Butch Ewing
Butch Ewing is a Full Stack Developer, Bass Player, Entrepreneur, Public Figure, Cancer Survivor, Ordained Minister, Comedian, and Dork.
What are some examples of the destructive power of lies? How have you personally experienced the consequences of falsehood, either by lying or being lied to?
Do Not Lie
God Wants People to Reflect His Character by Telling the Truth
In the Ninth Commandment, God forbids us to bear false witness against our neighbors. Throughout the Old Testament, He expressed His hatred for lying lips and declared truthfulness to be a requirement for His people. Because of Jesus Christ, who was falsely accused for our sake, we can be forgiven when we repent (tell the truth about ourselves) and believe the gospel (the truth about Jesus). As a truth-telling people, the church now bears a true witness to Christ.
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
–Colossians 3:9-10
Memory verse
And then she understood the devilish cunning of the enemies’ plan. By mixing a little truth with it they had made their lie far stronger.
–C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)
British novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist.
If you want the truth to go round the world you must hire an express train to pull it; but if you want a lie to go round the world it will fly; it is as light as a feather, and a breath will carry it.
–Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)
British Particular Baptist preacher known as the "Prince of Preachers".
1. God forbids us to bear false witness.
Deuteronomy 5:20; Exodus 23:1-3,6-8
What kinds of lies are seen as culturally acceptable today? How should Christians respond to gossip in the church?
- Stretching the Truth
- White Lies
- Intentional Deception
forms of lying that we must watch out for
When have you witnessed lying tearing a family apart? How can we cultivate truth-telling in our homes and churches?
Why should we be aware of our motives to lie? How can we practically resist the temptation to lie?
It is never right to do wrong in order that right may come, although it may seem justifiable from every standard saving one. In the long run you can never produce right by doing wrong, yet we will always try to do it unless we believe what the Bible says. If I tell a lie in order to bring about the right, I prove to my own conviction that I do not believe the One at the back of the universe is truthful. Judge everything in the light of Jesus Christ, who is The Truth, and you will never do the wrong thing, however right it looks.
–Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
Scottish Baptist and Holiness Movement evangelist and teacher, best known for the devotional My Utmost for His Highest.
2. A truthful heart is required for entrance into God’s kingdom.
Psalm 15
Why does God take lying so seriously? Do you think churches take lying seriously? Why or why not?
Why must honesty be a quality found in a follower of Jesus? What are the effects of dishonesty from a believer?
The Lord Christ…entered the temple at Jerusalem free from sins. Whereas others had entered the house of God for purification, he was the only One to enter in such a way as to stand before the Father’s face without blemish. So the law did not bestow anything on him, but as the best legislator he fulfilled the law.
–Cassiodorus (circa 485-580)
Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator - Roman statesman and writer
3. In Christ, we put away lying practices because we have put on the new self.
Colossians 3:9-10
In what ways does honesty aid us in our mission to share the truth of Jesus Christ?
The biggest lie is the one we live with every day, the lie we work so hard to maintain. It is the lie that we are on the inside what we pretend to be on the outside.
–Philip Graham Ryken
Eighth and current president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.
Seek nothing with exterior gold and bodily adornment; but consider the garment as one worthy to adorn him who is according to the image of his Creator…And he who has put on ‘the heart of mercy, kindness, humility, patience and meekness’ is clothed within and has adorned the inner man.
–Basil the Great (330-379)
Greek bishop of Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor
Conclusion
Jesus Christ embodied the truth, and because we are being made like Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit, we too should embody truth. This means we must be careful to avoid gossip and slander and lies. We have put off this old self and put on the new self through faith in Christ. Now we are being renewed daily according to the image of our Creator, who is the God of truth. Live the truth of who you are in Christ, and speak the truth of what God has done for us in Christ.
The basis of biblical truth is God’s character, which cannot be false; not being a man but God, he cannot deal falsely…A God of faithfulness, who does not deal deceitfully with His people requires of His people the same transparency and honesty in personal relationships.
–Mark F. Rooker
Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, North Carolina
Do Not Covet
God Wants People to Find Satisfaction in Him
In the Tenth Commandment, God forbids us to covet something that belongs to someone else. Coveting is the craving of the heart for something we believe will give us satisfaction. Instead, coveting isolates us from others and robs us of a proper perspective of earthly things. The gospel is the only answer to covetousness, for only Jesus provides us with a way to find our satisfaction in God and His gifts. Through faith in Jesus, we are given new desires that are in line with God’s mission.
Do Not Lie: God Wants People to Reflect His Character by Telling the Truth
By Butch Ewing
Do Not Lie: God Wants People to Reflect His Character by Telling the Truth
In the Ninth Commandment, God forbids us to bear false witness against our neighbors. Throughout the Old Testament, He expressed His hatred for lying lips and declared truthfulness to be a requirement for His people. Because of Jesus Christ, who was falsely accused for our sake, we can be forgiven when we repent (tell the truth about ourselves) and believe the gospel (the truth about Jesus). As a truth-telling people, the church now bears a true witness to Christ.
