Transcript: The Sin of Lying in the Bible: Spiritual Consequences and Redemption

Music Music God gives each of his children the invitation to walk in his grace and take serious the gospel of truth, which he so freely pours out on us once we have accepted his son's free offer of eternal life by repenting of our sins and seeking forgiveness and practicing the knowledge of the truth in the written book of life. Apostle Paul said in Romans 1.16, in the book of Romans 1.16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, the good news of Christ, for it is God's power working unto salvation for deliverance from eternal death to everyone who believes with a personal trust and confident surrender, a firm reliance to the Jew first and also the Greek. Verse 17, for in the gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith, disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith. As it is written, the man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith. this beautiful gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ contains within it the very inherent power of God to change our lives and cause conformity by producing the righteousness of God within us this righteousness simply put is conformity to God's will his heart his mind which speaks of purity and sincerity in thought in word in deed and in action. Righteousness is the holiness of God. God is the author and the source of all truth. And since God is holy, he is looking for holiness in each one of his children. And we learn that we must line up with God's standard of truth and righteousness, which is correctness, uprightness, and the perfections of his own nature. Some might say, whoa, that's too heavy for me. Ah, that's too big for me. How can I ever attain the perfections of God? But we're promised in the word of God that his word has the power contained within itself to bring this necessary change and renewal in our lives. And do you forget that you have been given the Holy One by Christ himself, living inside you to do this wonderful work of salvation or cleansing of every sin and false way? Imagine that. Every sin. Not just a few, but every one. And do you desire for that for yourself as necessary in your relationship with God and his son Jesus Christ? Do you desire that? You see, God is the author and source of all truth and he does not lie. And this perfection of God is sort of like his plumb line. An expert builder uses a plumb line in building a building to make sure that the building is true and it's straight and every corner matches perfectly. But this, in effect, is the way that God builds us. His Son, Jesus Christ, is our plumb line and our measure, and he is our cornerstone as well. in our plumb line who is Christ brings his righteousness and purity into our lives as we humbly accept his terms with uncompromisingly and unwavering diligence and practice daily what his truth declares to us as his precise and exact standard by which we choose to live and to measure up to. This way of life produces the righteousness of God in us, and this pleases the Father that we have chosen to conform to his Son's image and his likeness, which is called holiness. This is also called perfection. And perfection is the maturity of the saints who have willingly allowed the Holy Spirit to remove the sin nature of the carnal life from them. and we can also call this dying to self. It is progressive and it is a divine work of the Holy Spirit of God within us. And our rule is God's word, which is a more perfect and pure rule than the law of sin and death, which remained written upon man's heart after the fall in the Garden of Eden. And the Holy Spirit is now our guide, our sanctifier, and our comforter. And he is our teacher, and he enlightens our minds, which means that he shines the light of his truth into our hearts so that we may really, really see with the eyes of our spirit and heart and will and know what God's desire is for us to grow up into the knowledge and the revelation and truth of his word. This is what will truly change us. The knowledge of God changes our lives. And this does not mean we accumulate knowledge of him and walk around with it stored up in our head, but that the knowledge of God is powerful and life-changing, giving you and me the insight into the wonderful and deep mysteries and secrets of God. Ephesians 1.16, please. Ephesians 1.16. Paul says, I do not cease to give thanks for you, brethren, making mention of you in my prayers. For I always pray to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that he may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, of insight into mysteries and secrets, into the deep intimate knowledge of him, by having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which he's called you, and how rich is his glorious inheritance in the saints, his set-apart ones. And also that you can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of his power in and for us who believe as demonstrated in the working of his mighty strength, which he has exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You see, God does this by changing our hearts, by the truth in the Word of God. It is a diligent work of the Holy Spirit of God to present each one of us before the Father and the Son as perfected men and women who have been conformed to the truth of God's word because our consciences have been touched by the light of the gospel of truth and grace. Hallelujah. So, what is meant by truth? What is meant by truth? Before Jesus was going to be crucified, he prayed for his disciples in the garden and said, in John 17, 17. Sanctify them, Father. Purify and consecrate and separate them for yourselves. Make them holy by the truth. Your word is truth. And truth can be defined as being truthful and upright in all of our speech and our dealings with