NINTH COMMANDMENT
“You shall not lie to your neighbor” (Ex. 20:16, ELT).
“I speak what My Father tells Me to say, but you speak what you father tells you . . . your father is the devil . . . a murderer from the beginning and does not have the truth in him. I tell you the truth” (John 8:38, 44).
A. INTRODUCTION
1. Relationship with Me. Why did I say, you shalt not lie? Because you know when you lie, you cannot lie to yourself. You try to live a lie before Me, but I know the truth.
2. Destroys self-respect. If you cannot lie to yourself, how can you harm yourself?
3. Harms others in many ways. What does lying do to others?
4. Satan. Where does lying come from? “Satan is the father of lies” (John 8:44).
5. Eve lied first. Can we blame our lying on someone else? Satan asked, “Did God say you must not eat from any tree in the Garden” (Gen. 3:1, ELT)? Eve exaggerated, “We must not eat ... nor touch” (Gen. 3:3, ELT).
6. Distorts My Word. How does Satan lie to you today? Did God really say “no?”
B. ARE THESE LIES?
1. Does lying include exaggeration?
? “Tell them I am not here.”
? “You never do any of the work.”
? “That’s the prettiest baby I have ever seen.”
? “My you look younger (or slimmer).”
2. Does lying include silence?
? “Who did this?”
? Taking credit for something you did not do.
C. SEVENTEEN KINDS OF LIES
1. White lies: Perceived as good for both teller and the victim of the lie.
2. Political lies or flattery: a compliment when you know the thing complimented is not good, but you say what the listener wants to hear
3. Gossip: telling what should not be told, i.e., revealing a secret.
4. Sinister lies: giving an untruth for your evil purpose.
5. Jovial lies: lying in an obvious way without malice, so both teller and listener know it is not true.
6. Half lies: telling the truth, but not the whole truth.
7. Excuse: misrepresenting the truth about a failure on our part.
8. Hypocrisy: your attempt to deceive another about something you are not (the New Testament word referred to an actor using a mask to play the role of another).
9. Justifying lies: to convince others they would have taken the similar action.
10. Face-saving lies: misrepresentation to avoid embarrassment. (Sarah told Me, she did not laugh).
11. Evangelistically speaking: the exaggeration of religious results. (Ananias and Sapphira).
12. Propaganda: used in military times to hide one’s position.
13. Advertisement: sometimes used to exaggerate the merits of a product.
14. Cheating: using material that is not yours with a view of misrepresentation (exams and income taxes).
15. Demonic lies: evil spirits are the source of mis-representing the nature of righteousness and evil (Rom. 1:25; 2 Thess. 2:11).
16. Spin: interpreting obvious fact to your favor (politics).
17. Plausibility of denial: people conspire to conceal their involvement by claiming they didn’t know.
D. WHY LYING IS WRONG
1. Misrepresents or hides the truth.
? You hurt the other person who does not know the truth.
? The more serious a lie, the more danger to the other person.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
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