Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. . . . 16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.[1]False witness is the malicious work of the human tongue, and the Lord forbids it. “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 12:22).
Sometimes we make the commandment read: “You shall not lie.” This is wrong. “False witness” is correct. True, the Bible condemns lying; there’s no mistaking that. But the commandment’s immediate concern is not lying in general, but a particular form of lying, namely, the lie that is told in the courtroom. “Courtroom justice” is the focus.[2] When you go to court to testify, you must tell the truth. You mustn’t be a false witness.
As one writer points out, the administration of justice in ancient Israel was a simple process.[3] No DNA samples, no fingerprints, no forensic teams, no video recordings. What counted was eyewitness testimony. In the witness’s hand rested the fate of the accused. The stakes in capital trials could not be higher: the witness’s words meant life or death. To give false testimony was a monstrous violation of the law of love.
In our own day, the courtroom is a remote and mysterious place. Most of us will never stand accused of a crime, nor will we ever testify or face cross-examination.
Ancient Israel’s system of justice was neither remote nor mysterious, but a public event, visible to all. Cases were decided at the city gate. Strolling in and out of town you watched justice administered. First-hand, you witnessed what was at stake in legal proceedings – accusation, testimony, judgment, and, if the crime’s severity merited it, execution. Every bit of the process unfolded before your eyes.
Joachim Douma asserts that two principles must govern our thinking.[4]
Principle number one: we must hate false testimony. No one should suffer at the hands of a false witness. In the Old Testament, Naboth was found guilty and killed, on the basis of false testimony (1 Kings 21:13; Matthew 26:59-61). In the New Testament, Jesus’ judges found false witnesses, and on the basis of their false testimony, handed our Lord over to death.
The false witness destroys lives. We must hate false testimony.
Principle number two: we must protect our judicial system by prizing the truth.
In the 1990s an American president lied under oath. His lie was one of the exploits that brought about his impeachment and, potentially, his removal from office. Many Americans were dismayed. Why? After all, his lying covered up private personal behavior that was none of our business.
What these Americans failed to recognize is that he lied under oath. There were certainly other issues, but none more important than false testimony. Any lie, any false testimony, strikes at the heart of our legal system; its punishment is justly severe.
Legal systems are corrupted in numerous ways, but the outcome is always the same: falsehood supplants truth. If we love our neighbor as ourselves, we won’t let this happen.
Let’s think briefly about the biblical legal system. Justices must not pervert justice by showing partiality or by accepting bribes (Deuteronomy 16:18-20, nor give preferential treatment either to the rich or to the poor (Leviticus 19:15). If an accuser bears false witness and his perjury is discovered, then he must receive the punishment that would have fallen on the falsely accused, even if it means his death (Deuteronomy 19:16-19). No mercy for the malicious witness.
If we are to be just, our courts – civil, criminal, and church – must prize the truth. “The whole truth and nothing but the truth” characterizes the godly witness.
But now we move from truth in the courtroom to truth in every area of life. Christians are God’s witnesses to the world (Acts 1:8). Because we have believed “the word of the truth, the gospel,” we are saved (Colossians 1:5). Only as we speak the truth do we have the integrity to declare the truth about God’s character, the God who cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18). We are witnesses to the gospel of God’s Son, who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). So, of all people, Christians must use their tongues to speak God’s truth. Nothing compromises a Christian’s witness or tarnishes the reputation of God’s church more than a lie. A lie, any lie, betrays the God who delivered us from the dominion of falsehood. How can a liar represent the God “who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4)?
Let’s begin by looking at the assumption that underlies the ninth commandment, which is this: we should strive to protect the good name of our neighbor. His reputation should be of paramount concern. As Martin Luther warned, “reputation is something quickly stolen, but not quickly returned.”[5]
So, our duties include not bearing false witness against our neighbor, refusing to participate in gossip that is false, and, just as steadfastly, refusing to participate in gossip that is true.
Whoa! Wait a minute, you say. Of course I shouldn’t spread untruths about our neighbor. But what’s wrong with telling unpleasant truths about my neighbor? After all, it is the truth.
Here’s where we must stop and think about our duty to love our neighbor. A loving Christian must be able to say hard things. Love motivates him to speak to him about some of his sins. “Brother, if you can’t control your anger, you’re going to lose your job.” “My dear friend, if you don’t stop wasting money you will hurt your family.” “Sister in Christ, I’m concerned about your bitterness. Let’s talk.”
Love also moves us to overlook many of the sins of others, because life would be unbearable if we made a major issue over each of our sins and shortcomings.
Love compels us to confront the particularly destructive sins of others, even as we hope our neighbors would have courage to speak if we were putting ourselves into harm’s way. But love never compels us to talk about the sins of others to third parties in gossip sessions.
