G5579 ψεῦδος (pseûdos)

Falsehood (5579) (pseudos from pseudomai = to lie) describes an untrue statement, an intentional violation of the truth, a lie or a deception. Falsehood is that which is in the state of being untrue. Pseudos is the content of a false utterance. Pseudos is conscious and intentional falsehood. In a broad sense, pseudos is whatever is not what it seems to be or professes to be (the antithesis of truth). Ellicott - falsehood in every form is a chief characteristic of the old man. (Ephesians 4 Commentary Online) Webster says a lie is an assertion of something known or believed by the speaker to be untrue with intent to deceive. It is an intentionally false statement. Biblically since God is truth unchanged and unchanging, a lie is the very antithesis of Who He is and who we are to now be in Christ. The old adage says "Like father, like son." When we speak truth, we are like our Father, but when we speak falsehoods, we are more like our old father, Satan (Jn 8:44)! A lie is any statement or act designed to deceive another person. The motivation for most lying is a desire either to hurt the one against whom the lie is directed or to protect oneself, usually out of fear or pride. The Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology says that... The sanctity of truth is fundamental in biblical teaching since it is based on the nature and character of God. Therefore, to despise truth is to despise God, and the Scriptures treat this topic with profound seriousness. In the garden of Eden the serpent denied the truth of God’s pronouncement and encouraged the woman to act in defiance of divine truth (Ge 3:4)... Lying undermines moral standards and is, therefore, often associated with even more glaring sins (Elwell, W. A., & Elwell, W. A. Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House) As an aside someone has well said that he most dangerous of all falsehoods is a slightly distorted truth. A half truth is a whole lie. There are 10 uses of pseudos in the NT... John 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. Romans 1:25 (note) For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Comment: Literally "the lie" and here stands by metonymy for an idol. See Isaiah 44:20 below.) Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 2Thessalonians 2:9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, (Comment: Literally "signs and wonders of a lie". Both bear the stamp of fraud. Here pseudos refers to false, fictitious, pretended miracles calculated to deceive - in this case to deceive people into the acknowledgement of the false claim that the Antichrist is deity.) 2Thessalonians 2:11 And for this reason (because of their willful rejection) God will send upon them a deluding influence (literally a working -- energeia -- of error) so that they might believe what is false, (literally "the lie" in this case deluding men to believe Satan and not God) 1John 2:21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 1John 2:27 And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. Revelation 14:5 And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless. Revelation 21:27 and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Revelation 22:15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. (Comment: How serious is lying? Look at the company God places it with and the reward it secures!) There are 34 uses of pseudos in the Septuagint (LXX) (Job 16:8; Ps. 4:2; 5:6; 58:3; 59:12; 62:4; Prov. 9:12; 14:5, 25; 24:2, 22; Isa. 28:15, 17; 30:12; 44:20; Jer. 3:10, 23; 5:2; 9:3; 13:25; 23:14, 32; 37:14; 43:2; Ezek. 33:31; Dan. 8:25; 11:23; Hos. 4:2; 7:3, 13; 11:12; Mic. 2:11; Zech. 5:4; Mal. 3:5) Here is an interesting use of pseudos in the OT... Isaiah 44:20 He (referring to overt idol worshipers) feeds on ashes (what a picture! Practicing idolatry is like feeding on ashes! It will never satisfy, is ever disgusting and in the end results in death!); a deceived heart has turned him aside (idolatry promises but does not follow through). And he cannot deliver himself (from bondage to idolatry. He is like a drug addict trapped by the drug, in this case a godless idol!), nor say, "Is there not a lie (Lxx = pseudos) (an idol) in my right hand" (Comment: Pseudos in this use refers to an idol or idolatry) Psalm 5:6 Thou dost destroy those who speak (habitually, as their lifestyle) falsehood (Lxx = pseudos). The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. F B Meyer contrasts the Old Man and the New Man... THE OLD MAN. (Eph 4:22-note) - The old man is the aggregate of habits and methods of life, which marked us before conversion. The phrase describes the impression which we produced as men and women upon our fellows. What we were wont to be, and say, and do. That form of character and life which was ours before the great change operated through faith in Jesus. It is called the old man, as if there were but one, because the habits and tastes, the thoughts and acts