INTRODUCTION
The previous message examined lying and spiritual manipulation. It evidences truth as glorifying God and describes spiritual manipulation through Satan’s schemes, including the deceitfulness of riches, distorting the Holy scriptures and imperfect mediums of communication. It further explains why and how God allows spiritual manipulations.
This message examines the bondage of lying and deceit. It reveals how lusts conceives lies and bondage. Using biblical examples, it explains lying methods that serve bondage to undermine God. It encourages believers to renounce lying and deceit towards liberty.
1. SERVANT OF LIES
Lying is a character of sin, which is bondage! Two important points to note about the servant of lies or ‘bondage liar’ are: first, lying is always motivated by a lustful fleshly desire. One becomes so bound by the attraction of the desire of lusts, be it riches, property, emotions, employment etc. that they would deceive or lie to obtain it. “…For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage”. (2 Peter 2:19).
Second, when you tell a lie, for whatever purpose, you will require to tell another lie, and another lie in order to cover the previous deceitfulness. This way one becomes a servant of sin and in bondage to it, serving Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44).
Therefore brethren, beware that “…to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness”. (Romans 6:18; John 8:34). In other words, if you obey (or fulfil) the desires of your fleshly lusts by deceit and lies you are serving sin which is the path of ‘spiritual death’. That is, serving sin, hardens one’s heart and makes one insensitive to truth.
2. LUSTS CONCEIVES LIES AND BONDAGE
The lusts of the flesh can snare one into the bondage of lying. Let us examine the stories of Rebekah and Jacob who connived to deceive and lie to Isaac to steal Esau’s blessing; and King David who lusted after Bathsheba and connived with Joab to kill Uriah, her husband. (Genesis 27:1-46; 2 Samuel 11:3-27)
Rebekah overheard Isaac ask their eldest son Esau to go and hunt a venison and prepare for him a meal that he loved so that he will eat and bless Esau before he dies. She called her youngest son Jacob and plot to deceive Isaac. She convinced Jacob to pretend to be Esau so that he could steal the blessing that Isaac had promised his eldest son Esau. They both knew that o deceive and to lie was a curse or bondage, but Rebekah was so determined to satisfy her lusts and said: “upon me be thy curse, my son”. (Genesis 27:12-13).
Similarly, King David lusted after the beauty of Bathsheba who was Uriah’s wife and laid with her. When Bathsheba sent to David that she was pregnant he connived with Joab his army Chief, to deceive the husband Uriah. (2 Samuel 11:3-17)
The deceit was thus sown in the hearts of Rebekah and Jacob to lie to Isaac and covet Esau’s blessing; while the deceit was sown in the heart of king David to lie to Uriah to cover up his adultery. And in furtherance of their lusts, they each made a conscious decision to choose the devil’s path of deceit and lying and became subject to the bondage of lies.
2.1 LYING METHODS SERVE BONDAGE
Brethren note that once one chooses the devil’s path of deceit, only lying methods would be used to accomplish that deceitful purpose. For example, when Rebekah and Jacob plotted to deceive Isaac to steal Esau’s blessing, one lying method they used to achieve the purpose was to make Jacob look like Esau. This is because the two brothers were very different – Jacob being a “smooth man” while Esau was a “hairy man” So Jacob wore Esau’s clothes and goat’s skin upon his hands and neck to get the hairy feel of Esau when Isaac would touch him. (Genesis 27:11,16).
Similarly, king David tried to cover his sinful act of adultery with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba, by convincing Uriah to go to his house to lay with his wife. He asked for Uriah to leave the battlefield and go home to relax, sending after him plenty food. But Uriah slept at the door of David’s house instead with his servants. (2 Samuel 11:6-9). He explained to David that it was against God’s law to “go into [his] house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with [his] wife” when the Ark, Israel, Judah and the armies remained in tents and open fields. David further got Uriah drunk but was unsuccessful in getting him to go home to lie with his wife. (2 Samuel 11:13).
2.2 LYING METHODS UNDERMINE GOD
Brethren, it is important to observe that in perpetrating the lies, the bondage liars Rebekah, Jacob and King David even distorted the truth of God to justify their deceit. In case of Jacob, when his father Isaac asked him how it was that he returned so quickly with the meat from hunting, he answered saying “because the Lord thy God brought it to me”. This he said even though he did not hunt but he stole the animal from the flock. (Genesis 27:19-20).
Also, King David sought to get Uriah to break God’s law – i.e. to abstain from women in time of battle. David’s urge to ensnare Uriah to own Bathsheba’s pregnancy to cover his deceitful conduct overpowered his regard for God’s law.
3. FEAR BREEDS AND SUSTAINS LIES
Brethren the greatest booster of lies is fear. One becomes fearful that the lie is not uncovered to reveal the truth. Therefore, is the desire to always construct new lies to sustain the former. Also, one may dread the consequences that could ensue when once the truth is revealed.
This is because all proceeds of lies and deceit eventually end up in hurt, pain, disappointment, or loss either to the liar or others affected by the lies. Out of fear thus, one could continue in Lies because Satan the ‘father of lies’ wields the fear of the truth or of the negative impacts thereof over God’s people and thereby to keep them in bondage.
For example, when Esau found out that Rebekah and Jacob had taken away his blessing by deceit and lies, he “lifted up his voice and wept”. The broken Esau “… cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me… O my father”. He hated Jacob and in fury sought to kill him. (Genesis 27:34, 38- 42). In fear of the consequences of their deceitful act which provoked Esau’s pain and anger, Rebekah and Jacob would further sustain the lie. They arranged for Jacob to flee to Haran to stay with his uncle. She lost the trust of her eldest son and the company of the younger son. (Genesis 27:43-45).
In the case of David, the fear of people finding out that he had impregnated Uriah’s wife Bathsheba, made him to sustain the lie by further deceitful conduct. He wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah…saying “Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die”. And so it was that David’s Fear sustained the lies that killed his faithful servant Uriah while also encouraging Joab to sin (2 Samuel 27:14-17).
4. RENOUNCE LIES TOWARDS LIBERTY
Brethren, what is clear from the forgoing is that lying delivers mankind into bondage under Satan’s agency and is often predicated upon one’s fleshly lusts and fear. One should therefore endeavour to renounce lying and fear regardless of how deep one is plunged into any given deceitful situation. Consider that one who speaks lies will not escape but shall perish (Proverbs 19:5,9).
We must however be of the mind that God is merciful to forgive our unrighteousness, our sins and iniquities; and “[He] has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”.( (Hebrews 8:12; 2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 8:15).
We must therefore trust in his power by the Spirit and his righteous judgement and his might to deliver and to confess our sins (Micah 3:8). We must endeavour to “renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God”. (2 Corinthians 4:2)
We must have faith in God our Saviour Who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1 Timothy 2:3-6).
The next part will examine the power of God’s Grace and Truth over the bondage of lies – the Truth that saves.
PRAYER
Almighty Father, thank you for your word. To thee be GLORY, HONOUR and PRAISE!
Dear Lord, help thy godly and faithful children who are snared by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches.
Deliver them great God from their neighbours who speak vanity, and with flattering lips and with a double heart. Cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things against thy children.
Arise O Lord, deliver them from the oppression of the bondage of lies and set them in safety from the devil’s puffing of fear.
I make this prayer in JESUS NAME.
Have a blessed and fruitful week.
Lots of Love, P. Schwartz (SOG) 31 May 2020.
