Do Not Bear False Witness - Exodus 20:16
Notes
Transcript
Today we come to the ninth word
We are going through a sermon series on the Ten Commandments.
These commandments, which occur three times in the Old Testament, literally means “ten words.”
Ten words given by God to his people on how to live in the world.
Today we come to the sixth word, Do not murder, in our Ten Word series looking at the Ten Commandments.
What we have to keep in mind is that God is not a grumpy old man in the sky out to ruin your day, rather he is a loving father giving wise instruction.
Today we come to another horizontal command.
That the commands have both a horizontal and vertical orientation. (love God love others)
We are called to not bear false witness against our neighbor.
This is a command to be those who don’t lie But rather speak the truth
[Pray]
When I was in 3rd grade I had to take a test.
States capitals
I misspelled I think all of them
Came home with a failed test knowing I wouldnt be able to go stay with my cousin and have fun.
Mom forgot when test was and studied with me.
I forged signature
Got found out.
We have all be found out in a lie.
When was the last time you lied?
How did you feel?
When was the last time you were lied about?
How did that make you feel?
Lies have affected all of us in profound ways.
Here is the big idea:
Big Idea: As we are shaped by the gospel we become people who walk in and speak with integrity.
We are going to break down each of these commandments, these ten words in the same way
- What does this command reveal about God?
- What does this command reveal about us?
- How does it point us to Jesus?
- How does it show us the path of life?
So let’s start with first,
I. What does this command reveal about God?
What kind of God would command his people not to bear false witness against each other?
A God who loves the truth
A God who loves his people
Who knows that truth unifies and lies divide.
God is a God of truth
Numbers 23:19 (ESV)
God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
Look at this word we see that this command was originally set in the context of the judicial or legal setting.
It was speaking to eyewitness testimony and telling the truth.
Proverbs 12:17 (ESV)
Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence,
but a false witness utters deceit.
Just like the other commands, this word is broaden by the rest of scripture to forbid every kind of dishonesty.
What is a lie?
Two things:
1. Saying anything that is untrue.
2. Not saying all that is true.
Really the ultimate aim of lying is to deceive people.
How does God feel about that?
Proverbs 6:16–19 (ESV)
There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.
Lying makes it in there a few times.
God despises it.
Here is the deal lying is not just an offense to someone else, it is an offense to the God who made them.
God is only and always true.
He is full of truth.
Titus 1:2 says that he never lies.
God is light, all is exposed.
There is nothing deceptive or dishonest in his character.
Many of us have found ourselves in a lie where we have to cover our tracks, we may even forget what is really true.
Not so with God.
He never has to cover his tracks.
He doesn’t exaggerate to impress.
God never over-promises or under delivers
Joshua 21:45 (ESV)
Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.
As the scriptures paint the picture of God’s character we see that God is love.
God has no desire to assassinate any one else’s character with rumors.
He never needs to put others down with false accusations to puff himself up.
God doesn’t need to do any of that, our enemy satan does.
John 8:44 (ESV)
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Satan’s native tongue is lying.
My sister-in-law is Japanese. When she was here in the states for furlough her mind was tired from speaking english.
Her native tongue is Japanese.
That’s the idea that satan speaks deception it is just what he does. It is his native tongue.
So lying without overstatement is satanic, it is evil.
Lies always bring separation.
Lying breaks community. It breaks relationship.
Lying friends to be blunt…lying is evil.
Lying creates fear, anxiety, hiding, isolation.
God demands that we be a truthful people because that is what God demonstrates to us in who he is.
II. What does this command reveal about us?
What kind of people need to be commanded not to bear false witness against each other?
A people prone to dishonesty.
This is why in court we place a hand on the bible and hear: do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Again lying is saying anything untrue or not saying all that is true.
Really we live in a dishonest age.
It’s everywhere from the highest level of politics, academia, sports, business and ministry.
We see it all over the place in various ways.
Lies have a way of spiraling
There was a man who didn’t want the kids from the neighborhood eating his watermelons.
So he put up a sign in his yard. It simply said, “One of these watermelons is poisonous.”
Now, none were poisonous, but he said, “One of these watermelons is poisonous.”
Obviously, the kids, not knowing which one was bad, would not steal his watermelons and eat them.
Now, none were poisonous. The man lied in an attempt to protect his crop from the thieves.
He came out the next day and, was immediately frustrated, he saw the word one crossed off and the word two in its place.
Now he’d lost his whole crop because he had no idea which watermelon the kids had messed with.
Lies have a way of coming back around.
