Of all of the Ten Commandments, the breaking of
the ninth may be the most common and socially acceptable of them all. It seems that any time a politician, athlete,
celebrity, or average Joe is accused of anything, their knee-jerk reaction is
to deny the accusation or to frame the story in such a way that they look as
good as the possibly can. But don’t we
do the same? Almost half of people who
apply for jobs in this country do. In a
recent survey of nearly three million job applicants, “nearly 50 percent of American resumes contain one or more
falsehoods.”[1]It
seems that it is just assumed that breaking this commandment is not that big of
a deal from time to time.
As God’s people, however, we must remember that
these commandments represent God’s moral standards for all people. Whether breaking a commandment is culturally
acceptable or not, we must agree with God when our culture is wrong. In the ninth commandment, God commanded His
people to speak truth with and about one another: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). So whether culturally acceptable or not, God’s
people must speak truth with and about one another. Let’s ask God for grace
today in order to do so and then let’s consider what the ninth commandment
requires of us as God’s people.
I.
The Ninth Commandment Calls Us to be People Who
Treasure Justice
Mark Rooker says “The original focus of this commandment pertained to the giving of
false testimony in legal proceedings (see Exod 23:2).”[2]
This understanding of the ninth commandment is expanded in a few other
passages. Consider Exodus 23:1-3: [23:1] “You
shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to
be a malicious witness. [2] You shall not fall in with the many to do
evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to
pervert justice, [3] nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his
lawsuit. Deuteronomy 19:15-21 also highlights this understanding of the
ninth commandment: [15] “A single
witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in
connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two
witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. [16] If a malicious
witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, [17] then both parties to
the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who
are in office in those days. [18] The judges shall inquire diligently, and
if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely,
[19] then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you
shall purge the evil from your midst. [20] And the rest shall hear and
fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. [21] Your eye
shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand
for hand, foot for foot.
The point here is simply that God is just and
God’s people are to reflect the just character of their Redeemer and
Creator. To bear false witness in a
legal case, whether out of malice or in an effort to help someone you love, is
to pervert justice. Lying in legal
matters is a threat to the whole justice system because without truth, there
can be no justice. The justice system is
meant to protect those who have been wronged in some way, not to be abused and
manipulated in order to cover up something or to wrong someone else.
Imagine what a difference the truth would make in
some of the racial cases we see on the news right now. One of the problems in the Michael Brown
shooting is simply that there are so many inconsistencies in the testimonies of
eyewitnesses. It wouldn’t solve the
racial problem in our country, but imagine what a difference it would make if
all the eyewitnesses simply told the truth.
You may never find yourself in a legal proceeding
where you have to give testimony, but if you do, remember the ninth
commandment. Resolve by God’s grace to tell
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Tell the truth and leave the rest to
God.
II.
The Ninth Commandment Calls Us to be People of Integrity
The ninth commandment, however, does not just
address telling the truth in legal matters.
This commandment also prohibits
any false statement that may bring harm to any neighbor. Remember that some of the Ten
Commandments are categorical, meaning
that they stand not just for the specific sin mentioned, but also for whole
categories of sin. The specific sin
mentioned in these commands is simply the most
extreme form of that sin. So this
commandment does not just call us to treasure justice, but to also be people of
integrity.
The rest of the Bible applies this commandment to
other types of lying as well. Of the seven
things that Yahweh hates in Proverbs
6:16-19, lying makes the list more than once: [16] There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an
abomination to him: [17] haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed
innocent blood, [18] a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make
haste to run to evil, [19] a false witness who breathes out lies, and one
who sows discord among brothers. (Proverbs
6:16-19 ESV) Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,
but those who act faithfully are his delight.”
In the New Testament, Paul states that a mark of
spiritual maturity is when we are “speaking
the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). Later in the same chapter, where Paul is
charging believers to live morally upright lives, he mentions the ninth
commandment in this way: “Therefore,
having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his
neighbor, for we are members one of another.” (Ephesians
4:25 ESV)
In this light, this commandment also condemns the
lies we tell our neighbors over the fence and the rumors we whisper between the
pews at church.[3] Have you ever exaggerated or embellished a
story? Have you ever said something
like, “I didn’t lie; I just didn’t tell them everything.” Friend, a wise preacher once said that a
half-truth is a whole lie.