of men, before conversion, have much in common. There is not much to choose between them. It is one evil nature; one likeness to fallen Adam; one type of evil, though its forms are slightly modified in different temperaments and by special circumstances. It is under the control of deceitful lusts (Eph 4:22-note). In other words, it is shaped (present tense = continually; passive voice = emphasizes that these lusts continually exerted power on us in our prior state - old man) by the passionate desires which have their origin in the strong natural tendencies of our being (Ed: flesh). These were given us by God to be the motive-forces of our nature, but not to rule. For when once they are permitted to usurp this position, corruption ensues, and the nature rots piecemeal before their insidious action (2Pe 1:4-note)--as the body of the leper beneath the living death that eats away his flesh. Ah, deceitful lusts! promising liberty (2Pe 2:19-note), and happiness, and joy, but resembling the Syren sisters, whose upper form was fair, but whose lower extremities were foul; whilst whose sweet songs allured the unwary mariner only to ruin. We must not defer this "putting off." The tense (aorist tense) indicates the sudden resolve of the will, inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be no longer under the dominion of these terrible passions. Once and for ever let us divest ourselves of them; as the beggar his rags, or as Lazarus the cerements of death. THE NEW MAN. (Eph 4:24-note) - This is the aggregate of blessed habits that mark the life of the converted the white robe of purity, the girdle of self-restraint, the silver of humility, the jewels of holy character. All through the Epistles we are bidden to don it. "Put on the armor of light." (Ro 13:12-note) "Put on, as God's elect, a heart of compassion.'' (Col 3:12-note) "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." (Ro 13:14-note) It is the new man, because the habits and character of the children of God are very similar. There is a family likeness common to all. It is after God, because it is created in His likeness. It is the fashion of God in human nature, perfectly exemplified once in Jesus Christ, and now waiting to be imparted by the Holy Ghost. It is righteous toward man. It is holy toward God. It is true, perfectly transparent and sincere. Put on this holy thing! Created in Jesus, and therefore not to be woven by human effort or spun by outward obedience to rites (Ed: Many of us need to read that last statement again! Legalism is subtle.), but to be simply assumed. Put it on by faith. Do not try to build up Christ-likeness by your repeated endeavors (Ed: Do it by dying to your self-efforts). Just assume it by faith (Ed: But remember that faith is an "action verb" that manifest itself in obedience). Believe it is yours. Reckon that it is so (cf Ro 6:11-note). Go out believing that Christ's likeness is on you, and His beauty clothing you as a beautiful robe; and men shall increasingly realize that it is not you but Christ. The beauty of the Lord will be upon you; and the life of Jesus will be manifest in your mortal body (2Co 4:10, 11, cf 2Co 2:14), both in life and death. (Ephesians - A Devotional Commentary) ><>><>><> No Lying - A father was looking at bicycles with one of his children when a deliveryman came into the store. He didn’t see a TV set perched on a stand, and with his cart stacked high with boxes he hit the television and sent it crashing to the floor. As father and son watched, the store manager said, “Don’t worry. We won’t make you pay for it. We’ll just tell the manufacturer it was damaged in shipping, and he’ll give us a new one.” A lie! The father, a believer in Christ, left the store without making a purchase. He did not want to give his business to a man who would lie without giving it a thought. It’s pretty tough not to fall into a pattern of lying. But if we give in to the temptation to lie, soon we are doing it so often that we’re not even aware of it anymore. It becomes a way of life. What we don’t realize is that for the few bucks we may save, we’ve sold out on a basic principle of the Bible (Ep 4:25) and compromised our witness for Christ. The standards of God’s Word are high. We must not lower them for the sake of financial gain or because we fear that it’s the only way our business can survive. Our rule in business and in all of life should be: “No Lying.” -- David C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) Tell the truth and tell it right, A lie will never do; The Bible says that God is truth— And He wants truth from you. —JDB The ability to lie is a liability. SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE OF YOU WITH HIS NEIGHBOR: laleite (2PPAM) aletheian hekastos meta tou plesion autou: (Ep 4:15; Proverbs 8:7; 12:17; Zechariah 8:16,19; 2Corinthians 7:14; Colossians 3:9) Paul is quoting from... Zechariah 8:16 These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates.

