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We can turn to Deuteronomy chapter 
5. As I said, the 9th commandment, specifically verse 20. I do want 
to read the entirety of the section. It's good to continue to see 
that this is a unit. The Decalogue, ultimately the 
Ten Commandments, was the foundation of the covenant relationship 
in Old Testament Israel. According to the prophet Jeremiah 
in the New Covenant, this self-same law is written on the hearts 
of God's people. So the Ten Commandments transcend 
whichever covenant in terms of the old or new happens to be 
in place. The Ten Commandments are a reflection 
of God's will. It is a reflection of God's holy 
character. It is his demand and command 
for his people in all ages, at all times. Beginning in chapter 
6, I'm sorry, in verse 6 of chapter 5, 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 generations 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. Blessed Father, 
we pray again for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to lead us 
and guide us. Help us in this manner of speaking 
truth. Help us in this matter of holding 
fast to the truth. And may you cause us to be a 
people that do reflect our great God, who is described by David 
as the Lord God of truth. We ask now that your blessing 
would be upon this study. We ask now that persons would 
remember such things in their daily lives. We pray, Lord God, 
that you would help us to restrain our tongues, help us to use them 
in a way that is pleasing in your sight and not as a means 
of sinning. And we pray these things through 
Christ our Lord. Amen. The second table of the 
law, the commandments 5 to 10, are summarized in Leviticus 19.18. You shall love your neighbor 
as yourself. When Jesus was asked, what is 
the first and foremost commandment? He said, you shall love the Lord 
your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And 
the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor 
as yourself. Upon these two, hang all the law and the prophets. 
So love to God, commandments 1 to 4. Love to man, commandments 
5 to 10. In this second table, the commandments 
are given to protect life, the 6th, marriage, the 7th, and property, 
the 8th, against invasion and attack. The last two move from 
action to word and thought. So what we have specifically 
in the Ninth Commandment is word, the way that we commit this particular 
sin is with our mouths. And then the Tenth Commandment 
is a thought matter, what we think, how we deal, how we contemplate 
our neighbor, his stuff, and all those particulars. What Francis 
Turretin said I think is very fitting for us as we embark on 
a study here of the Ninth Commandment. He says, as our neighbor ought 
not to be injured by deed, so neither should he be injured 
by word. This is a most important command. Again, whenever I say something 
like that, it's not to suggest that the others are not. But 
more than likely, we're not going to go buy guns and shoot people. 
We're not going to ascend the clock tower in downtown Chilliwack 
and start whacking people. The Sixth Commandment is something 
that is internal for us. but it's probably not the biggest 
threat in terms of us in the external realm. Hopefully we 
are faithful externally with reference to the seventh word. 
Hopefully we are guarding ourselves and we're not engaged in sexual 
immorality. Most of us as well with reference 
to the eighth commandment. We probably don't put on ski 
masks and break into our neighbor's home at night and take his stuff. But this Ninth Commandment, how 
we speak, how we communicate, what we do with our tongue is 
something that is certainly important and essential for the professing 
people of God in our dealings with one another, in our dealings 
with God the Lord, and in our dealings with those outside of 
the local church. So there are three things that 
I want to look at tonight And by way of exposition of the commandment, 
in the first place, the prohibition of the command, secondly, the 
reason for the command, and thirdly, the positive aspect of the command. And there are several things 
to consider with reference to the prohibition. The first thing 
we must consider is what the commandment most specifically 
relates to. It is the act of perjury. Notice 
what the ninth commandment says. You shall not bear false witness 
against your neighbor. The primary application of this 
ninth word is with reference to a judicial process. The act 
of perjury means the deliberate willful giving of false, misleading, 
or incomplete testimony under oath. You might say, well, you 
know, I don't give a lot of testimony in the courtroom, so this isn't 
something. that is important for me to consider. It most certainly 
is. You may be the witness of a crime, 
you may see something, you may be called to testify, but as 
well, in terms of the church context and the church setting, 
we are not to bear false witness against others. Notice some other 
texts in Exodus 23. God the Lord takes this seriously. A quote I have later on in the 
sermon is that the court system of a nation depends on the honesty 
of its people. If people are not honest, we 
have big problems all over society. Notice in Exodus 23.1, 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. You see, it's such that we aren't 
to feel sorry for a poor man and thus modify or tailor or 
so fix our testimony that the poor man is looked at in a better 
light. If the poor man is guilty and 
your witness evidence will determine that, you have to speak the truth. 
