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32

The New Life

(Eph. 4:25-32)

 

But ye have not so learned Christ;

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Neither give place to the devil.

Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

 

 

Having looked at the “Old Man” and the “New Man,” we come now to the “New Life” that we have in Christ. Here is the practical consideration of walking in purity. We have all heard much about “living the Christian life,” but what we find here is one of the most vitally important sections of living the Christian life to be found in the Scriptures.

May I say at the outset that this is a difficult passage. By “difficult” I don’t mean “technically difficult,” that is, there are no complex grammatical structures that must be analyzed, no problems in the language that must be exegeted, or other such technical intricacies. Rather I mean difficult in the practical sense that it exposes sin in the Believer’s life. That is hard for any of us to face. At first, this passage seems odd. After all, can such serious sin be present in the Christian? As we’ll see, that is precisely the point. The sins listed here are those that are the most likely to creep subtlety back into the Believer’s life and admitting them is hard to do.

 

The importance of this passage cannot be overemphasized. For decades well meaning men have come up with various lists of “dos and don’ts” for conduct. Pastor Ray Stedman recalls as a young Christian hearing a little jingle from what he calls the “thou shalt not variety” of Christianity:

 

Rooty-toot-toot! Rooty-toot-toot!

We are the boys from the Institute.

We don’t smoke, and we don’t chew.

And we don’t go out with girls that do.[1]

 

Legalistic Christian living has been around for countless years, and different teachers dub various things as being “worldly” and therefore forbidden for the Christian, including: smoking, drinking, dancing, gambling, going to the theater, television, playing cards, pants on women, makeup, and so forth. “Doing” and/or “not” doing are then the gauges of spirituality. I’ve seen some churches, in fact, that demand prospective members sign an agreement not to do such things before being allowed to join the church, but I’ve yet to find a verse in either Acts or the Epistles that teaches such a rule.

 

The problem with such lists, of course, is that they are man-made, and because of that, one man’s list is different from another man’s list. We are, therefore, left with no absolutes for conduct; we are left with relative guidelines that are generated by men’s opinions, personal preferences, and often just plain self-righteousness. More important, such lists miss the point of true spirituality, namely, it’s not the outside that matters as much as the inside. “But doesn’t being a Christian mean that there are certain things we won’t do?” it is asked. Of course, but it is not men’s job to define what these things are.

 

What we find before us, therefore, is one of “God’s lists for conduct.” There are other such lists in Scripture—the one in Proverbs 6:16-19, for example, perhaps being the most exhaustive and all-encompassing—but the list here is unique in its specific application to the Christian. Again, Paul is merely elaborating on and applying the general principles he has already laid down in his discussions concerning the “Old Man” and the “New Man.” As we study this vital passage, we should notice two principles.

 

First, Paul gives us the negative, that is, what each sin is and what it involves. There are actually four major sins listed here—lying, unrighteous vengeance, stealing, and corrupt speech—and then an additional summary statement. This list is unique because these sins are the most common sins to be found in human behavior and are, therefore, the ones most likely to creep subtlety back into the Believer’s life.

 

The passage begins with the words putting away, which is the same basic Greek word translated “put off” back in verse 22—“put off concerning the former conversation the old man.” As noted there, apotithēmi is taken from the picture of taking off a garment and is in the Aorist Tense showing a once-for-all putting off of the “Old Man.” It’s also significant that in both instances, the verb is in the Middle Voice. While the Active Voice means the subject is doing the action and the Passive Voice means the subject is being acted upon, the Middle Voice means the subject is acting in some way that concerns itself or the subject is receiving the benefit of the action. This voice is used in Ephesians 6, for example, for putting on the armor of God; we do this because we receive the benefit of doing so. Why do soldiers put on certain garments? For their protection and general benefit. Likewise, putting away all the common sins of the “Old Man” is to our benefit. We are the ones who are going to win as a result.

 

Second, Paul then gives us the positive, the reason and motive for keeping each of these sins out of our lives. Yes, the main reason for this is because they are sin, and God says get rid of them Paul goes deeper, however, than just “thou shalt not,” which would be little more than legalism. Rather with each one he gives a greater motive. We see here, then, five contrasts:

 

·         Taking Off Lying to Put On Truth (v. 25)

·         Taking Off Unrighteous Vengeance to Put On Righteous Anger (vs. 26-27)

·        Taking Off Stealing to Put On Laboring (v. 28)

·         Taking Off Corrupt Speech to Put On Good Speech (v. 29)

·        Taking Off Natural Reactions to Put On Spiritual Actions (vs. 30-32)

 

I. Taking Off Lying to Put On Truth (v. 25)

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

 

It’s interesting, and extremely significant, that the sin of lying is listed first. Why? For two reasons. First, because, as we’ll see, lying is the most prominent sin of mankind. As we will see, lying permeates our being and our society. Lies are told to cover up other sins, making lying the “catch all,” so to speak. Second, because, as we’ll also examine, truth is the most essential characteristic of Christianity, and therefore the Christian life. The reason we do not lie is because we cherish the truth.

 

As I studied this principle in depth, I was profoundly touched by it. Lying is, far more than people realize, so imbedded in our being, and therefore so entrenched in our practical living, that it takes the very power of God alone to break its hold. I pray that what follows will truly shake us to the marrow of our bones, that we will see how essential truth is and that it must never be shaded or tinted by a lie.

 

The Negative

 

The Greek behind lying is pseudos, where we get our English “pseudo,” as in “pseudonym” (a false name). It occurs “in Greek from the time of Homer” (8th–7th Century B.C.) and means “the antithesis of truth, alēthei,”[2] which, as we’ve seen several times speaks of that which is not concealed, that which is absolute, incontrovertible, irrefutable, incontestable, unarguable, and unchanging. Writing from Ephesus the Apostle John wrote to churches in Asia Minor that they knew “the Truth” and “that no lie is of the truth” (I Jn. 2:21). There is not even the slightest bit of truth in a lie, no “gray areas” as is commonly believed. Even the smallest lie turns negates the truth.

