Let me turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5. Deuteronomy chapter 5. We're going to look at the 9th commandment this evening. This morning we noted that the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God advances through the propagation of the truth.

Certainly we could argue that the kingdom of darkness advances through the propagation of falsehoods, of lies, and deceit. It's always a good reminder for the people of God to take seriously the commandments of God and to seek careful obedience. And so the ninth commandment we considered this morning, the necessity of truth, I thought this would be a helpful reminder for us in terms of our tongue and in terms of our hearts with reference to the truth of God's holy word and our dealings with others. So beginning in chapter 5 at verse 1, And Moses called all Israel and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.

The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. I stood between the Lord and you at that time to declare to you the word of the Lord, for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain.

He said, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them.

For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.

In it you shall do no work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain, from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice. And he added no more, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone, and gave them to me." Amen. Well, let us pray.

Father, we thank you for your word We thank you for its clarity, and we pray that tonight the Spirit would guide us in our study. We pray that you would impress upon us the necessity of speaking the truth, of abiding by the truth, and of being people of the truth. Grant us grace, Lord God Most High, to walk carefully in this world. Give us grace to accurately reflect our Father, to accurately reflect our blessed Redeemer, to truly be those who take seriously this command.

And God, give us grace in this, we pray. And we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well,

Introduction: The Ten Commandments

the commandments break down very simply. The first four are summarized in Deuteronomy 6. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. The first four commandments deal with our duty toward men.

The last six deal with our duty toward our neighbor. They are properly summarized in Leviticus 19.18. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The commandments in the second table are given to protect life. the sixth word.

They are given to protect the sanctity of marriage or covenant, the seventh word. Property against invasion and attack in the eighth commandment. And then there is a bit of a movement in the ninth and tenth to our words and to our thoughts. The ninth deals specifically with lying and the tenth deals with coveting.

Those internal thoughts or that heart disposition which craves or desires something that is not ours. As I said, we're going to focus on the 9th this evening. We're going to look first at the prohibition of the command, secondly the reason for the command, and then the positive aspect of the command. And I would commend to you the Westminster Larger Catechism as a very helpful commentary on the Ten Commandments.

They do set forth positively what is enjoined that indicates the prohibitions, and it's quite a detailed exposition of each of these commandments. So if you don't have that, you can look online, let me know, and I will give you or find you a copy of the Westminster Larger Catechism, a very helpful guide. Also, Calvin's Institutes are very helpful with reference to these laws as well.

The Prohibition of the Command

So let's look first at the prohibition of the command. Verse 20, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Now certainly each of these commands prohibit a lot more than just what's specified here, and we know that because the rest of the scripture fleshes these things out. when we look at the Old Testament law, if we take some case law or we look at some particular application, if we navigate successfully, we will see that there is a general preset, there is a general word, specifically one of these 10 words at the heart of the particular laws that exist in the Old Testament. And I think at least six things are prohibited here with reference to this command.

The first is perjury.

Perjury

That is the primary application that is given here. It says, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. The idea of perjury has to do with the courtroom. Perjury is the deliberate, willful giving of false evidence. misleading, or incomplete testimony under oath.

In other words, if you are sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and then you lie, you are guilty of the sin and also the crime of committing perjury. It is absolutely crucial, according to the Scripture, that when we raise our hand in an oath before God, when we make a vow to God, we are to be consistent and we are to execute what we have sworn to faithfully. Back in Exodus 23, you can turn to these passages, so that you will hopefully get them seared into your minds and in your hearts. In Exodus chapter 23 and verse 1, you shall not circulate a false report.

Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. You shall not follow a crowd to do evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute." So in this law concerning witnesses, we are not to be partial. We are not to be reckless or careless with our words.

We're not to circulate a false report. We're to understand that the commandment protects the reputation of God's people. It protects the reputation of image bearers. It is wrong for us to destroy a man physically, but it's also wrong for us to destroy a man's reputation.

The Bible prohibits that. The Bible forbids that. Verse 6, you shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. Keep yourself far from a false matter.

Do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not justify the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous." Look over at Deuteronomy chapter 19. Deuteronomy chapter 19, the laws concerning witnesses. Again, perjury is prohibited and there is something built in Old Testament law to discourage perjury.

Notice in Deuteronomy 19.15, one witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits. By the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, then both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. And the judges shall make careful inquiry.