Think carefully before you decide it’s no big deal whether you participate in gossip sessions where the truth about another is being exposed. Don’t you have sins that you don’t want broadcast to the world? Don’t you have weakness that you would rather not see trumpeted in the streets? You expect discretion on the part of your friends. Therefore, you be discreet.
Our Larger Catechism puts it beautifully: We are required by God’s law to maintain a “charitable esteem of our neighbors; loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; sorrowing for and covering of their infirmities; freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces, defending their innocency; a ready receiving of a good report, an unwillingness to admit of an evil report, concerning them” (Westminster Larger Catechism, answer 144). We wouldn’t want less than this from our neighbors, and we shouldn’t give less to our neighbors.
One of my Christian heroes is Charles Simeon, Anglican minister of Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge, England from 1782-1836. Throughout his adult life he contended with two great temptations to ungodly speech. On the one hand, he was quick to anger, and in the heat of the moment was tempted to say things that could damage the reputation of Christ and his church. On the other hand, he continually faced hateful criticism because of his deep commitment to the evangelical faith. What a volatile situation: a man with a short fuse in a hostile environment!
Well aware of the temptation to what he called "evil speaking," Simeon wrote in a July 1817 letter words immediately relevant to you and me.
"The longer I live, the more I feel the importance of adhering to the rules which I have laid down for myself in relation to such matters.The ninth commandment also forbids rash judgments.[6] Too often we make judgments about another person based upon scanty information. This sin can be as simple as taking sides in a troubled marriage, uncritically accepting the complaints of one marriage partner, and demonizing the other. We hear only one part of the story, and that part is probably intended to put your friend in the most favorable light and his spouse in the most unfavorable.
"1st To hear as little as possible what is to the prejudice of others.
"2nd To believe nothing of the kind till I am absolutely forced to it.
"3rd Never to drink into the spirit of one who circulates an ill report.
"4th Always to moderate, as far as I can, the unkindness which is expressed towards others.
"5th Always to believe, that if the other side were heard a very different account would be given of the matter.
"I consider love as wealth; and as I would resist a man who should come to rob my house so would I a man who would weaken my regard for any human being."
Rash judgments are tempting during political campaigns. The You-Tubing of American politics: A small part of a candidate’s speech is captured on video by his opponents, and put on the Internet. Do a little research and find that the words have been lifted out of context. We need to withhold judgment until we have the facts.
Church elders, civil judges, and employers are among the many who hold positions that require the careful evaluations of the words and behaviors of others. Duty demands we listen and refrain from snap decisions based on shoddy research.
Even the most careful and godly person will err in some of his judgments, which all the more points to the need for every Christian to be serious about the words he speaks. If the wisest among us fail, how cautious should that make the rest of us! How much each of us needs Christ’s forgiveness and the renewing work of the Spirit of truth to be at work in our life.
The ninth commandment also requires accuracy in what we say. Inasmuch as possible, our words must be accurate, conforming to the reality they describe.
One pastor reminds parents how important it is to demand accuracy from our children. He writes:
The temptation to lie is always present; the opportunities surface very early in the life of a child. Once a child begins to lie, habits of lying develop quickly. And not just telling outright lies, but also sinful words that distort the truth, such as exaggeration, flattery, and self-disparagement for personal advantage. Distorting the truth becomes second nature to the child. Therefore, it is imperative to teach young people to describe events clearly and accurately - always. [7]Like every other virtue, accuracy of speech is a habit that is acquired through careful practice. And it’s a habit we should prize, for God has redeemed us to be a truth-telling people. His word commands: "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). We have been saved to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)!
Finally, the ninth command requires that we keep the promises we make. We talked about this obligation more extensively when we studied the third commandment. So, only a brief review here.
We must keep the promises we make, and teach our children how important promise keeping is. It’s not easy. Few children learn quickly that every promise made is a point of honor. Their reputation and the reputation of God in the eyes of unbelievers depend upon their keeping them.
Without habits of truth telling, words like honor, integrity, and virtue are hollow indeed, and the course of one's life is set toward moral and spiritual destruction. Promise keeping is indispensable to the life that pleases God.
This concludes a very brief study on the obligations of truth. Control of our tongues may well be the most difficult demand of God’s law. I’m left with gratitude for my Savior - for his life of obedience and his cross. Aren’t you? His unyielding obedience to the obligations of truth he was won our righteousness. His shed blood God’s provision for the repentant lawbreaker, including the liar and those careless with the truth.
Forgiven people are changed people. As we trust in God’s grace, let us renew our own commitment to truth and to our neighbors whom God has called us to love. Join the Psalmist as he prays, "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3).
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[1] All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] For this observation and much of what follows I am much indebted to J. Douma, The Ten Commandments: Manual for the Christian Life. Translated by Nelson D. Kloosterman. P&R: 1996.
[3] Douma 314.
[4] Douma, 315.
[5] Douma, 317.
[6] Douma, 317.
[7] Kent Hughes, Disciplines of Grace.
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