Lie not one to another , seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
Paul wrote this letter to a church in Colossae, a city in what is now western Turkey. He's helping relatively new believers understand how their faith should change how they actually live. The surrounding verses use the image of changing clothes — taking off old garments and putting on new ones — as a picture of spiritual transformation. Here, Paul tells them not to lie to each other and gives a specific reason: they've already 'taken off' their old self and its habits. Dishonesty, in Paul's view, belongs to a former version of who they were before faith reshaped them.
God, you know all the ways I hide and perform and smooth things over. Thank you that I don't have to keep doing that. Help me believe I'm actually free from the old version of me — and give me the courage to be honest today, even when it's uncomfortable. Amen.
We are surprisingly creative when it comes to not telling the truth. There's the outright lie, sure. But there's also the half-truth, the carefully worded omission, the exaggerated story, the 'I'm fine' when you're drowning, the performance of confidence you absolutely do not feel. Most of us learned early — sometimes very early — that certain fictions keep you safe, keep the peace, keep people from knowing too much about the real you. But Paul makes a claim here that goes deeper than 'stop lying.' He says you've already taken off the old self — the version of you that needed those protective fictions to survive. The invitation isn't just behavioral; it's about identity. You are not the person who has to perform and pretend anymore. You're not the kid who learned to lie to avoid punishment, or the professional who learned to spin everything. That old coat with its pockets full of self-protection? You've already been given permission to let it go. The harder question is whether you'll actually believe that and start living like it's true.
Paul connects the command not to lie with the idea that believers have 'taken off' their old self. What does he mean by that, and why does our identity matter when it comes to how we speak?
What forms of dishonesty do you find hardest to give up — outright lies, half-truths, omissions, or the performance of being okay when you're not?
Is there such a thing as a lie that protects people? Where does wise discretion end and dishonesty begin?
How does habitual dishonesty — even small deceptions — affect the quality of your closest relationships over time?
Is there a specific relationship in your life where you've been less than fully honest? What would it look like to take a small step toward truth there this week?
Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
Leviticus 19:11
Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
Ephesians 4:25
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Ephesians 4:29
But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Matthew 5:37
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1 Corinthians 5:7
He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
Psalms 15:2
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Ephesians 4:22
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Romans 6:6
Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old self with its evil practices,
AMP
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
ESV
Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its [evil] practices,
NASB
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices
NIV
Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
NKJV
Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.
NLT
Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire.
MSG