The Ultimate Kindness: Telling The Truth To A Society Addicted To Lies

As our culture becomes more tech dependent, truth and interpersonal relationships are disintegrating. Many people have now turned to public opinion as a yardstick for measuring truth. But is this wise? And where is the best place to find wisdom? For Christ’s disciples the answer comes quickly, “the Bible.” However, in the landscape of evangelicalism, many pulpits are trading the Word of God for a man-centered approach, and the result of this action is biblical illiteracy or ignorance. 

One of the greatest needs today for all men is wisdom and discernment. John MacArthur’s life of ministry could be summed up by this truth, that he repeatedly spoke from the pulpit and wrote in his books: “We must digest, study the Bible like our lives depend on it to be able to detect truth from a lie. We must know the truth so well that we can spot a lie the moment it appears on the horizon.” (Side note: The banking industry has championed this practice in studying money to combat fraud. Shouldn’t Christians do the same? The Bible is our life manual that helps us to grow in discernment.)

There are many people in the Bible who violated the 9th commandment “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16), such as Ananias and Sapphira who lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11), Joseph’s brothers lied to their father regarding his absence (Genesis 37) and Rachel lied to her father regarding stealing the household idols she refused to let go of by using the excuse of her menstrual cycle to conceal them by sitting on them. (Genesis 31:34-35). The consequences of their sins were documented by God for us to read to show us the severity of sin. John Piper’s warning regarding the seriousness of sin mirrors these biblical passages, “This is mortal combat: Sin dies or we die. We do not settle with sin. We fight and we kill. Sin is an enemy.”

The Lord Jesus Christ warned us that before He returns the world will increasingly become more hostile to the people of God (Matthew 24:4-14). “Deceit will be more powerful; people will be so lacking in discernment that they will be more vulnerable to lies than ever” (MacArthur). Immediately, 2 Thessalonians 2:11 comes to mind which tells us that a strong delusion will be sent by God. Jesus’ warning to His faithful remnant is, “take heed that no one deceives you.” (Matthew 24:4) And unfortunately, we must grapple with the shocking truth that false believers will become the chief persecutors of God’s people. (Mark 13:12, 2 Timothy 3:12) MacArthur adds, “even in the early church, the enemies of truth launched an effort to infiltrate and confuse the people of God by mangling the truth and by blending lies with Christian doctrine. Attacks regularly not only came from the outside but also from those inside the church.” And today, “zeal for the truth has become politically incorrect. The culture around us has declared war on all biblical standards. Compromise is what drives the pragmatic, postmodern age and has become a virtue while devotion to truth has become offensive.” I praise God knowing there are men who continue to exposit the Word with great care and whom I labor in prayer for as the pressure mounts for them to compromise.

We Must Be Truthtellers In A World That Loves Lies

I have chosen to examine the sin of lying because I believe this sin is nearly universal both inside and outside the church. I will share what I have observed and learned from the Lord. In 2020, I remember seeing posters hung up around hospitals/medical facilities that read “we respect how you identify yourself; however, we must know the sex you were assigned at birth.” I asked the staff administrator regarding the sign and the response I was given was, “we were made to put that up.” Transitioning to the church, online there are several ministries that focus and serve those who have experienced spiritual abuse. I have been praying that one day, this type of ministry will not be needed, however, it is real and is a lonely path to navigate through. An example where truth is abandoned that many do not see or comprehend is when church leaders resort to using Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) to protect the institution and to cover sin. Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s words to the church must be shared, “there is no truth towards Jesus without truth towards man. Untruthfulness destroys fellowship.” Today, the entrance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into our lives is resulting in many people blindly turning to this tool for counsel, companionship and truth. I admit I have used AI but have also seen the deception or bias that the results can produce, e.g., when I received an AI response that was an outright lie, I pushed back with the truth. AI responded, “Good for you for pushing back, you are right.” Case in point: we must not put our faith in AI.

The Sin Of Lying

I believe all men tend to shrug off or even joke about the sin of lying and even exclaim, “Hey, everybody lies.” D.L. Moody captures the foolishness of this mentality “the ship belongs in the water of the world, but if the water gets in the ship, it sinks.” Every false word we speak aligns us with God’s enemy which leads to dire consequences in the world and mars our testimony, “Satan is the liar king. God is out, prayer is out, the ten commandments are out.” (MacArthur)

In biblical evangelism, a question that is often asked is, “Have you ever told a lie? Can you count the number of lies you have told in your life?” Immediately, many people resort to lessening this sin by renaming it as “white lies.” I will let Paul Washer bring some clarity and warning “People may see lies as white lies, little lies, harmless lies. But this is the way God sees it: Your throat is an open grave. It’s filthy, a rotten cesspool of death. Your tongue is like a viper. It deceives. Poison is on your lips. God doesn’t see things the way we see things.” And Charles Spurgeon in his book “The Golden Alphabet: An Exposition of Psalm 119” states “lying was the pleasure of Easterners, and the only wrong they saw in it was when their skill was at fault and the lie was found out.” Spurgeon’s application, “David loved the law of God because it is the foe of falsehood and the guardian of truth. True men love truth and hate lying. Falsehood in doctrine, in life, or in speech was totally detestable to the psalmist in Psalm 119.” Spending time with the Lord in prayer and approaching Him with a heart of humility directly mirrors David’s life and I implore you to ask God to “order your steps in the Word.” Yes, David attempted to hide his sin but learned through the consequences of his sin. God’s judgment fell on him and his family, and David learned that “to a child of God, every sin is loathsome.” Only by the Word, can we grow in discernment.