We are inundated with lies.
A list was built of the most common American fibs see if any of these sound familiar:
- The check is in the mail.
- I'll start my diet tomorrow.
- Give me your number and the doctor will call you right back.
- Money cheerfully refunded.
- One size fits all.
- Your luggage isn't lost, it's only misplaced.
- Leave your resume and we'll keep it on file.
- This hurts me more than it hurts you.
- I just need five minutes of your time.
- Your table will be ready in a few minutes.
- Open wide, it won't hurt a bit.
- Let's have lunch sometime.
- It's not the money, it's the principle.
Again dishonesty is every where.
Have you lied on your resume, your taxes, maybe on a dating profile?
Now that we have screens to hide behind lies flow out all the more.
When regard for truth has been broken down or even slightly weakened, all things will remain doubtful.
_ Augustine.
Do you have trouble believing people?
Do you have trouble being a truthful person?
Life is full of opportunities to break the 9th commandment.
To say untrue things or to not say everything true.
Let’s walk through ways we break this command.
Outright Deception
All lies are deceptive but there is a particular kind that is malicious in it’s intent.
This can be taking the truth and twisting it (like Satan)
We twist the truth to fit our purposes of bringing harm or gain.
Something similar to this is slander.
This is malicious and often very untrue information used to assassinate someone’s character.
Some of you have experienced this and it is painful.
We have social media now which is a rage machine.
With everything from fake news to hot takes we can be those who push deception.
Maybe we just twist the truth a little bit after all this guy deserves it right?
Matthew 12:36 (ESV)
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,
Another way we see this work out is in
Gossip/Rumors
Now here is the nature of gossip, it might be true.
We start spreading stuff as we make assumptions or fill in the blanks of certain details.
Here is the issue with gossip, we LOVE it.
There are literally whole businesses dedicated to share Hollywood gossip.
We love to be in the know and have privileged information.
There was a group of pastors who got together regularly to encourage each other.
While they were gathering one of them spoke up and said: “Our people come to us and pour out their hearts confessing certain sins and needs. Let’s do the same. Confession is good for the soul.”
They all four agreed and one by one they shared vices and sins they struggled with.
They got to the last pastor he wouldn’t confess. The others pressed him saying, “Come now, we confessed ours. What is your secret or vice?”
Finally he answered, “It is gossiping and I can hardly wait to get out of here.”
Proverbs 16:28 (ESV)
A dishonest man spreads strife,
and a whisperer separates close friends.
Here is the thing we love to church this up.
You know what I mean, “Hey pray for so and so I am really concerned about xyz.”
Really you’re so concerned that you are telling me instead of following Matthew 18 and going to them to see what is true.
We can cloak gossip as concern and we really need to call it what it is.
If you are talking to someone about someone else and you haven’t talked to them, you need to be really really really careful.
Because while you may say, “I just need advice or counsel.” Often you are perpetuating gossip.
This is what would all want right?
If someone was concerned about us wouldn't you rather they come and speak to you instead of talking to everyone else?
Gossip is like a wild fire, the one who keeps whispering is like fuel being added, it just keeps raging.
Are you feeding the flames or are you putting them out seeking unity.
Here is a helpful test:
Two passages
Ephesians 4:29 (ESV)
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Proverbs 17:9 (ESV)
Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
A YOUNG boy one day went to a monk and said, “I have spread gossip about my neighbor. What can I do?”
The monk said, “Take a feather and put it on every step in the neighborhood.”
And so the boy put out a couple of hundred feathers. He went back to the monk and said, “OK. Now what?”
“Now go pick them up.”
But when the boy went to pick them up, most of them had been blown away by the wind, to which the monk said, “Once you gossip, it’s nearly impossible to stop it.”
Exaggeration
Now maybe you’re not outright lying but you tell stories in a way that we don’t believe it.
Me and my family - Guilty of this
Now you could say this is just a flair for the dramatic but let’s call it what it is dishonesty.
We see this all the time on social media.
You got the whole family at Disney world with the caption: Best family ever.
5 min before the photo there was yelling and swearing and sweating.
Flattery
Not saying what is true but saying what people want to hear.
This is manipulation.
Psalm 12:2 (ESV)
Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
Again this is insincere or excessive praise with the intention to exploit.
Not Keeping Your Word
Have you ever said yes and then backed out of a promise?
That is dishonesty friends.
We say maybe when we have no intention of ever saying yes.
Matthew 5:37 (ESV)
Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
How many of us have lived a life of self preservation rather than being intentional with our words.
