1. Liars Whether we want to admit it or not, we are all liars. So what can we do about our lying so that we can be saved?

2. Introduction There are many passages of scripture that warns us about being deceived. Usually if we just pay attention and remain sober minded we stand the chance of not being deceived. There are times, though, that we choose to be deceived. And the worst deception comes from our own selves.

3. 1st John 1:6-7 “ If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” Far too many claim fellowship with Jesus – calling themselves Christians,

4. 1 st John 1:6-7 Yet attending occasional assemblies of various denominations, etc. – even the Lord’s church. They do this while walking in darkness – Engaging in sexual immorality, speaking profanities, using God’s name in vain, practicing hatred, and the like. They put other things before God all the time. Occasionally, they do something to soothe their conscience.

5. 1st John 3:7 “Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;” It is deception to believe anything contrary to the fact that righteous people are those who practice righteousness. Yes, the grace of God is needed, but it has no effect on those who don’t do right! Salvation only comes to those who obey God. Hebrews 5:8-9

6. Romans 13:12-14 “The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts”. The “works of darkness” are to be “cast off”. This is a requirement when one endeavors to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ”.

7. Ephesians 5:11-12 “And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret”. A Christian’s “fellowship” should have nothing to do with “darkness”. 1 John 1:5 “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all”.

8. 1st John 1:8-10 “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us”. It is self-deceptive to claim sinlessness. Worse, it makes Jesus out to be a liar. Cleansing comes from confession, not concealment. Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23 Sin is, indisputably, universal.

9. The purpose of Christ was to save sinners. Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance”. 1st Timothy 1:15 “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all”. The one who claims to be without sin implicitly disputes Christ’s purpose, claiming not to need Him.

10. The purpose of Christ was to save sinners. Proverbs 28:13 “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion”.; James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much”. Quit making excuses. Quit claiming that what you’re doing isn’t really wrong. Quit hiding it. Mercy only comes through confession.

11. 1st John 2:3-6 “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commands. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him’, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him; the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked”

12. 1 st John 2:3-6 The one who self-identifies as a Christian, but refuses to confess His name in the face of persecution, as He commanded (Matthew 10:32- 33), lies! The one who self-identifies as a Christian, but refuses to repent of sin, as He commanded (Luke 13:3), lies! The one who self-identifies as a Christian, but has not been baptized, as He commanded (Mark 16:16), lies!

13. Don’t let your words convict you. Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed”. Works and words often deny each other. Don’t be that person!

14. Don’t let your words convict you. Matthew 7:21-23 Many who call themselves Christ’s people will be ultimately excluded from His kingdom. Yeah, that will show them _____________. Beware that Jesus is not speaking of you.

15. 1st John 2:22 “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son”. It is a lie to acknowledge Jesus as anything less than God’s anointed one, His only Son, our true Savior. He was a good man, but so much more than that. He was a prophet, but so much more than that. He changed the world, but so much more than that. Those who won’t call Him Christ, with full understanding of what that means, are antichrist!

16. 1st John 4:3 “And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world”. Antichrist is not some spooky end-times character. Antichrist is everyone who doesn’t openly recognize the reality of who Jesus is. 2nd John 7 “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist”. Antichrist is the same as “LIAR”.

17. Jesus will be perceived in many ways. Matthew 16:13-14 “…Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He said the them, But who do you say that I am?” Like Peter, for us, what is true and rewarding is to know He’s the Christ, God’s Son.

18. 1st John 4:20-21 “If someone says, ‘I love God’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also”. Claiming to love God while hating others, especially fellow believers, is contradictory. Do not forget that Christ died for them also.

19. God Is Love 1st John 4:8 “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love”. 1 st John 4:16 “And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him”. Real love for Him is totally incompatible with hatred toward any man.

20. 1st John 3:15-17 “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that he laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the worlds goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” Hatred is a damnable in the eyes of God as is murder. Rather, love manifests itself in sacrifice. Hebrews 13:1 “Let love of the brethren continue”. Don’t let anything get in the way of love.

21. Conclusion We know that lying comes from Satan. John 8:44 tells us he is the father of lies. Sin began because of a lie. And Revelation tells us that all liars will be sent to eternal punishment of hell. (21:8 Galatians 6:6 tells us “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap”. 2 Corinthians 13:5 “examine yourselves….”