SEP 16

Acts 5:1-11
Memorise Proverbs 19:5
“A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape”

So we now know that lying is a serious sin, and that as Christians we shouldn’t do it. But do we realize truly how serious it is, and what the consequences and repercussions are of being a liar? Are we sometimes tempted to think that despite the fact that we’ve been lying so much and nothing has happened to us thus far, it seems ok to continue doing so. We must view sin the way God views it, and realise what punishment He has decreed for those who would break this commandment.

We remember the account of the couple Ananias and Sapphira. After becoming Christians, they decided to sell a plot of land and give the money to the church. They kept part of the amount for themselves, and then brought the rest to present it to the Apostles. This was a commendable and noble thing, for they did it out of their own volition. However, probably out of pride, wanting to appear more generous than they were, they declared that what they had given was the whole price of the land, and had kept nothing back for themselves. Therein lay the problem. It was a simple, and you may think harmless, sort of lie. However, it resulted in the worst of consequences. Peter knew the truth and straightaway he rebuked him, “Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?...thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God” (Acts 5:3-4). With that, Ananias was struck dead and he died. Three hours later, his wife arrived, gave the same false report, and was killed as well. It was a serious crime that they had done, in lying to God and attempting to deceive the church. Their punishment was an example to the whole of the early church, to show that God indeed did take sin seriously, and would not tolerate such blatant transgressions.

Of course the same things don’t happen to us today. However, the gravity of the sin continues to be the same. Whilst God might not strike us down in the same manner that He did to Ananias and Sapphira, He does continue to hate sin in the same way, and we are warned in Proverbs 19:5, “A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape”. Yet it should not be the fear of punishment that should motivate us to keep the commandments, but instead it should be a love for God and a desire to please Him.

Thought: Lying is a serious sin, one that we seriously shouldn’t commit.
Prayer: Lord, help me to love what You love and hate what You hate.