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The Bible speaks plainly about one of the most
notorious Little White Lies ever told. The account of Ananias
and Sapphira should be carefully studied by all who desire to
see God. "Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see
God" (Matthew 5:8). The rhetorical question to be pondered
is this, "Is a liar pure in heart?" Two Bible research
questions for you are:
1. Who is the father of all lies?
2. What is the eternal destiny of all liars?
I would be happy to see your answers if you would
email them to me at pjditoro@hotmail.com.
What is a lie? In the New Testament the word "lie"
comes from a Greek word which means, "to utter an untruth
or attempt to deceive by falsehood."[1] In the Old Testament
the word for lie means, "deceive, fail, be found a liar,
make a lie, be in vain."[2] One who lies has failed. But
how has he failed? He has failed to tell or represent the truth.
He has failed to be the kind of person God wants him to be. He
has failed to present himself as a person of integrity.
But what if it's just a little one, ... ...a little white one? Suppose, just suppose someone
sold a piece of property for $300,000.00 and gave $100,000.00
to the church; but they said they gave the entire proceeds of
the sale to the church. "Praise God! They are a blessing
to the church!" "Their generosity will be rewarded by
God." Then we tell the members and the friends and neighbors
and all our relatives of the wonderful blessing these people are
to the church. Then someone tells that the sale was for $300,000
and that the people lied. We are so glad to get that money that
we don't think a little misrepresentation of the amount is going
to matter. They really were generous, weren't they? We don't want
to anger them or hurt their feelings do we? After all, it's just
a little white lie.
Enter Ananias and Sapphira You've read the text and you know that Ananias
sold a piece of property and laid the money at the apostle's feet.
What a wonderful[3] thing for him to do! It was so wonderful that
God struck him dead. The man claimed he gave the proceeds to the
church but kept back a part of the price for himself. The problem
was not that he kept back a part of the price, but that he lied
about the portion that he gave. What was in his heart that made
him lie? Satan! To whom did he lie? He lied to the Holy Spirit.
This deception was conceived in his heart. "Keep your heart
with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life"
(Prov. 4:23). Bear in mind that God already knew what he and his
wife had done; but when Sapphira entered three hours later she
was required to admit that she conspired with her husband to "test
the Spirit of the Lord."
The end of all liars "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable,
murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars
shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone,
which is the second death" (Rev 21:8). Notice the company
the teller of lies keeps. Study it closely. Does it say, "and
all liars except the tellers of the 'little white ones'?
Who shall be excluded from the holy city? But there shall by no means enter it anything
that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those
who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Rev 21:27).
Little white lies excepted???
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