How long can a person go without bending or stretching the truth or even an outright lie?
Imagine a world where every promise made is a promise kept. Wonderful, isn’t it?
Then why do we find it so easy to lie? Consider for a moment the values of deceit, at least, in the eyes of the world.
Deceit, whether through misinformation (unintentionally misleading information) or disinformation (deliberately misleading information), serves multiple purposes.
Corporations may use deceit to overshadow their competitors or to embellish the appeal of their products.
Politicians might deploy misinformation to sway public opinion or to obscure unflattering truths.
On a personal level, individuals might use deceit to avoid conflict or to gain advantages in social or professional spheres.
While these actions can offer short-term gains or advantages, they erode trust and integrity, leading to long-term damage in relationships, institutions, communities, and most importantly, people.
In our text today, Jesus puts an end to a behavior that had the appearance of heaven but the effect of hell.
INVOCATION
Almighty God, our faithful Father, in this time of your worship, grant us the discernment to differentiate between lies and honesty, for we live in a world where deception can easily cloud our judgment. Strengthen us to stand firm in Your truth, unwavering in our commitment to uphold integrity and truthfulness in all aspects of our lives.
Empower us by Your Spirit, to be agents of truth, courageous in our speech and actions, reflecting the character of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who truth.
We pray for a renewed commitment to honesty and transparency, both in this public praise and private worship.
All this we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who taught us the power of speaking the truth in love. Amen.
OFFERTORY
The lies that are told to us are as old as mankind. Those who are good at lying have a distinct advantage over those who treat people with respect because a liar has absolutely no respect for you.
Let me share just a few tactics that he or she will employ on you to get their way. Keep in mind that the truth is never shared with these tactics.
It begins with strong negative emotions meant to create fear, anger, or outrage. “All they want I to take what you have!”
They will use contradictory arguments that don’t make sense if you listen. “I don’t know how this is going to turn out, but you know that it is completely rigged.”
Then they may limit your choices when, in truth, more options exist. “It’s either their way or the highway.”
Or how about scapegoating where you don’t address a problem but blame an individual or group falsely. “The reason this generation complains so much is because they are so lazy.”
They will find something people are divided about and sow discord to distract you from seeing the truth. “All they want to do is take your jobs and your money. You can’t be safe around them.”
And if all else fails, they will fabricate a complete lie, push it as the truth and call you a liar for doubting them.
We see it when food companies label their products with claims of health benefits that aren’t there.
Companies ‘greenwash’ their products by claiming they are environmentally friendly and they’re not.
Of course, pharmaceutical companies flood every media touting their drug by their data and passing over the side effects.
And aren’t you tired of all the internet trolls, bots, and fake accounts that target you everyday to censor information and push ‘the message’?
What would you give to have less of these lies in your life? Would you give for just the truth?
There is one thing that I have learned about lies over the years. They die if you know the truth. Honesty, persistent honesty, is the best weapon to confront all these messengers of doom.
So, while you return a portion of the blessings God has given you, have the heart to offer the same to the world. Tell them what God has done with you and through you. Just tell them the truth. There is no need for you or me to lie about anything.
PRAYER FOR THE OFFERING
COMMUNION
She could not remember her name. That bothered her sometimes. She knew that she had been named, that she had been loved. She remembered the caresses of her mother, the murmuring of her voice. Yet that had not lasted long. In only a few months, it became apparent that she would never return her mother’s words of love. Her mother had cried a lot. Her parents called her Mistake, Handicapped, Too Much Work. Slowly her mother’s love faded with the growing years of discouragement and hardship.
She, finally, had been dropped off at the Home for Disabled Children, with promises of visits. However, her mother never looked back. As she watched her parents’ van drive away, she knew that she was no longer loved. That tore into her heart.
She tried to adjust to the strange new world of the Children’s Home. However, with no way to communicate and with no one to love her, she gradually withdrew into a world of distrust. She became violent and angry.
When the workers accidentally hurt her, she would lash out as best she could – fighting and kicking and biting. She could make one sound – screeching. It made people afraid of her, so she did it loudly and often. During this time, she was called many names – Angry, Beast, Not to Be Trusted. But she still could not remember her name, and it still bothered her sometimes. Her name was forever gone.
She grew up as much as she could. Her body grew but her mind was forever stunted. She could not walk, could not talk, could not dress, or feed herself, could not remember her name. She could no longer stay in the Children’s Home because she was no longer a child. They took her to an Adult Home, one with special security protocols to help contain her violent outbursts.
One day a middle-aged lady named Sharon came to the home. Sharon seemed different from all the rest. Sharon came right up to her and said, “Hello, what’s your name?” In reply, she just screeched. That usually scared people away. However, Sharon smiled and said, “Nice to meet you.” Then Sharon sat down and started reading aloud. At first, not wanting to hear, she screeched the entire time.
