John 8:44 WEL You are of [your] father, the Devil, and you want to do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he has not continued in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he tells [it] from himself, because he is a liar and the father of it.
Some basics about the devil:
B1 He was created
B2 He was originally sinless
B3 He originally was a servant of Yahweh
B4 He was gifted more than any other created being
B5 He starting admiring himself and as a result became proud
B6 He was removed from his privileged position
C1 He was rebuked
C2 He sin was exposed
B7 He became all that God is not, that is, God’s character traits are opposite of the devil’s character.
C1 He became violent
D1 The Hebrew word is חָמָס châmâç.
D2 It means violent, false witness, oppression, and doing what is wrong.
C2 He became a murderer
C3 He became the Father of lies in whom no truth resides
D1 He lies
D2 He deceives
D3 He pretends to be an angel of light
C4 He will become humiliated
B8 He will be thrown out of heaven and will never enter again except for judgment
B9 He will be thrown into the Lake of Fire to suffer eternal, never ending, conscious torment
B10 Verses:
C1 Isaiah 14:12-14 NKJV How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
C2 Ezekiel 28:11-17 GNB The LORD spoke to me again. 12 "Mortal man," he said, "grieve for the fate that is waiting for the king of Tyre. Tell him what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: You were once an example of perfection. How wise and handsome you were! 13 You lived in Eden, the garden of God, and wore gems of every kind: rubies and diamonds; topaz, beryl, carnelian, and jasper; sapphires, emeralds, and garnets. You had ornaments of gold. They were made for you on the day you were created. 14 I put a terrifying angel there to guard you. You lived on my holy mountain and walked among sparkling gems. 15 Your conduct was perfect from the day you were created until you began to do evil. 16 You were busy buying and selling, and this led you to violence and sin. So I forced you to leave my holy mountain, and the angel who guarded you drove you away from the sparkling gems. 17 You were proud of being handsome, and your fame made you act like a fool. Because of this I hurled you to the ground and left you as a warning to other kings.
C3 Matthew 25:41 NIV Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
C4 Revelation 12:9 NRSV the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
C5 Revelation 20:7-10 NKJV Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Some ways the devil lies:
B1 Charm
B2 Curiosity
B3 False promises
B4 The true source of knowledge about something
B5 Pretend to tell the future
B6 Being the ultimate narcissist.
Diverse ways of lying
B1 It can be in thoughts, desires, words, and deeds
C1 Thoughts where we deceive ourselves.
D1 Pride
D2 Low self-esteem
D3 Excuses not to do something. We think we are not smart enough, strong enough, gifted enough to do something. Others tell us we can, but we still refuse.
C2 Desires
D1 We want to do something we know is wrong, but we justify it.
D2 Manipulation to get what we want. This might be faking pain to get pain medicine or disabled status.
C3 Words
D1 Exaggeration
E1 Telling others of your great deeds, that are lies.
E2 False resumes.
E3 Writing a book with plagiarism, etc.
E4 Starting rumors.
D2 Selectively leaving out some details.
E1 Salespeople might do this.
E2 Politicians might do this.
E3 In this type of lie, only what is winnable, manipulative, etc. Is mentioned.
D3 Broken promises
E1 If someone promises his children that he will take them fishing this Saturday, but then a friend calls and tells you that he must move, can you help. What do you do?
E2 If we promise our friends that we will go and _____ this Saturday, but then you get a phone call from the physician that your dad is dying. What do you do?
E3 We apply the highest priority rule. Our children are a higher priority than our friends, so we keep our promise. Our parents are a higher priority than our friends, so we break our promise to our friends.
E4 Pretending to be interested in someone for a relationship, then dumping them or disappearing or even worse to hurt purposefully.
E5 “I’ll never do ______ again.”
E6 If we make a promise, we must keep it as much as possible. Yet, remember the priority rule above.
D4 Manipulation
E1 Telling a lie to make a sale or to recruit someone to the cause.