 

A lie, therefore, is defined as, “A statement that is contrary to fact offered with the intent to deceive.” There are, of course, two parts to this definition. A statement that is contrary to fact is not necessarily a lie. For example, if I tell someone that I will meet them at a certain time but then am late due to car trouble, I didn’t lie because I wasn’t trying to deceive them. But if I said I’d be there at a certain time, knowing that I would be late, then that would be a lie.

 

There are several things that one might mistake for lying that are not. Kidding is not lying. For example, because I can’t see it, I know a couple of fellows in my church are just kidding me that I have a kind of Douglas MacArthur-like bald spot on my head. And, of course, I’m just kidding now about denying what I know to be true.

Some people view fiction as lying because it’s a story that isn’t true. But readers know up front whether or not such stories are recounting actual events. Stories are often valuable not just for entertainment, but for lessons. Even our Lord used parables that were not necessarily based on real events.

 

Neither is figurative language lying. I have to admit that the expression of something being “done in no time” drives me crazy because that is literally impossible. So I have to remind myself that that is just figurative language that means it won’t take much time.

 

Not saying something out of politeness is also not lying. Perhaps you’ve said to your children, “There’s a man coming over tonight who has the biggest nose in the world [another example of figurative language] so don’t point it out.”

With that understood, may we recognize that lying is still, by far, the easiest thing in the world to do. As commentator Albert Barnes writes:

 

It may seem strange that the apostle should seriously exhort Christians to put away lying, implying that they were in the habit of indulging in falsehood. But we are to remember . . . that lying is the universal vice of the heathen world. Among the ancient heathen, as among the moderns, it was almost universally practiced . . . [and remember that] the effects of former habits abide long, often, after a man is converted.

 

Indeed, whether ancient or modern, lying is a universal vice, a part of man’s very core, and is a habit with which even the Christian will struggle. Again, lying does not involve just speaking blatant falsehoods. There a many subtle forms. Exaggerating, embellishing, or otherwise adding to a story is lying. I read of a Christian man, for example, who became widely known for his powerful and moving testimony. After several years, however, he stopped, and when asked why, he replied with renewed integrity, “Over the years I embellished the story so much that I no longer knew what was true and what was not.”[3]

 

Cheating is also a form of lying because you are saying you did something on your own when you didn’t. Betraying a confidence, telling something that you promised not to tell, is lying. Making excuses for wrong conduct is a lying. Many other things are lying, including: telling a half truth, plagiarism, boasting, flattery, false humility, hypocrisy, false promises, and tragically much more. In short, when we say anything that is not so in its entirety, it is a lie.

Even more significant is the fact that a lie doesn’t have to be spoken. We can lie without uttering a single word. We can lie by allowing something to be said that we know to be untrue and therefore be in complicity with it. We can even lie with a look, a gesture, or even the most subtleness facial expression.

 

Further, a lie travels fast and permeates everything it touches. As Spurgeon put it, “A lie travels around the world while Truth is putting on her boots.”

 

One of the foulest events in the history of our nation was that of former president Bill Clinton, who blatantly lied on national television to the very people he was sworn to lead with honor and integrity. Further, not only did he commit perjury during a sworn deposition and again to the grand jury—after taking an oath in God’s name to tell the truth—but he then dragged uncounted individuals into complicity with his lies—his wife, friends, staff, cabinet, congressmen, and the more than willing liberal, lying news media. As Proverbs 29:12 declares, “If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.” Even more powerful is 17:7: “Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.” Of all character traits, a leader must be a man of truth. A leader cannot be a liar.

 

It’s interesting that while many wanted to lynch Richard Nixon for his lies and cover up during the Watergate incident back in 1974, was that the attitude toward Bill Clinton? Indeed not. It was committee leader Kenneth Starr—himself a devout Christian—who many blamed for “wasting” $40 million on the Clinton investigation. The obvious fact, however, is that a fraction of that would have been needed if only everyone involved would have just told the truth; millions of dollars were required to break through layer upon layer of deception. And, may we add, how many millions did the liars spend to cover up the truth? And why did so many people hate Ken Starr? Proverbs again has the answer: “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it” (26:28). In other words, a liar hates and tries to hurt those who expose his lies.

 

Now, the question that arises is why would so many people defend a man who was a proven liar? Why would people interviewed on city streets say the whole thing really didn’t matter?—after all, they said, “He only lied about sex.” Indeed, he lied about adultery, but that didn’t matter either. Why would so many government leaders not only refuse to remove such a man devoid of any integrity from the highest position of leadership in the world, but not voice even the smallest outcry?

 

The answer is found in Romans 1. In verses 24-31, Paul records a horrendous list of sins that come as a result of God giving a rebellious race over (v. 26) to its desires: uncleanness (i.e., heterosexual sin), vile affections (i.e., homosexuality), unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, deceit, malignity, whispering, backbiting, hating God, despitefulness, pride, boasting, inventing evil, disobedience to parents, foolishness (“without understanding”), covenant-breaking, hard heatedness (“without natural affection),” implacability, and unmercifulness. In verse 32, Paul then writes, “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” In other words, while knowing but not caring that God will judge them, not only do men do these things, but they approve of others who do them. There is really no wonder that Bill Clinton had over a 60% approval rating because those people practiced the same things he did. He could commit adultery, lie about it, and later admit he lied about it, but few people cared because they do it too.

 

In our present study, may we key in on two sins in that list: “deceit” (v. 29) and “covenantbreakers” (v. 31). “Deceit” translates dolos, “to bait,” that is, tell someone one thing to get them to follow you and then later say something else. As a matter of course, for example, advertisers use “bait and switch,” or some subtle form of it, to lure people into considering their products by promising one thing and then delivering another. “Covenantbreakers” translates asunthetos, which speaks of treachery and those who do not abide by their agreements. The break their word. At one time in our society a handshake or even a man’s word was enough to chisel a agreement in stone. Today we draw up detailed contracts and sign them in the presence of a notary public, but then hire lawyers to find out how to get around them.