This is the issue isn't it.
You see you may struggle with one of these forms of dishonesty more then the others but often if we look within we see we aren't honest with ourselves.
We bend truth.
We deny, make excuses and blame shift.
In this we have to look outside of ourselves and ask.
III. How does this commandment point us to Jesus?
What is underneath all of our dishonesty?
Romans 1:25 (ESV)
because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
We exchange the truth for a lie.
That is the problem at the core.
It started in the garden as the serpent lied, from there we have been wrestling against dishonesty.
This is why we all go out into world radically insecure and trying to justify ourselves
Think of all the ways we exchange the truth of God with lies:
We don’t know whose we are and so we Lie to get what we want -
This is because We don’t trust in God’s provision
We often lie to hurt or punish others - This is because we don’t trust in God’s justice
We lie to save face rather than owning our mistakes – This is because we don’t trust in God’s forgiveness.
We lie to control and manipulate others - Because we don’t trust in God’s sovereignty
We lie to impress. We want people to see us something. - In this we fail to believe in God’s approval of us
We lie because we are afraid of the truth, we are afraid of being known though if we are honest we all want to be known so badly.
The irony is that lying keeps us unknown.
Our problems are rooted deep / Luke 6:45
Luke 6:45 (ESV)
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Out of the heart – core of our being
Scripture tells us that honesty is a supernatural work of God.
Coram Deo, we need Jesus to change us from the inside.
Jesus is the WORD made flesh.
Jesus never said or did anything dishonest.
There was no deceit in his mouth.
Never exaggerated, gossiped, flattered, stretched the truth
Jesus Always kept his word
John 14:6 (ESV)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Men will die for many things, but no one willingly dies for a lie
On the cross, Jesus was condemned by lies as he took the place of liars like us to guide us to truth
Like the other words we see how our failure to keep the commands lead Jesus to take the cup of God’s wrath in our place for our sin.
He endured Divine justice for our lies, gossip, false promises, & flattery
Jesus loved us so much his sacrifice erased every condemning record of our dishonest words
He has risen again and offered us life and life eternal.
We now enjoy reconciliation with God
We are given the Holy Spirit to produce spiritual fruit, to speak honest words.
We have the promise that we are accepted always
Rom. 8:16 –
Romans 8:16 (ESV)
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
We are children
He is delighted in us
Not future version - you right now.
Only way we can be healed of dishonesty is to be honest about it
We have to seek God to create in us a honest heart.
This leads us to ask finally...
IV. What does this command reveal about the path of life?
If you hear the good news of Jesus and you want to be a truth teller if it resonates in your soul, you are freed by Holy Spirit to tell the truth & hear the truth.
The Spirit uses the Word to put new life in our hearts and new words in our mouths
The way forward in this is produced by the Spirit.
Again our proclivity is not to speak truth.
We need Jesus to be honest people.
We need to be a people who are united in this to remind one another what is true in the gospel.
We need to speak the hope of Jesus to each other and call one another to the hope of the gospel.
By grace, our tongues will bring forth justice & honor, wisdom, gladness, & healing
We will feel so secure in our relationship with God through Christ that we will not need to lie
We are free to tell the truth always because we have nothing to fear
We are known fully and accepted
Free to tell the truth to & about others because we have no need to compare ourselves
Free to trust God’s provision so we don’t have to lie for gain
Free to trust in God’s sovereignty so we don’t have to lie to manipulate
Free to trust in God’s justice so we don’t have to lie to punish others
Free to trust God’s forgiveness so we don’t have to lie to save face
This is counter-cultural
You know how different it would be at work, friends, etc. if we lived honest lifes?
Heidelberg Catechism:
God’s will is that I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one's words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone rashly or without a hearing. Rather, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are the devil’s own works, and they would call down on me God's intense wrath. I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor's honor and reputation.
I tried to think of one example where truth brought but I just kept thinking of example after example.
I have sat across from married couples who shed there distrust and stop lying and spoke the truth about sins hidden, lies believed and watch as God radically transformed them.
I have seen the opposite lies covered for so long that people thought the only way out was suicide.
Lies - leads to demise
Truth - leads to life
Would God produce in you a love for the truth.
Would we be a people who come clean this morning.
Stop hiding.
Come in to the light.
4 questions
1.How difficult is it to be honest about my dishonesty?
2. Where am I most prone to speaking untrue/half-true words?
3. What do my lying words reveal about my heart & character?
4. How can trusting in Jesus free me to speak the truth without fear?