God and man. Truth brings true integrity and uprightness in our everyday business and dealings with others because of the holy branch it is attached to, that is Christ. So, therefore, we must consider truth as an opposite to falsehood or lying in our speech or actions. Psalms 51.6 declares, Behold, you desire truth in the inner being. Make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Do you really desire this, precious ones? Do you desire the Holy Spirit to do this work in your heart? Oh God, that your truth in my inner being will make me to know your wisdom in my heart. Hallelujah. So lying then is the opposite of what God expects of us as his own children. And that is truth. He desires truth in our inmost being. And the fact of a lie is that it is false. and it is intended to deceive both God and man. And the very reason that lying must be made known to the consciences of the children of light is because lying is a sin most contrary to the nature of God himself who is truth. Lying is not only contrary to God's will but to his very nature. Paul declares in the book of Titus 1-2 resting in the hope of eternal life which the ever truthful God who cannot deceive promised before the world or the ages of time began you see the word confirms to us that God can do all things but precious ones he does not lie and Jesus Christ divested himself of his glory and came to this earth especially to die a horrible death upon the cross and offer eternal life for those who live in him. And not only this, but he came to represent the goodness of the divine nature and also be the model and pattern of the holiness for us to imitate. And Jesus Christ, God incarnate, was our perfect example for this part of holiness, for sincerity and truth. In 1 Peter 2.21, 1 Peter 2.21, For even to this were you called. It is inseparable from your vocation. for Christ also suffered for you, leaving you his personal example so that you should follow his footsteps. He was guilty of no sin, and neither was deceit or guile ever found on his lips. You see, nothing makes us more like the devil, who is a liar from the beginning, than when we sin and join him in his opposition to the truthful way of living that Christ words demand of us In John 8 44 if you would go there with me please In John 8 44 please You are of your father, the devil, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees in this time. And it is your will to practice the lusts and gratify the desires which are characteristic of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. And when he speaks a falsehood, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar himself and the father of lies and all that is false. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. You do not trust me and do not rely on me or adhere to me. You see, lying is a sin which is very hateful to God and against which he has expressed much of his displeasure and judgment. A lying tongue is counted among the six things in Proverbs 6, 16, which God hates the most. Six things that God hates the most, and the lying tongue is counted among those. Let's look at this dreadful sin of lying and the consequences of it by beginning in Proverbs 19.8. Sin is not a pleasant subject that we like to look at. But remember, dear church, this is why Jesus came. He came to die for our sins so that we might live with him forever. And if we do not overcome these sins in our lifetime, we stand at risk in the inheriting of eternal life which comes by living in Christ. and to live in Christ means we must overcome sin and partake of the promises which are given to us and to help us in overcoming in this life. See, overcoming is like putting on Christ. Let's look at the seriousness of the sin of lying. In Proverbs 19, verse 8, He who gains wisdom loves his own life, And he who keeps understanding shall prosper and find good. Verse 9. A false witness shall not be unpunished. And he who breathes forth lies shall perish. Oh, well, here we see a repetition of what was spoken in Proverbs 5. And we will go there. The same chapter, we're going to see that we have need to be warned again and again of the danger of the sin of lying and bearing false witness against others. You see, there's nothing more fatal. Proverbs 19, 5. A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he who breathes out lies shall not escape. And if we drop back down again to verses 8 and 9, he who gains wisdom loves his own life. He who keeps understanding shall prosper and find good. A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he who breathes forth lies shall perish. So we see this as like a double warning here in the scripture for us to see. You know, in this one word, we see that he speaks and breathes out lies and will not escape perishing or being thrown into the lake of fire for eternity. You see, the lies and the accusations the individual would bring against another or the lies to escape being caught or admit a wrong, it is said here that he will be punished. This is God's word, folks. Lying is a damning and self-destroying sin. And unless repented of and turned around, and turnaround comes in the individual's life, the book of Revelation declares that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone. Revelations 21.8, please. Revelation 21.8. But as for the cowards and the ignoble and the contemptible and the cravingly lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive and for the unbelieving and faithless and as for the depraved and defiled with abominations and as for the murderers and the lewd and adulterous and the practicers of magic art and the idolaters, those who give supreme devotion to anyone or put anything other than God or anything other than God. And all liars, those who knowingly convey untruth by a word or deed. And all of these shall have their