Judgment and Scripture

"He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev. 21:7,8). The "He that overcometh" part of this saying most assuredly includes having no part with any of the sins listed thereafter, which sins will end up in the lake of fire and brimstone along with everyone who does them, as the scripture states. The sin listed here that I would like to attack today is 'lying.' Lying is evil for so many reasons, one of which is that it is an abject insult to God. God knows all, sees all, and judges all; so every time someone lies it is as if they are saying that God does not know all, does not see all, and does not judge all. God's people of old became very accustomed to exactly that manner of thinking in everything they did, and God addressed it by the prophet Ezekiel in no uncertain terms: "Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, the Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth" (Ezek. 8:12). Someone really has to be void of faith in God, and the knowledge of God, and the fear of God in order to be a liar. They also have to push hard against their conscience because the conscience is right on top of someone when they start lying about something. Let me say that lying is not confined to just telling something that we know isn't true. It includes just not being straight and direct in our dealings with other people. Cutting corners in communication and dealings with people for the sake of avoiding conflict, or for the sake of influencing someone in a certain direction about something is also a form of lying.

The first king of Israel, Saul, was stripped of the kingdom for trying to make it sound to the prophet Samuel like he had obeyed the word of the Lord in a mission that he had been sent on, when in fact he had not (I Sam. 15:13-21). Whatever form a lie takes, I can tell you of a certainty that God hates it. I think our text passage of scripture is evidence enough of that. But if that isn't enough we can always refer back to the sobering account of how God killed Ananias and Sapphira with sudden death in front of the whole congregation of the the early believers, for lying to the apostle Peter (Acts 5:1-10). We should keep in mind and memory that it was a lie and the belief of that lie that introduced sin and death into the world in the beginning (Gen. 3:1-7). The new testament scriptures straightly command us not to lie: "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds" (Col. 3:9). And again; "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers" (Eph. 4:29). Jesus made it clear that lying is not just a 'human error,' but rather it is something that is inherently evil, and strictly of the evil one: "He [Satan] 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" (Jn. 8:44). It really amazes me how so many people have taught themselves to lie prolifically about so many things and never bat an eye. I have to tell you that from my vantage point it takes a whole lot of unbelief to do that. There are people in very, very high positions among men who have become as skilled and consistent in lying as the prophets and apostles were at telling and writing the truth; and they do it about seriously accountable and influential things. They should read, believe, and fear the account of Ananias and Sapphira, lest they inherit the same or a worse fate.

Everyone should take note of the fact that our text passage says, "ALL liars shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." So it doesn't take being a king, or introducing sin into the world, or lying directly to an apostle, or being a world leader, to incur the wrath of God for being a liar. Lying is lying regardless of who is doing it, and it is an abomination to God in every case. Lying is a special kind of sin because it is done with speech, and the scripture pointedly tells us, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. 18:21). Another proverb gives us a little more detail on the matter: "A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin" (Prov. 26:28). So it is obvious that lying is a working of death, even as it proved to be in the garden of Eden. There are two main elements that are usually involved in a lie, the one of which is fear, the other being self gain. The Lord addressed in Isaiah the synonymous nature of lying and fear: "And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart?" (Isa. 57:11) Peter wrote about the self gain element of lying, and of it's judgment as well: "And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not" (II Pet. 2:3). I believe that leaves us with only one consideration, and the apostle Paul said it best: "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves" (II Cor. 13:5). Amen.