E2 In relationships, as seeking a boyfriend or girlfriend.
E3 Lying to law enforcement as in swatting, false child endangerment call, etc.
D5 White lies
E1 A physician who does not tell the patient the seriousness of the disease.
E2 An excuse for not coming to a meeting, a date, an occasion, work, etc.
E3 Promising to be someplace in a few minutes when you know it will be 15 minutes or more.
D6 Lies
E1 Starting rumors
E2 False witness or testimony
E3 Joking about someone that obviously is meant to hurt, and then saying, “I was only joking.”
E4 False oath
C4 Deeds
D1 Covering up sin, errors, mistakes, forgetfulness, etc.
D2 False appearances
D3 Presenting oneself as a physician, nurse, law enforcement, preacher, holy person, etc. When it is not so.
D4 False weights and measures.
D5 Falsifying documents.
D6 Changing a document for cover-up or whatever.
D7 Destroying evidence
Some thoughts about lying:
B1 It is against God’s character: Titus 1:2 CSB in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
B2 It is against God’s laws: Exodus 20:16 GW Never lie when you testify about your neighbor.
B3 It is loving my neighbor to NOT lie. Galatians 5:14 CSB for the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.
B4 It is human nature:
C1 The heart of human is
D1 Deceitful, wicked, beyond understanding: Jeremiah 17:9 NLT the human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?
D2 The source of our evil: Matthew 15:19-20 ESV for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.
C2 Corrupted: Romans 5:12 NRSV Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned.
B5 It has a source: John 8:44 WEL You are of [your] father, the Devil, and you want to do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he has not continued in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he tells [it] from himself, because he is a liar and the father of it.
B6 God hates it: Proverbs 6:16-19 NRSV There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, 19 a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.
B7 It is to be hated and not done by Christians: Colossians 3:9-10 WEL Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have completely rid yourself of the old nature with his deeds, 10 And have put on the new [nature], which is being renewed into knowledge according to the image of him who created him.
How do I avoid lies and liars?
B1 Skeptical: don’t believe, check it out, take your time (don’t be impulsive), resist bullying. (If it involves a crime, then report it to law enforcement. This applies to abuse of any sort, molestation, etc.).
B2 Study: multiply sources, pros, and cons
B3 Research: seek those who have been reasonable in the past (yet be cautious), search in different countries, use safe and private search engines, be cautious
B4 What is reasonable and most reasonable?
When is lying not lying?
B1 To protect someone else.
C1 Compare the ten Boom family hiding Jews to protect their lives.
C2 Rahab:
D1 Joshua 2
D2 Hebrews 11:31 NKJV by faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
D3 James 2:25 NKJV Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent [them] out another way?
B2 To carry out God’s will. 1 Samuel 16:1-4 NIV The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king." 2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me." The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate." 4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?"
What to do when found out to be lying?
B1 Tell the truth.
B2 Psalm 51
B3 Jeremiah 3:13 GNB Only admit that you are guilty and that you have rebelled against the LORD, your God. Confess that under every green tree you have given your love to foreign gods and that you have not obeyed my commands. I, the LORD, have spoken.
B4 James 5:16 NIV Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
B5 1 John 1:9 EMTV If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
C1 If our sin is only known to God, confess, and repent (don’t lie anymore).
C2 If our sin is known by 1 or a few persons, confess to God, confess to that person/s, ask forgiveness, then pay what is owed, etc.
C3 If our sin is known publicly, then confess to God, confess publicly, and restore.
Some articles:
1 John 3:8 EMTV He who practices sin is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this reason the Son of God appeared, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
We will be destroyed, too, if we do what the devil does.
God gives grace to help:
B1 James 4:6 EMTV But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
B2 Hebrews 4:16 EMTV Therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
B3 Jude 1:24-25 EMTV Now to Him who is able to keep them from stumbling, and to make you stand before His glory, blameless with exultation, 25 To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
