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Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15
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These Things Doth the Lord Hate: A Lying Tongue
Sunday, Sep 6, 2009: By Pastor Huber Ulysse
Proverbs 6:16-19 16. These six [things] doth the LORD hate: yea, seven [are] an abomination unto him: 17. A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18. An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19. A false witness [that] speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Pastor Ulysse started by letting each of us know that this message is really for all of us. Even if we are not lying in our daily lives, we may know someone who is. And if that is the case, we need to make sure that we are able to share this information with people who lie. This is not something we can take lightly. God put this message in front of us (whether we were in the sanctuary when it was preached, reading it on the internet, the CD of the message was mailed to you by a friend, or someone just tells you about it in passing at work). We are all responsible that we take this information about what God hates, and act on it.
What exactly is lying? The dictionary defines it as a false statement or word made with the intention to deceive. We find that lying can become an addiction. Just one lie is often followed by lies to cover up the first. Lies become consuming. They suck the teller in, and getting out of it is a hard task. Lies are a special kind of sin because they don’t only hurt the person who is lying. They hurt our neighbors, friends, family, and anyone they connect with. Lies also breed fear. The fear of being found out can be so intense that it takes all the joy out of life, and God does not want us to live in fear. The Bible teaches us that we are supposed to have abundant life through God, not a life filled with worry and pain.
I Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
John 8:44 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.
This scripture in John shows us the origin of lies. Lies are from the Devil. The first lie was told by a serpent in the Garden of Eden. It was a lie about God to man. The serpent told Adam and Eve that if they ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that wouldn’t die for sure. That was exactly the opposite of what God told Adam and Eve though. The lie they heard dealt directly with God and his relationship with and instruction to them. We also see accounts in the Bible of what it looks like when a lie is told by the Devil about a man to God. Look at the story of Job. Satan tells God that Job is basically following him because everything in his life is good, but if things went sour for him, Job would not follow God anymore. That was a lie. If we spend time reading the whole story of Job, we see that he never quit on his relationship with God. He was faithful.
So we know that Satan’s role is to lie. He’s really good at it because that’s what he does. The words we speak are the way he causes hurt when we start to lie. Our tongues are his tool for destruction, hurt, and division. So we have to be careful that we don’t allow ourselves to get caught in the habit of lying.
James 3:1-12 1. My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. 2. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same [is] a perfect man, [and] able also to bridle the whole body. 3. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4. Behold also the ships, which though [they be] so great, and [are] driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6. And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 7. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 8. But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 10. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 11. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet [water] and bitter? 12. Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so [can] no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
Pastor Ulysse made a couple of points about the text above. In verse five, we see that the tongue can boast great things. The things we say can either fill us with pride, or they can help keep us humble. We need to be aware of what our self talk is indicating to avoid the trap of becoming proud. If we take a look at verse eight, we can see that the tongue is something that no one will ever tame. We cannot think “I’ve got my mouth under control” and move on to the next battle. No matter how long we have been in a relationship with God, or how seasoned of a Christian we become, we will always have to work on what we say. It’s a continuous process. God expects us to stay humble not only in the things we say out loud, but in our self talk. He hates lies, so we have to make sure that everything we say is 100% truthful 100% of the time.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 1. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. 2. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter [any] thing before God: for God [is] in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. 3. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice [is known] by multitude of words. 4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for [he hath] no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 5. Better [is it] that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 6. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it [was] an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? 7. For in the multitude of dreams and many words [there are] also [divers] vanities: but fear thou God.
Pastor Ulysse shared a story about something that happened when he first became a Christian that was shaped by this scripture in Ecclesiastes: When I first got saved, I was excited. I was sure I was going to tell the whole world about God. Right after I first got baptized, I was praying and I told God that I would just do my four years in the Navy and then get out so I could preach the gospel. I didn’t really realize what I was saying at the time.
At the end of my four years, I was ready to stay in the Navy. I didn’t know what I would do when I got out. I didn’t have that planned. But God reminded me of what I said when I was speaking out of excitement when I was a young Christian. I read this scripture and realized that I had to keep my word to God. And I did.
Proverbs 10:19 19. In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips [is] wise.
The more we talk, the more chance we have to sin. Maybe we need to stop talking so much. The Bible says we should be slow to speak and swift to hear.
