The Worse Lies
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
Text: Isaiah 59:1-15
I. In describing Israel’s plight, God lists out the sins in which they had been involved in Isaiah 59:1-15
A. Repeatedly through this passage lies and a lack of truth is brought up
B. Lies are sinful, but more so, sinners lie
1. How does the addict attempt to avoid being caught? He lies.
2. What does the thief say when someone wants to know where he has been? He tells lies.
3. What does the adulterer do when his wife wants to know where he had been? He lies.
4. Sins generate lies because the sinner knows he is in the wrong and doesn’t want to get caught.
II. The spread of lies
A. Lies in Society - Isaiah 59:4
1. Courts become a place for lies to be told. People aren’t expecting the truth even in a court.
2. I noticed this back when I was helping someone through a trial
a. The defendant’s lawyer thought he didn’t have a case when he was told his client planned on telling the truth in court.
b. Things went roughly for a while because when the defendant stated what happened, his own lawyer assumed that it had to have been far worse. He assumed his client was covering up.
c. Even in the trial there was a base assumption that everyone wasn’t telling the whole truth, despite the oaths given
3. David talked about his enemies looking to undermine his position - Psalm 62:3-4
a. They enjoy the lies they spread.
b. Everyone lies to everyone - Jeremiah 9:2-5
4. Think about the corruption that happens.
a. When you buy a used car, what are you expecting the salesman to do? Why?
b. Sadly, it creeps into all aspects of our lives. We expect people to be dishonest with us, and isn’t that sad?
B. Lies in Religion - Isaiah 59:13
1. It is how people justify themselves and their evil - Isaiah 32:6-7
2. Pretending that God doesn’t exist - Isaiah 57:11
3. Insincere worship - Psalms 78:35-37
a. Half-hearted worship - Jeremiah 3:10
4. False promises - Jeremiah 42:20-22
C. Lies Told in Sincerity - Isaiah 59:13
1. It reflects who they are - Matthew 12:34-36
III. The Worse Lies
A. Lying to ourselves
1. “The worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves. We live in denial of what we do, even what we think. We do this because we're afraid. We fear we will not find love, and when we find it we fear we'll lose it. We fear that if we do not have love we will be unhappy.” [Richard Bach, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull].
2. Not only deceiving others, but being deceived as well - II Timothy 3:13
3. That our sins aren’t really bad - I John 1:8
4. Telling ourselves lies
a. I can quit anytime.
b. I can handle this sin, later
c. This will be the last time
d. Playing word games to shave meaning from the truth
5. Not loving the truth, so desire lies - II Thessalonians 2:11
6. It is what allowed idolatry to exist - Isaiah 44:19-20
B. A preference for lies
1. The wicked listens to falsehoods - Proverbs 17:4
a. This is why a drug user believes his “friends” over factual information. The answer is what they want to hear. It matches what he tells himself.
b. Tell us things we want to hear - Isaiah 30:10-13
2. The wicked trusts empty words - Isaiah 59:4
3. A reason people who do not love truth flock to false teachers - II Timothy 4:3-4
IV. The death of truth - Isaiah 59:14-15
V. It is time to stop the lies
A. Do you tell yourself
1. I can’t quit
2. I too wicked to turn from these sins
3. God doesn’t want me
B. They are lies of the worse sort
1. Ezekiel 18:21-23
2. II Peter 3:9
C. Isn’t about time you started to live?
