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Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness
August 28, 2021

As we near the end of our study on the ten commandments, we come to the ninth commandment against bearing false witness, what we think of today as lying. In society, some lies, what are called white lies, are tolerated and accepted as part of everyday life. We hear about half-truths, where information given is partly false and partly true, and yet as a society we are not much different than the society that Jesus and His disciples lived with. Just like today where we are focused on purity and the organic nature of foods, the society Jesus lived in became focused on preventing defilement of the body through what entered the body, and different than today established a ritual handwashing system to eliminate the possibility of defilement. Jesus pointed out that what defiled a person was not what went into the body, but acts of evil that came from the heart, including lying.

Matthew 15:1-20
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Today, we live in a society that still focuses on what enters the body, with entire segments of the food industry built around the organic label, alternatives to dairy, and vegetable-based meat substitutes. Some restaurants pride themselves on local farm to table cooking. Within the Church of God, we also have people who also focus intensely on clean and unclean foods almost to the point where if the Pharisees would be alive today, I think they would approve. We should never eat anything that we know will bring harm to us or that goes against the advice of your medical doctor or nutritionist. We also shouldn’t be eating foods that we are told not to eat in the Bible. We need to be aware that we live in a society where some people feel morally superior based on the food choices they make. Today when people lie or have other evil thoughts, there is no amount or type of food entering the body that purifies the body from those evil thoughts. Instead of focusing on rituals or the food we eat, we need to be focused on what proceeds from our hearts, our minds, our emotions, including lying. Lies and evil thoughts do not come from God the Father and Jesus Christ. These come from Satan and the demons. Instead of lies and closely-related hypocrisy, we are to be pure, peaceable, gentle, and full of mercy.

James 3:13-18
Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

While talking to the people of His day, Jesus pointed out that even though they saw themselves as the children of God, they were really the children of Satan, who among many faults, was also a liar.

John 8:39-47
They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

It is from this passage in John that Jesus clearly shows a lie is a deviation from the truth. When Satan deviated from the truth, Satan embraced and lived the lie. When people deviate from the truth they also embrace and live the lie never realizing that as they embrace the message from Satan they mute the message from God.

As the serpent in the Garden of Eden, Satan told Eve an incredible lie fabricated in deception. Because we live in a world of on and off switches to control electric lighting in a room, we tend to reduce lies and truth to being all lies or all truth. We also need to be aware of partial lies and partial truth as these types of lies are more subtle and more common. For instance, if you watched a news weather report in the summer and were told by the reporter that where you lived received two feet of snow, you would easily know, unless there was a miracle of God, that you were told a lie in the weather report. If on the other hand, you were told in a weather report during the summer that the high temperature was 89 degrees Fahrenheit, when in fact it was 90 degrees Fahrenheit, you might never catch that lie because it was so close to the truth.

In the Garden of Eden, Satan, the serpent, gave a lie that was so close to the truth that Eve believed it. When carefully looking at the account from Genesis, we see Satan never once told Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan never once told Eve to violate what she and Adam had been told by God. Eve and Adam made that decision by themselves. Satan’s lie came not from the words spoken but by the deception the words created. Satan probably had a good idea that God would not snuff out the life of Eve and Adam right there and then if they ate of the forbidden fruit. The deception came from a different intent on the words used, and the deception played to Eve’s self-concept and awareness and personal pride. Deception is the basis of all lies and stems from Satan the devil.

Genesis 3:1-7
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Satan is the father of lies, and with God, it is impossible to lie. When God makes a promise, He is faithful to deliver on those promises. With God no oath is needed, and when God made covenants with the children of Israel, it was for their benefit, because they expected it.

Hebrews 6:13-18
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

With God, the promises we rely on today, were already established by God prior to the creation of the world as we know it, and was confirmed through the preaching of Jesus, and His death and resurrection. When God promises, God delivers. When God made a promise prior to the creation of the world as we know it, there were no people with whom God made the promise. As we live our life, we must hold ourselves accountable even when others are unaware of our commitments and promises.

Titus 1:1-3
Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

In the Old Testament we see where Balak was met by the Lord, and directly told that unlike man, God is not like man who lies or who needs to repent. God does what is said, and that should also be the standard to which we hold ourselves.

Numbers 23:18-20
And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.

