Sermon Cloud

Introduction

Fletcher Reede is an attorney who values his career success above all else. His supreme devotion to his career already cost him his marriage. And it is this close to costing him his 5 year-old son. He’s so focused on career advancement that he neglects his son, standing him up time and time again, even missing his fifth birthday party. Fletcher’s son, Max, is so tired of the broken promises and the made up excuses that as he blows out his birthday candles he makes a wish: he wishes that Fletcher, his father, could not tell a lie for an entire day. And -- because this is the movies and not real life -- the wish comes true.

For the next 24 hours Fletcher is unable to tell a single lie. He tries to do everything in his power to lie and to hide the truth but to no avail. At the most inconvenient times and in the most inconvenient situations he finds himself blurting out the truth against his will. If you’ve seen Liar Liar you know that the results are kind of disastrous. It costs him the biggest case of his life. It costs him his job. It costs him money. It costs him some relationships. And he finds himself humiliated on countless occasions and in countless ways in front of just about everyone he knows. For the first time in his life Fletcher Reede tells the truth and the results – in his eyes – are disastrous. But by the end of the day he realizes that the results of his lies are far more disastrous. The results of not telling the truth are far more destructive. And this is the one part of the film that reflects real life. We usually tell lies to protect ourselves or protect others from undesirable consequences. But what we fail to realize is that the consequences of the lie are far, far worse than the consequences of the truth. What are those consequences? What are the consequences of hiding the truth? What are the consequences of telling lies? God’s Word answers those questions for us in many places and in many ways. But one of the most shocking ways that this is communicated is through a true story that is found in Acts 4:32-5:11. Turn there with me if you will.  

The Unity of the Church

Luke, the author of Acts, begins this section by once again telling us about the great unity the early Church experienced. And he doesn’t just tell us. He shows us. He allows us to see the beauty of this unity by giving us a few snapshots of how the Church functioned. Let’s read verses 32-35, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.” 

This sounds a little familiar doesn’t it? Luke gave us a similar description in Acts 2. He showed us that Jesus poured out his promised Holy Spirit. He poured out his promised Holy Spirit for the purpose of testifying about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. We saw that the Holy Spirit does this by empowering cowards like you and me to preach the message about Jesus, by giving faithless people like you and me the faith we need to believe the message about Jesus, and by uniting un-unitable people into one new people  -- the people of God. This unity that Luke describes was not created by the church, it was not manufactured by the people – it couldn’t be. This type of unity could only be created by the gospel and it could only be maintained by the work of the Holy Spirit. That’s why in the middle of this description of the Church’s unity Luke inserts verse 43, “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all…” There’s really no other way to explain what we see here. These people willingly shared everything they owned with one another. They willingly sold their homes and their property in order to provide for the needs of their brothers and sisters. Can you imagine that? Some of you won’t even give away your last piece of gum without a fight. But these men and women were so aware of their unity in the gospel that they took all the money they made from selling their property and they laid it at the feet of the apostles. They didn’t do this so their favorite apostle could buy a few more 3-piece suits and a few more gators. They didn’t do this so that their favorite apostle could buy a new Benz or a new Bentley. They did this so that the apostles could distribute the money to their brothers and sisters who were in need. And they didn’t do this because it was required – it wasn’t. They did this willingly, they did this voluntarily, in worship to Jesus who united them to God and united them to each other.

Luke then goes on to give us some specific examples of how this worked out in the early Church. In verse 36 he tells us about a man named Joseph who chose to sell a field that he owned. He took all the money he made from that sale and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Partially because of this selfless action Joseph earned the praise and admiration of the people. The apostles gave him a new name. They began to call him Barnabas (meaning “son of encouragement”). After Barnabas received such a response for his act of worship a married couple decided to follow suit. Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, sold their property, too. But, unlike Barnabas, they kept back some of the money for themselves. Remember, the Bible does not say that we have to sell everything we own and give all the money to the church so choosing to keep some of the money for themselves would not have been a problem. What made it a problem was this: Ananias and Sapphira hid the truth from everyone. They laid some of the money at the apostle’s feet as though it were all of the money. They pretended to be giving all of the money to the church because they wanted people to think they were being selfless. They wanted people to think they were righteous. They wanted to receive the praise and admiration that Barnabas received from the people. So they lied. They lied to the Church

