Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another. Ephesians 4:25
The devil is the father of lies, and all of his children lie. God cannot lie, and all of his children tell the truth. But do they tell the truth all the time? And, are there occasions when it is OK for a Christian to tell lies? Consider two occasions in the Bible when people told lies and were blessed by God. Two midwives in Egypt lied to Pharaoh about the delivery of baby boys to Israelite mothers. Those women are commended for their fear of God, and were blessed by God for honouring Him. In Jericho, Rahab the harlot lied about the spies from Israel, and she and her family were the sole survivors of the destruction of the city. We need to be careful about using these examples as justification for lies, because God commends those women not for their lies but for their fear of Him and their allegiance to His people. You and I will rarely if ever encounter occasions when we need to lie for God.
Our text tells us that lying is something that we need to put away. Lying was a natural part of our unsaved life. Because the truth was not in us, we employed lying as a tool to serve our unholy purposes, and we thought little of it. But when we were saved, we received One Who proclaimed Himself to be the truth. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, God Who cannot lie. Lying is totally contrary to the new nature that we have been given as a new creature. Just as we have clothing that we have put away because it no longer fits us, so we have habits and practices from our old life that we need to put away because they no longer fit our new life. Lying is one of those practices that no longer fit. Lies should be totally foreign to the Christian’s tongue.
Why is it so important to us that God cannot and will not lie? We know that such a God is totally trustworthy. His Word is always good and His promises always fulfilled. What He declares today will not change tomorrow. Because God cannot lie. And so, when people look at you and me, how can they know that they can trust us? How can they be guaranteed that we are dependable? By the truth that we tell. If our words are always true, we can be a good witness to sinners when we present the Gospel. If our words are always true, we can be a good help to fellow Christians. If our words are always true, we can be respected and trusted in the Assembly. Most of all, if our words are always true, we can be a faithful representative of our Lord Jesus.
Watch your speech today; make sure that you do not lie; let the world know who your Father is. -Jim MacIntosh