Lying in the Church? NEVER!

Lying in the church?  Does this actually happen?  Do people stand up and tell downright lies in the Church? Do they realise what they are doing?  Not just lying to men, but to God the Holy Spirit.  To lie in the presence of the God of all truth is a terrible sin; yet it's done regularly.

Sunday is when Christians worship the Lord corporately.  They stand up and sing words that they just do not believe.  Is that lying?  They will sing words that do not relate to their own spiritual experience and knowledge?  Is that lying? 

When it comes to professing faith in order to have a child baptised, or an older believer, how many lies are told in one of the most solemn occasions in the church's, and individual's, life.  Yet it done with relish, and without compunction.

In what other ways, then, do we lie in church?  Exaggeration and blaming are kinds of lying. In fact, blaming may be described as at least half lying, whatever that is. This church problem was great enough to deserve more than one mention in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. The letter was to be circulated among a whole presbytery, or group of local churches. So this problem wasn't just in the First Ephesus (Presbyterian) Church; it seems to have been almost epidemic in the other churches too.

Just like today; lying in church in order to have a church rite administered to you or a family member is not just a one-church issue; it pervades all of them.  To deny that this is a problem only adds to the problem. To deal with it by admitting it exists in your church is the first step to sorting it out.

That brings me very naturally to another point. We lie in church by what we don't say - the sin of omission. For example, when we avoid facing up to hard truth; or when we deny those dark things that are obvious to other people. The list would also include forms of abuse that churches use such as the abuse of power, the use of guilt to make people feel bad and bring them back into line (with prevailing policy, not necessarily with biblical trust), mismanagement of congregational funds or property, bad leadership of the church or its organisations, and destructive behaviours by church members or leaders. The sad thing is that church leaders often imagine that these things will simply disappear if we don't talk about them out loud.

Does this describe YOUR church today?  Are you a minister in your church and do you recognise truths that are just too close for comfort?  Are you afraid to address and deal with these issues?  What if income dropped and I couldn't get my salary?  What if church authorities took a dim view of a drop in numbers attending the services?

Are you a church member and does this describe your life?  Do you contribute to this problem of ecclesiastical dishonesty?  Do you need to own up and repent of your sin? Do you enjoy the dishonesty that is your church?

That this is a problem in all churches is too obvious to deny.  And that nothing is done about it is also factual.

What do you think ought to be done when such sin envelops the church?