The Judgment of God

And their lie was followed by disastrous consequences. Their lie brought forth God’s judgment. The Holy Spirit allowed Peter to see through their lie. And he called Ananias on it. Look what Peter says in 5:3-4, “Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.’” Peter harshly rebukes Ananias for what he’s done. Notice, though, that he doesn’t rebuke Ananias for what he’s done with the money. No, Peter makes it clear that Ananias can do whatever he wants with his money. What he cannot do is lie to the Church. Lying to God’s people is such a serious offense that Peter equates it to lying to God. In verse 3 he says, “You have lied to the Holy Spirit.” In verse 4 he says, “You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

This should make us very uncomfortable. This should frighten us. Because we lie to each other. We lie to God’s people. We lie to the Church. We make commitments that we then don’t keep. We hide the truth about who we really are and we hide it under a lie – this false and incomplete version of us that we share with our brothers and sisters. We lie to each other in numerous ways. By doing this we lie to the Holy Spirit, we lie to God. Have you any idea how desperately wicked that is? If you have any doubt just read verses 5 and 6, “When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.” God struck this man down dead because he was a liar. Three hours later his wife, Sapphira, came in having no idea what just happened to her husband. Peter gave her the chance to repent. He asked her, “Is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” This was her chance to acknowledge their lie. But she didn’t. “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” Peter responded in righteous anger, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”  Verse 10 says this, “At that moment she fell down at his feet and died.” God struck this woman down dead because she was a liar.   

The Response of the People

Wow! How are we supposed to respond to that? How are we supposed to feel when we read that? It’s shocking isn’t it? You’re shocked to see that God would strike down a man and his wife for just one lie! But you shouldn’t be. Oh, you definitely should be shocked. Shock is the appropriate response. But you should not be shocked to see that God judged these people for their lie. You should be shocked that God has not judged you in the same way for lies – for your innumerable lies. That is what should shock you to your core.

But shock cannot be our only response to this. We should also respond in fear. That’s how the people responded when they heard what happened to Ananias and Sapphira. Verse 5 says, “When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.” Verse 11 says, “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.” This was the appropriate response in first century Jerusalem. And this is the appropriate response in twenty-first century Portland. As liars we should fear God’s perfect holiness. God is entirely righteous without a hint of sin, without the slightest flaw, he is immortal, he is eternal, he dwells in unapproachable light. We should fear God simply because he is so unlike us. He is holy and we are…we are not. Not only should we fear God because of his holiness we should fear God because of his power. He has the power to do whatever he pleases with us. He has the power to discipline us, he has the power to judge us, he has the power to take life away from us, he has the power to throw us into an eternal Hell. As liars we should fear God because of his holiness and we should fear God because of his power. Also, we should fear God because he hates liars. Proverbs 6:16-19 says this, “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up dissension in the community.” When you think of the things God hates what comes to mind? One of the things that should come to mind is lying. In this list of seven things God hates lying appears twice. God hates a lying tongue, God hates a false witness who pours out lies. The all-holy and all-powerful God hates liars. And you’re a liar. So you should respond in fear.

You should respond in fear because God should destroy you. You should respond in shock because God has not destroyed you. And you should respond in worship by putting an end to your lying. The appropriate response is to stop lying! If you read this story that message comes through loud and clear, doesn’t it? Stop lying!  That is what you must do. Now, listen, I know I may look like a moron (and I might be) but I am smart enough to know one thing. I’m smart enough to know that while you must stop lying you can’t just stop lying. If you could you would have stopped lying a long time ago. Honestly, this isn’t the first time you’ve realized that lying was a sin against God and a sin against God’s people. You have known that for the longest and yet you’ve continued to lie. So you can’t “just stop” or you would have already. In fact, you have already committed to stop lying. On several occasions in the past you have told yourself that you’re going to stop lying and start being a person of your word. But time after time you find yourself lying yet again, breaking your commitments and promises yet again. If you could just stop lying you would have but you haven’t so you can’t. The only way you can stop lying is to believe – with all of your being – what the Bible tells us about truth.

