I told a lie. It slipped out my mouth so fast, I didn't have time to shut it. It was shocking. Can you believe it? Me, a born again Christian, telling a lie? God forbid. The instant that lie left my lips, two things happened—Satan cheered and heaven groaned. Immediately, the Holy Spirit convicted me. There I was caught between that lie and what I knew would be its consequences. The battle for my soul was just beginning to heat up.
I had Satan, in one ear telling me, “Oh come on now, it wasn’t even a big lie. Besides, it didn’t hurt anyone now did it? And the Holy Spirit in the other ear softly pleading, “The lie you just told wounded the heart of God, your Father. You must confess it.” I was crushed under the weight of my guilt at the very thought that my actions could possibly have hurt God.
This was major and not something I could easily dismiss, as Satan had tempted me to do. I knew that if I listened to Satan and just let it go, he would dig in even deeper, and establish a stronghold in my mind from which he could manipulate my thoughts. This little lie, as unintended as it was, was now beginning to take on huge proportions as the battle for my soul continued. Satan fired another shot, this time a direct hit at my pride: “You don’t want people to know that you, of all people, tell lies do you?
There goes your witness and your testimony. What will people think of you? You better keep it under wraps. It’ll just be our little secret,” Satan said with a wink. The thought was a tempting for a minute. But I knew that it was a lie straight from the pit of Hell. Imagine the father of lies trying to convince me that he could keep a secret.
There goes your witness and your testimony. What will people think of you? You better keep it under wraps. It’ll just be our little secret,” Satan said with a wink. The thought was a tempting for a minute. But I knew that it was a lie straight from the pit of Hell. Imagine the father of lies trying to convince me that he could keep a secret.
The Holy Spirit countered Satan’s onslaught by bringing to this battle for my mind every scripture from the word of God that I'd ever memorized. I remembered that God hates liars. Revelation 21:8 says that liars will be judged and tossed into the lake of fire—a place especially prepared for them. Also in this fiery lake will be the cowards who have turned away from God, unbelievers, murderers, and persons who are corrupt, sexually immoral, who practice witchcraft and worship idols. Talk about being in bad company.
I guess the lesson in all this is that Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven. As long as we are on this earth, we will be tempted, and we may even succumb in a moment of weakness. Even Jesus was tempted but he handled it God's way. Rather than hide from our sin like Adam did or try to cover it up like King David did, we should confess it directly to God and ask for His forgiveness. He offers this promise in 1 John 1:9 to both Christians who sin and the unsaved sinner alike: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” It sure feels good to be forgiven.
If there is sin in your life that Satan has convinced you is just between you and him, he's lying. Sin is really between you and God. There’s no such thing as a white lie or a little sin. Big or small, it’s all sin. And God hates it. To add to sin's consequences, it blocks your blessings and hinders your prayers so that God will not hear you. Don’t let Satan fool you. For your own good, confess your sins and be set free. Jesus died for my sins and yours so that by believing in him, we can be forgiven and have eternal life. By the way, if you’re wondering if I made this story up, absolutely not. It’s a true story, no lie.
