Lying

What is lying (Being dishonest)?

 Lies
 Dishonesty
 “Silence” on truth
 Religious Indifference
Explain from SOP
We Shall Not Lie, or Bear False Witness (Sons and Daughters 64)
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Exodus 20:16. {SD 64.1}
The ninth commandment requires of us an inviolable regard for exact truth in every
declaration by which the character of our fellow men may be affected. The tongue, which is
kept so little under the control of the human agent, is to be bridled by strong conscientious
principles, by the law of love toward God and man. {SD 64.2}
False-speaking in any matter, every attempt or purpose to deceive our neighbor, is here
included. An intention to deceive is what constitutes falsehood. By a glance of the eye, a
motion of the hand, an expression of the countenance, as falsehood may be told as
effectually as by words. All intentional overstatement, every hint or insinuation
calculated to convey an erroneous or exaggerated impression, even the statement of
facts in such a manner as to mislead, is falsehood. This precept forbids every effort to
injure our neighbor's reputation by misrepresentation or evil surmising, by slander or tale-
bearing. Even the intentional suppression of truth, by which injury may result to others, is
a violation of the ninth commandment. {SD 64.3}
He [Jesus] teaches that the exact truth should be the law of speech. "Let your speech be,
Yea, yea; Nay, nay." . . . These words condemn all those meaningless phrases and expletives
that border on profanity. They condemn the deceptive compliments, the evasion of truth,
the flattering phrases, the exaggerations, the misrepresentations in trade, that are current
in society and in the business world. They teach that no one who tries to appear what he is
not, or whose words do not convey the real sentiment of his heart, can be called truthful.
. . . {SD 64.4}
Everything that Christians do should be as transparent as the sunlight. Truth is of God;
deception, in every one of its myriad forms, is of Satan. . . . We cannot speak the truth unless
our minds are continually guided by Him who is truth.

Why do people lie?

… to avoid embarrassment? “I’m really sorry, Mrs. Hendley. We couldn’t finish your job last night
because our whiz machine was broken.” (Actually, we forgot all about it.)
… to keep from hurting someone’s feelings? “Thank you for sending those muffins. They were
delicious.” (We took one bite and threw the rest away.)
… to save a situation (money)? “Oh no, Mr. Customs Inspector, we didn’t buy anything on our trip
abroad.” (Just some silver plates. They’re right there under the towels.)
… to get a better grade? “I did finish the term paper, Dr. Shivers, but the electricity went out just
before I could save it to the hard drive.” (Modern version of “My dog ate it.”)

Is it ever right to lie? What about lying by (God’s) people in the

bible?
1Samuel 19:11 Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him
in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, if thou save not thy life tonight,
tomorrow thou shalt be slain. 12 So Michal let David down through a window: and he went,
and fled, and escaped. 13 And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of
goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. 14 And when Saul sent messengers to
take David, she said, He is sick.

2
2Sa 17:17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel; for they might not be seen to come
into the city: and a wench went and told them; and they went and told king David. 18
Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and
came to a man's house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down. 19
And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn
thereon; and the thing was not known. 20 And when Absalom's servants came to the woman
to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them,
They be gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they
returned to Jerusalem.

Effects of lying
1. Lying destroys people’s freedom and dignity of our victims because it is always
manipulative. By lying to someone, we take away their ability to choose rationally, to make a
decision and form an opinion based on accurate information. It means that we are treating
people with contempt, as objects to fool and deceive for our own selfish ends.

2. Lying damages the personal freedom of the people who engage in it, because they quickly
become entangled in the sticky web of their own deception and manipulation. Abraham Lincoln
said: “No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar.” Truth tellers do not have
to strain to avoid the pitfalls they have set for themselves, but liars keep digging in deeper as
they lie more and more, attempting to cover their previous falsehoods.

3. Lying destroys trust. It is sometimes possible to deceive other people, but usually not for long.
Distrust and suspicion increase exponentially when a lie is discovered. Nobody trusts a liar.
And it is also true that no one is more suspicious than a liar. People who lie naturally don’t trust
other people. They assume that they are just like them.
 4. Lying damages the liar’s sense of self-worth. Even if it is possible to deceive other people
for a while, it is very much harder to fool ourselves. I may be able to pull the wool over your
eyes, but I have done serious damage to myself, because I know that I am a fake and a hypocrite.

5. Lying destroys our relationship with God. This may be the least concern of someone
squirming in an effort to get out of trouble. But in the end it is the most devastating effect of
all. Let us look at this further.

What the Bible says

Ex 23:1,7 Le 19:12 Ps 58:3 Ps 116:11 Ps 144:8 Pr 6:16-19 Pr 12:19 Pr 19:5,9 Pr 21:6 Pr
24:28 Pr 25:18 Ac 5:4 Col 3:9-10 Tit 1:2 1Jo 2:21 Re 21:8 Ex 20:16
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Pr 12:22
¶ Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
1Ti 1:9
Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for
the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of
mothers, for manslayers,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for
perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
Re 21:8, 27
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.
And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh
abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

The God We Serve

Ps 31:5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.
Jer 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the
earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. {true...: Heb. God of
truth} {everlasting...: Heb. king of eternity}
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me.
Joh 17:17 ¶ Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

IN CONTRAST
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. {of his own: or, from his own will or
disposition}

What should we do?

 Overcome your fears with truth
 If you know you neglected responsibility, face the Consequences with boldness and
learn from it.
 Understand that you cannot help God.
 Delete lies from all possible options

The Ultimate False Witnessing

John 13:35 ye are my disciples
Acts 1:8 My witness
Ro 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Pr 14:5 ¶ A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

Do we always have to tell the truth? What about timing?