Sermon
Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness
May 15, 2005
Pastor Leighton Sheley

I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 20, and today we're going to be continuing our study of the Ten Commandments, which is also known as the Decalogue. The Ten Commandments are God's guidelines for a long and happy life and a safe and a prosperous community. The United States of America has enjoyed relative safety and prosperity as a result of being founded upon the Ten Commandments and other biblical principles. In recent decades, however, the safety and prosperity of our nation has diminished as succeeding generations have drifted farther from God and His holy word.

A front page news article at Yahoo on May 12th announced the resignation of yet another Pulitzer prize-winning newspaper columnist after not adequately answering questions about the veracity of their reporting. And the article talks about the crisis of new scandals that has embarrassed newspapers and networks and cost many jobs. The article continues, Last week, USA Today Pentagon correspondent Tom Squitieri resigned under pressure after lifting quotes from another newspaper and using other quotes with attribution. That followed on the heels of the veteran Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Al Levine, who pilfered information from two Florida newspapers without crediting them. Los Angeles Times reporter Eric Slater was dismissed last month when editors at the newspaper could not verify information in an article he wrote. Mitch Albom was suspended from the Detroit Free Press...and it goes on and on.

I know that many of us are aware of the unfortunate incident involving manufactured documents that devastated Dan Rather's team and that news network.

The May 13th issue of Pastor Weekly Briefing contains this information. It said, Nearly half of Americans believe little or nothing of what they read in America's daily newspapers, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. The New York Times boasts millions of readers, and yet when surveyed only 21 percent of them say that they believe what they read in that newspaper. Of those surveyed, 14 percent said they trusted almost nothing they read in the Times.

Trust - so many lives, livelihoods, and dreams are built upon trust. When trust is fractured, lives, livelihoods, and dreams are fractured with it. Last week thousands of United Airlines employees were affected by an unwelcome announcement concerning their pension plan. The lies and deceit in companies such as Enron and WorldCom have adversely affected many, many investors. Untold thousands of children have been devastated by broken promises between father and mother in the breakup of far too many homes.

All relationships are related to making and keeping promises. Truth in making and keeping promises is the delicate thread from which is woven that fabric that holds families, and businesses, communities and nations together. Lies and broken promises fracture and destroy the fabric of any meaningful relationship. God knows that, and that's why telling the truth not lying is in His top ten guidelines for a happy and fulfilling life. Lying destroys relationships; telling the truth builds relationships up.

Now some people think that God is primarily interested in right religion. They altogether miss the fact that God is primarily interested in right relationship. When He was asked what the most important commandment was, what was most important, Jesus said, love. Now love does not describe an organization, or a plan, or a list of dos and don'ts, or a religion. Love describes a relationship. Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor. God is primarily interested in right relationship.

Lying destroys relationship. Telling the truth builds up relationship. Jesus said that all of the commandments hang on, love the Lord your God and love your neighbor, and you can't love your neighbor if you're spreading false testimony about him.

Exodus 20:16 says, You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. Simply put, do not lie.

Now some people think that since God is love that He cannot hate. Not so. Proverbs 6 says, there are six things the Lord hates, no, seven things He detests, and then provides this list: haughty eyes or proud eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race quick to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who sows discord amongst brothers. Of the seven things listed here that God hates two of them are directly related to lying, and a third one, sowing discord among the brethren, relates to this commandment as well as we shall see. God hates lying.

Proverbs 12:22 says, The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in men who are truthful.

Now why does God hate lying? Well one reason that God hates lying is because God is truth. Truth is the very character of God. Light and truth are related biblical concepts. Truth brings light. We are enlightened by the truth. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. God is truth and in Him there is no deception at all.

The Old Testament in Numbers 23:19 says, God is not a man, that He should lie. And that truth is restated in the New Testament and the writer of Hebrews says, it is impossible for God to lie, Hebrews 6:18. Lying and deception are disgusting to God.

