SAFEGUARD THE REPUTATION OF OTHERS

The Ninth Commandment

Exodus 20:16

Introduction:  The three previous commandments we have examined all deal with robbing someone of something valuable: their life, their mate, or their possessions.  The ninth commandment specifically focuses on stealing a person’s most valuable possession–their reputation.

Exodus 20:16   “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

I.         The Seriousness Of Intentional Lying   (Proverbs 6:16-19; Acts 5:1-11)

Proverbs 6:16-19   ¹⁶ “There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which 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 run rapidly to evil,  ¹⁹ A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”

Acts 5:3-5   ³ “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?  ⁴ While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own?  And after it was sold was it not under your control?  Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart?  You have not lied to men but to God.’  ⁵ And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it.”

II.        Why God Hates Lying

1. The Origin of Lying (James 1:17; John 8:44)

James 1:17   “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

John 14:6   “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”

John 8:44b   …“[Satan] does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Ephesians 4:22, 24-25   ²² “…Lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit  ²⁴  and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.  ²⁵  Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”

1. The Outcome of Lying (Proverbs 6:19)

Proverbs 6:19   “A false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”

III.      The Ways We Lie

A.        Contradicting the Truth

Genesis 2:16-17   ¹⁶ “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;  ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.’”

B.             Twisting the Truth

1. Neglecting the Truth

Ephesians 4:25   “Lay aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”

D.            Inflating the Truth

IV.       A Special Category Of Lying   (Exodus 20:16)

Exodus 20:16   “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

A.        Bearing False Witness Perverts Justice   (Deuteronomy 17:6-7)

Deuteronomy 17:6   “On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.”

Deuteronomy 17:7a   “The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.”

B.        Bearing False Witness Robs Reputations   (Colossians 3:8; Proverbs 22:1)

Colossians 3:8   “But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.”

James 4:11-12   ¹¹ “Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.  ¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?”

Proverbs 22:1   “A good name is to be more desired than great wealth.  Favor is better than silver and gold.”

Conclusion