The Lying Tongue
Text: Genesis 3: 1-8

A few years back George Beane of Palmdale, California, stopped at a local Burger King and ordered 4 sandwiches at the drive-through window. Total cost of his bill: $4.33. However, when he handed the girl at the drive up window his debit card she absent mindedly punched in the numbers ... and then punched them in again without erasing the original ones - creating a total bill of $4,334.33.
He signed the slip without checking it... and the charge went through to George’s checking account leaving him penniless.
The newspapers got ahold of the story and billed the incident as "The most expensive meal in history."
Now that’s probably not true. There have been "more expensive" meals in history than that one. I have read of rich people in New York and Los Angeles who’ve paid far more than that for an evening on the town. But no matter what meal a rich person might buy, the cost of what they’d purchase pales in comparison to one of the most expensive meal in history - the one we’re reading about today.
It cost more than Adam and Eve ever wanted to pay. And it literally bankrupted them.
And the sad thing is - it wasn’t even the best food on the menu. The Bible tells us that God gave Adam and Eve every tree to eat from except one, and Genesis tell us there were plenty of other GOOD trees to eat from.
“And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground— trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food." Genesis 2:9a
So if that was true (that they’d had all these other trees to eat from), then why did they do it?
It would be easy to say “The Devil made them do it”... but it’s more than that.
They picked the wrong item on the menu because they CHOSE to do so.
Eve CHOSE to disobey God.
Now Satan may have “talked her into it...” but SHE KNEW what God had said.
She knew God didn’t want her to eat of the tree.
She knew God had said that those who ate of the tree faced death.
But she CHOSE to eat of the tree anyway.
She made bad choices.
And her first choice occurred before Satan even spoke a word.
Satan said to the woman, "Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?"
The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’" Genesis 3:1b-3
What did God say she couldn’t do? (EAT of the fruit)
What does Eve say God said she couldn’t do? (EAT & TOUCH the fruit)
God didn’t say she couldn’t touch the tree, He just said they couldn’t eat.
But she CHOSE to add that little restriction.
She CHOSE to add to God’s commandments.
She CHOSE to improve on God’s will.
And that was all the wiggle room Satan needed to begin playing with her mind.
Why would that give Satan “wiggle room”?
Because once you get used to the idea that you can improve on God’s Word... when you believe you can change it when you want to... when you accept that you can tinker with God’s will for your life... then it gets easier to improve on other things God commanded.

There was a preacher named Wayne Smith who was something of a cut-up on stage. He mentioned once that in English Class they taught him that using 2 negatives in a sentence made a positive statement. And he said that, since that was true “The way I figure it, if I know I’m lying, and God knows I’m lying – I gotta be telling the truth!”
Famous American Fibs
- The check is in the mail.
- I'll start my diet tomorrow.
- We service what we sell.
- Give me your number and the doctor will call you right back.
- Money cheerfully refunded.
- One size fits all.
- Your luggage isn't lost, it's only misplaced.
- Leave your resume and we'll keep it on file.
- This hurts me more than it hurts you.
- I just need five minutes of your time.
- Your table will be ready in a few minutes.
- Open wide, it won't hurt a bit.
- Let's have lunch sometime.
- It's not the money, it's the principle.

Lying seems to be a way of life for many people. We lie at the drop of a hat. The book The Day American Told the Truth says that 91 percent of those surveyed lie routinely about matters they consider trivial, and 36 percent lie about important matters; 86 percent lie regularly to parents, 75 percent to friends, 73 percent to siblings, and 69 percent to spouses.
A store manager heard his clerk tell a customer, “No, ma’am, we haven’t had any for a while, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll be getting any soon.” Horrified, the manager came running over to the customer and said, “Of course we’ll have some soon. We placed an order last week.” Then the manager drew the clerk aside. “Never,” he snarled, “Never, never, never say we’re out of anything- say we’ve got it on order and it’s coming. Now, what was it she wanted anyway?” The clerk said, “Rain!”

