Overcoming Sin through Christ

A Comprehensive List of Sins

(Alphabetically Arranged)

Richard Hollerman

The plan of this study is simple.  We will look at a large number of sins, one by one, alphabetically.  We will define the sin, describe it, and comment on it, along with noticing Scripture references on the particular entry.  Some illustrations will be offered along with the description.

Lying or Dishonesty

Shockingly, most people will admit that they have lied and will lie if the conditions are favorable for falsehood.  Are they telling the truth when they admit to lying?  Surveys indicate that lying is very common.  One study found that men tell an average of six lies a day as compared to three for women.  This study of 2,000 British men and women discovered the following:

Top ten lies men tell:

1. Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine
2. This will be my last pint
3. No, your bum doesn’t look big in that
4. I had no signal
5. My battery died
6. Sorry, I missed your call
7. I didn’t have that much to drink
8. I’m on my way
9. It wasn’t that expensive
10. I’m stuck in traffic

Top ten lies women tell:

1. Nothing’s wrong, I’m fine
2. Oh, this isn’t new, I’ve had it ages
3. It wasn’t that expensive
4. It was in the sale
5. I’m on my way
6. I don’t know where it is, I haven’t touched it
7. I didn’t have that much to drink
8. I’ve got a headache
9. No, I didn’t throw it away
10. Sorry, I missed your call [1][1]

People commonly lie about smaller things, but sometimes larger matters are the subject of the lie.  A woman friend may ask, “How do you like my new hairdo?”  You know that it really looks ugly and if it is short, you know that it violates Scriptural principles (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:14-15). How do you answer her without lying?  Another woman may tell her that today is her birthday.  She asks, “How old do you think I am?”  She wants you to underestimate her age; what will you say?  A man may lie about his age, his education, his job description, or his skills in a certain sport.  A woman may lie about her clothes, her travels, her experience with the opposite sex, or her grades at school. All of this is wrong and God calls untruths by the plain word, “lying.”

Although lying is common, and the majority of people do lie in one way or another, it must not be found in our life.  God is “true” and He is “the true God” (1 John 5:20).  God is so truthful that “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18; cf. Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2).  Christ claimed to be “the truth” (John 14:6) and the Holy Spirit is known as “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13).  Furthermore, God’s “word is truth” (John 17:17).  In radical contrast to truth, Satan stands for untruth or lying.  The devil “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him” (John 8:44a).  “Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (v. 44b).  If we walk in falsehood and tell lies, we follow the lying ways of Satan and are most unlike our God of truth!

God condemns lying throughout the Bible, including the Old Testament.  “A lying tongue” is “an abomination” to God (Proverbs 6:16-17).  “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who deal faithfully are His delight” (12:22).  “Truthful lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is only for a moment” (12:19).  We also read, “A righteous man hates falsehood, but a wicked man acts disgustingly and shamefully” (13:5).  The psalmist wrote, “I hate and despise falsehood, but I love Your law” (Psalm 119:163).  David hated lying so much that he could write, “He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me” (Psalm 101:7).

This is the background of our need to live in absolute honesty before God and others.  Ananias and Sapphira “agreed together” to lie to Peter and their fellow believers, but the apostle knew that their lies went beyond merely human lying.  He accused Ananias, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit. . . . You have not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:3, 5).  When we lie to another human being, we actually lie to God.  Lying is a dreadful sin that must not be found in the body of believers—or in our personal lives!

The noun pseudo means “a falsehood, lie,” the adjective pseudologos means “speaking falsely,” and the verb pseudo means “to deceive by lies.”[2][2]  The noun (pseudo) generally is translated as “lie” but “it may also indicate falsehood, deception, or anything counterfeit.”[3][3]

Paul is the apostle who speaks most about lying in the New Testament. He told the Ephesians that we must speak “the truth in love” (4:15).  He says, “Laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another” (4:25).  He commands, “Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him” (Colossians 3:9-10).  This shows that lying is part of the “old self” that is forsaken at the point of salvation.  Paul claimed his own truth-telling when he wrote, “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 9:1; cf. 1 Timothy 2:7).  On another occasion, he said that God “knows that I am not lying” (2 Corinthians 12:31; cf. Galatians 1:20).  If only we all would have such a consciousness of God’s presence that we would not think of telling a falsehood to anyone!