Dr. Leonard Keeler, the inventor of the lie detector machine, has tested over 25,000 individuals, and you know what his conclusion is? Human beings are basically deceptive. No kidding.

Psalm 58:3 says even from birth the wicked go astray, from the womb they are wayward and speak lies. You know you don't have to teach a child to lie? That comes natural for them. You have to teach them to tell the truth. When people lie or deceive they are speaking the devil's language. That's what Jesus says as recorded for us in John 8 when He was talking with certain Jews. This is what Jesus said, He says , why is My language not clear to you? We are both speaking Aramaic or Greek, whatever the language, why can't you understand what I am saying? And then He goes on to answer that question. Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Jesus said the reason that you can't understand My language is because you are speaking another language, the language of the devil. People either believe God's truth or the devil's lies. They either speak God's language or the devil's language.

Now getting people to believe a lie is far more easy than we would like to think. Psychologist Ruth W. Berenda carried out an experiment with teenagers in which she would bring them into a room in groups of ten for a test. In that room they were instructed to raise their hands when the teacher pointed to the longest of three lines. That sounds like a simple test. But what one of those ten didn't know was that the other nine had been instructed to vote for the next-to-longest line. Now after some initial disorientation, 75% of test subjects voted for the shorter line because he or she lacked the courage to challenge the group. Three out of four went with the group.

Einstein said only 13% of people think. Studies indicate somewhere between 10 and 15% of people think. Another 10% think they think. What does that leave? 75%

Deceiving and being deceived are second nature to mankind. Someone once said tell a lie often enough and people will believe it. And today there are two conflicting cultures, two conflicting languages; one based on God's truth, the other on the devil's lies. People either believe God's truth or they believe the devil's lies.

A student stands up in a public school classroom and declares their belief in God and creation, it's highly unlikely that he's speaking the language that is native in that classroom. Many people think that telling lies is unimportant, especially the little white lies. They wonder how telling a little lie could possibly be as important as say murder. So then just how important is keeping this commandment not to lie?

The answer to that question is found in Revelation 21: But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. That is the second death.

No matter how important or unimportant someone might think lying is now, in the end it is a behavioral pattern that leads to the second death. The bottom line is - it's important.
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Now the word 'false' in Exodus 20:16 means to lie, deceive, disappoint, speak a falsehood, or fraud, and there are at least three applications. The first application - it means if we know something to be true and do not say the truth we are responsible.

Leviticus 5:1 says if a person does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify concerning something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible. If we remain silent when someone is speaking a lie then we are endorsing that lie. We have a responsibility to confront lies with the truth.

If a crime has been committed and we have information that can lead to justice being served, it is our God-given responsibility to cooperate with legitimate authorities no matter how inconvenient or unsafe that may be for us. To be silent under such circumstances makes us as guilty as the party who committed the crime and we share the responsibility.

Now I use the term legitimate authority because there are many authorities who have the appearance of being legitimate, but they don't meet the definition that allows them to be a legitimate authority. And I know that the transcripts of this message go around the world and there are some who do not live in nations that are under legitimate authority. The Bible provides the definition of what is legitimate authority in Romans chapter 13 and 1 Peter chapter 2.

If we were to describe the essence of this commandment, we might choose a phrase that's familiar in any courtroom, tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If we withhold a part of the truth we're not really telling the truth.

Now knowing something is not to be confused with hearsay, and we'll look at that in greater detail in just a moment. If someone is aware of some crime and they're not certain what their responsibility is related to that crime, then I recommend that you seek out spiritual and legal counsel to ascertain your responsibilities related to that knowledge.

So this commandment means that if we know something to be true and we don't say it, then we're responsible. It also means, secondly, if we know something is untrue and yet we say it, we are responsible. If we know something is not the truth, and we say it, then we are held responsible.