Truth is absolutely crucial all the time. This is why that figure, 
Lady Liberty, has a blindfold. The idea is that she is not to 
look at particulars with reference to the persons involved. It is 
to be just the facts. And that is precisely what God 
through Moses commands. In this instance, notice in 23.6, 
you shall not pervert the judgment of your poor, in his dispute. 
And then over in the Proverbs, which in many respects are wonderful 
commentary or further exposition of the Decalogue. Proverbs chapter 
19 and verse 5. Proverbs 19 and verse 5 on this 
issue of perjury. A false witness will not go unpunished 
and he who speaks lies will not escape. Proverbs 19.9, a false 
witness will not go unpunished and he who speaks lies shall 
perish. Now perhaps if we were writing 
the book of Proverbs, we wouldn't feel inclined to put two statements 
that said essentially the same thing so close together. Maybe 
Solomon went away for coffee. and he came back and he forgot 
that he had just written this and so he includes it again. 
Or Solomon realizes how important such a precedent is, how important 
such a commandment is, and how important it is for the people 
of God to take this commandment seriously and not to sin with 
their tongues. Proverbs 25 and verse 18. Proverbs 
25 and verse 18, a man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like 
a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow. Every child here is on 
the playground. Sticks and stones may break my 
bones, but names will never hurt me. They most certainly do hurt 
you. They can destroy you. Look back 
at 22-1. 22-1 in the book of Proverbs 
says, a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving 
favor rather than silver and gold. If you get all of your 
property stolen, feasibly, you could work hard enough to replace 
every bit of it. But if your reputation is stolen, 
if your reputation is ruined, if your reputation is thrown 
into the ground, it is most difficult to get that good name back. So 
the specific prohibition in view with reference to this ninth 
commandment is against perjury. It says in the text, you shall 
not bear false witness against your neighbor. Who is my neighbor? Remember in Luke chapter 10, 
that was the question posed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is 
my neighbor? In that particular setting, our 
Lord Jesus defined neighbor not as somebody in proximity, but 
as anybody you may come into contact with. It was the Samaritan 
that came upon that man who had been beaten by highway thugs 
and it was the Samaritan who rendered aid to that particular 
man. He was indeed the neighbor of 
the man. Stuart says this is the first 
commandment to employ the word rea, or neighbor, in its general 
juridical sense of anyone else you happen to come into contact 
with. That's what neighbor means. It 
doesn't just mean, you know, the Jones or the Smiths on either 
side of you. It means anyone you may happen 
to come into contact with, rather than the more narrow sense of 
somebody living near you. In laws and formal rules, neighbor 
has nothing to do with proximity or familiarity. Your neighbor 
connotes any other human being you may have dealings with, actually 
or potentially. So the specific prohibition involved 
in the ninth word is the act of perjury. The identity of our 
neighbor is anyone we may come into contact with, and turn with 
me to Deuteronomy 19 to see the seriousness of the offense of 
perjury. Again, perjury being the deliberate, 
willful giving of false, misleading, or incomplete testimony under 
oath. In chapter 19, verses 15 to 21, 
what is presented there by God through Moses is the rule to 
deal with a false witness. The rules for witnesses have 
already been established in Deuteronomy 17, 6 and 7. Specifically there, 
what's in view is capital punishment. Cannot put someone to death except 
for the basis of two or three witnesses. And it is there in 
Deuteronomy 17, very much specific. to the death penalty or a capital 
offense. Here in 19, it's a broader concern 
that's in view. It is the whole idea of two or 
three witnesses and what may happen if somebody is indeed 
a false witness. Notice in chapter 19 at verse 
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. This is a reminder 
from Deuteronomy 17. If there is only one witness, 
that doesn't mean a crime didn't actually occur. It's just much 
more difficult to prosecute that particular crime. Now notice 
the violation of the rule in verse 16. If a false witness 
rises against any man to testify him, testify against him of wrongdoing. So here's the problem. We have 
a false witness. Even in light of the ninth word, 
even in light of the fact that this is the Old Covenant community, 
in light of the fact that these are the professing people of 
God, nevertheless, within Israel, there might be the situation 
that there would be a false witness. So God speaks to that particular 
contingency. Now notice in verse 17, then 
both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, before 
the priests and the judges who serve in those days. That was 
probably at the central sanctuary In Deuteronomy 17, verses 8 to 
13, it speaks of the higher court, and that's probably what's in 
view here. A false witness comes, the man who is the defendant 
says, what he is saying is inaccurate, it's false, it's wrong. So what 
do we do? We take it to the high court, and we let them hear, 
and we bring our statements before them. Now note verse 18. Verse 
18, 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 that? If I allege something 
