, the only faults whose birth and progress we should consistently oppose. They grow with a child’s growth, and once the tongue has got the knack of lying, it is difficult to imagine how impossible it is to correct it.
On the Father Front, Winter, 1992-93, p. 4
If you are a liar, stop! Each day, one day at a time, decide to tell the truth, and keep your word. No matter how humbling, how foolish you may appear, no matter what it may cost you in this life, it is worth it, in light of eternity.
2Ti 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Let’s pray:
‘Father, forgive me for lying to you, and to others. Help me, from this day forward, to tell the truth, whatever it costs. In Jesus name, Amen.”