Colossians 3:9

Anyone who does not think lying is a big deal is of the devil. Jesus said the devil is the father of lies. He is a liar and he has no truth in him, Jesus said.

You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)

Jesus takes it a step further to show you how seriously he takes truthfulness.

He said: Let your word be 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no.' More than this is from the evil one. (Matthew 5:37)

There is no other way to interpret this than to say truthfulness is important to God. Anything and anyone that says otherwise is from satan. People's minds are quick to go into “what about this, what about that?”

Remember, Paul's word here is that lying represents the old man. He is trying to make you think differently about yourself. He is not trying to argue with you. He is not interested in helping you look for loopholes.

God is not playing games here. But some people insist on this nuance or that nuance.

God said do not bear false witness

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16).

This is clearly a judicial setting, and you are being commanded to prioritize truth.

Remember, the people at that time do not have the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth, in them. But God expects more from us. He said unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).

And Jesus was clear that no one born of a woman is greater than John, and the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John. (Matthew 11:11)

The point I am making is that Exodus 20:16 can be regarded as the bare minimum and not the standard for Christians. We have the written word in us, our conscience. We are meant to live in pure conscience before God and man (1 Timothy 1:5); that is the call of Christians.

Rather be silent than to lie. What do you think about that? But to have an approach where you think lying is a tool you can use to put a cloth over the eyes of others and have your will done makes you a messenger of satan.

Jesus said, "I am the Truth (John 14:6)." He called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth (John 14:16-17), and the Father does not lie (Titus 1:2). Therefore, if you want to walk with God, you should have a commitment to truth.

Let's take a trip to Psalm 15:1-2.

Lord, who may be a guest in your home?

Who may live on your holy hill?

Whoever lives a blameless life,

does what is right,

and speaks honestly

That gets to the heart of what is truth, not an argument on how much we can shade the truth to still be truth, how much you can flirt with the lie, how much you can convince yourself that you are correct to lie, trying to numb your own conscience when you are lying.

Choose repentance and not self-justification. Can we do that? We have the promise that when we confess our sins (1 John 1:9), God is not going to push us away. He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. But first, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God in repentance (1 Peter 5:6).

Remember the tax collector in the temple? He said have mercy on me, a sinner (Luke 18:9-14).

Back to the focus verse and notice the tone of Paul. He is not threatening with hell but rather appealing to your new nature now.

Do not lie since you are now different; you contradict your new nature when you lie. Here, Paul is giving you the freedom not to lie and to be true to your true self, as we will see in the next verse.

You have no obligation to try to bend to the will of others who want you to lie on their behalf; you should not try to blend with the crowd, just going along to get along, refusing to be boxed into people's expectations of you that you should be worldly.

People would hate you, but the book of Hebrews advises that you have not resisted sin until the shedding of blood (Hebrews 12:4), and we look to Jesus, who died to do God's will, as our example of courage.

It takes courage to stand for the truth. That is the truth. Again, Paul was focused on the relationship among believers, but we are not supposed to be one thing in church and another thing outside.