 

The destructive power of lying is incalculable. Ralph Waldo Emerson was right when he said, “Every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society.”[4]

 

Think back to the years leading up to World War II. How on earth could a gutter rat who lived in a home for tramps in the slums of Vienna, a man who had failed at everything he’d ever tried, rise to lead Germany in the horrors that she would inflict upon the world? The answer is: through lies. Taking advantage of the bungled “Treaty of Versailles” that ended World War I, the economic misery of the people caused by paying war reparations and the devalued German mark, followed by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s, Adolph Hitler came to power through animal magnetism, fanatical speeches, political intrigue, and violence. And what were his two underlying arguments, the two basic lies that ultimately resulted in the deaths of an estimated fifty-five million people, both military and civilian of all countries, plus another six million in the Holocaust? First, that European Jews were to blame for all of Germany’s problems and had to be removed, and second, the preaching of Lebensraum (“living space”), the belief that Germany had to expand her territory if she were to survive. In Mein Kampf Hitler wrote, “The great mass of people . . . will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one.[5]

 

This destructive power was further brought home to me recently by the most fascinating political science book I have read to date. It masterfully recounts the war on Communism waged by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s. McCarthy’s purpose was to uncover “loyalty risks” working for the government, that is, people who were working for the government who shouldn’t have been because they were Soviet sympathizers. For this quest it was actually McCarthy who was considered the real enemy by political liberals. While the investigations were called a “witch-hunt” and McCarthy’s “reign of terror,” he was personally dubbed with many names, including: “knave,” “fool,” “wild-eyed demagogue,” “fascist,” “anti-Semite,” and “beyond-belief liar.”

 

While the majority of the American people actually loved McCarthy and applauded his actions, and even though both John and Robert Kennedy staunchly defended him—much to the embarrassment of their own Democratic party—his enemies leveled attacks and lies against him that were unprecedented in the history of American politics. He was accused of perjury, being a drunk, and even being a homosexual. He died a broken and defamed man. Out of pure hatred, The York Times didn’t even mention his death in an editorial.

 

But as it is now known beyond even the tiniest shadow of a doubt, Joseph McCarthy was absolutely and indisputably correct all along. Even before his own day, the evidence of Soviet agents in the government was clear but mostly ignored. Realizing the true evil nature of Communism, Whitaker Chambers, for example, left the Communist Party in 1938. Given a private audience with President Roosevelt’s assistant Secretary of State, Adolf Berle, Chambers gave Berle the names of at least two dozen spies working in the Roosevelt administration, especially Alger Hiss, a top State Department official. When this news was passed onto Roosevelt, his response was laughter and gutter profanity to Berle’s face. Even when official government documents were produced that proved Hiss to be a Soviet agent, Roosevelt ignored them and continued to promote Hiss to higher positions. In addition to Chambers, there were “Soviet defectors who brought reams of KGB documents with them, identifying Soviet agents in America.”

 

It was then on July 11, 1995 that the final evidence was produced that no amount of liberal lies could squelch. It was on that date that the documents of the Venona Project were made public. Begun in 1943, the Venona Project was a top secret project of the Army’s Special Branch devoted to breaking the Soviet code. For national security, the project was kept secret even from Roosevelt, and later Harry Truman, because they simply could not be trusted; they both had been told of Soviet presence and ignored it. By war’s end the code had been broken, and it was revealed that the American government was, indeed, infested with hundreds of Soviet agents, not only Alger Hiss, as well as Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (who were executed in 1953, over the outraged cries of liberals), but many others.

 

There was, for example, Harry Hopkins (special advisor to Roosevelt), as well as Harry Dexter White (assistant Secretary of the Treasury under Roosevelt). Truman later not only retained White at Treasury, but then appointed him as the top U.S. official at the International Monetary Fund, even after repeated warnings from the FBI that he was a soviet agent. And the list goes on. Not only was Joseph McCarthy right, but even he didn’t know the full extent of the Soviet invasion.[6]

 

So, how was American security compromised? How were nuclear and other military secrets passed to the most evil regime in human history? How could hundreds of the enemies of God and America exist in high government positions? How was a loyal American senator, as well as other loyalists, such as Whitaker Chambers, vilified and ruined? THROUGH LIES—lies heaped upon lies. Throughout the 20th Century, there is no doubt that lies and deception have always been the key to political Liberalism to the peril of this nation. Let no one ever believe that lies don’t hurt anyone.

 

And the lies continue today (2005) during “The War on Terrorism” that is being waged as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Because of their sheer hatred of President George W. Bush, liberals lie by saying he is waging war unilaterally, without the support of other countries, when the plain truth is that over 30 countries gave their support. No, Russia and France didn’t. Why? Because of their complicity with Iraq. In a shameless partisan attack, some liberals even accused the President of having advanced knowledge about 9/11 but offered not one shred of proof, just lies.

 

I was struck by another example during President George W. Bush’s 2005 State of the Union Address. During the Liberal’s response portion after the address, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) made this statement: “We have never heard a clear plan from this administration for ending our presence in Iraq, and we didn’t hear one tonight” (emphasis added). That was a lie. Here is exactly what the president said, word-for-word, near the end of his speech:

 

We will not set an artificial timetable for leaving Iraq, because that would embolden the terrorists and make them believe they can wait us out. We are in Iraq to achieve a result: a country that is democratic, representative of all its people, at peace with its neighbors, and able to defend itself. And when that result is achieved our men and women serving in Iraq will return home with the honor they have earned.  (emphasis added).

