What does the Bible say about deceit?

• Genesis 3:1, the deceitful serpent in the Garden of Eden
• Exodus 20:16, do not tell lies about your neighbor
• Jeremiah 17:9, the heart is dark and deceitful
• Zechariah 8:16–17, the Lord hates deceit; tell the truth and don't take advantage of others
• Matthew 23:27–28, on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and deception
• John 8:44, you chose to obey the devil, the father of lies
• Acts 5:1–2, Ananias's deceitful action
• Romans 3:3–4, the unfaithfulness of humans doesn't nullify the faithfulness of God
• 2 Corinthians 11:13–15, deceit is a disguise; false teachers pose as those who are righteous
• Ephesians 4:25, put away falsehood and speak the truth
• Colossians 3:9–10, deceit is a part of the old self; get rid of it 
• Titus 1:1–2, God never lies
• 1 John 1:8, we deceive ourselves if we claim to be sinless
• Revelation 12:9, Satan is the deceiver of the whole world

Sermon ideas about deceit 

Intent to mislead 

Sermons about deceit can show that the heart of deceit is an intent to mislead—through words, actions, gestures, silence, the lift of eyebrows to feign surprise, and much else. Now, it is possible to mislead innocently; I may mislead you with a falsehood that I mistakenly believe. But deceit requires cunning and craft. The deceiver means to fool, to trick, to dupe, to con—note how many synonyms we have for deceit. 

Deceit is the first form of evil Adam and Eve encounter in the Garden of Eden. It is also one of Satan's titles: the father of lies (John 8:44). It despoils justice in the gate (Amos 5:10) or, as we would say, in court. And in religious people, it curdles into hypocrisy, the sin Jesus is so hard on.  

A damaging evil 

Sermons about deceit can also highlight the threat of deceitful religion, which mutates into a self-serving substitute for the service of God. People use religion to get rich or to get happy or to appear righteous. Believers are entirely capable of using mutant religion to conceal the character of God and actually to oppose the project of God in the world. This is why the Bible condemns deceit as a dangerous and damaging evil. 

This is a hard message for the preacher to bring in an age of hucksterism, spin, hype, and baloney. Misleading ads, pants-on-fire politicians, TV shows that are full of spin, online discussion threads spewing wild accusations—all these things and many more can harm or even corrupt human life, aborting trust and the fellowship that depends on it. Deceit also dehumanizes our neighbor, whom the deceiver regards as unworthy of the truth. Deceit in modern life is so common, so familiar that it breeds cynicism in the hard-hearted and despair in the soft-hearted. 

But while it is familiar, deceit is not normal, not what God wants for human life. So both Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3 treat deceit as part of the old life that has to die with Jesus Christ, and they treat truthfulness as part of the new life gained by rising with Jesus Christ. Christ himself appears among us "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). In the body of Christ's followers, truth-telling is a ligament, binding us to Christ and to each other.