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 Lying
J.W. McGarvey
(Originally delivered as a “Chapel Talk” to young men who were
training to preach the gospel of Christ, Lexington, KY, 1910-1911.)
My subject this morning is lying. Let nobody charge that I have
selected this subject because it is especially appropriate to my
audience. I do not think any of you will ever lie unless you get
caught in a very tight place.
Lying is, and has been for a long time, one of the most common sins
of humanity; so much so, that David said in one of his psalms, "I
said in my haste that all men are liars", and some wag added to it
that when he got out of his haste he ought to have said the same
thing. But there has been a great deal of improvement since then,
especially in some portions of the world.
In heathen countries and in some Christian countries lying is not
considered very base. I recollect that the dragoman we had on my
trip through Palestine would lie at any time and was not the least
ashamed of it. He would tell us some big lie and when we caught him
in it he would not blush or apologize. He called himself a Syrian
Christian.
Even preachers have been known to be liars. I remember one very
unique illustration of this. While I was still living in Missouri a
preacher from Kentucky began to move about there and make some
reputation. Another preacher stated that he was a common liar. He
heard of it and immediately brought charges against his accuser
before a board of elders. At the appointed time he came with his
saddlepocket full of documents in his own defense and made it appear
that he had been grossly slandered. It happened that Raccoon John
Smith was in town and was invited to meet with these elders. After
the accused had gotten through reading his many documents, he said,
"Brethren, here is Bro. John Smith. I am willing for him to tell you
what kind of a man I am. He has known me for many years." John Smith
arose and said, "Well, Brother Wiley, I never heard any of the
brethren speak any harm of you, except that you would lie. They said
that you did not lie to do anybody any harm, but just for the love
of it". That was the last appeal. He took up his documents and went
his way in peace.
There are various kinds of lies. The worst kind is malicious lying,
as when a man tells a lie for the purpose of injuring another's
reputation, property or by causing unjust punishment to be
inflicted; that is undoubtedly the worst kind of lying, the motive
of malice being the worst part of it. It was lies of that kind that
were told against Jesus, by witnesses that had been suborned; and
afterwards the same kind of suborned witnesses told the same kind of
lies against Stephen and had him stoned to death. You remember also
that Naboth was stoned to death by Jezebel's order upon the
testimony of liars who had been suborned. This is the kind of lying
that is specified in the seventh commandment, "Thou shalt not bear
false witness against thy neighbor." And the punishment under the
only civil law that God ever gave to a nation was very severe. A man
falsely testifying against his neighbor was punished with the same
penalty that would have been inflicted upon the neighbor had he been
found guilty, whether stripes or fines or death. If a man falsely
charged his neighbor with a crime for which the penalty was death,
then this false witness was put to death. And I can but think that
this was a very just law. And that statute as in many other
instances shows that the law of Moses was in many ways in advance of
the laws of the United States. Now, if a man is convicted of having
testified falsely, he is fined; and if he has any money the fine is
collected, and if not he goes Scott free. Sometimes, in an
aggravated case, he is sent to the penitentiary for a few months.
The law of Moses dealt more justly with liars than does the law of
this country.
There is another kind of lies that might be called harmless. That
is, they do no harm and are not intended to do any harm to anybody
else. They are much more common than malicious lies. They are very
common with some people, one of whom would be very much insulted if
you were to call him a liar. He would knock your teeth down your
throat if he could. There is nothing more insulting to the average
man than to be called a liar, and yet this kind of lying is very
common, so common that people make easy names for it. They call such
lies, fibs, or white lies, or something of that sort to make light
of them. The biggest lie of this kind that I have ever heard of was
told by a man who said once he crossed the Atlantic Ocean and just
as the ship got out of the harbor a man jumped overboard and swam
beside the ship all the way to Liverpool. It seems that he and
another man had made a wager to see which could tell the biggest
lie. The other man spoke up and said, "Did you see that, sir?" "Yes
Sir, I saw it with my own eyes." "Well, I am glad you did, for I am
the man who did the swimming." I don't know which one got the wager.
Now those two men did not intend to harm anyone with those two big
lies. It was all for fun, and yet as big a lie as you could think
of. A lie is a lie, whether told for fun, or for malice, or just for
the love of telling it.