part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. This is the second death. Well, let us understand that the origin or the author of lying is Satan, is the master liar. And Satan tempted our first parents, Adam and Eve, with a dreadful life-stealing lie that caused the whole human race to fall by believing Satan's lie and being disobedient to God's one command. All temptations are carried on by lies, calling good evil and evil good, promising freedom from punishment, from harm or loss. So when people who act on the devil's behalf by lying, know that they are lying and convince themselves it is harmless and that nothing will happen to them, only deceive and destroy themselves. Just like our opening scripture in Proverbs 19, 9 stated, A false witness shall not be unpunished, but he who breathes forth lies shall perish. So one who speaks with a lying mouth will not go unpunished. And if the sin of lying is not repented of and the individual ceases from his habitual habit of lying, Proverbs 19.9 declares, they shall perish. All lying is meant to deceive. And because of deception, then comes destruction. when Christ came to the earth to bring light and truth, the devil contradicted the gospel through the scribes and the Pharisees by lies. And these people had the truth from the Old Testament scriptures and they knew the signs of the Messiah's coming and also the work that he would do in the way of miracles and signs and wonders. But they hated the truth that Jesus brought. and the truth of his gospel would have set them freed of the lies and the bondages that they had lived in. So they lied to keep their image and their position and to save face. So the Lord gave them strong delusions to believe their own lies because they took pleasure in unrighteousness. Please look with me in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 10. 2 Thessalonians 2.10 And by unlimited seduction to evil, and with all wickedness, wicked deception for those who are perishing, going to perdition, because they did not welcome the truth, but refused to love it, that they might be saved. Verse 11 Therefore God sends upon them a misleading influence, a working of error and a strong delusion to make them believe what is false in order that all may be judged and condemned who did not believe in, who refused to adhere to, to trust in and rely on the truth, but instead took pleasure in unrighteousness. God is the author of all righteousness and truth and Satan is the author of lies and destruction, of hatred and jealousy and deception. And this scripture in 2 Thessalonians 2.10 is saying there is a time that an individual may go too far in their lying persistence. And when the individual continues in their lying ways, after correction comes time and time again, God sends upon them a misleading influence, a strong delusion to believe what is false. and these people will perish according to the word of God. These people's hearts become hardened. And they're no longer convicted of their sin anymore because they've justified their own sin and are deceived in their own minds that they did not lie. And if they are called on a lie and addressed with it and told to their face What they spoke was a lie. They deny it and insist they did not lie. Delusion means to believe something to be true when in fact it is a lie. So, what is their sin? What is really their sin? Their sin is this. They did not believe the truth. but had pleasure in unrighteousness. They did not believe the truth when it came to them or the correction for their sin. They took pleasure in unrighteousness. Let us remember that God is righteous and he is the author and source of all truth. His truth, which is found in his holy book of life, is the standard by which all peoples are offered the true state and standard by which they will conform to and live every day of their lives. This way is called righteousness. This way is conformity to God's character and nature. God's character is the definition and source of all righteousness and truth. And when people choose to lie, they are conforming to Satan's nature and his character. Satan loves this, and he wants to pull as many people into hell with himself that he can by influencing them with his nature. Because people continue to lie, God lets them have their own way. Because these kinds of people have loved unrighteousness and their evil practices, they were pleased in their deceiving and lying ways. They will have a life marked by violence, impurity, anger, maliciousness, revenge, stealing, hatred, and rebellion. Our prisons are full of men and women who were caught in their snares or traps of lying. Lee and I visited prisons as a part of our ministry for a number of years. and we found that there were very few inmates whom we talked to who admitted that they deserved to be in prison. And most of them said they didn't do anything wrong, so we can still see that they believed their own lies. And they blamed everyone else, but they said they were innocent and did not deserve to be in prison. One of their greatest sins besides lying was their rebellious attitude towards authority. Hating authority and lying are almost like twins joined at the hip. So this is saying that almost always a lying mouth and rebellion against authority often go together and help each other to accomplish the malicious act of their evil intention, and that is deception. So, what is the ruin of liars? What is the ruin of them? Our scripture that we have been covering in 2 Thessalonians 2, 10 through 12 states that God will send them a strong delusion to believe in their own lies. Verse 11, Therefore God sends upon them a misleading influence, a working of error, and a strong delusion to make them believe what is false in order that they may be judged and condemned who did not believe in the truth but instead