John was not reluctant about accusing people of lying if they failed to agree with the Word of God.  He says that if we claim to have fellowship with God and yet walk in darkness, “we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6).  He went on to say, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (v. 8).  Again, “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (2:4).  He knew that if someone was not being honest with the truth, he was a liar!  When it came to false teachers, John wrote, “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?” (2:22). “The spirit of truth and the spirit of error” is known by comparing one’s message with that of the apostles (4:6).  John was very aware of the disastrous effects of lying and so should we!

Sometimes we tend to think that lies have to do with our everyday interactions with people.  In the Scriptures, however, one of the leading ways we can lie is through denying what God says or what His Word affirms.  For instance, when we reject “the truth of God” concerning His person and being and creative work, we actually accept a “lie” (Romans 1:25).  One who denies that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) is a “liar” (1 John 2:22). Those who follow deceitful spirits and teach falsehood are “liars” (1 Timothy 4:2). The one who claims to know God but refuses to obey Him is a liar (1 John 2:4).  How often do people realize this fact?  They seem to just think that accepting false doctrine is not that serious, but actually they lie when they do this.  How many “Jehovah’s Witnesses” or Mormons or Catholics or others realize that they are actually “liars” according to the Word of God?  How many Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and others recognize that God considers them “liars” when they hold to their false views of the Lord and promulgate this to others?

Many people minimize lying by saying that they are “telling only a ‘white’ lie.”  But where does Scripture make such a distinction?  A “white lie” is defined as “a minor or harmless lie” or a “fib.”[4][4]  It is “an often trivial, diplomatic or well-intentioned untruth.”[5][5]  Lying is lying.  It is telling an untruth, a false statement. We acknowledge that some of these “white lies” are meant to keep from hurting someone, but are they not still lies? While we may not humiliate someone by saying the truth, how can it be right to tell an untruth?

This is not always the same as telling all of the truth we know, for even Jesus did not speak and explain much that He knew.  Sometimes it is the part of wisdom to withhold knowledge, especially to show compassion.  If someone is very ugly in appearance, it would be cruel to tell him or her this fact for the sake of truthfulness.  Suppose a mother shows you her newborn infant and asks, “Isn’t she beautiful!”  In fact, the baby may not be that attractive, but it is best to find some alternative than to give an outright lie.  If someone would want to know what you earn and it would be unwise to tell such a person, we don’t necessarily need to divulge the truth on this.  But, on the other hand, we need not tell an untruth either.  We can just say that we don’t always discuss or reveal personal information.  We must conclude that telling “white lies” is also wrong and dishonest.

We might also point out that we can “lie” without speaking by just remaining silent when we should speak.  If a teacher or supervisor should ask, “Is there anyone here who believes in God and the fairy tales of the Bible?,” what should you do?  If you remain silent, you are confessing—without words—that you don’t believe those truths.  In such a case, we must not be silent.  We must courageously tell the truth (cf. Matthew 10:32-33).

The Bible plainly tells us of those who were guilty of this serious sin of lying.  Sarah and Abraham lied to Pharaoh (Genesis 12:11-13) and he also lied to Abimelech (20:2, 5, 12), then later, his son Isaac also lied to Abimelech (26:7-10).  Sarah lied to God (Genesis 18:15), Jacob lied to his father (Genesis 27:19), and Joseph’s brothers lied to their father, Jacob (Genesis 37:31-32).  Samson lied to Delilah (Judges 16:10) and David lied to Ahimelech the priest (1 Samuel 21:2).  A prophet of Bethel lied (1 Kings 13:18) and Gehazi lied (2 Kings 5:22).  In the New  Testament, Peter denied Jesus by lying (cf. Matthew 26:72), Ananias lied (Acts 5:5), and Paul said that “Cretans are always liars” (Titus 1:12).

Lying has serious consequences.  In the period before Christ, we read, “You destroy those who speak falsehood; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit” (Psalm 5:6).  Solomon also said, “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who tells lies will not escape” (Proverbs 19:5).  Revelation gives us the final destiny of those who speak falsehood: “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).  This clearly says that “all liars” will be sent to hell!  Later in the chapter we read that “no one who practices abomination and lying” shall ever be admitted to the heavenly city (v. 27).  In fact, outside the city of God is “everyone who loves and practices lying” (22:15).  This shows how God views those who dare to tell an untruth![6][6] Lying is one of those popular and common sins that people tend to just accept, but God holds us accountable for each untruth we utter.

 

[1][1]dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1213171/Men-lie-times-day-twice-women-  study-finds.html

[2][2] W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary.

[3][3] Mounce, Expository Dictionary.

[4][4] Random House Webster’s College Dictionary.

[5][5] The American Heritage College Dictionary.

[6][6] See also our booklet, Truth and Lying.