Intro…
Welcome to the Cornerstone Baptist church podcast. My name is Justin Wheeler, I am the preaching pastor for Cornerstone and today we are in week 43 of our journey through the Heidelberg Catechism. Today, I will be talking to you about question 112.
This week our question deals with the ninth commandment, which reads:
Deuteronomy 5:20 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
The most basic definition of bearing false witness is when a person lies. It is to offer a false testimony to another person or about another person even if that person doesn’t live next door. The phrase against your neighbor is intended to be a generic understanding of other people and it not limited to only those people who live nearby.
So, if you have ever lied to your neighbor or lied about your neighbor then you have broken the ninth commandment. If you have ever shared a story that was untrue, embellished a story to make yourself look better or to make another person look worse then you are guilty of breaking the ninth commandment. If you have ever misrepresented facts in a dispute with your neighbor (another person) then you are guilty of breaking this command.
It doesn’t take much imagination to see how this command is aimed at establishing truth, honesty and integrity within social relationships. It doesn’t take much imagination for us to see why this would be a valuable addition to society. If everyone told the truth, then everyone could be trusted. Truth telling promotes mutual respect for others and personal accountability for self.
This all seems so simple and we should all just jump on board the honesty train. Well, yes, we should all be people who tell the truth but really not all that simple. Lying is one of the oldest sins in the world and also one of the most destructive.
Transition…
The first lie occurred in the Garden in Genesis 3 and from that point forward lying is a sin at the very heart of our fallen human nature. Jesus called Satan the “Father of lies” in John 8:44 and Psalm 116:11 tells us that, “All men are liars.” Our God is a covenant keeper who never lies, but we are covenant breakers who lie naturally and treat it like it is no big deal.
But it is a big deal and the Heidelberg is going to help us see just how big it is.
Lord’s Day Focus...
Question 112: What is God’s will for you in the ninth commandment?
Answer: 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 without a hearing or without a just cause. Rather, in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are the devices the devil himself uses, and they would call down on me God’s intense anger. 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 good name.
There is much packed into this answer, so let’s break it down and look at each sentence.
First, we read that it is God’s will that we never give false testimony. God wants His people to be people of integrity, to be people that others can trust. He wants us to be truth-tellers who say what we mean and mean what we say. In other words, God wants us to be like Him and He never lies (Titus 1:2).
From the Garden on throughout all of Biblical history we see that God always speaks the truth and that Satan is the father of lies. One of the key distinctions between the people of God and the unbelieving world is whether or not we believe the truth and speak the truth.
But it is also God’s will that we never twist another person’s words. Have you ever told a story and stressed something that was said in such a way that you came off looking like the good guy and the other person came off looking bad? This happens so frequently in daily life that we have even adopted the habit of saying, “Is that exactly what she said?” the implication is that we know people are prone to twist another’s words, because we are prone to do so.
Then there’s the fact that we are not to gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone without a hearing or without a just cause. To gossip means to pass on information that isn’t true or to pass on what is true without permission or necessity. We gossip when we talk about other people as we share a prayer request for them. We gossip when we reveal information that shouldn’t be shared, or we spread information beyond the boundaries of what is necessary.
Slander means to spread false reports and it includes when we cause others to believe false reports. So, I could start a rumor chain, or I could fail to correct a rumor chain, both are a form of slander
To join in condemning someone without a hearing or without a just cause goes hand in hand with slander. This happens because or when we think the worst of a person before actually hearing the facts. This is the root of prejudice and we are all guilty of this at some level. Sometimes we simply look at a person and assume they are wrong; they are guilty or that they are not to be trusted.
The ninth commandment instructs us to withhold judgment until the truth can be heard. It calls on us to show love and respect to everyone in such a way that we hold them to be innocent until the facts prove them to be guilty. May the person in question did something wrong, but maybe they didn’t and the only way we can know with any certainty is to withhold judgment until the facts have been presented.
The second sentence tells us that in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are the devices the devil himself uses, and they would call down on me God’s intense anger. The ninth commandment applies in every walk of life, not just in the courtroom. It tells us that we should avoid lying and deceit of every kind.
We should speak the truth in every circumstance. So, when we file our taxes there shouldn’t be any exaggeration. When we talk about how busy we are we should be clear and honest. When we talk about how much we pray, read the Bible, love our neighbors, we should be absolutely honest and not try to cause others to think more highly of us then they should.
You may not want to admit it, but this is a problem for all of us and it reveals something about our hearts that God wants us to see. It reveals that the impulses in our hearts are devilish and worthy of God’s just anger. Lying and deceit are sinful. They are wicked. They are deserving of judgment.
Prov 22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,
In Proverbs 6:16-19 we are told that there are 6 things that the Lord hates and 7 things that are an abomination to Him. Here’s the list, “haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies and one who sows discord among brothers.”
Did you catch that lying is in there twice? This is a serious sin in the eyes of God because it is a sin that comes straight from the playbook of our enemy. It is a serious sin because it stands in absolute contradiction to the character of God
The final sentence tells us that we should do whatever we can to guard and advance our neighbors good name. This is the goal of our social interaction. This is the aim of God’s people when it comes to personal relationships. This is also what loving your neighbor looks like in action when you are committed to speaking the truth to them and about them.
I don’t want to share something that is going to paint them in a negative light. I don’t want to assume something that is untrue of them. I don’t want to represent them in such a way that their good name would be diminished in the eyes of others. I want to guard and advance the good name of everyone.
This ninth command is key to having the kind of community that honors and reflects the goodness of God.
Eph 4:15 Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
The Bible is filled with warnings for how our tongues can cause destruction and it is filled with instruction about how our words can give life.
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
Jesus wants us to be people whose tongues give life. He wants us to be a church whose speech is trustworthy.
The truth is that we will fail in our speech, but what should we do when we fail? What happens when we make a promise that we simply cannot keep? What happens when we fail to speak the truth? The first thing we must do is to confess our sin to God. Then we must confess our sin to the person we lied to and finally we must seek to make things right with genuine repentance.
We need to grow to be people who know the dangers of lying and who seek by God’s daily grace to be those who speak and uphold the truth.
Thank you for joining me today to learn about the ninth commandment. Next week, we will continue to study by looking at the tenth commandment, which addresses covetousness. I hope you will join me for that discussion as we look at Lord’s Day 44 and question 113-115.
Conclusion…
If you want to learn more about Cornerstone Baptist church, you can find us online at Cornerstonewylie.org. You can follow us on Twitter or Instagram @cbcwylie. You can find us on Facebook at facebook.com/cornerstonewylie. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or google play to stay up to date on all the new content.
Thanks for listening.