took pleasure in unrighteousness This is clearly telling us that God will punish men and women for their unbelief to his truth, for their hatred of truth, by their preference to love sin and continue in their wickedness. Do you know that there are many, many people who sit in church every week who know the scriptures and yet insist on living in their lies. And unless the scriptures are practiced and lived as our way of life, causing us to love God's ways, we will only have the knowledge of the word of God rattling around in our heads, but not flourishing in the heart, producing the beautiful fruit of righteousness. God says he will punish liars for their unbelief and their dislike to the truth. You see, when we do not obey what God's word tells us as his righteous standard, we live in unbelief. And the fruit of unbelief is lying and hatred and jealousy and so on. Now, why would a loving and merciful God punish the liar by giving them a strong delusion to let them believe their own lie? We must remember God is not the author of sin. But in his love and righteousness for the sinner, he sometimes withdraws his grace and hands these people over to Satan or leaves them to be deluded by his cohorts and gives them up to their own heart's lusts and leaves them to themselves. When this happens, sin will actually override them and engulf them in the worst of wickedness and the end, of course, will be eternal damnation. So let us remember, please, that God is just and He is right when He inflicts spiritual judgments here, eternal punishments hereafter upon those who have proven no love for the gospel of the truth, who did not believe them or did not live according to them, but indulged in their false ways and their own doctrines, is God's righteous judgment for sinners who sadly deceive themselves right into the lake of fire. When a person chooses to lie, they borrow it from Satan. And Satan fills their hearts to speak the lie. Amen. And an excellent example of this is found in Acts 5.3 where Apostle was speaking to Ananias. Acts 5.3 But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart that you should lie to and attempt to deceive the Holy Spirit and should in violation of your promise withdraw secretly and appropriate to your own use part of the price from the sale of the land? Verse 4 As long as it remained unsold, was it not still your own? and even after it was sold, was not the money at your disposal and under your control? Why then is it that you have proposed and purposed in your heart to do this thing? How could you have the heart to do such a deed? You have not simply lied to men, paying faults and showing yourselves utterly deceitful, but to God. See, Satan is the father of every lie. Not only the lies which he speaks himself, but also those which others speak. Make that clear. He is the author and the founder of all lies the scriptures tell us. And when men and women, and yes, even children, speak lies, they speak from Satan as his mouthpiece because they come originally from him and bear his image. You see, the devil is the father of every liar. Psalms 58.3 declares these wicked people are born sinners. Even from birth they have lied and gone their own way. See, the devil is the author of sin. The spirit that works in the children of disobedience. And it's so corrupted man's nature that the wicked are said to be alienated or separated from the womb by speaking lies. Satan has taught them with their tongues to use deceit. And in Paul's book of Romans 3.13, it describes liars in this way. Romans 3.13, their throat is a yawning grave, and they use their tongues to deceive, to mislead and deal treacherously. The venom of asps is beneath their lips. And King David said it in this way, For there is nothing trustworthy or steadfast or truthful in their talk. Their heart is destruction or a destructive chasm, a yawning gulf, and their throat is an open scepter. They flatter and make smooth with their tongues. Psalms 5.9 Deception, precious ones, is deception. Deception is deception. And a lying mouth does not tell the truth nor is sincere in what they say. A lying mouth uses flattery and faults to deceive people in their lies. And the devil is the father of lies and he has trained them in the way of lying. And they resemble him and all liars according to the book of truth says they will have their portion in the lake of fire forevermore. and in the gospel of John 8 42 we see a vivid picture where Jesus came and proved all murderers and liars to be the devil's children and leaves it to the consciences of the hearers to be convicted by their own sin and Jesus shows them in this example that they were no friends of the truth and because they did not really dwell with God there was no truth in them Notice in these scriptures as we read that Jesus does not directly call them liars, but he shows them that there was no truth in them. In John 8, 42. Jesus said to them, If God were your father, you would love me. For I came from God and now I am here. I have not come on my own, but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you do not carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there was no truth in him. And when he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet I tell you the truth, and you do not believe me. Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God is saying. And the reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God. Jesus, in effect, here is charging them with two things. One, that they would not believe the word of truth in verse 45 when he said, Because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Though Jesus gave abundant proof of his commission from God and his love for them as God incarnate, they would not believe him, that he was the truth and light who had come into the world, but instead they rebelled against the light. Jesus was charging them with refusing that he was the prophet, the teacher, and priest sent by God to set them free of the misery and the oppression from sin. But they did not receive him, but instead found the truth offensive. and the truth instead became like a mirror held up in front of their faces that would not flatter them. But instead, the truth became a torment to them and they plotted to murder Jesus. Ways that we may recognize the nature of the sin of lying is, one, it is the intention of leading and misleading people into understanding something is true when we know it is false and a lie. Secondly, it may be a lying word, a sin of the tongue by telling or speaking a lie. And third, it may be a lying look, the sin of the eye by looking a lie. This can be a part of body language, which is meant to deceive. And fourth, it may be a lying act, the sin of the hands act by a lie. For instance, say that there is a test given, and the student finds a problem in arithmetic too difficult, so he leans over to his neighbor and asks him to show him the answer. And the results on the test are great, and the person who has cheated was not moved by the fact that he had cheated. but this is theft and theft is also a lie. It was not the tongue but the hand that did it. Also, we must be warned in the dreadful sin of lying that to be a party to the lies of others means that you've joined the devil in his own dark nature and character to be a party to join with others in their lies. And also another way we lie is, say for instance, that we're a guest in somebody's home or even shopping in a store. And you accidentally broke something. That you have fear. And you do not come forth to your host or hostess and admit that this has happened. But you hide the evidence and plan later to replace the broken item. But in time it's conveniently forgotten about. But this is also a lie. You've been acting a lie here and the damage is mostly to yourself because it involves deception and you have empowered the devil in your own life. See, half lies and truths are still lies. And they are meant to deceive the listener by spinning a web of double meaning to convince them that the thing being said is true when it's a kind of half lie. You know, one black lie grows into another, and pretty soon the liar believes his own lies. Oh, God forbid. One lie grows into another, and it helps to support the next one until no one knows where it will end up. It's kind of like a snowball. And the more it rolls down the hill, the bigger it gets. this lie is linked to many other lies where there is little regard for God and to man lying degrades the whole nature of the individual let me say this has not been an easy word today to deliver nor am I sure for you to hear but nevertheless we all must be on guard as God's children to avoid the pitfalls of this dreadful sin of lying We all have been involved in this sin of lying in some measure, in some form, but as we grow in the truth, we learn the lies of Satan, oppose the truth of God, and hinder our spiritual growth and our communion with God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus told his disciples in the book of John 16, verse 12. John 16, verse 12. But when he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak only what he hears. And he will tell you what is yet to come And he will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We are new creatures in Christ. And he has given us his spirit to help us overcome Satan, the world and ourselves. And your life is hid with Christ in God. And as you practice the truth you learn in the scriptures, this is the only way you or I will overcome the spirit of darkness. It's the only way. By practicing the knowledge of God's truth every day in our lives. This is the only way our minds, dear ones, will be renewed and our lives changed into Christ's image. Paul advises us in Philippians 4.8 in Philippians 4.8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true whatever is noble whatever is right whatever is pure and whatever is lovely whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things. So when we ponder upon the lovely and the beautiful We speak whatever is praiseworthy and we speak only those things that are honest and just and pure and of a good report. And we'll be free of any lying nature that even resembles the dark realm. Jesus said in John 14, 26, but the comforter, the counselor, the helper, the intercessor, the advocate, strengthener, stand by the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, in my place to represent me and act on my behalf. He will teach you all things and he will cause you to recall and remind you of and bring to your remembrance everything that I have told you. Hallelujah. Praise God for his word. Hallelujah. I believe that we must touch upon and be warned of the fact that this dreadful sin of lying is working mightily in the church today to destroy the faith and lives of our Lord Jesus Christ's inheritance. In 1 John 2.18, in 1 John 2.18, we have a warning here. Boys, lads, it is the last time, the hour, the end of this age. And as you have heard that the Antichrist, he who will oppose Christ in the guise of Christ, is coming. Even now many Antichrists have risen, which confirms our belief that this is the final end time. They went out from our number, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had been of us, They would have remained with us, but they withdrew that it might be plain that they are not of us. Verse 20. But you have been anointed and you hold a sacred appointment from you've been given an unction from the Holy One. And you all know the truth or you know all things. You see, what the scripture speaking of is a false teachers. and there was a startling report that was just issued on a leading