Proverbs 3:29 says, do not plot harm against your neighbor. A number of years back, a good and godly pastor came to our community and had a vision and a passion for the Lord's work that offended some of the neighbors, and one of those neighbors took the initiative to accuse that pastor of some form of child abuse. The Child Protection Agency was called upon. In the end, the pastor was declared innocent, but because of the devastation of that slanderous accusation and other attacks upon that pastor, that pastor thought it in the best interest for the protection of his family to leave our community, and our community is short one more godly pastor preaching the gospel to our community.

In 1992, 1.2 million Americans were falsely accused of child abuse. 1.2 million Americans in 1992. The Child Protection Agency has been used as a pawn by people who are wanting to bring injury to another. Now children should be protected, but the accused should be presumed innocent until proven guilty and should be able to cross-examine his accusers. Anonymous accusations should never be entertained, and that's a biblical principle.

In fact, Deuteronomy 19:15 says, "One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." And then it goes on to say, "If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime, the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, then do to him as he intended to do to his brother."

And God says, "Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." In other words, God says whatever the judgment would have been upon the one who was falsely accused is to be transferred to the one who is making the false accusation. Someone falsely accusing another of child abuse should be put in prison as though he were a child abuser. If the government enacted these biblical principles there would be far fewer false accusations and there'd be more than a million less victims of this devastating government-sponsored crime.

Proverbs 19:5 says, "A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free." Even though this anonymous accuser may not have been brought to justice in this world another justice awaits him or her. The Bible says a false witness will not go unpunished.

If we know something is untrue and yet we say it, we are responsible for what we have said. Now I mentioned that there are at least three applications, and to illustrate the third I'm going to invite you to turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5. And while you are turning there I'll just remind you of the first two. The first one was if we know something to be true and don't say it, we are responsible. The second one is if we know something to be untrue and yet say it, we're responsible. The third one is if we don't know something to be true and yet say it, we're responsible.

Let's see if we can explain that. Now if you're looking at Deuteronomy chapter 5 you'll see it bears a remarkable resemblance to the passage in Exodus chapter 20. In fact in some translations the verses are translated identically, and there could be something lost upon us if we're not aware that the word that is translated false in the Exodus passage is sheqer, which means consciously or intentionally being a witness to falsehood, whereas the word translated false in the Deuteronomy passage is shav, which means anything that is unfounded or worthless.

In a courtroom, speaking something that is unfounded is called hearsay, and hearsay is not admissible in court. Hearsay is not something you know, but rather something that you have heard. A more common name for the same thing is gossip, and this verse says thou shalt not gossip. The third application of this commandment is if we don't know something to be true, if we're unsure of the truthfulness of something, and yet we say it, we are responsible for what we say.

But you know the meaning goes beyond just knowing something to be true. You see if something is true but worthless, we are not to say it. The New Testament describes worthless speech as idle, idle speech. Idle speech is worthless. The transportation value of a vehicle at idle is worthless. Idle speech is worthless.

Jesus said, Matthew 12:36, I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment of every idle (or in some translations careless) word that they have spoken.

You see words are meaningful; words are powerful. With words you can give someone hope. With words you can take it away. With words you can destroy someone's business or someone's reputation or someone's family. Words are powerful, and I would like to propose to you that words are also eternal. I think that some people think that words are something that are transient. After the word comes out of the mouth and travels at the speed of sound and passes the ears of whoever it is that hears it, the words just disappear somewhere out there. Words are just annihilated and cease to exist somewhere out there.

Words don't just disappear somewhere out there. They are stored up and they will be replayed on the day of judgment. So this commandment addresses much more than intentional lies, it addresses worthless or unwholesome speech.

Ephesians 4:29 says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." The Ephesians passage declares that speech that comes from our lips should be of benefit to those who listen, not for our benefit.

Some people they just refuse to benefit from the sheer brilliance of our insights. We'd sure like to help some people.

