When I was thinking of writing this message, the first place I went to check was Exodus 20. Why? This is because I have always been taught and I always assumed that there was a commandment among The Ten Commandments that said “thou shall not lie”. I am not sure how many people I have told that there was indeed such a commandment. While I was telling others this, guess what….., I was lying. May God forgive me. The closest commandment to thou shall not lie is the commandment that says “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”. This clearly shows how easy is it to lie. We lie all the time for various reasons and we always seem to want to justify why we lied. The word of God actually agrees that we are liars. In Psalm 116:11, the psalmist says that all people are liars.
The dictionary defines a lie as a statement that deviates from or perverts(alters) the truth. In the New Testament, the Greek word from whom lie is translated is “pseudomai” which means to utter an untruth or to attempt to decieve by falsehood. The bible tells us in John 8:44 that the devil is a liar and a father of lies. So, when we lie, we do the dees of the devil. The bible says that whoever says he knows Jesus but does not keep his commandments, he is a liar. If you say you know Jesus but you are engaged in acts of sexual immorality, then you are a liar, you don’t know Jesus. If you say you know Jesus but you still consult Sangomas and sacrifice to ancestors, then you are a liar, you don’t know Jesus. In John 4:20, if you say you love God but hate your brother, then you are a liar. In 1 John 1:6, if we say we have fellowship with Him but still walk in darkness, then we are liars. If you don’t believe in Jesus, you make God a liar since it is God that has sent Him, and God does not lie ( Numbers 23:19). A liar, is he who denies that Jesus is Christ (1 John 2:22). In Col 3:9, Paul says that we should not lie to one another. This is the same with Lev 19:11 which says we must not lie. In Rev 21:8, John says that all liars will burn in hell. Paul says in 1 Tim 1:10 that the law is for those who lie so that they can see that they are breaking God’s standard of holines.
So clearly, lying is a serious act. It is so serious that a person who continuously lies will burn in hell. How many lies have you told in your life? This year, this week, today? A lot? Or just one? Well if you have even told just one lie, you might be on your way to hell. A liar is a liar even if they have told just one lie in their whole life. It is not the number of lies that matter but, it is the fact that you have lied. You will at this stage say but, that is unreasonable, we all lie from time to time, and I will say to you that, that is the standard of holiness that God demands. James 2:10 tells us that if you break one law of God, you have broken all of them. So, even if you have lied only once and it was just a small lie, no one was hurt, then you have broken all of God’s law. In the eyes of God, wether you are a liar or a murderer, you are the same and you will be burning in the same hell. So, I am sorry to tell you this but, even a small lie, will send you to hell.
You will then say to me at this stage that “but even Christians lie”, and I will say yes they do. The difference between a non Christain who lies and a Christian who lies is that, a Christians does not make it a habit of lying, does not enjoy lying and tries to stay clear of lying. He is also under the grace of God and he has Jesus interceedeing for him. So, God forgives him and spares him from going to hell. Whereas a non Christian who lies is not under grace and God will not forgive him and he will be sent to hell. You will then say but God is forgiving, He will know that I tried not to lie. I will say, indeed, God is forgiving, that is why He send His son Jesus to come no die on our behalf so that those who beleive can be saved from hell but, God is also a just Judge who will not allow sin to go unpunished.
Therefore, lying is a sin, bad enough sin for God to send all liars to hell. If you have not accepted Jesus in your life as Lord and Savior, and you have lied before and/or you are lying now, well, then, the bible says that God will send you to hell. So, if you die now and you have not repented and put your trust in Jesus, and you stand infront of God, God will find you guilty for lying and send you to hell. If this concerns you, then, the time is now, REPEND AND PUT YOUR TRUST IN JESUS AND YOU WILL BE SAVED FROM HELL. Amen.