 

Nancy Pelosi heard the same speech that millions of Americans heard but blatantly and deliberately denied what was plainly said for the sake of partisan politics.

 

But is all this surprising? Not at all. Even the briefest examination of mankind reveals that nothing is more characteristic of his wrong behavior, nothing more typical of the “Old Man,” than lying. It is as natural for a person to lie as it is for the sun to rise—it is a given, an axiom of human behavior. Psalms 58:3 makes this clear: “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” Notice it doesn’t say “as soon as they can talk.” Coherent speech is not needed to lie. Every parent knows that even an infant can feign needs and deceive.

 

The very first sin of mankind, in fact, was the result of a lie, Satan’s lie. Remember that Satan “deceived” Eve and deception is part of the definition of a lie. He deliberately deceived her with the words, “Ye shall not surely die,” not to mention all the other things he said to delude her mind and mislead her. Furthermore, Satan not only lied, but he even called God a liar. May we always remember, Satan is a liar and is the “father of lies” (Jn:8:44).

 

Proverbs 6:12 says that “a wicked man, walketh with a froward [i.e., perverted, twisted, crafty] mouth.” Four verses later, the second of seven abominations to God—second only to pride—is “a lying tongue” and again the sixth is “a false witness that speaketh lies.” An “abomination” is something disgusting and abhorrent, which is probably why this truth is repeated in Proverbs 12:22: “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.” A lie is disgusting to God!

 

So, is the incident of Bill Clinton shocking? Again, not at all. The sad fact is that our entire society is based on lying. One could almost call it an “art form,” because of those who are so talented at it. Have you ever wondered what would happen if everybody told the truth all the time? What if every advertiser and salesman told the truth about his product? What if every politician told the truth about his platform, supporters, and voting record? What if every lawyer told the truth about his clients? What if every doctor told the truth about whether a test or procedure was really necessary? What if every business told the truth about how it got its money? What if every non-profit organization told the truth about what donator’s money was used for? The result of such a scenario would collapse our society because lying is not only acceptable, it’s expected. Truth simply is no longer important or even prudent. It’s just not “good for business.”

 

After Paul writes the well-known words, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10), the characteristic sin he mentions in verse 13 is lying: “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips.” As mentioned earlier, when our Lord said to the Pharisees, “Ye are of your father the devil” (Jn. 8:44), He says it with the backdrop that Satan has “no Truth in Him . . . for he is a liar, and the father of it.” To lie, then, is to align oneself with Satan, never God, because God cannot lie (Titus 1:2), for He is “the God of Truth” (Ps. 31:5).

 

May we be reminded again, nothing is more characteristic of man’s fallen nature and behavior than lying. Eve lied (Gen. 3:3), Satan lied (v. 4), Adam lied (v. 12), Cain lied (4:9), Abram lied (12:13), Rebekah and Jacob lied (27:1-40), Laban lied (29:25), Joseph’s eleven brothers lied (37:32), and Potiphar’s wife lied (39:14). And that’s just the book of Genesis and only ones that are recorded! By nature, man hates the Truth because it makes him responsible, so the way to avoid both is to lie.

 

The story is told of the famous Bishop Warren A. Candler, who was preaching one day to a large audience using Ananias and Sapphira. The old bishop roared: “God doesn’t strike people dead for lying like He used to. If He did, where would I be?” When his audience snickered a bit, he roared back, “I tell you where I would be. I would be right here preaching to an empty house!”[7]

 

As mentioned back in 4:19 concerning moral depravity, the ancient Greeks supposedly prided themselves on the search for Truth, but that is another lie propagated by many a philosophy professor, for in reality the ancient Greek considered lying a necessity. In the 4th Century A. D., philosopher Proclus asserted that “good is better than truth,” a philosophy we are hearing today even among evangelicals in the form of statements such as, “It’s much better to be loving than to tell the whole truth and offend people.” 800 years before that, and 400 years before Christ, Plato allowed lying as needed, as long as it was at the proper time. He wrote, “To the rulers of the state then, if to any, it belongs of right to use falsehood, to deceive either enemies or their own citizens, for the good of the state: and no one else may meddle with this privilege.”[8] We can’t help but wonder if Bill Clinton read Plato. What a horrendous political philosophy! The poet Menander likewise laid down the general rule “that a lie is better than a hurtful truth.”

 

Titus 1:12 is a fascinating verse that actually refers to Greek culture 200 years before Menander: “One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretans are always[s] liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.” Paul here quotes the Cretan poet and reputed prophet Epeminides; to the Greeks, a prophet was a interpreter of the gods who explained the obscure responses of the oracles and saw future events. While certainly a pagan, Epeminides was one of the wisest of the ancient Greeks and was very much unlike his countrymen in behavior. His three accusations are significant.

 

First, he said the Cretans were “always liars.” As an ancient proverb put it, “To act the Cretan, is a proverb for to lie.”[9] In the same way that to be “Corinthianized” meant that one had stooped to the grossest immorality and drunken debauchery common in Corinth, to be called a “Cretan” was the same as being called a liar, a term used even in the literature of the day. The word “always” indicates that this was not the exception but the rule, the general moral character, “the national sin” (John Gill) of the Cretans.

 

Second, Epeminides called them “evil beasts,” not gentle animals like sheep, but wild, ravenous predators who were unrestrained in their indulgence and passions.

 

Third, Epeminides called them “slow bellies.” The Greek here is argos gastēr. Argos literally means “without work” and describes someone who is not at work only because he chooses to be idle. Gastēr (English “gastric”) refers to the belly, particularly the stomach. Used figuratively, as it is here, it means “appetite” and “excessive eating.” Another ancient Greek term was gastrodouloi, “slaves of their stomachs.”[10] So the Cretans were “lazy gluttons,” “slothful stomachs.” In short, they wanted to eat without working for it.

