TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
EXO 20:16
A little girl came very early one
morning to her mother, saying:"Which is worse, Mamma, to tell a lie or to
steal?" The mother replied that both were so sinful she could not tell
which was the worse. "Well, Mamma," replied the little one, "I've
been thinking a good deal about it, and I think it is ever so much worse to lie
than to steal." "Why, my child?" asked the mother. "Well,
you see, Mamma, it's like this," said the little girl. "If you steal a
thing you can take it back 'less you've eaten it; and if you've eaten it, you
can pay for it. But" -- and there was a look of awe in her face -- "a
lie is forever."
Why the “big 10” are
big deal?
Joh 14:15 If you love Me,keep My commandments
When you take an oath
before giving testimony in a court of law you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Why do we need to define
what telling the truth is? Mark Twain said there are 869 different kind of lies.
I don’t know about that but there are certainly lots of ways to not tell the
truth. Here are
a few:Bold-face lie White lie
Flattery Slander Gossip Excuses Propaganda Spin Exaggeration Half-truth
Hypocrisy Saving face Falsehoods
Shading the truth
16 These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to
evil, 19 A false witness who speaks
lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.
There
are 3 categories in today’s message:
(1) The Source of lies,
there is no truth in him. When he
speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for
he is a liar and the father of it. First time we hear of
Satan he’s lying
Gen.3:1 He’s speaking to Eve he
said, “Has God said?”
Gen. 2 Satan is the king of liars
and the source of lies.
Here are three big lies of Satan to all
of us today:
A. God is a Kill-Joy (God is
out to stop your fun in life)
1. Gen 3:4-5. Satan
says to Eve, “God wants to limit you. God wants all the good stuff for Himself.” the consequences of this
lie he hides from us. 2. What
happens to Adam and Eve? They lose their innocence.
a. Now they run & hide
vs
7-11. Perhaps the biggest lie
Satan uses,
“My way is fun,
God’s way is failure.”
b. The truth is opposite.
Listen to Jesus: John
10:10 The thief does not come except to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and
that they may have it more abundantly.
Stephen Curtis Chapman’s song, The Great Adventure. One line says, “Saddle
up your horses, you’ve got a trail to blaze, through the wild blue
yonder of God’s amazing grace.”
B. Who People think you are is
more important than who you are
1. Ananias & Sapphira Acts
5 The church had a
benevolent spirit Everyone was giving to meet the needs of others in the church.
Ananias & Sapphira wanted credit for being big givers so they sell property
& pretend to give all the money to the church but they lied, keeping part of
the money for themselves. They wanted others to think they were more, than they
were. They paid
dearly for their mistake.
2. The Bible has a word for this kind of
behavior – Hypocrisy!
Jesus never got angry with
those who admitted their own sinfulness.
You’ll never find Jesus
getting angry with a swindler, prostitute, thief, murderer or adulterer. But, he
got angry with hypocrites. Matt 23:13,23
3. Are you a hypocrite?
1Joh 2:4 He who says, "I know Him,"
and does not keep His
commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him.
1Joh 4:20 If someone says, "I love
God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his
brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
C. I Don’t Need God’s
Forgiveness
(I’m just
fine the way I am)
Luke 18:9-14. The parable was about praying. Note the outcome
vs.
14 I tell you,
this man went down to his house justified rather than the other;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
We know
the source of lies. Now:
II.
The SERIOUSNESS of
Lies 5 affects
of lying.
#1 Lying is Cruel
It can be destructive.
Slanderous.
Reputations can be lost.
Lives ruined.
What’s behind this kind
of lie? Jealousy, revenge, hurt, resentment.
We don’t always call it lying, sometimes it’s gossip, information,
concerns, (I’m
concerned, because I heard that….) prayer requests.
Potipher’s
wife lied about Joseph & Joseph went to prison for yrs. The Sadducees did
this to Jesus and He was crucified.
#2 Lying can be Cowardly
You lie to escape consequences. “My dog ate my homework.”
“I never had sexual relations with that woman.”
The motivation behind this
kind of lying is fear. Fear of a spanking,
OR of impeachment.
#3 Lying Can Be Conceited
Some lie to impress. You
puff up your resume. You brag about the fish you caught (but, of course you let
it go). In
1993 the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ran an help wanted ad in the
paper. They advertised for electricians with expertise at using Sontag
connectors. The ad got 170 responses – even though there is no such thing as a
Sontag connector. The
#4 Lying Can Be Calculated
To manipulate others. It
is motivated by greed or selfishness.
Con men use these kinds of
lies all the time.
Old Saying: “A
liar is not to be believed even when he tells the truth”
A pastor announced one Sunday that
next Sunday he was going
#5 Lying is Convenient
To save face. To get out of a jam. To curry favor. To
dodge a bullet.
To get off the hot seat.
To avoid consequences.
Abraham lied to
Pharaoh re: Sarah, saying she was his sister,not his wife
A boy in high school threw a
tangerine against a blackboard while the teacher was writing on it. It spattered
everywhere. The teacher was mad and went around the room asking each boy, “Did
you throw that orange?” The guilty boy said no when asked. After all, it was
not an orange, it was a tangerine.
A. Refuse to Lie.
1.
Refusing to lie, is especially important in the family of God.
Jas 4:11
Don't bad-mouth each other, friends. It's God's Word, his
Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk. You're
supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it.
2. Refuse
to be part of lies, listening to falsehood makes you liable.
It’s no compliment to
you that people use your ears as garbage cans.
Sometimes you break the
spirit of the 9th command by keeping silent.
By not speaking up to
affirm truth or to stop the lie.
3. Here is how you stop an evil report. (We have this
in a hand out)
(1) Ask
what is your reason for
telling me?
(2)
Ask where did you get your information?
(3) Ask
have
you gone to those directly involved?
(4)
Ask have you personally checked out all of the facts?
(5)
Ask can
I quote you if I check this out?
B.
Examine what’s in your HEART? Mat 12:35-37
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings
forth good things, & an
evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you
that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day
of judgment.37 For by
your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
1. Jesus said, what’s in your heart is
what comes out of your mouth.
If lying comes easy for
you, you need a change in heart.
2. HE
transplants HOLINESS for sinfulness.
C. LET Jesus show you the
way, the TRUTH and the life.
He can change you from the
inside out if you will let Him.
Joh 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Maybe what you need is a NEW Heart?
Our only hope for
NEW/Change is to DRAW CLOSE TO JESUS
Invitation:
Change My Heart Oh God