Spouses lie to one another in the name of keeping the peace, parents lie to their own children and vice versa, employers and employees just the same. Advertisers lie to sell products. Politicians lie in order to spin things their way.
But the Lord included the subject of lying in one of the 10 commandments of the Old Testament, and I believe He takes this sin very seriously.
Revelation 21:8 ”But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Revelation 22:15 ”For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”
Mark Twain said a lie can travel halfway around the world while truth is still lacing up her boots. It’s natural to lie, and there’s something about our nature that enjoys it. We like reading tabloids, or hearing gossip.
Lying is easy, but the truth is oftentimes hard.
Are you known to be a truly honest person, or do people have to question you and wonder about your genuineness? Do you have a reputation as a liar, or do people know what you say is true? Is your word as good as your signature? Do you do what you say you will do? Do you tell the truth even when it will cost you something?
The Bible has a lot to say about lying:
Prov. 6 lists lying as one of the 7 things the Lord hates. “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.”
The poet said, “You can fool the public and be a secret fraud, you can try to hide your lying, but you can’t fool God!”
1. The Origin of lying.
Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees in John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
So we’re a lot like Satan when we lie. Almost every time we see the devil in Scripture he’s lying...
The first time we see Satan in the Bible he lies about God to man.
Lying about God to man:
• Satan lies About the truthfulness of God—“Hath God said?” Questioning God’s Word is skating on thin ice. Yet many question God’s Word all the time today. We are not to stand in judgment w/ whether it makes sense or is PC or not. The Word is to stand in judgment of us, not the other way around.
• Satan lies About the righteousness of God—“Ye shall not surely die”. In other words, God won’t judge you if you sin.
• Satan lies About the goodness of God—“God is trying to keep back from you good things!”
The next time Satan appears in the Bible is in the book of Job. This time he’s in the courts of heaven and he’s lying about man to God.
Satan Lying about man to God:
“The only reason Job obeys you is because you’re so good to him.” What a liar. To Adam and Eve he says that God isn’t good enough, and now he’s saying that God is too good!
We see Satan again at the crucifixion. This time he lies to man, knowing that man will then lie about Jesus.
He put it in the hearts of many to bear false witness against Jesus in the kangaroo court they put together.
In Genesis he uses a lie to corrupt a godly man.
In Job he uses a lie to criticize a good man.
In the New Testament he uses a lie to crucify the God Man.
In Revelation he embodies the antichrist, who tells a lie so big and believable that it brings about the end of the world.
So, from beginning to end, Satan is a liar! And when we lie we align ourselves with everything that brings death, destruction, doom and damnation to this world. Sin is what leads to death, but that sin was brought about by a lie!
Don’t take lying lightly. There’s no such thing as a little white lie. God is truth, and anything less than truth is wrong...IT IS SIN!
2. The Operation of lying.
Lying has many faces. Lying has many children in its family.
Here’s 7 ways people often lie without even thinking about it:
• Slander
Psalms 101:5 “Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off:”
This is lying with the intention of doing harm to another’s reputation.
Some sins are worse than others in terms of damage done. If I steal from you I can return the item. But if I spread lies about you I may not be able to ever undo the far-reaching effects.
There was a man who spread lies about his neighbor. Then one day he repented, and asked the minister how he could make it right. The minister told him to get some feather pillows and rip them open, and place one feather on every porch in their community. It seemed strange, but the man did what he was told. He went back to the preacher and said he was done. The preacher said, no, you’re not. Now go back and pick up all the feathers. “But I can’t” said the man. The wind has taken them who knows where!”
To which the minister said, “So it is with the words you have spoken about your neighbor.”
When we slander someone’s reputation we do irreparable damage. And we’ll answer to God for it!
• Talebearing—this person loves to tell things. They share ‘news’. But they don’t care if their facts are correct or not. This is gossip. Rumors. Don’t spread it. Try to stop others from doing it. Don’t repeat gossip
1 Timothy 5:13 “And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.”
Leviticus 19:16 “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people:”
Next time you’re enjoying listening to someone gossip, remember this fact: Anyone who will gossip TO you, will gossip ABOUT you!

• Flattery—insincere praise...saying something to someone’s face that you would never say behind their back. Salesmen are often bad about this. Kids are too. Most of our children have learned how to compliment us first when they want something.
Psalms 55:21 “The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.”
When someone starts buttering you up, remember that they are probably about to have you for lunch!
• Half truths—not telling the whole story. A parent asks their teen where they are going. “To Andy’s house.” That’s true, but they leave out where they’re going from there. You break the spirit of the law when you do this. This is why in court you swear to not just tell the truth, but ‘the whole truth.’ Half the truth equals a whole lie.
• Excuses—they are just dressed up lies.
The origin is Satan, the operation of lying...it comes in many forms...
Now, how do we overcome Lying?
Every negative command could be reworded positively. For instance. Thou shalt not commit adultery could be rephrased, Thou shalt be sexually pure. We could say today, Thou shalt tell the truth. And truth is the very character and nature of our God. Jesus said I am the truth. He called the Holy Spirit the spirit of truth. The truth sets us free!
How to overcome lying:
• Love the truth. This is a heart change. David spoke of ‘truth in the inward parts.’ You see, a person is not a liar because they tell lies...they tell lies because they are a liar. We need an inward change.
2 Thessalonians 2:10 “...because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
• Learn the truth.

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Saturate your mind w/ good things, like the Word of God. The truth sets you free. It’s how Jesus defeated Satan in the wilderness, with the truth of Scripture!
• Live the truth.
Ephesians 4:25 “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour:”
Be accountable to others. Be open to others stopping you when you gossip or slander. Immediately confess, immediately correct, and immediately commit yourself to the truth.
Right now Satan wants to sell you a lie...don’t fall for it like Adam and Eve.

He’ll tell you: there is no God,
There is no heaven,
There is no hell,
OR that there is no hurry.

But today we can read from Hebrews 3:12-15 ”12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”[c]”

And, Acts 2:36-38 tells us: 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “

So, we must NOT lie to God...

WE need to admit our sins and be baptized!

Contributing sermon
By Jerry Shirley