Gossip and slander is also a form of lying and a
breach of this commandment. Gossip is
talking about people in a way that damages their reputation and involves much
speculation. Philip Ryken gives some
helpful questions to consider for when we are tempted to gossip: Is what I am about to say true? If so, does it really need to be said to this
person in this conversation? Would I put
it this way if the person I’m talking about were here to listen? He goes on to say that “Telling the truth means thinking and saying
the best about people.”[4]
Another way we lie is when we act like we have it
all together when we really don’t, or when we call our selves faithful
Christians and then don’t live like it.
It’s called posing. John
addressed posers in 1 John 1:6: “If we say we have fellowship with him while
we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” Instead
of posing, lets come out into the open and rejoice that we are a bunch of liars
that have been covered by Christ’s blood so that we can be transformed into
people of integrity by His grace!
Have you ever considered why we lie? Jesus called the
devil “the father of lies” and said
that unbelievers lie because they belong to him (John 8:44). Even Christians
still struggle with this old nature on this side of heaven. So one reason is because it is our nature to
do so. But there are more practical
reasons. Some people lie because of
malice. Some people lie because of
pride. Some people lie because of
greed. I know that in my own life, much
of my lying has to do with insecurity and the fear of man. I don’t want people to be disappointed with
me so I frame a situation in order to paint myself in the best light. Why are you tempted to lie?
The bottom line once again is that God is truthful. Titus
1:2 says that He cannot
lie. So in order to reflect God’s
character to this world, we must be truthful as well. We must be people of integrity.
III.
The Ninth Commandment Calls Us to be People Who
Love Our Neighbor
Finally, this commandment also calls us to be
people who love our neighbor. We’ve said
this is true about all of the last six commandments, but notice how this
commandment specifically states that when we break it; we are doing something “against” our neighbor (20:16). Psalm
15 also makes this connection: [15:1] O
LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
[2] He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in
his heart; [3] who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to
his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; [4] in whose
eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who
swears to his own hurt and does not change; [5] who does not put out his
money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does
these things shall never be moved. (Psalm
15:1-5). Remember that anytime we
lie, whether in court or in church, someone suffers.
Another reason it is important to think through
this point is because there are some cases in Scripture we see people lying and
yet not condemned. The Hebrew midwives
lied to protect children in Exodus
1:19. Rahab lied to protect the two
Israelite spies in Joshua 2:2-6. Jonathan lied to protect David in 1 Samuel 20:27-29. What I would first say about this instances
is that even though their lying wasn’t condemned, it wasn’t condoned
either. These are situations where the lesser of two evils had to be chosen because
love for one’s neighbor required that
one withhold the truth. If a soldier is
captured during war, simply telling the truth when interrogated could result in
great harm to his fellow soldiers or his country. J.I. Packer says here that when the love that seeks our
neighbor’s good prompts us to withhold truth that, if spoken, would bring him
harm, the spirit of the ninth commandment is being observed.[5] But again, you should see these as instances
where the lesser of two evils is being chosen, not as an excuse to lie with
good intentions. These aren’t situations
where someone is saving their own hide, but their neighbor’s.
Don’t blow off this commandment like the rest of
our culture does. As we saw earlier, God
hates lying. When Revelation
21:8 mentions those who will burn in the lake of fire one day, it includes
liars: “But as for the cowardly, the
faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers,
idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with
fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” And in case John’s readers didn’t get
warning, he repeats in it Revelation 22:14-15:
[14] Blessed are those who wash
their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may
enter the city by the gates. [15] Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and
the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and
practices falsehood.
Only
us liars who have our robes washed can enter heaven. Thankfully, God has provided a way for us to
have our lying hearts washed clean. That
way is to turn to Jesus, admit the truth to Him that we are liars and sinners
who rightly deserve God’s wrath and to ask for His forgiveness in full surrender
to Him as Lord and King of our lives.
That way is to trust what He has done on our behalf in His life and
death to make us right with God. Jesus,
who never lied, was lied about and ultimately was falsely accused and
crucified. Jesus told the truth even
when it lead to His own death so that we could be forgiven and changed. Will you turn to Him today for
salvation? Will you repent of lying as
His follower and beg Him for grace to be a person of integrity? This is who you were meant to be and this is
who you can be, but only by God’s grace and only by Christ’ blood.
