September: Day 3: Teaching 2: Holy Hieromartyr Anthimos of Nicomedia

September: Day 3: Teaching 2:  
Holy Hieromartyr Anthimos of Nicomedia
 
(Who is the Father of Lies?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Hieromartyr Anthimos, celebrated today, did not wish to allow the slightest lie in order to save himself, although the soldiers, struck by his piety, suggested that he hide from them, and they would say that they did not find him, and thus give him the opportunity to avoid the feat of martyrdom.

II. The example of the Holy Hieromartyr Anthimos, a strict lover of truth, encourages us to love truth and avoid lies. This is because lying is a great sin.

a) Do you know, brethren, where lies come from? What a grave sin it is? And what punishment does it deserve both in the present and in the future age? When the Jews lied against the Savior, as if He worked miracles by the power of the prince of demons, the Lord said to them: "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44). It is as if he had said: the devil has no truth, he always speaks a lie, and speaks of himself; no one teaches him that, on the contrary, he himself teaches lies; truly he is a liar and the father of lies. Do you see, brethren, where lies come from, who teaches them, and whose children do we become when we deceive one another? 

But do not think that the devil teaches us to lie only through lying people. No; he himself, being on the lips of the deceivers, acts with them as he wishes. We find an example and proof of this in the history of the Old Testament. When the devil boasted before God that he could deceive Ahab, the lawless king of Israel, so that he would go out to war against the Syrians and be killed there, he said to the Lord: "I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all the prophets of Ahab" (3 Kings 22:22). He does not say: I will teach them how to lie; but he says quite differently: I will sit in their mouth and I myself will begin to turn their tongues as I please. Who among us will not shudder, who will not hasten to guard their lips with the holy cross, lest the wicked one take residence in them? But do not fear him when you speak the truth: deceit is his throne, while the lips of the righteous are thorns for him, and an untarnished tongue is his sharp sword!

b) Do not think, however, that lying in itself is not a serious sin and excusable, just because it has become too common a sin among us. Listen, brethren, not to me, but to the Holy Apostle James, the Brother of the Lord, who says: “The tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by Gehenna... The tongue is an uncontrollable evil, it is full of deadly poison!” (James 3:5, 6, 8).

c) Therefore, lying is severely punished in this life. The Psalmist cries out to God: "Destroy all who speak lies; the Lord abhors a bloody and deceitful man" (Ps. 5:7). "Sweet to a man is the bread of lies," says Solomon, "but then his mouth will be filled with stones" (Prov. 20:17). And Sirach says: "Lying is an evil vice to a man: better is a thief than a constant liar; both will inherit destruction" (20:24). Absalom, who sought the kingdom by deceit, hung between heaven and earth (2 Samuel 18:9); and Ahitophel, who gave him treacherous advice against David, ended his life by suicide (17:23). Ananias and his wife Sapphira hid part of their own property and one after another fell dead at the feet of the Apostle Peter and perished (Acts 5:5-10). The Antichrist himself, the man of lawlessness, the son of perdition, will come, as the Apostle reveals, in signs and lying wonders, and in all deceitfulness of unrighteousness; and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the Spirit of His mouth (2 Thessalonians 2-4:8-10). Liars and deceivers often think to themselves in blindness: "We have made a covenant with death, and have made a treaty with Sheol; when the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not reach us, because we have made lies our refuge, and we will cover ourselves with deceit" (Isaiah 28:15). But the Lord destroys their plans: "In vain are your hopes in lies! Your covenant with death is broken, and your contract with Sheol will not stand. When the all-conquering scourge comes, you will be trampled!" (17-18). And this is still in this life.

d) And what threatens liars in the future life? Listen to the word of the Lord Himself, sitting on the throne: "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars (listen: He puts liars, so to speak, on the same scales with unbelievers and other lawless people, and sentences them to the same punishment) shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8). Thus, lies and deception, according to the teaching of Christ, come from the devil, and he, having taken possession of the lips and hearts of people, weaves lies in them; therefore liars are children of the devil, who is the father of lies. Lies are no less than other grave sins, because for the most part they are uttered unnecessarily, voluntarily and with intent; and for this they are punished equally with other grave iniquities.

III. After all this, shall we dare to play with this hellish fire, that is, with a lying tongue, which is scorched, according to the word of the Apostle, by Gehenna itself? Shall we not cry out in contrition of heart with David: "Set, O Lord, a watch before my mouth, and a door of protection about my lips; incline not my heart to wicked words" (Ps. 140:3, 4). For one false word, Ananias and Sapphira were struck by the judgment of God. But are our lies and deceptions more excusable? Are they not subject to the same judgment of God? Ah, how we are deceived if we think they are excusable! We, like them, lie before the Spirit of God, Who convicts us in our conscience; and if we do not perish, like them, it is only because the long-suffering of God awaits our repentance. "Or do you think," our Lord tells us, "that they were more sinful than you, when they were so severely punished? No, I say to you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3).

Therefore, brethren, having rejected falsehood, let us speak the truth to each neighbor, cast out from our hearts and from our lips the spirit of lies, and give place to the Spirit of truth, so that we may not be children of the devil, but children of God and heirs of that glorious city, the Heavenly Jerusalem, into which nothing impure will enter, nor anyone who is devoted to abomination and falsehood! (Rev. 21:27). Amen. 

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.