And indeed, if the witness is a false witness who has testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother." You see the scenario here? Let's just suppose for a moment that I have a problem with somebody. We'll call him Billy. And I allege that Billy did such and such a crime.

And then I take Billy to the civil magistrate. I take him to the Old Covenant judge. And it turns out, in the course of their investigation, they find that Billy is innocent. As a result of that, the punishment that Billy would have received if he were found guilty will be inflicted on me.

Isn't that genius? Isn't that wise? Doesn't that discourage a perjurer? Doesn't it discourage a false witness?

Doesn't it discourage what we witness that is so prevalent today, a litigious society where we are bent on suing everybody for everything whatsoever? If you realize that if you're faking it, or you're lying, and as a result, if they find out that Billy is innocent, you will receive the penalty up to and including death. If you allege that Billy committed a capital crime, and Billy's innocent, then you will be punished capitally in his stead. That is the ingenuity of biblical law.

Note the remedial effect upon the people at 19b. So you shall put away the evil from among you, and those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. Your eyes shall not pity, life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, and for hand, foot for foot. Christopher Wright says, it therefore established a remarkable retributive law on perjury.

Anyone discovered to have given false testimony was to be punished with the same punishment that the victim of his accusations would have received if the verdict had gone against him. This is wise, this is God's design and God's desire for truth. Wright goes on to say, one wonders what a salutary effect such a law might have in the modern world, which is plagued with miscarriages of justice, notoriously caused by false testimony and conspiracy. He's right on there.

Calvin says, whence it appears from this particular law that false witnesses and murderers stand in the same light before God. False witnesses and murderers stand in the same light before God. It is about faithfulness. It is about righteousness.

It is about truth-telling. When we read in Psalm 15 that that righteous godly man swears to his own hurt and does not change, that is what we're supposed to be. That is the kind of people that Christians are to be. We're not to be careless.

We're not to be lawless, we're not supposed to be reckless, but rather we are to pursue the truth and to value it. The Proverbs say we are to buy it and sell it not. Craigie says the principle involved, once again, was that the breach of the commandment undermined a basic characteristic of the covenant, namely faithfulness of God to man, of man to God, and of man to fellow man. To bring false witness against a fellow member of the covenant community involved lying and various forms of deception.

It would be motivated by self-interest. The result, if successful, would be the false punishment of the neighbor. And even if unsuccessful, it could cast doubt by implication on the character of that neighbor. You ever had that happen?

Where someone is exonerated, but still, still you think there might be something to it. Hard to remove that, isn't it? You see what damage we can do to people if we are reckless, if we are careless, if we don't operate according to biblical principle? If we allege something about someone's character and it turns out not to be true, what have we done?

We have still damaged that person. It's terrible. This stuff happens in the church. This isn't Old Covenant Israel Studies 101.

This is New Covenant church stuff that we need to get our minds wrapped around. How many times have you and I been very guilty of violating Proverbs 18, 17? It has the language of the courtroom there. The first to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him.

How many times have you acted upon half a story? How many times have you heard something about somebody and you have cast the lot and that person is guilty? Maybe that never has happened to anyone here, but I suspect there are people out there that have violated this very important principle of biblical, not only jurisprudence in the courtroom, but in biblical ethics with one another. We are not to damage people's reputation.

We are not to ruin men's and women's good name. We are not to malign their character. Craigie says, in other words, even if false witness did not lead directly to a miscarriage of justice, its effects could be tantamount to slander and defamation of character. It's very hard to undo what people have done with careless and wicked words.

Lying

A second sin prohibited by the commandment. We've got perjury. Secondly, lying. Certainly perjury involves lying, but perjury is more confined to that whole idea of witness-bearing with reference to someone in criminal or civil court.

Lying, garden variety, truth-telling. Walter Kaiser says the commandment specifies the sanctity of truth in all areas of life. If the fish was this big, don't say it was this big. If it took you 20 minutes to make the cake, don't tell someone it was only 5.

Truth. I just read something on the internet and I just, I can't get my mind wrapped around this particular statement that a preacher made. I mean, I hope it's true. But we need to be very careful about the sorts of things that we say.

Leviticus 19.11. The scriptures are rampant on this whole issue of lying. It is prohibited. We need to be a careful lot.

We need to be righteous in our speech. If we're not going to be righteous in our speech, it's better to close our mouths. Leviticus 19.11, "...you shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another." What does life in the covenant community look like? It looks like this.

