THE POWER OF THE LIE
Notes
Transcript
Back in September we had the replay of a familiar story. Another black woman, Jess La Bombera, admitted that she was really a white Jewish woman named Jessica Krug. This is a repeat of the Rachel Dolezal story, who was elected president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, though she was as white as me. It’s hard to imagine what was actually going on in the minds of these women. It would appear that they were motivated by social acceptance, and having become totally invested in the lie, became convinced of their own lie. As odd as these particular examples might be, the power of the lie is a remarkable thing. It seizes whole nations, like Nazi Germany. It seizes whole generations, like a fetus is not a human being. A whole generation has bought this obvious lie. In the final analysis, the power of the lie seizes all humanity…all our brokenness in life started at the fall with a lie. But it’s on us. We are culpable. We choose to live a lie, or to live the truth. Our consideration.
Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?”
But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it was from.
And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
THE NATURE OF THE LIE
THE NATURE OF THE LIE
Personal Agenda
Personal Agenda
Behind every lie is a personal agenda. Behind every lie is the dominant self. It is always an act of selfishness. There is always a power play going on. Wherever there is a lie, there is a power play.
Satan, the Father of lies, arrays himself against God and seeks to strip God of His throne in the earth and enslave gullible sinners.
Whether it is to gain advantage over a competitor, or to gain power in a relationship, or to paint a desirable picture of yourself or a negative one of someone else, or to protect your personal interests…regardless of the circumstances, a lie is always told to advance some personal agenda.
Look at the rationale of the pharisees in our text. This is a remarkable insight into the inner workings of a lie.
They reasoned among themselves. This is a calculation of what will best serve their personal interests. The spin doctors are talking about damage control.
If we say “From heaven” we will expose ourselves as hypocrites. That’s not good for our image. If we say “From Earth” we will risk the cancel culture. That is the popular narrative and we risk social suicide.
What is driving this discussion? Honesty? Truth? A genuine desire to find out who Jesus is and what He’s all about? None of the above. Only a desire to hold on to power and to preserve the image, the social , status, the number of LIKES.
In the end, the welfare of those who are listening to Jesus in the Temple is compromised, sacrificed for the personal interests of the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
They are challenging the authority of Jesus’ teaching, not because they themselves really want to know from whence His authority comes, but to undermine His obvious authority to hold on to their petty positions. They, the supposed keepers of the truth, have no interest whatsoever in the truth. They are only interested in their personal agenda.
Which means the lie will be told at someone else’s expense, which is always the case.
Loved ones, friends, employers, employees, students, social structures, constituents, every lie that is told is a withdrawal from the account of a relationship, a weakening of the structure, an undermining of the foundations of life.
Manipulating Reality
Manipulating Reality
Lying tears the fiber of reality and thus undermines our ability to live and to make right decisions that come out right.
Right now there is a great deal of controversy about the elections. Someone is lying. I don’t claim to have a crystal ball here. There is said to be a great deal of evidence, and time will tell…but meanwhile the very fabric of our democracy is what is being sacrificed. I am talking about everything that has produced a prosperous and blessed nation and the freedoms of speech, religion, the right to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…it’s all being flushed.
Our nation, already divided to the breaking point, is being sacrificed on the altar of someone’s power grab. Lying politicians will gladly destroy the very thing they seek to gain for themselves. The selfishness behind this is irrational!
But so is the lie told in hopes to prevent the breakdown of a marriage or a relationship. We destroy the relationship with the lie that is meant to preserve it. Even if it was never revealed, which is never the case, the relationship itself is now broken. It has not been preserved.
Whereas the wrong done can be forgiven and healing can take place, the lie robs the relationship of that potential. It dies without hope.
Lying is always an act of manipulation.
It is always an exploitation. It is always an abuse.
Your tongue devises destruction,
Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
You love evil more than good,
Lying rather than speaking righteousness.
Selah
You love all devouring words,
You deceitful tongue.
“Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
Ultimately, lying is an act of violence. It is a deliberate assault on the person/persons being lied to. We never think of it in these terms when we are the liar, but we sure feel it when we are lied to.
We only think of self when we lie. But that is the lie behind the lie. The lie neither benefits self nor is neutral toward the other person. It damages them as much as it damages us.
THE CONSEQUENCE OF THE LIE
THE CONSEQUENCE OF THE LIE
The Confrontation
The Confrontation
Exposure
At the end of the day, exposure is inevitable. The truth will out!
A false witness will not go unpunished,
And he who speaks lies will not escape.
For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
Jesus exposed these men for who they were. Imagine all those watching this encounter. The very thing they were trying to preserve, their power and position, was undermined. It was a total backfire! “These guys don’t know what they’re talking about.” They came away diminished in the eyes of all who were in the temple.
Cut Off From the Truth
Cut Off From the Truth
But this was more than just image. The TRUTH was they didn’t know what they were talking about!!! They had no capacity for the truth. This is where living in the lie will ultimately bring you. We call it delusion.
Deception + the spirit of deception = delusion. We get to the point where we have done such damage to reality in our own minds that we can no longer recognize it. We are cut off from the truth.
Think about Jesus response, “Neither will I tell you”. If you won’t come clean, I won’t tell you who I am or where I get my authority. If you choose to live avoiding the truth and burying the truth, then I will not give you the truth.
and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
The level of delusional thinking that has overtaken this generation is staggering. From global warming to the 1619 Project to gender fluidity to the benefits of socialism to COVID.
If Covid was truly life threatening do you think Newsom and all his medical advisors would be filmed partying in Hawaii without masks or social distancing? That is what COVID really is. It is clearly not life threatening to the average person.
But what is amazing is how no one sees it. 2+2 does not equal 4 to those who are delusional. Those who believe lies because they have embraced the lie.
To be a liar is to be cut off from the truth. Because they did not receive THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH!!! That is the turning point. That is when all life becomes distorted. You can no longer process truth.
that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
This is all true in both the macro and the micro. It is how the world is currently so deceived and this is how every individual ends up deceived. It is the power of the lie.
Your only defense against the lie is your own integrity.
The integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.
He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
And shuts his eyes from seeing evil:
He will dwell on high;
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;
Bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
Again and again scriptures point to the source of our security. Our moral compass must be directed by truth, and if it is, we will not end up deceived and lost.
LIVING IN TRUTH
LIVING IN TRUTH
The Consequence of Truth
The Consequence of Truth
Jesus said, You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free. Just as surely as lies bring bondage, truth brings freedom.
What if these men had responded truthfully? What if they had said we know John was from God but we didn’t want to accept him because it would have compromised our power…do you think Jesus would have forgiven them? Had they acknowledged the legitimacy of Jesus ministry, do you think the people would have honored them?
Is it possible that the entire history of the priests and elders would have been different? Instead of being those that thwarted and resisted Jesus and ultimately had him crucified, is it possible that they could have been His greatest supporters?
I don’t know. It’s speculative. But at least these men could have absorbed the teachings of Christ instead of opposing everything he did and said and would have, at least, saved their own souls.
Buy the Truth
Buy the Truth
Buy the truth, and do not sell it,
Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.
The best thing you can do for your soul and for those you care about is embrace truth with both hands.
Do not be one of those who hides behind excuses and twists the truth to protect yourself from responsibility and accountability.
Don’t dodge the bullet. Take the hit.
Truth will cost you
Anything worth having will cost you. There may be pain, consequences, and ramifications to walking in the truth...but nothing that repentance and surrender won’t heal. There may be social repercussions, but they will be outweighed by a reputation for truth and integrity.
Don’t seek out a theology that will accommodate your personal sin or carnality. Don’t compromise your integrity on the job or in school. thinking that it will somehow be to your advantage. Live the truth.
Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
Truth alone will preserve you in Godless times.