There was a man walking through town one afternoon who came across a group of young boys. They were standing in a circle around a dog that looked mangy, hungry, and in need of a home. They were all talking animatedly, so the man stopped his walk and went over to see what was going on. He found that the boys had found this dog and didn’t want to leave in on the streets, but none of them really wanted to bring him home either. They decided that the best way to decide who would have to take him home would be to do an evaluation of truth. They boys all told stories, and whoever told the biggest lie would have to keep the dog. The man thought this was silly. He spoke up and said, “I’ve never lied, so I would definitely win in that.” After that one statement, the man walked away with the dog.
Here’s another story about lying: There was a man who got tired of doing the right thing all the time. He had been faithful to his church for years and years. One day he got his feelings hurt and decided to start a rumor. Shortly after he did this, he felt so bad about his behavior that he went to the pastor and told him what he had done. He asked the pastor to forgive him for his thoughtless actions and that he would do anything he needed to do to make things right. The pastor was quiet for a long time and told him to fix this, all he needed to do was get a pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers all over the town and come back to discuss the matter again. The man was confused, but went and did what he was told. He scattered feathers all over the city and went back. The pastor then explained to the man that he needed to go back out and pick up every feather that he had released into their community, put it back in the pillow, and sew it back up. Simple right? The man was shocked. That was impossible! The pastor explained that it is the same way with lies and gossip. It will travel faster and wider than anyone can ever predict, and repairing the damage to the church caused by this lie was impossible.
We can lie with our behavior if we intend for it to deceive others around us. Pastor Ulysse asked us to consider what it would be like if we started to realize that our actions might be lies if they don’t line up with what we speak.
I John 1:5-7 5. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
I John 2:4-6 4. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
If we say we are Christian we have to live like we are Christians every day. We must say what we do, and do what we say.
Pastor Ulysse asked an interesting question: What about lies that are told to protect human life? During his time in Haiti, Pastor Ulysse said that there were times when he knew that he and his family were in danger, but he would look at his wife and tell her “Everything is ok. We will be fine.” Even when he didn’t know what would happen. Or if there was someone who was looking for a family member of his who intended to harm them, he wouldn’t just pipe up and say “oh I know right where they are. Let me take you to them”. This is a fine line, and it can be confusing. We know that we have to be honest because God hates a lying tongue, but we also have an instinct to protect the people we love.
God gives us examples throughout the Bible of when his people were untruthful. Elisha lied to the Syrian. Peter denied that he ever knew Christ. Rahab hid the spies. In Exodus 1, we see that the midwives were untruthful because they were protecting the lives of the baby boys.
Exodus 1:15-22 15. And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one [was] Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 16. And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see [them] upon the stools; if it [be] a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it [be] a daughter, then she shall live. 17. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. 18. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive? 19. And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women [are] not as the Egyptian women; for they [are] lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them. 20. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. 21. And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. 22. And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
Here’s the bottom line though. There is no lie in God. It’s the nature of God that he cannot lie. He is the truth!
Numbers 23:19 19. God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do [it]? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Romans 3:5-8 5. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? [Is] God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) 6. God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? 7. For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? 8. And not [rather], (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.
If we take it upon ourselves to tell a lie that is intended to bring glory to God, He can still use that. God is in charge and can do whatever it is he wants. But we have to know that we are doing it on our own, and not because God told us to. Remember that God does not lie and there is no lie in him. We will be judged according to what we choose to do in this life, and God makes it clear throughout the Bible that He isn’t going to let us off the hook. When Jesus was praying in the garden and the soldiers showed up to arrest him, he admitted who he was instead of lying to try and protect his life. Jesus understood that the whole situation was in God’s hands and lying would be a sin.
Colossians 3:9-10 9. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10. And have put on the new [man], which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
If we look at these scriptures in light of the fact that we know we are the body of Christ as a church family, it helps bring some perspective to what would happen if we lie to each other. If your finger was about to touch a hot stove, but lied to your brain and told it the stove was cool you would be in big trouble. You would probably end up burning your hand pretty severely. What if our eyes lied to our feet about how many stairs there were in a flight as we were going down steps? We would probably fall and do some serious damage. Our body is designed to send truthful messages via our nervous system so we don’t end up hurting ourselves in a bad way. The same is true of the church body. If we lie to each other, we are setting the church up for a lot of hurt, some serious damage, and eventually failure.
But it is not enough to just boldly speak the truth all the time. We have to speak the truth with love.
Matthew 5:33-37 33. Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34. But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: 35. Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Pastor Ulysse asked us to think about whether or not we can honestly say “Yes I said that, and I believe that” about everything we say in every day of our lives. If not, we need to get to that point. God hates lies. And to please God, we have to be careful about the words that we speak. It’s a process that will never be over. Every single day in our walk with God we can get a little bit better, a little more truthful, and as a result, we’ll get a lot closer to him.