 

Does this not remind us of America’s own out of control welfare system? Countless people who can work refuse to do so but still expect to eat, in direct contradiction not only to II Thessalonians 3:10—“If any would not work, neither should he eat.”—but also simple common sense. Not only was this principle set down by God in Genesis 3:9—“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground” (cf. 17-19)—but the same principle is “found in Homer, Demosthenes, and Pythagoras” because it was “founded in obvious justice.”[11]

 

4th Century expositor Chrysostom made this powerful application:

Idleness is the teacher of all vice. Let us not then foolishly ask such questions as these, what place shall he occupy, who has done neither any evil nor any good? For the very not doing good, is in itself doing evil. Tell me, if thou hadst a servant, who should neither steal, nor insult, nor contradict thee, who moreover should keep from drunkenness and every other kind of vice, and yet should sit perpetually in idleness, and not doing one of those duties which a servant owes to his master, couldest thou not chastise him? . . . Suppose then that of an husbandman. He does no damage to our property, he lays no plots against us, and he is not a thief, he only ties his hands behind him, and sits at home, neither sowing, nor cutting a single furrow, nor harnessing oxen to the yoke, nor looking after a vine, nor in fact discharging any one of those other labors required in husbandry. Now, I say, should we not punish such a man? And yet he has done no wrong to any one; we have no charge to make against him. No, but by this very thing has he done wrong. He does wrong in that he does not contribute his own share to the common stock of good.[12]

 

And what was at the very root of the Cretan’s passions and slothfulness? Their lying character, their indifference and contempt for Truth. Again it reminds us of our welfare system. How many people lie about their ability to work? How many lie when asked, “Are you actively seeking employment?” At the core of our passions and laziness is lying.

 

Fascinatingly, in the very same era as Epeminides but in a different part of the world, the prophet Jeremiah labored, and we see lying as a way of life even among God’s chosen people. Jeremiah 5, in fact, is the most graphic Biblical example of what exists in our society today. Historically, the Northern Kingdom, Israel, has already been taken into captivity by the Assyrians (722 B.C.) and only Judah, the Southern Kingdom, remains. God has, however, been telling them that they too will be judged harshly for their sin unless they repent. In verse 1, God sends Jeremiah scurrying through the capital city Jerusalem seeking anyone who “executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth” and promises to “pardon” the sins of the entire nation if he can find a single person. But there was not one. Think of it! Not one person, whether rich or poor, whether citizen or leader (vs. 4-5), told the truth. Even though they mouthed the words “the LORD liveth,” in reality “surely they [swore] falsely” (v. 2). Verses 11-12 go on to say that they “dealt very treacherously against [God]” and lied to Him. Verse 27 paints the picture, “As a cage [was] full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit.” Verse 31 records that even the “prophets [prophesied] falsely” and that the people loved it. Like today, people loved what was preached even though it was not true! Honesty, integrity, veracity, genuineness, and truthfulness were not virtues to be encouraged, but weaknesses to be avoided. They are not only bad for business but even bad for ministry. People do not want to hear the Truth.

 

To illustrate further, may I interject that while the foundational approach to child-training is obedience, the foundational principle is Truth. A parent must never allow a child to get away with a lie. Further, the punishment for lying should be more severe than for anything else. Why? For two reasons, not only because of how important Truth is, as we’ll detail later, but for the practical reason that a good liar is capable of any other sin, no matter how bad. Lying rarely, if ever, stands alone; it usually hides other sin. If a person is good at deception, he can hide anything else. Verses 7-8, for example, reveal that adultery and fornication permeated the nation, as did idolatry in verse 19.

 

One of the worst things in the world any of us could be called, if not the worst, is, “He (or she) is a good liar.” A man, for example, who can sit comfortably in a chair, never shifting his weight in nervousness, who can keep his eyes unblinking, keep his voice even, keep his hand steady as he gestures for emphasis, and can then say, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” as did Bill Clinton, is a man who is capable of anything. There is little doubt that a good liar has a lot of other sins that he keeps well concealed. Mark it down: where there is no fear of lying, there is nothing left to fear.

 

Verse 3 is especially instructive: “They have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.” The imagery here is unmistakable. They are stubborn, adamant, and even obstinate in their lies. A liar will fight and do anything to cover up the truth. Why? Because to admit one lie opens the flood gates to all the others and everything pours out in a deluge, and the liar is exposed.

 

In contrast, a person who loves truth avoids other sin that he would be compelled to admit if found out. Love for truth will keep us from sin.

 

Jeremiah later foretells of the coming judgment of the Babylonian captivity and destruction of Jerusalem (vs. 14-17; chs. 20-21) if the people continued in their sin. Did the nation heed Jeremiah? Did the people repent of their sin? Indeed not. They rejected what he said, struck him, and imprisoned him (20:2-3). When that didn’t shut him up, they threw him into a muddy dungeon without food or water and waited for him to die (38:6). A liar hates the one who exposes his lies.

 

We can’t help but wonder if God is asking of America today, “Are there any who tell the truth?” And we can’t help but wonder what judgments are to come. As in Jeremiah’s day, we are a generation of liars. We have no interest, much less desire, for truth. We weave, dodge, and duck the truth like a boxer avoids being hit.

 

“Isn’t it okay sometimes to lie?” people insist. But may we ask, how can it ever be okay when God says He hates it? (Prov. 6:16-17). “But what about Rahab?” it is asked. “She lied and God commended her?” No, God commended her faith in hiding the spies, not her lie about where they were hidden. “But if she hadn’t lied,” I’ve heard people insist, “the spies would have been discovered, and the entire history of Israel would have been changed.” Wait a minute! Are we to think that God is so limited that He would have to depend upon the lie of a prostitute to fulfill His plan? In fact, we have no idea how God would have worked if Rahab had said, “The spies? Oh, they’re on the roof.”