However, Sharon was not discouraged. “I will come again.” And Sharon came – again and again and again. Each time, Sharon read to her from a big book. Gradually, she stopped screeching and started to listen.
She heard for the first time about a Man called Jesus, one who healed the sick, who cared for the lonely and the outcast. The stories from the book were fascinating. This Jesus suffered when He had done no wrong. He died so that others might live. He paid the penalty for their sins. And, amazingly, He did all this out of love. She had never known this kind of love.
One day Sharon looked at her and asked, “Do you believe this?” She could not answer Sharon out loud, but she knew. She had no good deeds of her own; nor could she do any. And so, she believed with her whole heart in Jesus, the One who died and rose again, the One who lived a perfect life on her behalf.
Life was different after that. She couldn’t understand everything about Jesus, but she knew that He was her friend, and that He was with her, helping her. She stopped screeching. The violent outbursts became a thing of the past. She was more content and quiet.
But one thing was lacking: she still could not remember her name. And it still bothered her sometimes. Since Jesus was God and man, would He know her name? If her name was in the Book of Life, would Jesus know, and would she know, that it was truly her? Or would she be mistaken for some other person, since she could not say, “Yes, that is me?”
Then one day, Sharon read this from the Book: “And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” (Revelation 2:17b) At the words “a new name”, she suddenly understood.
She couldn’t remember her name, but it no longer mattered, because she had a new name. She was a child of the one true King. She was Loved. She belonged to the One who had written her name in His book from eternity Past.
She could not remember her name, but it no longer bothered her. The only One who truly mattered had remembered her.
We lie to ourselves when we call ourselves worthless and hopeless. Anything and anyone touched by the Christ have eternal value. When we break the bread this morning, we confess that we have broken our promises to Him but declare that He has never broken His promise to us. Thank God for that truth.
PRAYER FOR THE BREAD
In the cup you are about to receive is the emblem of the blood of Christ poured out for you. That blood was a promise between the Father and the Son. A covenant between them that was shared with you and me. A promise that nothing in heaven or earth can take you away from Him. Believe it for that is the truth.
PRAYER FOR THE CUP
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Matthew 5:37
“All you have to say is Yes or No.”
Imagine that you are home, and mom comes into the room and asks, “Who took some of the cookies I just baked for dinner?” What do you do? Do you say, “I don’t know” or blame your brother or sister? But what if you did take some of those cookies? Do you lie now?
There is an old saying that I remember as a child when it comes to lying. “Oh, the tangled web we weave when first we start to deceive.”
Lies require other lies. If I say I don’t know but she notices some cookies crumbs on my bed, then I have to tell her the lie that my brother came in the room with them and ate them. Then she asks, “Are you lying to me?” and I say no. But my brother walks in and when mom asks him about the cookies, he calls me a liar.” Well, you can see where that is going.
But did you realize that you only have to tell the truth once! That’s right. You don’t have to make anything up or tell another story. All you have to do is tell the truth and you’re done.
Yes, mom may not be happy with you but, I guarantee, she will be a lot angrier with you when she finds out you lied to her. And that’s the truth.
MESSAGE
It had to be frustrating for Jesus to see what people had done with His kingdom. He had provided a way for Israel to come to Him and keep their relationship strong. But over the years, those in power began to use what God had given them to their advantage.
Take, for instance, holy things. God called several things holy. He called His Temple holy and everything in it. He called His priests holy and every person holy since He had given them life. But as with murder and adultery, they had kept things at arm’s length by turning them into a set of rules.
They didn’t want to be faced with the anger and lust that lurked in their own hearts and they certainly didn’t want others to know about their anger and lust, so they made rules and rituals that could be done to feel more holy.
One of them was the use of oaths. For example, I might swear an oath on the altar of God that I will take care of my parents when they are old. But when the time came and my parents needed me, I wouldn’t have to keep my promise because I didn’t swear on the horns of the altar.
Yes, they had all sorts of rules that they could bend whichever way they wanted because, let’s be honest, they were writing the rules as they went along. It would be what you and I would call lying.
What ticked Jesus off the most was that they were lying with the holy things of His Father. They were swearing on heaven, and earth, and Jerusalem and even their own head. Oaths had become central to Jewish law and culture, used to guarantee the truth of statements and the fulfillment of commitments, with elaborate rules specifying how and when oaths were binding.
And to make matters worse, the elites (the scribes and Pharisees) would just write more rules and rituals if the first ones didn’t work.
Now, I will confess that this is a pet peeve of mine, but I believe it will make my point.
Every year of my adult life, I have done my federal and state taxes. That began before computers, and you had to go to the library or post offices to get your forms to do your taxes and don’t forget the instruction manual that went with it.
