Lies In The Church – Ninth Commandment

Lies in the Church

The ninth commandment

Exodus 20.16; Deuteronomy 5.20

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

Acts 5.4

“Why have you contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

The Lie serves the self, not God.

Does God hate lying? Ask Ananias. Here’s a guy who, for the sake of a little attention and esteem, lied to apostles, lied to the church, and, ultimately, lied to God. And he didn’t even have to! He could have kept all the money from the sale of his property and given none to the church. Or he could have given just a little. Nothing was required of him. He chose to lie in the hope that he would both look good and be able to line his pockets at the same time. Lies are always promoted because we think they will benefit us personally. We think the Lie has something to offer us that we can’t get by holding on to the truth and standing firm for the Lord. So we lie. But when our lies begin to encroach on the glory and honor of God, then we need to watch out. God may not strike us dead in a moment for an egregious lie, but He has His ways of exacting repentance and renewal from us.

Do you ever feel like anything about your church is promoting a kind of lie? Can we be guilty of lying simply because we don’t practice – or preach – all the truth?

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.