Then there is another kind of lies that might be styled selfish
lies, lies told for the benefit of the one who tells them. This is
the kind of lies told by people engaged in trading, and especially
horse-trading. It is commonly thought that horse-traders are the
biggest liars in the world. I do not know whether they excel some
men who sell you goods over the counter. And sometimes those who are
buying are as guilty as those who are selling. This is the kind of
lie that Ananias and Saphira told. That was a selfish lie. It was in
order that they might keep a part of that money and at the same time
have credit for giving all of it. You know the result. God took them
in hand. They dropped dead at the apostles' feet, Ananias first and
then Saphira. He was the starter of the club that now bears his
name. It is very common now for a man who is guilty of this kind of
lying to be charged with belonging to the Ananias club. But any man
who is guilty of anything that he is ashamed of and lies to hide it,
is guilty of this kind of lying as well as he who lies to make
money. And it is nearly always the case that a person that will do a
mean thing will lie to hide it. And then he will tell another to
hide that one and another to hide that and another to hide that and
so on, and they seldom get to the truth except when forced to
confess it. And what about these men that .commit murder? They are
arraigned before the magistrate and they plead not guilty, swearing
that they are not. Then they go to the Circuit Court and there they
swear they are not guilty. They employ the best legal talent to
argue that they are not guilty, and hire false witnesses to testify
in their favor to convince the jury that they are not guilty. And
when they are convicted and sentenced to death they send for the
priest or a half-witted preacher to come and pray with them until
they get religion. Then on the scaffold they hold out their example
to young men and warn them; and claim to be ready to die; and call
upon their friends to meet them in heaven. This kind of lying is the
result of cowardice. A man is afraid for it to be known what he has
done, and through a mean, sneaking cowardice lies about it. That is
not the worst kind of lying, but it is mean and sneaking. A
sheep-killing dog would not be guilty of it if he understood these
matters. Now what the Law of Christ says about liars you read in
Rev. 21:8 "But for the fearful, and unbelieving and abominable, and
murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all
liars," the only one in the list which is emphasized, "their part
shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which is
the second death." There is where Christ places liars, without
discriminating the different kinds of lies that they tell. All
liars, whatever kind of lies they tell shall have their part in the
lake that burns with fire and brimstone.
While none of you may be liars, of course you are not and I hope you
never will be, still it is very important for you as preachers of
the gospel to know how to treat this sin in the presence of the
people so as to give all the young people and all the old, a high
ideal of truthfulness, and to build up a body of people who are
strong in the truth. The apostle Paul exhorts us to put on the whole
armor of God, and the very first thing in that armor is to be
"girded about the loins with truth". The man who never lies, the man
who always speaks the truth, and who has resolved that, whatever
comes, he will speak the truth, is not afraid. He can stand up
before the accusing world and never have a fear of what man may do
to him. ~
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 The
Power of OneFlavil Nichols
During the War Between the States, a young woman learned the
truth and obeyed the gospel. Her sweetheart, J.H. Halbrook, was a
confederate soldier. He was captured by the union army and kept a
prisoner in Michigan until the war was over. He was given a ticket
to Nashville, TN and $2.50. From there, he returned to Centerville
and found what was left of his home and family. He found his
girlfriend and they were married. His wife studied the Bible with
him, and he soon became a Christian. He thought the truth was so god
and so simple that he began to teach and baptize many of his friends
and neighbors. He began to preach, but he recognized his need for
more training, so he came to the original Mars Hill Bible School,
taught by T.B. Larimore. Upon completing his studies there, instead
of going back to Tennessee, they moved farther south, coming into
Walker, Marion, Fayette, and Lamar counties in Alabama. One of his
many converts was Charley Alexander Wheeler. His wife taught him to
read from the Bible. Along with his wife, C.A. Wheeler obeyed the
gospel and soon began preaching to others. He started more than 100
congregations and baptized more than 6,000 people.
But wait, the story is not ended! One of those 6,000 was my father,
the late Gus Nichols. Twelve thousand were baptized under his
preaching.
Among those baptized by Gus Nichols, no one knows, nor can know, how
many began to preach "the glorious gospel of Christ" (2Cor. 4:3,4);
but I personally know several. I, Flavil Nichols, am ONE whom he
baptized and whom he encouraged to preach the truth. And under my
preaching, about three thousand have been baptized. A few among them
preached the gospel also!
Only eternity can reveal the total results of the conversion of that
one girl nearly one hundred and fifty years ago. The results are not
yet all in! But this shows that TWENTY-ONE THOUSAND people have
become Christians through this single thread in the fabric of her
influence.
"Go, and do likewise" (Luke 10:37). YOU are important, too! Dear
reader, if you go to heaven, others probably will be saved by you!
"For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband?
Or how knowest thou, 0 man, whether thou shalt save try wife" (1 Cor.
7:16)? "Let you light so shine before men, that they may see you
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt.
5:16). Each ONE is very important.
-Flavil Nichols Huntsville, AL ~
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