Proverbs 12:22, Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight.  

Words are interesting when you consider how they sound for many times just the sound of them communicates whether they are words that speak of good things or evil things.   

We have such words today in our proverb for we are given the words “lying” and “abomination” and “truly” and “delight.”   

When we even hear the sound of the words “lying” and “abomination” there is communicated to us negative feelings but when we hear the sound of “truly” and “delight” it is the exact opposite. 

For “lying” and “abomination” are words belonging in the sphere of Satan, the Devil, but “truly” and “delight” belong to the eternity of God and because of this these words will pass the test of time.   

“Lying” and “abomination” are words that do not belong in Heaven for they are words confined to this fallen planet and are only related to time.   

They will be part of that which passes away for all things become new to the child of God. 

In our last lesson we learned the Bible makes it very clear that God will not tolerate evil.   

God is long suffering, not willing that any should perish, but long suffering does not mean eternal suffering and therefore He is careful to tell us in what He offended.   

And to do that he uses the strong word “abomination” which means a disgusting thing, a detested, abhorred, loathed, and despised, thing.   

There can hardly be a stronger word than “abomination.” 

Here He says lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.   

So by rightly dividing the Word of God we ought to study to see what other things God declares to be abomination to him.   

It is so easy to dilute definitions in order for us to not fit into categories which are distasteful. 

So men easily call lying lips little white lying lips, fibbing lips, little misstatements said because the end justifies the means.   

Things said so as to favor the speaker, but said thinking that no harm will be caused.   

Today in high places we are hearing the words “mis-spoke” and “incorrect promises” as soft substitutes for the hard word, lie.   

In our day it seems our culture is in love with shading things in order to get its way.   

We have redefined lying to be that which is true except for a few minor differences.   

And who cares about those minor differences anyway.  

But God, God who is Holy and Separate from sin, cares, for He includes lying as an abomination in a list that includes

homosexuality, bestiality, idolatry, burning children to idols, the wearing of clothes of the opposite gender and even the sacrifice of the wicked, which is pretended religion.  

These are God’s thoughts and being conformed to the image of Christ they ought to be the thoughts of the children of God.   

If God sees lying as disgusting and detestable as the burning of children to idols then we as believers must also have that mind. 

God knows no such thing as little white lies or fibs for God is

Truth and Truth has no place or toleration for such deception. 

Jesus in John 8:44, when he rebuked the Pharisees said this about Satan.  

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in

the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.  

God is all Truth and therefore Satan is all Lie and everything he does is based on lie for everything he does denies God.   

When you know your adversary is the father of lies and opposes God in every way it is easy to understand how God despises and finds disgusting, liars and their lies for all lies are generated from Satan, the father of lies.   

It is part of his world system which we are not to love.  

But Truth will win out for Satan’s destiny is in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone and those who are liars shall join him there for God says in:  

Rev 21:8, 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. 

And in verse 27 of the same chapter:  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. 

God not only calls lying an abomination he includes it within seven things listed in Proverbs 6:16-19 which he hates.   

Now if God calls lying an abomination and that which he hates, His children must have His heart about this and with God’s help never let this sin into their lives. 

And this mind must also be pressed into their children by bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord which will result in children obedient to their parents and then to the Word of God. 

These seven things that God hates include a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a 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. 

Lying is mentioned twice but all of these hated things grow because of lies.   

What is a proud look but a lying look to cover the reality of a wicked heart? 

What are hands that shed innocent blood and feet that run to mischief but hands and feet which are directed by a lying mind which denies that God seeth them? 

Who is he but a liar who sows discord among brethren as he spreads untruths for his own advantage? 

Now when God hates something you can be sure that He will establish slippery places for those to fall who do such things.   

God will not let lying lips prosper for God is angry with the wicked every day.   

David in Psalm 7 tells of a prepared sword, a bow with arrows ordained against the wicked, a pit dug for others in which the wicked fall and the mischief to others returning upon his own head. 

God hates lying because He is God.   

Truth cannot co-exist with falsehood and still be truth.   

As Numbers 23:19 reminds us, God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 

Lying belongs to the fallen nature of man, lying is earthy.   

Lying is temporal, here for a known period but will be banished for eternity.

Truth belongs to our Sovereign, our Almighty God, our Father in Heaven who Psalm 86:15 tells us is plenteous, meaning abundant, in mercy and truth. 