 

Corrie Ten Boom tells a fascinating story that is along the exact same line. She tells of one family that was hiding Jews under their kitchen table—sort of. The legs of the table were nailed to the floor, and that section of the floor was a trap door. Lifting the table would lift the door, and the Jews would hide in the space below. The Germans came one night saying they believed Jews were hiding in that house. “Where are the Jews?” they asked, to which the owner replied, “They’re under the table.” The Germans just thought the man to be a fool and left. Since the Germans didn’t ask, “How far under the table?” the owner didn’t have to volunteer that information, right?[13]

 

Another incident that we noted way back in 1:17 is well worth repeating. In 17th Century Scotland, the Presbyterian Covenanters wanted to worship the way they wished but were persecuted by the Scottish dragoons—heavily armed mounted soldiers empowered by the Anglican regime of King Charles II. One day a Scottish lass was making her way to one of the secret meetings of the Covenanters and was caught by a troop of dragoons. The leader demanded to know where she was going so early on a Sunday morning. She knew the danger she was in and the danger she would cause her fellow Believers if she revealed the location of the meeting. Also knowing she couldn’t lie, she finally said, “My Elder Brother has died and they’re reading his will. I want to be there to see what he has left for me.”[14]

 

We can be assured that God will always honor the truth. May we all pray with the Psalmist, “Remove from me the way of lying” (Ps. 119:29) and “I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love” (v. 163). So the challenge is: no lying, no deception, no embellishing, no exaggerating—nothing but the Truth.

 

This leads us to our second consideration.

 

The Positive

 

May we see here that Paul goes much deeper than just “thou shalt not.” Rather, in each of these five sins he gives a deeper motive. What a challenge this is to parents, pastors, and all leaders. Teaching motives is much more valuable than teaching commandments. Why doesn’t God want us to lie? Why do we shun lying and desire truth? For three reasons.

 

First, on the negative side, lying brings the judgment of God. This is not only graphically demonstrated in Jeremiah 5, but Scripture makes it clear that liars are condemned. Speaking of the glories of Heaven, Revelation 21:27 declares, “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Likewise, speaking of the New Jerusalem, Revelation 22:15 says, “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” Who are under God’s condemnation? Those whose life is patterned after sin, of which lying is a chief pattern. It’s just that simple; liars are on the same level as the most heinous of sinners and not part of God’s Kingdom. What is their end? “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” (21:8).

 

Second, there is a positive reason we shun lying, because the most foundational principle of Christianity is Truth. As we carefully examined back in 1:13, Truth (alētheia) is that which is real, what really is, what is factual. And as we examined in 4:15, it is the mandate of the Church that we “[speak] the truth,” that which is absolute, reliable, and unchanging.

 

The word Truth appears 235 times in our Authorized Version, even more often than “grace” (170). The Psalmist, for example, declares, “For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth” (33:4), and that “all [His] commandments are truth” (119:151). Likewise, the Apostle John declares, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (Jn. 17:17). Most significant of all, our Lord declared of Himself, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (Jn. 14:6). The Lord Jesus is TRUTH ITSELF; apart from Him there is no Truth. Therefore, since the essence of Christianity is Truth, every Christian is commanded to “speak the truth.”

For this reason, commentator Albert Barnes writes these insightful words:

 

Nothing is more important in a community than simple truth—and yet it is to be feared that nothing is more habitually disregarded. No professing Christian can do any good who has not an unimpeachable character for integrity and truth—and yet who can lay his hand on his breast and say before God that he is, in all cases, a man that speaks the simple and unvarnished TRUTH?

 

Indeed, how vital it is that we speak the truth, but how often do we do so with absolutely no hint of untruth? This is the challenge to us all, a challenge that we will face every single moment of every day: guard the Truth with jealous, passionate tenacity.

 

Third, there is one other reason we shun lying, which we might call the superlative reason. An even deeper motive for speaking the truth is that all believers are members of the same body. Here is a fascinating picture! As Paul has emphasized many times in Ephesians, he again gives us the picture of a body.

 

To illustrate, our eyes do not deliberately try to deceive the brain but try to send truthful information, that is, the way things really are, which is what Truth means. The brain, for example, does not deliberately try to deceive the feet into walking in the wrong direction or the hand to pick up a red hot iron. In short, if our body parts were constantly lying to one another, our body would soon destroy itself.

 

Paul’s point, then, is simply this: lying is diametrically opposed to the doctrine of the Church. The Church, whether the universal Church or a local church, is a body, and a body must have unity and harmony. But how can there be unity and harmony without honesty? Oh, may we please realize that a lie damages the whole body. When a Christian exaggerates, cheats, betrays a confidence, makes an excuse, or just tells an outright whopper to cover up his sin, he (or she) hurts all the members of the Body of Christ. There is no such thing as “a little white lie” because every lie hurts the body as a whole. As commentator Kent Hughes writes:

A lie is a stab into the very vitals of the Body of Christ. This is so because a lie is a sable shaft from the kingdom of darkness . . . There is no place in the Christian ethic for the well-intentioned lie. In the moral behavior which Christ inspires, the end never justifies the means.

 

May we also add, what a terrible thing it is for a lost person to catch a Christian in a lie, no matter what form that lie takes! Notice the word neighbor. The Greek here is plēsion, which refers to one standing near, a neighbor, a fellow man. While the context obviously shows that Paul is talking about fellow Christians, as virtually all commentators agree, Scripture also teaches the deeper principle that a neighbor is anyone near to us, a fellow-man of any creed or nation, and even our enemies, as our Lord made clear in Matthew 5:43-44 and in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Truth, then, must characterize our dealings with every individual, whether Christian or non-Christian.

So, Paul tells us to speak every man truth because mutual trust is absolutely necessary for fellowship, and because of this trust we can speak openly with one another.