The Call To Holiness

The purpose of the sin of lying is often to mislead, flatter, manipulate others, exaggerate or embellish to gain man’s favor, or to avoid conflict. The more we lie, the inner alarm system God gave us, our conscience, becomes quieter and may eventually be seared. The issue is not in God but in man. Hebrews 6 and Numbers 23:19 say that it is impossible for God to lie. He is Truth. He is immutable (He never changes). Man does change and fails to delight in the character of God, “the unregenerate do not really believe in the holiness of God. They think only of a ‘god’ patterned after their own evil hearts.” (A.W Pink) And Thomas Watson in his book “The Doctrine of Repentance” propounds “to the godly, sin is as a thorn in the eye; to the wicked sin is as a crown on the head. They rejoice in doing evil.”

Here lies the danger of being flippant with the sin of lying “every unmortified sin will weaken and darken the soul. If He died for sin, surely, we must die to sin. Sin is a disease, as it prevails it unfits us to be used by Christ.” (Pink)

Bombarded From Every Angle

Before I knew Christ, I landed my first job in Marketing/PR and realized over time the deception in that field. I was hired to skillfully craft a message to generate more sales and ideally increase my income. When the Lord drew me to Himself at age 30, he was so merciful to me. He forgave my innumerable sins on the cross and now I can be used by Him as a truthteller for Christ. I agree with Piper and have communicated this truth in evangelism, “There are so many lies in the world, and we will certainly meet them in the public square. You must stand up and calmly say, ‘This morality is not based on truth. It is the opinion of men, not God. Therefore, it is false and harmful.’” MacArthur states men often respond with “I find good in everything.” Yet, “when we do that with religion, where we take bits and pieces from any source (syncretism), it may look beautiful to us, but in God’s eye it is an abomination.” Perhaps, the thought of sharing these truths with people increases your fear of evangelism, I understand. You may be tempted to grasp onto Proverbs 22:13 “The sluggard says, ‘there is a lion outside; I will be killed in the streets.’” I understand, but our lives should be a walking sermon, not just listening and observing in a pew. “When a person is regenerated, they are transformed, they become truthful and loving.” (MacArthur)

We must be earnest in telling others about Jesus in all of life’s settings and share the unedited Word of God. For parents, Spurgeon states “Parents, you have to train your children in the truth because they are going to be drowning in a sea of lies.” Also, regarding the Christian home, he adds, “We should seek to walk before God with a perfect heart. There are many professing believers who fail in this. I have reason to fear that some people who walk as saints abroad behave themselves like devils at home. It is a fact that a man is what he is at home. This is a simple but crucial test of character.”

Truthful Evangelism Is Vital Today

There are many evangelism training resources and organizations that communicate their mission as “for the gospel.” However, in practice, the lies of the world, the pressure of conformity and tolerance have clouded what biblical evangelism is. MacArthur in his book “The Gospel According to Jesus” shared that in the past he was asked to preview a training film produced by an international Christian youth organization. “The film’s subject was evangelism, and it instructed youth workers not to tell unsaved young people they must obey Christ, give Him their hearts, surrender their lives, repent of their sins, submit to His Lordship, or follow Him. The film communicated to ministry recruits the false idea that to tell the unsaved they must do those things only confuses the gospel message. The film advocated giving only the objective facts about Jesus’ death (making no mention of the resurrection) and pressing on them the need to believe. The film concluded that the total of saving faith is understanding and accepting the facts of the gospel.” You might be thinking “what is wrong with that message?” MacArthur continues “Multitudes think God will not confront their sin and they eagerly respond without any sense of the severity of their guilt before God and with no desire to be freed from sin’s bondage. This is a corrupted gospel that deceives. The ‘faith’ they are relying on is only intellectual acquiescence to a set of facts. It will not save.” And if the youth whom the church earnestly target hear that unbiblical message, when they enter a church, they will not understand “God’s house is not lawless. It is the abode of liberty but not of license.” (Spurgeon)

It’s Not Too Late To Repent

If you humbly and honestly search your life before a Holy God and recognize that you are believing a lie, habitually telling lies, or living a lie, do not delay, repent of the sin of lying, turn to God from idols to serve a living God (1 Thessalonians 1:9). True repentance is “not simply a mental activity, it involves the intellect, emotions, and will.” (MacArthur) Watson helps us understand “repentance is a spiritual medicine made up of six special ingredients: 1. Sight of sin 2. Sorrow for sin 3. Confession of sin 4. Shame for sin 5. Hatred for sin 6. Turning from sin.”

Then ask the Holy Spirit for His power to obey the following commands of Christ: 1 Peter 2:1 “Therefore, lay aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.” Colossians 3:9-10 “Do not lie to one another, since you put off the old man with its evil practices, and have put on the new man who is being renewed to a full knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.”

Then rejoice in Proverbs 12:22 “The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in men who are truthful.”