Now Jesus gave some instructions on how we should and should not help people in Matthew chapter 7 and this is in the context of one of the verses where He says, listen, don't try to help somebody who's got a little speck in their eye when you've got a plank sticking out of yours. And He also says in that context, He says, don't cast your pearl before swine, because the pig is just going to trample the pearl under and come looking for you.

Some people are unteachable, and your words no matter how well intentioned or how well communicated are of no benefit to them because they are going to trample them down, get angry, and come looking for you. There is no benefit of trying to communicate with somebody who is unteachable. Sometimes the wisest course of action is just to keep the mouth shut.

Now the Ephesians passage also declares that speech that comes from our lips should not tear down others but build them up. The word edify is used in some translations that's related to the word edifice, which describes a building, as we interact with a building we are either building it up or we're tearing it down. We are either wearing it out or we are reconstructing it. Whatever we do...it's saying whatever we do should be to build up others - whatever we speak of.

Now there's a danger among Christians in that very often prayer requests are really little more than gossip that is cloaked in some kind of a form of spirituality. Gossip is receiving or passing on information that is harmful to someone else; that doesn't edify someone else. And someone pointed out to me and said that Rick Warren says that if we are not part of the problem, and we're not part of the solution, we should keep our mouth shut otherwise we're just gossiping.

Colossians 3:8 says, now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other.

Now Mark Twain wrote a lie will go halfway around the world before the truth gets its shoes on. Merchants are aware that bad news travels faster than good news; some say ten times faster and a hundred times farther. And that's why they worked diligently to protect the reputation of their business, and we need to protect the reputation of our brethren.

The apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:15, speak the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Speaking the truth in love. Now how do we speak the truth in love? Well the characteristics of love are clearly defined for us in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking."

Anything that we say and everything that we say should be evaluated against these characteristics before we say it. We should think before we speak.

Now it's not in my notes, but someone has asked, is it ever appropriate to lie? Is it ever right to lie? The answer is, it would appear under special circumstances that there are times when it's appropriate to lie. Now that's outside of the intention of our study today, but it needs to be addressed because it's a question. When you look through the Scriptures you'll find that God accepted certain lies under certain circumstances; there are very few.

The Egyptian midwives lied to the Pharaoh in order to protect the innocent children, the Hebrew children, from being killed. And God not only turned the other direction in terms of their lying, He actually blessed them for lying, that lie being the intention of protecting against the shedding of innocent blood.

Rahab lied when she was questioned concerning the spies, and that was interpreted by the Scriptures to be evidence of her turning her faith towards the God of Israel. She put her faith in the God of Israel.

There's also reference to Samuel who was going to anoint King David and was concerned that Saul might find out what he was doing and have him killed so another king could not be anointed. And the context of that was an evil tyrant government misusing their authority.

So there are some examples in the Scriptures where it would appear that there is reason for lying. Surely we know that there were people who put their lives on the line and lied during World War II to protect Jews who were trying to escape the terrors of Nazism.

There are special circumstances under which it would appear that the Scriptures give leniency to lying, but our focus today is on speaking the truth. God is truth. God speaks the truth. God's children should speak the truth.

Now I want to underscore something and go back because I want to, if you will, give you a visual picture of this. One reason God hates lying is that lying destroys relationships. God loves relationships. The devil hates anything God loves. The devil hates relationships. The devil encourages an activity that undermines or destroys or injures relationship. God loves relationship. The devil hates relationship.

Relationship is built on commitment; the more significant the relationship the greater the commitment. If I happen to pass a stranger on a busy sidewalk there's no relationship and there's no commitment. At the other end of the human relationship spectrum is marriage, where there is a very significant relationship and a far greater commitment. Relationship is based upon commitment.

Now this really hit home for me a few years back. I was a young father and a busy schedule and tight finances, and I found myself making commitments that I did not or could not keep to my children. I was lying to them. So I thought about it and came up with a solution. I just won't make them any promises. I just won't make any commitments, and then if nothing happens, I haven't lied to them. It sounds like a reasonable solution, does it not?