See, the Bible tells us that the truth is not just a set of propositions that conform to reality. It’s not just saying, “this shirt is red” when, in fact, the shirt is red. It is that. But it’s much more than that. The Bible tells us that the truth is not just something that is morally good. It is that. But it’s much more than that. According to the Bible the truth is relational, the truth is incarnational, the truth is personal. The truth is in rooted and grounded in the eternal character and infinite knowledge of Jesus Christ. To know and understand truth we must know and understand Jesus who said of himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” “I am the truth,” Jesus says. Elsewhere he says, “Everyone on the side of the truth listens to me.” Jesus sets himself up as the personification of truth and he sets himself up as the dividing line between truth and falsehood. Those who love Jesus, therefore, must love the truth and those who love the truth must love Jesus.

And those who don’t love the truth – those who tell lies and willfully believe lies – they are rejecting Jesus. But they’re not just rejecting Jesus. They’re serving Satan. Jesus says this to a group of Pharisees who challenge his authority in John 8:44, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of all lies.” Notice that Jesus does not say that Satan is the father of certain lies.  He is not just the father of religious lies, he is not just the father of the lies people tell that anger you – he is the father of all lies. He was the father of Ananias’ lie. That’s why Peter said, “How is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit?” And he is the father of your lies. This means that every time you distort the truth you are – at that moment -- serving Satan and his purposes.  Satan hates the truth because Satan hates Jesus. So you can see that the difference between telling the truth and telling a lie is not just the difference between being moral and being immoral. It is the difference between serving Jesus – the Truth – and serving Satan – the father of all lies.

This is why if we really believe what the Bible says about the truth then we can finally stop lying. If we really believe this with all of our being we finally have the power to stop lying. I mean, honestly, if we believe what the Bible says about truth how in the world can we continue lying? I don’t think we can. We can’t play loose with the truth when we know that to play loose with the truth is to play loose with Jesus and serve Satan. We dare not be casual with the truth because we know that to be casual with the truth is to be casual with Jesus and to serve Satan. We dare not deny the truth because we dare not deny Jesus or serve Satan. We dare not be ashamed of the truth because we dare not be ashamed of Jesus or serve Satan. The Bible tells us that all truth exists in Jesus, by Jesus, and for Jesus. So if we say we love Jesus we must also love the truth.

Conclusion

And why wouldn’t we love Jesus? Why wouldn’t we love Jesus, the Son of God, who became like us and came to us in order to save us? Why wouldn’t we love Jesus who lived -- in our place -- the perfect life we should have lived but have failed to live? Why wouldn’t we love Jesus who died a horrifying death – in our place – the death that we deserve to die as rebels against the holy and righteous God? Why wouldn’t we love Jesus who -- being the Truth -- willingly became a liar on the cross by taking our sin upon himself and taking all of God’s wrath for our sin upon himself? Why wouldn’t we love this Jesus who did all of this so that we – as enemies of God – could become children of God? When we see Jesus as he is we can’t help but love him. And when we love Jesus we can’t help but love the truth and hate lies. Because not only has Jesus freed us from the judgment our lies deserve, he has freed us from the reasons we lie to begin with.  

Think about this for a minute. Why do you lie? Really, what feelings and situations prompt you to lie? Do you lie because you are ashamed or embarrassed? Do you lie because you find your value in the approval of others? Jesus frees you from that because your value is found in him and in the fact that God approves of you and accepts you because of him. Do you lie to protect yourself and stay out of trouble? Jesus frees youa from that because your security is found in him and in the fact you have peace with God through him. Do you lie to avoid conflict or confrontation? Jesus frees you from your need to maintain a false sense of unity because he has given you true unity with God and with God’s people. Christian or non-Christian when we lie we are trusting in another savior. We are trusting in our lies to save us and free us from the things we are afraid of. But only Jesus can truly save us from these things. Only Jesus can truly set us free from our fears and our insecurities. And if we have placed our faith in him he has already done these things. So let us reject lying as a false savior, let us repent of our lying, and let us love the truth because we love Jesus Christ who rescues us from all we need to be rescued from.