Christian news site that speaks of what I have just spoken or we've read about or in this scripture to be warned of false teachers who speak lies. The condition of the church is reported like this. 52, this is what the report has stated, 52% of these people who call themselves Christians say that there is more than one way to heaven. Ponder and think about that. Over half of professing Christians in the body of Christ say that there is more than one way to heaven. Even though the Bible says Jesus proclaims, this is part of the report, even though the Bible says Jesus proclaims himself to be the only way to heaven. This information comes from a new survey from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The USA Today reports the survey also found that 29% of self-proclaimed Christians believe they are saved by their good actions, their good deeds. Pretty sad. The research found that 30% say that their salvation is through belief in Jesus, in God, or a higher power alone. And 10% say salvation is found through a combination of behavior and belief. Hell, we're talking about professing Christians here in this report. But, dear church, something has been missing from the pulpits of those whom these people have been sitting under. Apostle tells of false prophets and teachers who invent erroneous doctrines to cause people to support them in a manner to which they have become accustomed. And their teachings are nothing more than the lies of Satan. There are many new doctrines. and ideas of men being presented and permeated throughout the church these days. 2 Peter 2.1. In 2 Peter 2.1, the apostle speaks, there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and bring the way of truth into disrepute. Many will follow them according to our scripture. Many, many will follow them. The word of God must be the final authority if we are going to recognize these agents of Satan who are building their own kingdoms, really building Satan's kingdom unbeknownst to themselves. We must not allow ourselves to be swayed by personalities or new promotions that sound good. The Word says that if you know the truth, the truth will set you free, and the truth is found in God's Word only. People who profess to be servants of God must be accountable for their words. And in 1 John 4, 4, 1 John 4.4 Verse 5. They proceed from the world and are of the world. Therefore, it is out of the world, its whole economy morally considered that they speak, and the world listens and pays attention to them. Verse 6. We are children of God. Whoever is learning to know God progressively, to perceive, to recognize, and understand God by observation and experience, and get an ever-clear knowledge of him, listens to us. And he who is not of God does not listen or pay attention to us. By this we know and recognize the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. You see, if we belong to God, we have defeated the devil's lying schemes and are learning to overcome in this area of our lives. And we will not be guilty of the sin of lying or fall prey to the false doctrines that come along, which are lies of Satan to pull God's children out of their rightful inheritance, and that is eternal life. We can refuse the lies of Satan. We don't even have to believe them. It's just that simple. It's just like that. We don't have to believe them. God's word gives us power, precious ones. His word empowers us. And if you presently have trouble with this sin of lying, I would like to pray for you. The power of prayer and agreement is awesome and mighty to pull down the strongholds of Satan. And we must drive out the lies of the enemy in our lives by an act of our will and the power of the Holy Spirit of truth. Hallelujah. By an act of our will. See, we lean that way. We lean by the act of our will to want to do right. Amen. Amen. Make this prayer a simple prayer for yourself. Let us pray. Father in heaven, I approach your throne of mercy in the most wonderful name of Jesus Christ, my Savior. Lord, I can see that I have been negligent in leaving a door open in my life to the attacks of this lying spirit because of ignorance, lack of faith, and knowledge of your word. Forgive me, Father, and help me walk in freedom of your truth from this day on. Satan in the name of Jesus I bind you and your lying spirit according to Matthew 18.18 that tells me whatsoever I bind on earth will be bound in heaven and I close the door to the lying spirit in my life in the name of Jesus and I thank you Lord for giving me victory over this lying spirit And according to Matthew 18, 18, which promises me, whatsoever I loose on earth shall be bound in heaven. I loose the spirit of truth in my life right now. Holy Spirit, help me and inspire me to read, to study, to meditate upon your word each day so that I can maintain dominion over Satan as I abide in my Lord Jesus Christ and his word lives in me. Thank you for guiding me. Thank you for your favor in my life. And thank you for divine protection. Father, thank you for answering my prayer. In the name of Jesus, amen. Dear one, now in your responsibility, Lie not. And put away all lying and speak the truth. Watch against the enemy. And do not leave the door open. Pray against it. And seek to love the truth of God. Ask the Holy Spirit daily to fill your heart with the love of Christ. And then you will surely love the truth and you will hate lying. Make every effort. every effort will strengthen you and the more you seek after the truth the stronger you will become in it hallelujah this is growing in your new nature and you delight the heart of your heavenly father when you die to your old ways and your old nature oh you delight his heart and you have been given a mighty and divine helper called precious holy spirit and he loves you very, very much. Hold on fast to him. Hold on tight.