 

At this point we should add one note of caution. There are people today who promote what they call “a policy of total honesty.” This policy means that we should tell everything we know, and even if someone is hurt by our “honesty,” we are compelled to “tell the truth at any cost.” Yes, everything we say must be true, and we never deceive or mislead. But keeping a confidence, for example, is a proper thing to do. Neither is “speaking our mind” or “being honest at any cost” the humble, self-effacing thing to do. At times, in fact, it is best to say nothing at all as long as saying nothing will not be a lie in itself. This whole idea of “total honesty” is actually a lie because what it really is is self-assertiveness, not Christ-assertiveness. This practice is simply used as an excuse to “speak our mind” and is not to be confused with the Biblical principle of “speaking the truth.” For let us remember, back in verse 15 we are told to “speak the truth in love;” doing this will keep us from hurting others.

 

Lying is indeed the easiest thing in the world to do. During the weeks I was preaching these messages on the New Life, I ironically encountered a sales clerk at our local Wal-Mart whose name was Alethea. I did a double-take when I read her nametag, so I asked her, “Did you know that your name is the Greek word for truth?” With a smile, she answered, “Yes, and sometimes it’s very hard to live up to.” Indeed it is.

 

So the Christian “puts off the garment of lying” and “puts on the garment of truth.” The reason a lie is despicable is because it’s a perversion of Truth. God created Truth, but when we lie we are trying to turn falsehood into Truth. How ugly that is! Dear Christian, the next time you are tempted to tell a lie, which might be in the next few hours or even minutes from now, just stop and think about how despicable a thing it really is. And may we always be aware of the subtle forms that lying takes. May we truly [put] away lying, for when we do all that is left is Truth, and that must be our sole desire.

 

II. Taking Off Unrighteous Vengeance to Put On Righteous Anger (vs. 26-27)

 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Neither give place to the devil.

 

Next to lying, unrighteous anger is the most prevalent sin in human behavior. The human nature is, if nothing else, a volatile thing. There are those exceptional people who seem not to get angry no matter what. Most of us, however, have a breaking point. In my own younger days, I had a problem with anger, which God worked on through His Word.

 

The Negative

 

To understand anger, we must look at two things that are brought out in our text.

 

First, the New Testament speaks of righteous anger. There are those who believe and teach that spiritual behavior demands that we suppress all anger, that all anger is sin. One commentator, for example, writes that verse 26 is “not granting permission to be angry” and that “although v 26b recognizes that anger will occur, v 27 indicates how dangerous it is and v 31 repudiates all anger.”[15]

 

But, as almost all other commentators recognize, the text clearly does not say not to be angry at all. If that’s what Paul wanted to say, surely he would have just written, “Never get angry.” Rather, what he says is, “In your anger, don’t sin.” In fact, the clause be ye angry is a Present Imperative in the Greek, that is, a command to be continuously angry. That, of course, doesn’t mean we go through life always angry, rather there will be times throughout life that we are to get angry. Not only does the grammar show us this, but so does Theology and moral principles in general.

 

May we also interject that one reason for the teaching that we must never be angry is no doubt due to today’s “touchy-feely,” syrupy sentimentality and false love that comes from liberal teaching. It’s really nothing but a resurrection of the philosophy of the ancient Stoics (300 B.C.), who condemned all anger because they believed that man should live rationally and in harmony with nature, and we here the same nonsense from the New Agers and mystics.

 

Such teaching must in the end conclude that we aren’t even to get angry at sin. May we submit, however, that there is something dreadfully wrong with any Christian who is not angered at the some one and a half million babies that are slaughtered in their mother’s own womb every year in America. There is something terribly awry with “Christian” leaders who are not righteously indignant with the compromises that are being made to the Gospel and the wholesale abandonment of absolute Truth. As beloved J. Vernon McGee puts it, “No believer can be neutral in the battle of truth.” Amen! Tragically, however, some believers are actually on the wrong side these days as they refuse to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3).

 

There are three words for “anger” in the Greek New Testament.[16] The first is thumos which is used eighteen times, one of which is in verse 31 (“wrath”), and literally means “to move impetuously, particularly as the air or wind, a violent motion or passion of the mind.”[17] The idea, then, is anger that arises quickly, that is passionate and temporary.

 

Another Greek word, the one in our text, is orgē, which is more settled than thumos. While thumos is passionate and temporary, orgē indicates “a more enduring state of mind.”[18] In his classic, Synonyms of the New Testament, Greek authority Richard Trench provides several examples from ancient writers. Third Century Alexandrian teacher Origen, for example, stated, “Thumos is anger rising up in vapor and burning up, while orgē is a yearning for revenge.” Fifth Century scholar Jerome agreed: “Thumos is incipient anger and displeasure fermenting in the mind; orgē, however, when thumos has subsided, is that which longs for and desires to injure the one thought to have caused harm.” Most notable was Fifth Century Greek theologian Theodoret, who wrote that when these words appear together, as in this passage, “Through thumos is revealed suddenness, and through orgē continuation.”[19] (We’ll examine the third Greek word for “anger” later in this verse.)

 

What is Paul saying? Is he telling us that while we shouldn’t explode in anger (v. 31), we should have a deep seated desire for revenge? No, but he is telling us that there is an anger that is settled and right. Just as not all sex is sinful, but only the wrong kind (that which is outside of marriage), likewise only the wrong kind of anger is sinful.

 

What kind of anger, then, is right?—righteous anger. Simply put: Righteous anger is a settled state of mind in which there is an  indignation and hatred of that which is offensive to and sinful against God and a desire for God’s justice. No, we do not seek revenge, for, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12:19,” rather we are commanded to a continuous, enduring anger against sin and look forward to God dealing with sin in His judgment. The Christian can, and should, get angry at immorality, ungodliness, apostasy, disobedience, unfaithfulness, rebellion, unyieldedness, and all other sin against God’s will and commands. While we certainly are to be concerned for the sinner, and will witness to him concerning coming wrath, at the same time we look forward to God’s judgment on those who reject His Word and blaspheme His name.