Look at the central command there in 19.18. I'm sorry, verse 17, you shall not hate your brother in your heart, you shall surely rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

It's the overarching principle in the section, love your neighbor as yourself. It's fleshed out. Love with words. You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.

Love by your actions. It follows then. Love in judgment. We are to specifically love our brothers and sisters by being truthful and being upright in the way that we speak.

Proverbs 6, you needn't even turn there. These six things, Yahweh hates, Yea 7, are an abomination to Him. What's one of them? It is a lying taunt.

I mentioned this passage last Sunday morning in our study in abortion. And of course, God abominates hands that shed innocent blood. It's easy for us to understand that. It's easy for us to understand that God abominates someone who sows discord among the brethren.

It's easy for us to understand that God would abominate a proud man, because pride is like unto the devil himself. But when it comes to a lying tongue, and when it comes to our performance of carefulness in our speech, we don't often think about Yahweh despising the way that we talk, or that this is an abomination to Him. Paul the Apostle, in Ephesians chapter 4, highlighting ethics for the new man in Jesus Christ, he tells us very specifically In chapter 4, verse 29, back in 25 rather, "...therefore put away lying. Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another." And if the grammarians are to be trusted and the commentators are to be trusted, the language or the action of the verb suggests that it was going on!

Paul says, no more! You cannot do this! You are new men and new women in Christ Jesus, according to Ephesians chapter 4, the first half, and therefore this is how your conduct is to look. If you profess saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, here's the bottom line.

You need to put away lying. You need to speak truth with your neighbor. you need to understand that God puts a premium on these particulars. Paul indicates that a mark of the lawlessness of man exhibited by the Gentiles in Romans chapter 1 at verse 29 is lying, deceit, falsehood.

Backbiting and Slander

A third prohibition is backbiting and slander. backbiting and slander, false and malicious statements made about another. False and malicious statements made about another. Proverbs chapter 10 at verse 18. Proverbs 10 verse 18, whoever hides hatred has lying lips and whoever spreads slander is a fool.

Proverbs 25 and verse 23. Proverbs 25 verse 23, the north wind brings forth rain and a backbiting tongue and angry countenance. Again Romans chapter 1, the Apostle highlighting the wickedness of man In chapter 1, verse 29, he says, "...being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness. They are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God." You know, there's times when people engage in gossip, and well, it's just a little gossip.

Look at what gossip is wedged between in this list of vices, characterizing the heathen world that Paul says the wrath of God is targeted upon. It is evil-mindedness. They are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God. This is a terrible thing.

Gossip ruins people's lives. Gossip ruins people's reputation. If you don't have something nice to say about somebody, didn't your mothers teach you? Then don't say anything at all.

That's what God says. Doesn't matter what your mom says. God says if you don't have something to say positive about someone, keep your mouth shut. If it is a legitimate beef, if they have sinned against you, then man up!

Do what God says. Matthew 18 is given in the Bible, so that if a brother sins, we go to him. We don't go to other people and tell them what this man said. This is killing the church.

This is destroying people. This is wrong. The ninth commandment is business. We need to be careful.

If we don't have something nice to say, we should shut our mouths. Solomon says you can judge a fool. He says that even a fool is counted wise when he shuts his mouth. You see a man sitting in the corner, maybe thinking about a coloring book.

He may be thinking about digging a hole or eating corn, but he keeps his mouth shut and he looks wise. I think we can all achieve that degree of wisdom, can't we? Just shut it. It's terrible, backbiting, slander. 1 Corinthians 6, reviling is condemned.

Notice the vice-less in 1 Corinthians 6, 9, and 10. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators. You know what that means, having sex outside of marriage.

It's wrong. If you do that, you will not inherit the kingdom of God. We all know that, right? We would all say, yeah, that's legit, that's Hebrews 13, that's Hebrews 13.4.

God tells us that. nor idolaters. Well, certainly an idolater can't inherit the kingdom of God. I mean, he's bowing to Baal. He's bowing to money.

He's bowing to his own lusts or his own flesh. Certainly he's not going to inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers.

Yeah, those who violate the marriage covenant will not inherit the kingdom of God. We all would track with that. That's a vile, wretched, horrible thing. Nor homosexuals or sodomites.

Of course, they're not going to inherit the kingdom of God. You wonder why the apostle uses two terms there. They are technical terms. One refers to the male partner and the other, the female partner, in a homosexual relationship.