Lie (5579) (pseudos from pseudomai = to lie) (See also another discussion of pseudos) (See pseudos combined with other words in Scripture) refers to conscious and intentional falsehood. The basic sense is that which is false (untrue, not according to truth or fact). Pseudos is a falsehood that has the purpose of deception (or that which causes one to accept as true or valid that which is actually false or invalid). A lie is a statement used with the intention of deceiving or defrauding. Lies are not only the spoken words but also actions (1Jn 1:6 - verb pseudomai) or a reference to idols (Amos 2:4 - where "their lies" ~ their vain idols). Lying is a natural expression of Satan's character (John 8:44). Here in Romans, pseudos describes the fundamental attitude underlying the sin of idolatry -- exchanging the truth of God for a lie. Note how serious God considers lying, even including it in the last two chapters of Scripture (Re 21:27-note; Re 22:15-note > literally "all continually loving and continually doing a lie!" So not just an occasional lie but an entire life lived as a lie!) where He emphasizes that those who lie have no part whatever with His people in His heavenly city of Jerusalem. Lying is a serious sin! Therefore it is not surprising that Paul exhorts believers to lay aside falsehood (Eph 4:25-note) Falsehood - The state or quality of being untrue. Contrariety or inconformity to fact or truth. An untrue statement. Absence of truth or accuracy. There are 10 uses of pseudos in the NT - Jn 8:44; Ro. 1:25; Ep 4:25; 2Th 2:9, 11; 1Jn 2:21, 27; Re 14:5; 21:27; 22:15 There are 34 uses of pseudos in the Septuagint (LXX) -- Job 16:8; Ps 4:2; 5:6; 58:3; 59:12; 62:4; Pr 9:12; 14:5, 25; 24:2, 22; Is 28:15, 17; 30:12; 44:20; Jer 3:10, 23; 5:2; 9:3; 13:25; 23:14, 32; 37:14; 43:2; Ezek 33:31; Da 8:25; 11:23; Ho 4:2; 7:3, 13; 11:12; Mic 2:11; Zech 5:4; Mal 3:5 Easton's Bible Dictionary states that a lie is an intentional violation of the truth. Lies are emphatically condemned in Scripture (Jn 8:44; 1Ti 1:9, 10; Re 21:27; 22:15). Mention is made of the lies told by good men, as by Abraham (Ge 12:12, 13; 20:2), Isaac (Ge 26:7), and Jacob (Ge 27:24); also by the Hebrew midwives (Ex 1:15-19), by Michal (1 Sa 19:14), and by David (1 Sa 20:6). (See ANANIAS) ISBE has the following entry... LIE; LYING - li, (sheqer (usually, e.g. Is 9:15; Zec 13:3), or kazabh verb (Job 34:6; Mic 2:11); pseudos (Jn 8:44; Rev 21:27), "to speak falsely," "to fabricate," "to make a false statement"; pseudomai, in Acts 5:3,1) Lying Defined: In its very essence, a lie is something said with intent to deceive. It is not always a spoken word that is a lie, for a life lived under false pretenses, a hypocritical life, may be a lie equally with a false word (Jer 23:14). A vain thing, like an idol, may be a lie (Is 59:4), as also a false system (Rom 3:7). Error, as opposed to truth, is a lie (1 Jn 2:21). The denial of the deity of Jesus Christ is regarded as "the" lie (1 Jn 2:22). The origin of lies and lying is traced to Satan who is called "a liar, and the father thereof" (Jn 8:44; Acts 5:3). Satan's dealing with Eve (Gen 3:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) furnishes us with a splendid illustration of the first lie, so far as we have any record of it. God's Attitude toward Lying: God's attitude toward this sin is strongly marked throughout both the Old Testament and New Testament. The righteous are called upon to hate lying (Prov 13:5), to avoid it (Zeph 3:13), to respect not those who lie, and utterly reject their company (Ps 40:4; 101:7), to pray to be delivered from it (Ps 119:29). The wicked are said to love lying (Ps 52:3), to delight in it (Ps 62:4), to seek after it (Ps 4:2), and to give heed to it (Prov 17:4). Lying leads to worse crimes (Hos 4:1,2). The Penalty: The punishment to be meted out to liars is of the severest kind. They are positively and absolutely excluded from heaven (Rev 21:27; 22:15), and those who are guilty of this sin are cast into the lake of fire (Rev 21:8). We are reminded of the awful fate meted out to Ananias and Sapphira when they lied