Our Biggest Problem: Lying Lying is sinful, and yet we do it all the time. That is why we must pray without ceasing. Let us learn some things from this lesson.

Introduction While we read that liars will be cast into the lake of fire: We find that lying is so easy to do. We lie to hide the truth. We lie to make ourselves look better. We lie for any number of reasons.

The Bible Is full of lies. The lie of the serpent: “Thou shalt not die” The lie of David: cover up adultery, then commit murder to hide it. Lying to the Holy Spirit: Ananias and Sapphira There is no God: the fool says so. Satan is the father of lies. A.K.A. Deception, deceit, hypocrisy, etc.

But let us take this subject and hit home with this. We lie to others: 1 John 1:6:”If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;” We want to appear to be the best in front of others, because we do not want them to see the inside which can be unseemly. So we make people think we are godly.

But let us take this subject and hit home with this. We Lie to ourselves: 1 John 1:8:”If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” If we lie often and strongly enough to others, eventually we’ll begin to believe the lie. Why? Because we want to feel good about ourselves.

But let us take this subject and hit home with this. We might rationalize our sin (“I’m not as faithful as I should be but, hey, with all I have to do, it’s hard to find time to attend all the services!”), We might trivialize it (“At least I’m not as bad as so-and-so!”), or we mightuse a hundred other ways in which to convince ourselves that everything is just fine in our relationship with the Lord.

But let us take this subject and hit home with this. We lie to God: 1 John 1:10:”If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” We have made ourselves liars and now we try to make God a liar! We contradict His word which tells us “all have sinned” (Rom 3:23),

But let us take this subject and hit home with this. Somehow maintain that we are exceptions to that rule ignoring that God - who is higher than us and mightier than us - cannot lie (Titus 1:2)! Yet we may deny His integrity in a variety of ways: Eating the Lord’s Supper while being unmoved by the sacrifice of God’s Son; Listening to sermons while being untouched by the Bible’s teaching, obstinate in our refusal to change; Going through an entire church service merely crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s, biding the time until it’s over for another week.

The Remedy For Lying: Honesty We must be honest with others. Face it, others can see through the hypocrisy we may try to maintain. Confessing our sins to one another (James 5:16) is a wonderful first step in repairing a relationship with God – and one another.

The Remedy For Lying: Honesty We must be honest with ourselves. All must be willing to “Test yourselves! Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.” (2 Cor 13:5) Self-examination must be done with the willingness toward making the proper changes, however difficult they may be to make. Frank, honest, personal scrutiny is not easy, but if you don’t do it, how will you be restored to fellowship with God?

The Remedy For Lying: Honesty Finally, we must be honest with God. Though He knows what we need before we ask it (Matt 6:8), He desires that our relationship with Him be open, honest, and humble. Like the tax collector in Luke 18, we must come before Him with contrite, sincere recognition of our sins willing to submit fully to Him in every way.

Conclusion Surely, the proverb is true: “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” (Prov 28:13) There are numerous commands to not lie. Lying is associated with Satan, and those who lie will not go to heaven. Let us make an effort to remove the lying from our lives.