Themes in Proverbs: Truth and Lies

Introduction:

Another marked emphasis in the book of Proverbs is the contrast made repeatedly between truth and lies. As Christians, we know that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), and we also know that the devil is the father of lies (John 8:44). Whenever he lies, he is speaking his native language and so he is fluent in it. Believers and unbelievers therefore speak different languages, and we should note the different characteristics of them. Like all forms of language, they can be studied.

The Text:

“These six things doth the Lord hate: Yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, Feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren” (Prov. 6:16–19).

Summary of the Text:

Wisdom and folly are eternally at odds. Lies and the truth do not mingle together, they do not mix. They have no concord together. Whether you take this list as a list of graded sins, ranked sins, or not, it is striking that liars make the list twice, and two other items on it likely involve falsehood. The thing about them all is that God hates them all. And if they are ranked pride and lying come in ahead of murder.

Remember that when someone struggles with lying, it is because in the first instance he is lying to himself. God desires truth in the inward parts (Ps. 51:6). Honesty begins in the gut, and if it is not found there it will not be found anywhere. I want to urge you young people to take particular heed. You are growing up in a community with high standards, and when you fall short as you sometimes will, it will frequently be very easy to compound the sin with deception—to cover your trail, not to mention your tail. Contrary to popular mythology on this, hypocrisy is a peculiar failing of the young.

And so it is plain that God hates lying. “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: But they that deal truly are his delight” (Prov. 12:22). How does He hate it? Let me count the ways . . .

Righteous Hatred is A Function of Love:

We know from Scripture that God is love. And because He is love, He loves the truth and everything consistent with the truth. But it is not possible to love the truth without treating lies as a loathsome thing. “Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; And the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips” (Prov. 8:6–7). Treating the truth as excellent runs parallel to treating wickedness (lies included) as an abominable thing.

We see the same thing in the exhortation given to the recipient of this book of Proverbs. “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: Bind them about thy neck; Write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man” (Prov. 3:3–4).

When you find the truth, hang on to it. “Buy the truth, and sell it not; Also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding” (Prov. 23:23).

As a Good Example:

God hates lying and wants us to do the same. “A righteous man hateth lying: But a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame” (Prov. 13:5).

Theologians distinguish between God’s communicable attributes and His incommunicable attributes. There are attributes He can share with us (like love, or kindness) and there are attributes He cannot give to us (like omnipresence). Love of the truth is communicable.

His Hatred Results in Action:

When we say that God hates lying, we are saying more than that He has a particular opinion about it. No, His attitude toward lying is going to result in action toward liars. “A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish” (Prov. 19:9).

Lies Lie About Lying:

God hates lies because they lie, not only about the world, but also about what the lies themselves are doing. Lies lie about themselves first. “Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; But afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel” (Prov. 20:17). “The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death” (Prov. 21:6). One of the central lies told is that a lie is the truth . . . and that the one who is speaking the truth is the one telling lies.

Giving Ear to Lies:

God hates lies so much, He rebukes not only those who tell them, but also those who listen to them. “If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked” (Prov. 29:12). “A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue” (Prov. 17:4). If a ruler listens to lies, he incentivizes those who would come to court loaded up with them. And a person who acts wickedly is the kind of person who listens to lies. Providing an ear for liars is creating a seller’s market for them.

Lying is Destructive:

God knows all the damage that lying does. He knows the harm it inflicts. He knows the ruin that will result from it. And so He detests every false word. “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin” (Prov. 26:28).

God of the Permanent Things:

What God loves is loved forever. What God hates is necessarily going to perish in the way. “The lip of truth shall be established for ever: But a lying tongue is but for a moment” (Prov. 12:19). Lies seem to be very powerful, but if we apply the vantage of Scripture they are like a small bit of misty fog by the road in the morning. They just blow by.

Where This Hatred Lands:

Remember that what God hates, He hates in only two places. He either hates lies in the cross of Jesus Christ, pouring out His wrath on every form of lying there, or He hates lies by pitching them, along with the people who tell them, into the lake of fire. What is that lake for?

“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” (Rev. 21:8).

And when Peter denied Christ, what was he doing? He was lying. And did Jesus take the penalty for that? Absolutely (1 Pet. 1:19).  So the only question facing us, residents of a world filled with lies, is where the wrath of God will fall on those lies. Will wrath fall on lies that were placed on the beloved Son, or will it fall on lies that are floating downward into the abyss with no bottom? If you would be free, you must embrace the truth, and the only Truth that a sinner can embrace is the truth as it is found in Jesus.