to God and man (Acts 5:1-11). God will "destroy them that speak lies" (Ps 5:6), and "he that uttereth lies shall not escape" (Prov 19:5), yea "a sword is upon the liars" (Jer 50:36 the King James Version). The liar is thereby debarred from rendering any true and acceptable worship unto the Lord (Ps 24:4). The Scriptures abound with illustrations of lying and the results and penalties therefor. A careful study of these illustrations will reveal the subtlety of falsehood. Sometimes a lie is a half-truth, as set forth in the story of Satan's temptation of Eve (Gen 3). Cain's lie (Gen 4:9) was of the nature of an evasive answer to a direct question. Jacob's deception of his father, in order that he might inherit the blessing of the firstborn, was a barefaced and deliberate lie (Gen 27:19). The answer which Joseph's brethren gave to their father when he asked them concerning the welfare of their brother Joseph is an illustration, as well as a revelation, of the depth of the wickedness of hearts that deliberately set themselves to falsify and deceive (Gen 37:31,32). Even good men are sometimes overtaken in a lie, which, of course, is no more excusable in them than in the wicked; indeed, it is more shameful because the righteous are professed followers of the truth (David in 1 Sam 21:2). What more striking example of the heinousness of lying in the sight of God can we have than the fate which befell Gehazi who, in order to satisfy a covetous desire for possessions, misrepresented his master Elisha to Naaman the Syrian whom the prophet had healed of his leprosy: "The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow" (2 Ki 5:22-27)? The story of Peter's denial of his Lord, and his persistent asseverations that he did not know Him and was not one of His followers, makes us shudder to think that it is possible for a follower of Christ so far to forget himself as not only to lie, but buttress lying with swearing (Mt 26:72). Pseudos United with Other Words: Throughout the Scriptures we find pseudos joined to other words, e.g. "false apostles" (pseudapostolos, 2 Cor 11:13), so called probably because a true apostle delivers the message of another, namely, God, while these "false apostles" cared only for self. Such are from Satan, and, like him, they transform themselves into angels of light, and sail under false colors. We read also of "false prophets" (pseudoprophetes, Mt 7:15; compare Jer 23:16 f), thereby meaning those who falsely claim to bring messages from God and to speak in behalf of God. Mention is made also of "false brethren" (pseudadelphos, 2 Cor 11:26), meaning Judaizing teachers, as in Gal 2:4; "false teachers" (pseudodidaskalos, 2Pe2:1), men whose teaching was false and who falsely claimed the teacher's office. We read further of "false witnesses" (pseudomartus, Mt 26:60, 1Cor 15:15; cp Mt 19:18, Mk 10:19, Lk 18:20); by such are meant those who swear falsely, and testify to what they know is not true. So, too, we find mention of the "false Christs" (pseudochristoi, Mt 24:24; Mark 13:22). This personage does not so much deny the existence of a Christ, but rather, on the contrary, builds upon the world's expectations of such a person, and falsely, arrogantly, blasphemously asserts they he is the Christ promised and foretold. It is the Antichrist who denies that there is a Christ; the false Christ affirms himself to be the Christ. Of course there is a sense in which the man of sin will be both Antichrist and a false Christ. AND WORSHIPED AND SERVED THE CREATURE (creation): kai esebasthesan (3PAPI) kai elatreusan (3PAAI) te ktisei: (Ro 1:23; Mt 6:24; 10:37; 2Ti 3:4; 1Jn 2:15, 16, 17, cp James 4:4) Spurgeon quipped that... It is very easy to make a beast of yourself when you have made a beast to be your god, as the Egyptians did, when they worshipped the god that they had made in the form of an ox, or a crocodile, or a cat. There are many preachers who have "changed the truth of God into a lie"; and by their exaltation of man, they have "worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever." God save all of us from such idolatry as that! Amen.