Truth & lies are one of the dominant threads in Scripture. The Fall began when Eve believed Satan the deceiver’s lie.

Jesus came to redeem the fallen world, calling Himself “the way, the truth, & the life.” He then sent the Holy Spirit, whom He called “the Spirit of truth.” /1

"You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, & does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar & the father of lies.” /2

Something to notice here: murder, death, & lies all go hand in hand. Satan isn’t simply the father of lies that pertain to the Gospel. He is the father & source of every lie about any subject, no matter how great or small. /3

Equally, God is not simply the God of truth about Holy things, but the truth of everything, great & small. It is impossible for any lie to exist in God’s presence, and God kills to make it so. /4

Lies are every bit as wicked as murder, and in fact every murder is rooted in the lie that we mere creatures may steal the life of another that belongs to God the Creator. /5

So why then do even otherwise faithful Christians find it so easy to lie? Oh sure, most won’t make a habit of swindling others for personal gain.

But bring up the truth of genetic disparities and nearly every Christian will devolve into an angry, slobbering pagan. /6

Or speak the truth about the eIection coup, and you’ll have even otherwise good pastors lie through their teeth in service to Satan.

How does this happen? How did we decide it was safe to pigeonhole godly Truth as a very narrow category that doesn’t exist beyond the Cross? /7

If someone is able to hold false beliefs, they're living in unrepentant sin. They are seeking to drive the Holy Spirit from their hearts. They don’t think so. They think their lies are inconsequential. Either they’re none of God’s business-or worse–they’re lying in God’s name. /8

If your Faith is sound, you would be filled with the same terror when you speak falsehoods as if you had just murdered someone. And the idea of holding or sharing false beliefs would pain your soul as much as seeing blood on your hands. /9

One of the greatest lies Satan ever sold to weak, naive Christians is that love and truth are in opposition.

"All you really need is to get along peacefully, with no words of discouragement. It’s okay to tell lies or to tolerate lies that keep people from being upset." /10

The greatest love a man could have for another would be to lay down his life for him.

But a close second is to tell that man the truth about something that will convict his conscience & cause his sinful nature to react angrily out of shame. /11

It is not loving to tolerate lies & untruths, no matter how small & no matter the subject. To let a brother hold to Satan’s words is to hate him, and to murder his soul right alongside with the devil. Truth is love. Lies are murder. /12

So when someone who has some sense tells you you’re wrong about something, that should concern you as a moral matter. Because if you are wrong, then you are in league with Satan. /13

“Oh that’s absurd, settle down.”

Really? Someday you're going to die and your corpse will rot in the ground because Satan told a lie about a piece of fruit. You will never lie about anything more seemingly trivial than that. /14

Our lies & untruths are worse than murder in another way too. Murder is a 1:1 relationship that doesn’t scale at all. But a lie spreads like a virus, growing & engulfing everyone it touches. At lest someone who kills your body hasn’t injured your relationship with God. /15

We must take the truth about every little thing as seriously as we take God. To cut out lust, or substance abuse, or any other deep-seated vice is godly, for these are sins against the temple of God.

To cut out falsehoods is better, for our hearts & minds matter far more. /16