God’s word is abundant in declaring that the Lord is the God of truth.   

It declares that Truth is God’s nature, it declares that He himself is Truth when Jesus said, I am the truth.  

So if anything can be declared the exact opposite of God, the exact opposite of Truth it is a lie for a lie in all its forms is contrary to the nature and character of God Almighty. 

So with this in mind all lies are actions which in reality are against God for all lies oppose Truth, and Truth is a person. 

We certainly know what Proverbs 26:28 means when it says: A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it. 

When lies are told about another, it always will hurt the one lied about.   

Lies hurt but we cannot imagine the affront that lies bring to the One who is all Truth for all lies bombard Him focusing His wrath which one day will be exercised against all liars.   

For what is all sin?   

It is an affront against a holy God and the act of lying in God’s eyes is at the forefront of abomination. 

Now if you are a Christian, one who is born of the Spirit of God, one who loves the Lord and wants to do His will, you welcome the working of the Spirit of God in your life.   

You desire to grow in the Lord and growing in the Lord means to be more like Jesus.   

God has predestined his children to be conformed to his Son and part of that conforming is to love what God loves and to hate what God hates.   

God hates lying and we are to hate lying.

Proverbs 13:5 reminds us of this, A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.

But we remain for the time being in this body of sin and we can still be guilty of what God calls an abomination for Christians are not immune to lying. 

Agur the writer of Proverbs 30 asked for God to remove from him vanity and lies.   

He knew his own weakness but asked for help from God who giveth liberally. 

The Psalmist of 119:29 also recognized this problem of deceit for he pled of God:  Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously. 

God is so good to us for he knows our infirmity, he knows our tendency to shave the truth that we ourselves be favored.   

We have all lied, we have all stretched the truth. 

We maybe even on a daily basis embellish or add to or subtract from the telling of tales in order to gain benefit.  

We may even hide truth from our husband or our wife which is simply lying in our heart. 

When we sell something do we reveal its flaws or hide them in trying to deceive?   

Parents do you keep promises to your children or just say things in order to keep the peace? 

Have we kept our vows or do we just think of vows as words to be spoken and then forgotten?   

The other day I heard a woman recalling her wedding vows relating to obeying her husband but now she made light of those vows by saying she does what she wants regardless of what her mate says.   

It is sad that people think so little of truth for that is what you think when vows are not kept.   

Vows not kept are lies to God who is Truth.   

Better to refrain from vows than not keep them for not to keep them turns the vows into lies. 

God want to delight in His children.   

But God is truth and does not delight unless delight is called for by right and honest doings of his children. 

What a lesson this is to us for so many times we lie to our children by false delight expressed in inflated recognition of things our children do. 

If lies looked like balloons floating aloft, make sure you come out to the ballpark and you will see the skies filled with floating colorful orbs, each symbolizing a lie.  

You will hear praise like “Great work son”, “awesome daughter” spoken for things that are mediocre at best.   

What is this but flattery which is usually simply lies.   

So be careful with inflated praise for you are simply teaching sophisticated ways of telling lies. 

But God delights in those who deal truly.   

God delights in those who simply speak the truth no matter what the outcome. 

Truly means trustworthy, faithfulness, without guile or hidden motives.   

It means what you see is what you get.   

There are no embellishments in truly.   

The contrast is between lips that speak truth and lips that speak lies. 

And the contrast is between how God looks upon these lips.   

Lying lips are an abomination but He delights in true lips.  

God delights every day when his children proclaim truth.   

He so takes pleasure in those that honor truth and in them he shows favor and goodwill and acceptance.  

God is pure in what delights him for only that which reflects his character is approved of him.   

Samuel rebuked Saul for not obeying God in slaying Agag the Amalekite when he said in:

1 Samuel 15:22, ………Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 

God delights in obedience to His word for he knows that will result in fruit for eternity.  

Also Micah tells us that God delights in mercy.   

He desires to extend mercy to all the world and that was proven by the giving of His Son to pay our sin debt. 

He delights in a just weight which insures fair trade amongst His people.   

He delights in those who live a separated life.  

He delights in the prayers of his saints.  

And He delights in exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness.   

Jeremiah knew this when he recorded God’s thoughts in Jeremiah 9:24,  

But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. 

We are given children to raise up for the Lord.   

The hope of every father, every mother, who hopes in the Lord is that they will be their delight. 

John said in the third epistle of John, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.