Lie, Lying
Lie, Lying
LIE, LYING.See Deceit.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Lie, Lying
LIE, LYING
1. In the OT.The simple lie, which is a deliberate suppression of the truth in conversation, was condemned by the Levitical code as contrary to the character of holiness demanded by, and becoming to, the people of Israels holy God (Lev 19:11 f., cf. Lev 6:2 f.). Perjury, as an aggravation of the ordinary sin, was emphatically condemned, and stringently punished in the legislative enactments of Israel (Exo 23:1, Deu 19:16-20). There can be no doubt that the moral consciousness of the Hebrews was alive to the sinfulness of deceit (Pro 19:22; Pro 21:28; Pro 24:28; Pro 25:18; Pro 30:5-6; cf. Isa 58:11 AVm [Note: Authorized Version margin.] ). The lying selfishness of Cain, and the reprehensible deception practised by Abraham, are recorded by the historian in a tone which reveals his attitude towards such acts (Gen 4:9; Gen 20:2-16; Gen 12:11-20; cf. 2Ki 5:20-27 where Gehazis punishment is the reward of his thoughtless levity at a time of national gloom, as well as of his deceitful conduct and words). The moral reprobation of falsehood reaches its climax in the utterances of the prophets. According to these teachers, it is at the foundation of all human depravity (Hos 7:13; Hos 12:1, Mic 6:11 f.). Truth can be arrived at and spoken only by those who are in personal touch with the sacred Fountain of truth (cf. Isa 6:5-8). Indeed, some of the most emphatic declarations as to the moral attributes of Jehovah are based on the belief that He is above all else the God of truth (Num 23:19, 1Sa 15:28; cf. Psa 89:35, Eze 24:14, Mal 3:6 f.; see 2Ti 2:13, Tit 1:2). Hence the enormity of the guilt of those teachers who had not Jehovah as the source of their inspiration, though they might speak in His name, who pandered to the prevailing moral degeneracy (Jer 5:31; Jer 6:13; Jer 29:9, Eze 13:6; cf. Wis 14:28 ff. etc.), or who encouraged their hearers in idolatry with its debasing ritual (Jer 16:19, Jon 2:8; cf. Psa 31:6).
A curious phenomenon in the OT is the bold speculation which sought to explain the authorship of the lying instruction by which Jehovahs enemies were seduced to their own destruction. The fatuity of Ahabs conduct, and its fatal consequences, are detailed in the light of this conception (1Ki 22:1-53), while, with a still more unequivocal directness, Samuel is said to have been counselled by God to deceive Saul (1Sa 16:1 f.). In both instances the historian is evidently interpreting events by the ideas current in his day.
2. In the NT.Falsehood is here traced back to its source in the principle of evil. Jesus attributes its origin to Satan (Joh 8:44; cf. Act 5:3, Rev 12:9). Membership in the Christian body postulated a new creation in righteousness and holiness of truth (Eph 4:24 f.) and forbade one member to lie to another (Col 3:9).
The denial of the Messiahship of Jesus is characterized by the Johannine author as a lie (1Jn 2:22), while the same writer makes self-deceit the cause of that Pharisaic complacency which he so unsparingly condemns (1Jn 1:8 ff.). The Pauline representation of paganism bases its degrading moral Influence on the fact that it is founded essentially on a lie (Rom 1:22).
The awful fate which awaits all liars (Rev 21:8) is the outcome and direct development of the OT judgment of this sin, for it fundamentally estranges the guilty from Him whose word is truth (Joh 17:17; cf. Rev 21:27; Rev 22:16, and see Psa 51:6; Psa 24:4; Psa 119:160). Cf. also Truth.
J. R. Willis.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Lie, Lying
l, (, sheker (usually, e.g. Isa 9:15; Zec 13:3), or , kazabh verb (Job 34:6; Mic 2:11); , pseudos (Joh 8:44; Rev 21:27), to speak falsely, to fabricate, to make a false statement; , pseudomai, in Act 5:3, Act 5:4):
1. Lying Defined:
In its very essence, a lie is something said with intent to deceive. It is not always a spoken word that is a lie, for a life lived under false pretenses, a hypocritical life, may be a lie equally with a false word (Jer 23:14). A vain thing, like an idol, may be a lie (Isa 59:4), as also a false system (Rom 3:7). Error, as opposed to truth, is a lie (1Jo 2:21). The denial of the deity of Jesus Christ is regarded as the lie (1Jo 2:22).
The origin of lies and lying is traced to Satan who is called a liar, and the father thereof (Joh 8:44; Act 5:3). Satan’s dealing with Eve (Gen 3) furnishes us with a splendid illustration of the first lie, so far as we have any record of it.