 

May we also submit, that if anger is always sin, God Himself is sinful, for there are many examples in Scripture where God was (or is) angry. God “was angry with Solomon,” for example, “because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice” (I Kings 11:9), He “was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only” (II Kings 17:18, emphasis added), and He “is angry with the wicked every day” (Ps. 7:11). Likewise, the Psalmist asks, “How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?” (79:5; cf. Heb. 12:29).

 

The Lord Jesus also showed anger. While critics point out that the word “anger” does not appear in the text concerning Jesus driving the money changers from temple—as John records the first incident at the beginning of His ministry (2:15-17) and the Synoptics the one at the end (Matt. 21:12–17; Mark 11:15–18; Luke 19:45, 46)—is that not really a silly denial of the obvious? Consider also Mark 3:5, where when the Pharisees criticized Jesus for healing the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath, He looked “on them with anger [orgē], being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.”

 

Some object here, “But that’s God. He can do what He wants, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay for us.” But with the exception of final judgment (I Cor. 4:5), nowhere in Scripture does God forbid us to do what He Himself does. Just as we should be loving, gracious, merciful, and many other things, as was Christ, we should also be angered by that which offends Him. As Paul writes later in Ephesians, “Be ye therefore followers [literally, “mimics”] of God, as dear children” (5:1), and to the Corinthians he wrote, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (I Cor. 11:1). To be followers of God includes righteous anger.

 

One Greek authority, in fact, offers a tantalizing consideration. He says that it is quite possible that the thought here in our text is that our anger is actually “to be understood as participation in the anger of God.”[20] In essence, then, “our” anger is not really ours, but God’s. What a challenge! May we each ask ourselves, “Do I get angry at the same things at which God is angered?” All sin is sin against God, as David realized in Psalm 51:4—“Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight”—so sin should, indeed, anger us.

 

This leads us to a another thought.

 

Second, the New Testament also speaks of unrighteous anger. Paul adds another imperative, and sin not,[21] which provide us with a check and a restraint, a test to show whether our anger is truly righteous. When is anger sin? Obviously, anger is sin when our anger is not directed at things that are sin against God. In short: Sinful anger is when our anger is motivated out of personal reasons, that is, when someone has offended us, not God.

 

How often is our anger selfish instead of Godly? How often do we get angry because we have been wronged instead of getting angry because God’s Word has been violated? Even if someone’s action is itself sinful, we also sin if our anger is motivated out of self, if it is motivated our of personal offense or “hurt feelings?”

 

And what horrendous destruction comes as a result of personally motivated anger? The story is told of a women who tried to defend her bad temper by saying to preacher Billy Sunday, “Although I blow up over the least little thing, it’s all over in a minute,” to which Sunday replied, “So is a shotgun blast! It’s over in seconds, too, but look at the terrible damage it can do.”[22] Consider the results of so-called “crimes of passion,” where out of momentary anger someone is stabbed, shot, or just defamed by words.

 

The famous 1st Century B.C. Roman poet Horace wrote, “Anger is momentary insanity” (Epistolae). How true! “Insanity” is a loss of mental capacity and reason, and that is what uncontrolled anger is. After preaching this, one of the men in my church approached me and said, “Anger is momentary stupidity, because it’s willful.” In a sense, that is certainly true, because we make the choice to get angry and willfully give up control to our passion. So in either case, that is not how the Christian is to live. The Christian doesn’t go insane, doesn’t “get stupid,” doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t “lose it,” doesn’t get enraged over the least little thing. When there is anger, it is for the right reason and is controlled.

 

This leads us to our second consideration.

 

The Positive

 

Again, the positive is the deeper motive, which in this case is, let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Some commentators betray their liberal slant here by saying that Paul was quite possibly following the advice of the 1st and 2nd Century Greek philosopher Plutarch.[23] In his book of essays on morals, Plutarch taught that we should pattern ourselves after the 6th Century B.C. Pythagoreans, who taught that if a man were angry with another he should not let the sun go down before they shook hands, embraced, and were reconciled.[24]

 

But for one thing, Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, certainly didn’t need help from a pagan philosopher, and neither do we today. For another, he is talking about something far deeper than what a parent does with quarrelling siblings—“Now kiss and make up.” Rather, Paul alludes to Deuteronomy 24:10-13, which describes a law concerning lending. If a man gave his cloak as a pledge for a loan, the loaner was required to give the cloak back when the sun went down if it was needed for warmth. Verses 14-15 add that day-laborers were to be paid before the sun went down because they literally lived day to day.

 

So what is Paul saying? The word wrath comes from the third Greek word for “anger,” parorgismos, which is actually a form of orgē and speaks of embitterment or personal resentment. Paul knew that even righteous anger can degenerate, so he added this admonition. Kept too long, even righteous anger against sin can turn into a resentment toward the person. It, therefore, must be dealt with before the sun [goes] down; that is, don’t take it to bed with you, deal with it, get it resolved. Again, be angry at the sin but don’t resent the person. Why? Because when we have resentment for someone, we cannot then be of help to them. Yes, we get angry at their sin, but our goal should be to bring them back to what is right by being a witness to them.

 

Why, then, must we not allow unrighteous anger? Because it will give place to the Devil. The Greek for give place exactly reads didote topon, another Present Imperative, a command. Give is didōmi, a common word found 416 times in the New Testament and means “to give of one’s own accord and with good will.”[25] While the saying does not appear in the Gospels, Luke records the words of our Lord when he said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). The idea, then, is to say, “Here you go. I’m happy to give this to you. Take it. All power to you.”

Place, then, is topos (English, “topography” and “topology”), which when used literally refers to “any portion of space marked off from the surrounding territory,” such as a spot, space, or room. Used figuratively, it speaks of an “opportunity, power, [or] occasion for acting.” [26]

 

Finally, the Devil is t