He deals with both parties. Nor thieves. Certainly thieves shouldn't inherit the kingdom of God. I mean, they're thieves.

They steal things. They violate the commandment of God. Nor covetous. It's interesting.

We're moving to the heart now. You mean you go to hell for breaking the 10th commandment? Absolutely you go to hell for breaking the 10th commandment. Nor drunkards.

Well certainly, God didn't give drink so that you could get drunk. He gave it for a moderate, righteous, godly use, but not for drunkenness. And certainly, as Paul says here, drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God. But then he says revilers, something I'm sure that you and I have all been guilty of at one time or another, to assail with abusive language.

Paul says, they will not inherit the kingdom of God. Backbiting slander, gossip, tailbearing. Leviticus 19.16 with reference to gossip and tailbearing. I find these to be scary verses.

Leviticus 19 and verse 16. You shall not go about as a tail-bearer among your people, nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor. I am the Lord." If backbiting and slander was false and malicious statements made about another, gossip and tail-bearing is rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature. It may be true, but it's not anyone else's business.

If somebody says, I'm going to tell you this and I'd like for you not to tell anyone else, don't Facebook it. Don't tweet it. Don't email it to the church. Don't ask for prayer in the corporate meeting.

Oh brother so-and-so, he didn't want you to say anything. How many times have our corporate prayer meetings been vehicles for gossip? Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature. So Leviticus 19, 16.

If you're taking notes, Proverbs 11, 13, 18, 8, 20, 19, 26, 20, 26, 22. But it's not only the promulgation of such things. It's not only when I use my tongue in an offensive manner to spread gossip or tailbearing. Calvin highlights the reality that we must also close our ears against false and evil speaking.

In other words, if somebody comes and they want to vomit on you, you're probably going to move out of the way. If somebody comes and they want to gossip or tailbear, you don't have to listen. There's no law in the scriptures that says thou must listen to a neighbor who's gossiping or tailbearing. You are perfectly free to say, you know, brother, I don't want to talk about that.

You know, brother, that doesn't seem to be any of my business. But you know as well as I do, there's something down there in the heart. There's something deep and dark and sinister that gravitates towards these things, and we need to resist that, and we need to destroy that, and we need to pursue truth.

Hypocrisy

A fifth application is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy, that is a profession without possession. That is confessing the Lord Jesus and living like the devil. That is saying one thing and acting in another fashion or in another manner.

We won't rehearse this, we have seen it throughout the gospel according to Matthew. Jesus does not take favorably to hypocrites. He does not take favorably to those types of soil that stay in the church, that listen to the word or receive the seed at least on a surface level, but live like the devil. That is hypocrisy and that is condemned in the ninth commandment.

Heresy

And then finally, heresy. Heresy. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. I think a just and necessary inference is, we shall not bear false witness against God.

In other words, we are not to distort the truth of Scripture. We are not to twist it to serve our own ends. We're not to use the Bible in some pragmatic way to make ourselves look good or to make our pockets larger or to do anything that benefits us. The task of preaching, the task of evangelism, the task of witnessing is to present the truth.

If you go out and you tell Billy, I want you to come to the Savior. If you come to the Savior, you'll land a job and you'll make $100,000 a year. That's heretical, that's wrong, that is not espousing the truth of Holy Scripture. It is illegitimate to do such things.

Paul reserves some very hard language for those who pervert the Gospel. He says in Galatians 1.8, But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. That is the Greek word anathema. It's related to the Hebrew word harem, which means something that is devoted to destruction.

When the children of Israel went into a particular city where they were forbidden to take the stuff, the stuff was being told to them was under this harem. It was devoted to destruction. It was anathema. It was not to be touched.

It was not to be gathered in. It was not to be welcomed. It was something under the ban. Paul reserves that language for those who curse Jesus, 1 Corinthians 12.

He applies it to himself, that he himself could wish that he were anathema from God in Romans 9 for the sake of his countrymen. And here he applies it to gospel perverters, those who distort and twist the gospel. Even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. 2 John 9 tells us that Christology is all important for the life of Christ's church.

John verse 9, whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 1st John 4, 1. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God.

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world." Truthfulness with reference to gospel preaching and teaching of the Bible. So those are some applications of the prohibition against lying.

The Reason for the Command

Secondly, the reason for the command. We'll run quickly through these.

God's Character Demands Truth

First, the character of God. We shouldn't lie because of God's character. He is the Lord God of truth. His image bearers must reflect that.

