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Lying and Deceit: What Does the Bible Teach?
What are some ways people may be guilty of lying and deceiving others?
Why do people tell lies or deceive, and what consequences can result?
What does the Bible say?
What must we do to overcome dishonesty and learn to be honest and truthful?
What does the Bible teach about the dangers of falsehood?
Introduction
A Mans son’s company gave him two free tickets to a Cubs game, so he and I went.
A professional photographer asked if we would like to have our picture taken for free.
When we agreed, he gave us a card telling us how to access our picture online.
But the site required us to pay $20 to get any useable picture.
He "took the picture" for free, but he knew people would think they would get a picture for free.
He deceived us.
lists seven things that are an abomination to God, and two of them involve lying: "a lying tongue," and "a false witness that tells lies."
God hates a lying tongue!Definitions of lying and deceit
- No lie is of the truth.
By its very nature, a lie is untrue.
It is a falsehood.
"Lie" - "...a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive..." - Random House College Dictionary.
"Deceit" - "act or practice ... intended to ... mislead by a false appearance or statement" - Random House College Dictionary.
The difference is that a lie is generally spoken; but deceit includes anything, whether words or deeds, that are intended to lead people to believe what is not true.
Note that not everything that is untrue is necessarily a lie or deceit.
Lying generally involves deliberate falsehood, told with the intent of misleading or causing someone to believe error.
Note - Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
- Ananias and Sapphira sold property and gave part of the price to the church, but they told others that they gave the whole price.
Peter asked, "How is it you have conceived this thing in your heart."
They had lied to God.We will notice several verses later that show that lies come from the heart.
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If someone asks me the ages of my grandchildren, if I tell what I believe is the truth, but it turns out to be a mistake, I have not lied.
But if I know the truth and knowingly tell what is wrong, I have lied.
In this lesson, we want to study the twin problems of lying and deceit.
What are some ways people may be guilty of lying and deceit?
Why do people practice them?
What are the consequences?
As we study we need to each ask ourselves whether we have been guilty.
Consider the Bible teaching about lying and deceit:
I. Specific Kinds of Lies and Deceit
A. Outright Falsehoods
These are "bold-faced lies" - the one who tells them is well aware that he has told an outright falsehood.
He may consider it a "big black lie" (one with serious consequences) or a "little white lie" (one he thinks will not have serious consequences), but he knows it he has told a lie.
Many passages rebuke the general concept of lying.
- God hates a lying tongue and a false witness who speaks lies.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- Putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor.
- Liars are listed among other sins that are contrary to sound doctrine.These are direct prohibitions against lying.
Most people know that lying is morally wrong.
Interestingly, people who often tell lies to others (like politicians) will often become very upset when other people lie to them and are often the quickest to accuse others of lying!
Other kinds of lies and deceit may be less obvious: people may not consider these acts to be lies or deceptions when they do it.
Yet they often recognize such acts to be lying when other people do it to them!
[Other verses note especially ; ,; ; see also ; ; ; ; ; ; ,; ; ; ; ; ; ; ]
B. False Promises
Some people make promises they have no intention of keeping or know they cannot keep.
This is a form of deliberately misleading people.
, - Many stories about Jacob involve deceit.
He bargained with his uncle Laban to serve seven years for Rachel.
Laban agreed, but at the wedding he gave Jacob Leah instead.
Jacob said Laban beguiled or deceived him.
, - Pharaoh deceived Moses by promising to let Israel go if the plagues were removed.
When that was done, he did not keep his promise.
- God is not a man, that He should lie ... Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
The implication is that, if God did not keep His promises, He would be guilty of lying.
As humans, there may be circumstances beyond our control when we simply cannot keep a promise we really intended to keep.
But when we knowingly make a promise we never intend to keep, or when we could keep it but we deliberately choose not to, that is deceit.
How many of us are guilty?[;
; ; ; ; ; ,]
C. Flattery
Often people want to make a favorable impression on others, so they say nice things that they don't really mean or don't really believe to be true.
This may seem kind, but it is a form of deliberately deceiving others.
- They delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly.
When we don't mean the nice things we say, we are lying.
, - Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, and they lied to Him with their tongue.
Here the people flattered God by professing that they would serve Him but did not really mean it in their hearts.
This is both a form of flattery and failure to keep promises.
The passage says they lied.
- False teachers often walk according to their lusts, speaking smooth words, flattering people to gain advantage.
This is deception because they say nice things about others, professing to care about them, but really they just seek their own advantage (money, a following, etc.).
This may remind us of politicians trying to get votes.
They pretend to think highly of you, but they really want something from you.Sometimes we really hold an unfavorable view of someone, but we don't want to insult them, so it is easy to say what we don't mean.
Perhaps it isn't even proper for us to be thinking those negative thoughts about others.
But if our thoughts are valid, then we need to either speak the truth or find something we can honestly say or just change the subject.
But lying should not be an option.
Are we guilty?
[,; ,,; ; ; ]
D. False Doctrine
When religious teaching is presented as truth even though it cannot be proved by the Bible, deceit is always involved.
- Satan told Eve she would not die if she ate of the forbidden fruit.
Yet God had said she would die (2:17).
After Eve sinned, she said the serpent had beguiled her (3:13).
[; ] - Prophets prophesied lies in God's name.
He had not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them, but they prophesied a false vision and the deceit of their heart.
- "False apostles" are called "deceitful workers," because they pretend to be servants of Christ, angels of light, and ministers of righteousness.
Many teachers present themselves as men of God teaching His word, yet they teach things they cannot find in the Bible.
, - Elymas the sorcerer tried to prevent Sergius Paulus from accepting the gospel.
Paul accused him of being full of deceit and fraud.Note that false teaching is sinful for a number of reasons.
But one reason is that it always involves deceit.
Many religious leaders are deceitful because they claim a teaching is from God when they know they don't have the proof.
But sometimes a teacher is sincerely in error - he really believes he is teaching truth; in that case, he has been deceived by someone else.
All false teaching is ultimately a lie in that it all originates with Satan, who knows it is a lie.
So false teaching is wrong for many reasons.
But one reason is that it always involves deceit.
Let us make sure we are not guilty![Note
especially ,,; ,; ; .
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