Lies are typically not like an on and off switch. In life we encounter very few blatant lies. Most lies are deceptions and variations that depart from the truth. As part of our faith, we believe that Jesus will return and establish the Kingdom of God on earth with the worldwide capital city of New Jerusalem. What we don’t know is exactly when this will happen. When speculation regarding His return, or any matter, is taught and believed as if it is the truth, speculation becomes a lie. When we start believing that Jesus is delayed in returning, it’s very close to saying God has lied to us. There will never be a delay in the return of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ will return at the time that makes the most sense for God’s plan of salvation. When we say Jesus has delayed His coming, we have allowed a lie regarding His return to take root in our mind. That lie, is not that far removed from the lie of deception that Satan gave to Eve. The subtlety of the lie that Jesus has delayed His return is that it falsely empowers a deceived mind to also not believe other parts of the Bible. The reality is since His crucifixion, Jesus has not returned. Jesus may or may not return in any of our lifetimes, and that’s OK. Jesus will return at the perfect time according to God’s plan of salvation.

Luke 12:42-48
And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

Adding to or taking away from the Bible is very close to saying God lies so we don’t have to do something that the Bible says we are to do. This is one of the reasons why from the earliest times, a command was given to not add to or take away from what we are told to do.

Deuteronomy 12:32
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

A final warning is given in the Book of Revelation that using different words reiterates the principle from Deuteronomy.

Revelation 22:18-19
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

We are not to take away from the Bible because it is like we are saying that God lied to us, and we are not to add to the Bible because it is like we are saying that God withheld from us. Both of these arguments were stipulated by Satan in the Garden of Eden when Eve was deceived.

Matthew 5:17-20
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

With the background on the commandment, we come to the commandment itself in Exodus.

Exodus 20:16
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

In Leviticus we are shown that lies can lead to financial loss and other types of harm, and that restoration is expected. The standard for us today is not to live a life where we are making restoration, but to let our yes be yes and our no be no, living a life where we do not lie.

Leviticus 6:1-7
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.

Telling a lie includes making false reports. With many governments, making a false report is a criminal offense, because of the harm it brings. Even when it brings us harm, or brings good to a person we despise, we are to be truthful and not spread misinformation.

Exodus 23:1
Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

When we know something is based in falsehoods and lies, we are to stay far from it.

Exodus 23:7
Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

To the Colossians, Paul would write that we are not to lie to each other. We are to be honest with all people.

Colossians 3:9-10
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

With the Ephesians, Paul wrote that they were to put away lying so that every person would speak the truth with others near and around them, and linked this with other emotions and actions to giving place to the devil.

Ephesians 4:25-27
Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.

God hates the act of lying along with many other evil acts.

Proverbs 6:16-19
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Truth is eternal, and lies last only a moment. Deceit is the invention of people who imagine evil. God hates the act of lying.

Proverbs 12:19-22
The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy. There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief. Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.

Lies are told for convenience. When a situation does not fit one’s needs, a lie is an easy way to circumvent the truth.

Proverbs 14:5
A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

At some point, people who lie will be found out as liars.

Proverbs 19:5
A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.

Financial gain that comes through deceit will not last. If we lied to make financial gains, we will likely be lied to and lose what we have, including our very life as others seek to exact revenge on us for our deceit.

Proverbs 21:6
The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

In Psalms, David writes that people who lie and deceive would have no place near him. As we live our lives, we must keep people who lie and deceive from being near us as well, lest they deceive and lie to us.

Psalm 101:1-8
I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.

Psalms also shows the wicked speak lies. Associating with people who speak lies is like being bitten by an unpredictable snake. Instead of being near these people, it is better to ask God’s protection from these people.

Psalm 58:1-11
Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.

Lies and false religion go together. Jeremiah wrote of the prophets who lied in the name of God. Today, that would be people who claim to be God-fearing, who also lie through deceit. Deceit is an intentional act where somebody says something even though they know it is false because they hope to get a certain response. Compare that to people who say something in error because they lack knowledge. Lacking knowledge and deceit are two different issues. Knowledge can be learned. Deceit is a spiritual matter. Jeremiah also shows that the worst kind of lies are the lies we tell ourselves. We are never to lie, and a lie we tell ourselves makes no sense. When we start believing lies we tell ourselves, we then can begin convincing other people to believe that same lie. Instead, we are to believe the truth and use the truth as the basis for our spiritual beliefs.

Jeremiah 23:21-40
I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD. And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.

We know God hates lying and all sin. Lying is one of the many sins that is listed in the Book of Revelation that we must overcome or we will die in the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:7-9
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

Finally, we are to overcome the lying spirits of this world that embody the false prophets, who mostly do not tell blatant lies, but like Satan the devil in the Garden of Eden, tell deceptions that are partly shaded in the truth. We are to overcome them in the truth not responding to their lies, understanding that Jesus Christ did come in the flesh, has died, and is resurrected so that we can have access to eternal life.

1 John 4:1-6
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

The truth that is in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is greater than the deception and lies of Satan.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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