His image-bearers must display that. His image-bearers must evidence their commitment to the One who is the Lord God of truth, Psalm 32.5, and the God according to Titus 1.2, who cannot lie. The Father is truth. Therefore, His children must deal truthfully.

Our Savior is truth. In John 14, 6, He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Lying is consistent with the devil.

Jesus says in John 8, 44, you are of your father the devil. He was a murderer and a liar from the beginning. It's interesting how the 6th commandment and the 9th commandment go hand in hand. Abortion is propagated through falsehood, lies, and deceit.

The devil, well given this wisdom, or this degree of wisdom, he operates through falsehood in the advancement of this abortion cause. I was talking to a brother this week, and when you think about the biblical data, it is crystal clear concerning that baby in the womb. It's crystal clear. Science has affirmed this.

Science has confirmed the studies that, you know, 14, 15 weeks, these babies feel pain. They feel pain right away. It's what science is able to verify at this point. When you look into that womb via ultrasound, which become, you know, 3D ultrasound, you see the face of this child.

How is it that we're at the place where in Canada we murder 100,000 of them every year, and in America we murder a million of them every year? It's through lies and falsehood and deceit. It's almost become the sacrament of the God-hating party. It's almost like it's something that is religious in nature.

When we trace back in this whole wicked scheme, it's the devil. He's the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning. We are to tell the truth because our God Most High is truthful.

Man Bears God's Image

Secondly, we are to tell the truth because man bears God's image. It is wrong to destroy a man, both physically and in terms of his reputation. It really is. We say that, sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.

Names can destroy you. Names can bring you to the place of destitution because somebody has alleged something horrific about you. You can't do that. Somebody says something about someone else in your hearing and you receive it, do not automatically conclude it's true.

The first to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him.

Stability of the Social Order

And thirdly, the stability of the social order. You can't do society, you can't do church, you can't do family without truth. This is foundational. Dabney said, lies destroy confidence.

He said, in short, if confidence is destroyed, then all the bands which unite man with his fellows are loosed. Each man must struggle on, unaided by his fellows, as though he were the sole forlorn remnant of a perishing race. I gotta tell you, there's certain politicians today that as soon as they open their mouth, I don't listen to a word they say. I just think whatever comes out of their mouth is lies.

Now I just said, I need to validate and verify, and that's certainly the case. But the social order is disintegrating because we've gotten to the place where we almost expect politicians to lie. They've made campaign promises. You know what campaign promises are?

They're lies. We all know that, right? They make these great, wonderful campaign promises. You're going to get new jobs.

You're going to get a new house. You're going to get a new desk. You're going to do that. Everything's great.

And then they get in office. What happens? Well, I didn't say absolutely. Social order disintegrates.

The Positive Aspect of the Command

Thirdly, what are some positive aspects of the command? We need to first of all speak the truth in matters of justice and judgment. If you are called upon to witness and you swear your hand and you covenant before God to tell the truth, tell the truth. Secondly, we need to speak the truth in all areas of life. all areas of life.

It isn't to be on Sundays we tell the truth. And on Monday through Friday when we're in our business settings, well, anything goes at that particular point. That's unrighteous, that's ungodly, it's unholy. We need to promote the truth by discouraging slander and gossip.

If somebody has a big mouth and they continue to slander and gossip someone else to you, at some point you need to man up and say, look, I don't want to hear that anymore. Please, don't tell me this. If you've got a problem with that person, go to that person. Go deal with them one-on-one.

Verify it for yourself. Validate it for yourself. Deal with it for yourself. Don't tell me, because I know my sinful inclination, I'm going to treat that person differently or I'm going to be suspicious of them.

And I've got enough problems, I don't want that as well. Courage is necessary in the Christian life. And then another means is to promote the truth by resisting the tendency to co-opt the language of humanists. I know that's a long, long statement, but it simply means this.

Let's take the illustration from abortion. We don't use their language. We use Bible language. It is the murder of babies.

It is the murder of human beings. It's not the termination of a pregnancy. It's the execution of an image-bearer. We cannot co-opt the language of the devil himself and think that we are somehow going to be successful in dealing with this particular problem.

We need to speak the truth. We need to use biblical categories. We need to use the language of biblical ethic.

Concluding Application

So that's our exposition, some concluding thoughts. First, we need to understand the perverse nature of lying. It originated with the devil. It is, unfortunately, characteristic of man.