I would spend days collecting the correct information, figuring out the sums and putting it in the right box before mailing it off. As time consuming as it was, I don’t remember getting any corrections from the government.
But then computers came along, and the government didn’t have to print the instruction book like before and send you forms like before. Now it was all online. Sounds like a great idea. What could possibly go wrong?
Now that hundred-page manual was thousands of pages because the government kept adding new laws and regulations to it. Now you would need to hire experts to do your taxes or use tax software.
Now I had to read all the new regulations for the year because the government had changed the old ones and that alone was a hundred pages. Now I had to do what the software said and could not flip pages to see previous notes like I used to do.
So, now I do my taxes, which I am convinced the government already knows how much I owe, and they let me know when I didn’t pay that exact amount and then attach a penalty to that amount.
You get to the point where you wonder if it’s all worth it and you just take the standard deduction and forget about it. That’s how they felt in Jesus’ day. Why even try to fight for your rights with the Romans or the Jewish authorities when the Romans didn’t care about breaking promises and the Jewish authorities would just cite another rule you hadn’t heard of.
Jesus had seen enough, and He throws the whole thing out the window by telling everyone just keep it simple by making promises with a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. As far as Jesus was concerned, everything else was a lie.
In fact, He called out the father of all lies, Satan, for being the motivation behind all this. You can imagine how that went over with the Jewish authorities.
But Jesus didn’t budge. He called them all to a simple truthfulness. Your words should match your soul and if your words don’t match, then something is wrong with your soul. That was a polite way of calling you a liar.
Again, Jesus is demanding that the spirit of the Law was always more important than the letter of the Law. What Jesus was calling them to do then and what He expects of us now is that we do not give up the truth just because others have made it so complicated.
I should not give up challenging injustice even if it is hiding behind the cloak of business, government, or powerful people. Wrong is still wrong and a lie is still a lie and deserves to be treated so.
All liars, whether individuals or organizations, will abuse their power and lie about their promises if they believe they can get away with it. They will simply try to wear you out with their lies.
The choice is simple for you and me. Resist or let them erode trust, amplify false narratives, and manipulate public discourse by exploiting human psychology and the anonymity and reach of digital platforms.
But we are called to be better than that. Listen to God’s Word on this!
Christians are called to exercise discernment. Discernment, as depicted in the Bible, is the ability to judge well and distinguish truth from falsehood. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, emphasizes the importance of discernment: “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:9-10, KJV).
This passage underscores the need for you and I to continue to grow in knowledge and judgment, ensuring that our understanding of what is said out there aligns with God’s truth.
To safeguard against their lies, you and I must anchor ourselves in the truth of Scripture. The Bible serves as the ultimate source of truth and guidance. The psalmist declares, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105, KJV). By immersing oneself in the Word of God, we gain a foundation of truth that can help us identify and reject falsehoods.
The Bereans in the book of Acts provide us a biblical example of this principle. When they heard Paul’s teachings, they diligently examined the Scriptures daily to verify the truth of his message (Acts 17:11). Their commitment to scriptural truth serves as a model for Christians today, highlighting the importance of verifying information against the infallible Word of God.
Another crucial principle is to test the spirits, as advised by the Apostle John: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1, KJV). This admonition reminds believers that not all information comes from a godly source.
By testing the spirits, Christians can discern whether a message aligns with God’s truth or if it is a deceptive lie. Jesus himself warned about false prophets, stating, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15, KJV).
You are either an agent of truth or a lie. If our society has become weakened by the lies of the evil one, we will have to trust God to deal with that deceit. But if we have allowed our local communities to become subject to such lies, then we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Transparency and honesty have the power to create a culture where the truth is both spoken and valued, and the truth is not something you can afford to leave in the hands of others. You are responsible for the truth known here.
Jesus was not silent, and neither should we be so. We live in an age where commitments can often feel fleeting or worthless, but we can take Jesus’ word for it that speaking the truth out loud has weight and keeping our promises is where we begin.
It has escaped us like those in Jesus’ day that when believers start living out this radical honesty, it changes people and communities. It falls upon us to show the world that our God is a God of truth, and that we will live our lives accordingly whether they like it or not.
We have been told to trust them and that was a lie. May God give us the strength to live out our lives with a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ and see the liars for whose children they are.
BENEDICTION
Gracious God, as we leave this place, we pray for the courage and strength to be agents of truth in our daily lives. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.
Help us to resist the temptation to bend the truth or make false promises, even when it may seem helpful. Remind us that our words carry weight and that keeping our commitments is a reflection of our devotion to You.
As we strive to live out a radical honesty, transform us and our communities, that the world may see the power of truth and the beauty of lives lived in obedience to Your will.
We offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, who has called us to be His faithful disciples, speaking the truth in love. Amen.
Matthew 5:33-37
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Michael