2. A Racial Sin:
The whole race is guilty of this sin: The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies (Psa 58:3). It is a part of the old Adamic nature, the old man (Col 3:9), which the believer in Jesus Christ is called upon to put off. So prominent a factor is it in the experience of the race that among the condensed catalogue of sins, for the commission of which men are finally condemned, the sin of lying finds its place: All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone (Rev 21:8 the King James Version).
3. God’s Attitude to It:
God’s attitude toward this sin is strongly marked throughout both the Old Testament and New Testament. The righteous are called upon to hate lying (Pro 13:5), to avoid it (Zep 3:13), to respect not those who lie, and utterly reject their company (Psa 40:4; Psa 101:7), to pray to be delivered from it (Psa 119:29). The wicked are said to love lying (Psa 52:3), to delight in it (Psa 62:4), to seek after it (Psa 4:2), and to give heed to it (Pro 17:4). Lying leads to worse crimes (Hos 4:1, Hos 4:2).
4. The Penalty:
The punishment to be meted out to liars is of the severest kind. They are positively and absolutely excluded from heaven (Rev 21:27; Rev 22:15), and those who are guilty of this sin are cast into the lake of fire (Rev 21:8). We are reminded of the awful fate meted out to Ananias and Sapphira when they lied to God and man (Act 5:1-11). God will destroy them that speak lies (Psa 5:6), and he that uttereth lies shall not escape (Pro 19:5), yea a sword is upon the liars (Jer 50:36 the King James Version). The liar is thereby debarred from rendering any true and acceptable worship unto the Lord (Psa 24:4).
The Scriptures abound with illustrations of lying and the results and penalties therefor. A careful study of these illustrations will reveal the subtlety of falsehood. Sometimes a lie is a half-truth, as set forth in the story of Satan’s temptation of Eve (Gen 3). Cain’s lie (Gen 4:9) was of the nature of an evasive answer to a direct question. Jacob’s deception of his father, in order that he might inherit the blessing of the firstborn, was a barefaced and deliberate lie (Gen 27:19). The answer which Joseph’s brethren gave to their father when he asked them concerning the welfare of their brother Joseph is an illustration, as well as a revelation, of the depth of the wickedness of hearts that deliberately set themselves to falsify and deceive (Gen 37:31, Gen 37:32). Even good men are sometimes overtaken in a lie, which, of course, is no more excusable in them than in the wicked; indeed, it is more shameful because the righteous are professed followers of the truth (David in 1Sa 21:2). What more striking example of the heinousness of lying in the sight of God can we have than the fate which befell Gehazi who, in order to satisfy a covetous desire for possessions, misrepresented his master Elisha to Naaman the Syrian whom the prophet had healed of his leprosy: The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow (2Ki 5:22-27)? The story of Peter’s denial of his Lord, and his persistent asseverations that he did not know Him and was not one of His followers, makes us shudder to think that it is possible for a follower of Christ so far to forget himself as not only to lie, but buttress lying with swearing (Mat 26:72).
5. Pseudos United with Other Words:
Throughout the Scriptures we find pseudos joined to other words, e.g. false apostles (, pseudapostolos, 2Co 11:13), so called probably because a true apostle delivers the message of another, namely, God, while these false apostles cared only for self. Such are from Satan, and, like him, they transform themselves into angels of light, and sail under false colors. We read also of false prophets (, pseudoprophetes, Mat 7:15; compare Jer 23:16 f),thereby meaning those who falsely claim to bring messages from God and to speak in behalf of God. Mention is made also of false brethren (, pseudadelphos, 2Co 11:26), meaning Judaizing teachers, as in Gal 2:4; false teachers (, pseudodidaskalos, 2Pe 2:1), men whose teaching was false and who falsely claimed the teacher’s office. We read further of false witnesses (, pseudomartus, Mk 26:60); by such are meant those who swear falsely, and testify to what they know is not true. So, too, we find mention of the false Christs (, pseudochristoi, Mat 24:24; Mar 13:22). This personage does not so much deny the existence of a Christ, but rather, on the contrary, builds upon the world’s expectations of such a person, and falsely, arrogantly, blasphemously asserts they he is the Christ promised and foretold. It is the Antichrist who denies that there is a Christ; the false Christ affirms himself to be the Christ. Of course there is a sense in which the man of sin will be both Antichrist and a false Christ. See FALSE CHRISTS; FALSE PROPHETS; FALSE SWEARING, FALSE WITNESS.