You know, when you see that little baby that comes out of the womb, the last thing you think, generally, is Psalm 58.3. You see that little bundle exit the mother's womb into this world. All you're thinking is, Psalm 58 says, the wicked go estranged from the womb, speaking lies as soon as they are born. Now that doesn't mean you spank them as soon as they come out.

But you need to understand this is characteristic of man. We have a departure in our hearts. We have a tendency in our hearts. It is, however, forgivable by Christ when we come to Him in faith.

Matthew chapter 12, all sins that men commit against the Son of Man will be forgiven. When we come to the Savior, His blood is efficacious to wash us and to purify us from all sin. If we do not come to the Lord Jesus Christ, it is punishable or it is punished in hell ultimately. Revelation 21.8 tells us, but the cowardly, the unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Terrifying statement concerning those who are going to the lake of fire.

Secondly, James chapter 1 is a very helpful passage in the Reformation of our tongues. James chapter 1 at verse 26, the brother writes, if anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. He thinks he's a believer, doesn't he? If anyone among you thinks he is religious, James isn't dealing with the heathen.

He's not dealing with the Satanists. He's not dealing with the pagans. He's dealing with the covenant community and he says, if anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, the idea here is to lead with a bridle. The picture is that of a man putting the bridle in his own mouth, not in that of another.

Note James' language, if anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue. I know the tendency when we hear messages like these or other messages or when we read our Bible, boy so and so really needs to hear this. Boy I wish my wife wasn't sick tonight because she needs a great big dose of this. I wish brother whoever was here, I can't believe he missed on Sunday night.

I'm going to shoot him an email and tell him to go to sermon audio this week because boy does he need to bridle his tongue. That's the way we think, isn't it? Oh no, not me brother. Okay, praise God.

You guys are all doing beautifully. Cheers for you. The idea is that you bridle your own tongue. Don't you love how the Bible stresses individual, personal self-government?

Proverbs chapter 4. We need to keep our hearts with all diligence. Why? For from it spring the issues of life.

Not keep your brother's heart, keep your mother's heart, keep your sister's heart, or keep your friend's heart. You've got a 24-7 job in keeping your heart. You've got a 24-7 job in bridling your own time. He thinks he is religious, but he deceives his own heart.

His religion is useless. The word translates, a Greek word that is often used in scripture, to characterize idolatry as vain or meaningless. The religion that people who do not control their speech have is no better, James suggests, than idolatry. That is a text that we ought to visit very frequently and very often and ask ourselves, am I bridling my tongue?

Well, brethren, the truth is stipulated in the Decalogue. The ninth word speaks to this particular area. The sanctity of truth in all areas of our lives. We see the model of our Savior in Psalm 15.

We see the model of our Savior living day to day. having dealings with men, never lying, never slandering, never backbiting, never gossiping, never reviling, even though he was reviled. We have that perfect example in the Lord of Glory. But praise God, we have His perfect death. and His redemptive act on our behalf, so that He can cleanse us from the lies that we have spoken. It is ultimately about the Savior, it is ultimately about Him saving us from our sins, but He saves us from our sins, not that we'll continue in sin.

So let us, by God's grace, pursue those things which are pleasing in His sight, as defined by His holy law, seeking the Spirit to enable and to empower us in this pursuit. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You for Your Word, and we pray, God, that You would give us the conviction to speak truthfully, to speak always the way that You have commanded us in Your Word. Give us grace to resist the tendency and the temptation to backbite and to slander and to gossip, May you help us to be like that fool that keeps his mouth shut and at least evidences a degree of wisdom. Give us grace, Father, in this coming week and help us to glorify and honor and praise you. And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen. We'll close with a brief time of meditation.

Scripture References

• Exodus 23:1-3; 23:6-8
• Leviticus 19:11; 19:16; 19:17; 19:18
• Deuteronomy 5:20; 6:4-5; 19:15-21
• Psalms 15:1-5; 32:5; 58:3
• Proverbs 4:23; 6:16-19; 10:18; 11:13; 18:8; 18:17; 20:19; 25:23; 26:20; 26:22
• Matthew 12:31; 18:15
• John 8:44; 14:6
• Romans 1:29; 9:3
• 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 12:3
• Galatians 1:8
• Ephesians 4:25
• Titus 1:2
• Hebrews 13:4
• James 1:26
• 1 John 4:1
• 2 John 9
• Revelation 21:8