I tried this solution. Some of the conversations started going something like this: Dad, my feet have grown and my shoes won't fit, can we go shopping for shoes? We'll see. Dad, I'm playing basketball on Friday, can you come to the game? Maybe. Dad, are we going to go to Disneyland for vacation? I'll think about it.

You can see that our relationship was less engaging at the time, and incidentally some of those answers that I gave to them are now coming back to me. Do you know what I learned through that? I learned how important commitments were in a relationship.

Imagine a business, an employer, talking with an employee and saying, are you going to come in on time and give me a full 40? Maybe. Are you going to pay me? We'll see.

How about a wedding? For richer or for poor? Maybe. For better or for worse? We'll see. In sickness and in health? I'll think about it. If that was the level of commitment in a wedding, what's the point? I mean, why even get dressed up? Why do some people who never get dressed up any other time of the year, who have to rent cufflinks, why do they get dressed up for a wedding? Because there's something really special going on, that's why. Somebody is committing them self until death! That's big!

You know a person who stands at that alter and says with their mouth 'I do,' but in their heart or mind they're saying 'we'll see,' is a liar and they are committing fraud against that person who is standing next to them making a sincere commitment. Do you understand how important commitment is to a significant relationship?

What about this - what if God dealt with mankind on this sort of noncommittal kind of basis? The conversation would go something like this maybe: God, let's see if we got this right. You've created this beautiful garden and given us all the food that we need and no disease no death, we're going to live forever, but if we partake of that one little tree right there there's going to be some kind of judgment? Is that right? Maybe.

God, we are so sorry we messed up. We did what you told us not to. Now we realize that we were deceived. There's death and there's disease everywhere, and God would you please come and save us? I'll think about it.

God, thank you for sending Jesus, but God, it's not finished; it's not complete. There is still death, there's still disease, and we've got this hope that Jesus is coming back for us. He is coming back, right? We'll see.

Do you see how ludicrous it would be to try to have a relationship with God, a God that was noncommittal? Now let's look at it from one other perspective. Imagine God talking with us, and it goes something like this: come, let us reason together. Look at how faithful I've been to the commitment I made to mankind. I didn't destroy mankind for their rebellious sin, but instead I set my very own Son to go to Calvary's cross and there pay the terrible wages of mankind's sins. And I didn't just redeem men from eternal damnation, I adopted them as My very own children. And some day will elevate them so they are higher than the angels and give them bodies that don't decay, and death will be no more, and I will make them joint heirs with My only begotten Son to share the treasures and the wonders of My creation for all of eternity. And I will never leave them, I will never forsake them, and I who began this good work will be faithful to complete it. This is my commitment to you. Would you make a commitment to Me. Will you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?

You may want to give some careful consideration before answering that invitation with 'maybe,' 'we'll see,' 'I'll think about.' Where there is no commitment there is no relationship. Jesus said there are going to be a lot of people who think they're going to heaven, and when they get there they are going to hear the words, depart from me, for I never knew you. There was no relationship. There was no commitment. Let's bow our heads.

Lord we are so thankful that You are the God who makes and keeps promises. Lord all of the promises of this world - they are untrustworthy. We can believe nothing and no one, even those who have the best intentions. But Lord Your word is true; Your promises are sure. And thank you Lord for making such good promises to us.

And Lord we are thankful that our salvation does not depend on us keeping these Ten Commandments. If that were so we would all be lost, for all of us have broken them. Thank you Lord for salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Thank you Lord that our salvation is sure in Him.

And Lord we do want to be Your children and we want to reflect Your family. We want to be beacons of light and truth is this world that is filled with darkness and deceit. Give us wisdom, Lord, and give us courage and strength to fulfill the calling to which You have called us; that we might be that salt and that light in this world. Thank you Lord for hearing our prayer, in Jesus name we pray, amen. God bless.