against someone, and it is proven to be the case that I am a false 
witness, whatever that person would have gotten in terms of 
punishment, had they been found guilty, is now inflicted upon 
me. This does include capital crimes. This does include a capital offense. So that if I were to say that 
you committed murder, and I turned out to be a false witness, I 
then am executed. That's what God the Lord stipulates 
in Deuteronomy chapter 19. You see the seriousness of the 
offense of perjury. Notice in verse 19, then you 
shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother, 
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." Imagine the blessed remedy this 
would place on a people that are crazy with lawsuits. on a 
people that go to court for just about anything and everything, 
if you knew that walking into that courtroom, if it was shown 
that you were a false witness and would be punished for the 
very thing that you were accusing someone else of doing, it might 
hopefully put some restraint in you. 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. He says, 
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. John Calvin says, 
in light of this principle, whence it appears that false witnesses 
and murderers stand in the same light before God. So brethren, 
the primary emphasis in the Ninth Commandment is upon false witness 
in a juridical setting. But then proceeding from there, 
we extrapolate general principles. In the second place, the act 
of lying. I mean, if the Ninth Commandment forbids you from 
lying in the courtroom, you ought not to conclude, I can lie when 
I'm outside the courtroom. Walter Kaiser says that this 
ninth word promotes the sanctity of truth in all areas of life. Again, several texts to further 
illustrate this. Leviticus 1911. Leviticus 1911, 
which is where Jesus quotes from when he says, love your neighbor 
as yourself. That section there in Leviticus 
19. Specifically, Verse 18 is what 
Jesus quotes, but it's in this context. Notice in 1911, you 
shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. Proverbs 6, verse 17, these six 
things Yahweh hates. Yea, seven are an abomination 
to him. What does God hate? He hates a lying tongue. He abominates it. It is something 
he despises. It is something he disdains. 
Proverbs chapter 12, another passage that speaks to the evil 
of lying. I think it's important for us 
to get our minds and our hearts wrapped around this. It's all 
too easy for us to shave off certain things. It's all too 
easy for us, even in our repentance, to not always be forthcoming. 
It's easy for us, even still, when we're found out in a transgression, 
to try and make ourselves look good. Well, it wasn't as bad 
as it may have appeared. We never, ever just accept, well, 
maybe you do, but a lot of times we don't accept the consequences 
without trying to pad the situation, to make ourselves look just a 
little bit better. Notice in Proverbs 12, 17 to 
19, he who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness 
deceit. There is one who speaks like 
the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes 
health. The truthful lip shall be established forever, but a 
lying tongue is but for a moment. Notice 19.22, lying lips are 
an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are 
his delight. Of course, the Lord Jesus speaks 
to this in Matthew's Gospel in the Sermon on the Mount. Romans 
1.29, Paul tells us that one of the issues that is symptomatic 
of a nation, of a people, of a group that are insane with 
their idols is that they speak lies. The Apostle Paul indicates 
in Ephesians 4.25, that conduct fitting a new man in Christ Jesus 
is to not speak lies. We are to speak the truth in 
love. That is absolutely crucial. In 
the third place, the commandment prohibits the act of backbiting 
or slander. Slander is false and malicious 
statements made about another. That is false witness. That is 
bearing false witness against our neighbor. It is to engage 
in sin. Again, it's mentioned by Paul 
in Romans chapter 1, verses 29 and 30. It's mentioned by Paul 
in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 at verse 10. The idea there, he 
communicates it as reviling. And reviling means to assail 
with abusive language. This whole idea of backbiting, 
of slander, of reviling someone, the Bible condemns it. The Bible 
forbids it. The Bible prohibits it. And therefore, 
as God's people, we are not to engage in it. There is a lot 
of slander that takes place in the world. There is a lot of 
backbiting that takes place in the world. There is a lot of 
reviling that takes place in the world. Brethren, if you don't 
know the particulars about a given situation, maybe you should learn 
to shut your mouth. You may be promoting slander. 
You may be engaged in backbiting. The first to plead his cause 
seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him. He who 
answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to 
him. This can be true by way of media. We receive certain 
things. We hear about certain, say, political 
figures. We don't know all the story, 
but we've already got them dead to rights. We need to be very 
careful and not propagate error. We need to make sure that we 
are, indeed, speaking the truth in love. In the next place, the 
act of gossip and tailbearing. This is rumor or talk of a personal, 
sensational, or intimate nature. If something is not your business 
to repeat, Can I encourage you not to repeat it? If something 
is not yours to tell others, then shut your mouths. There 
is nothing under heaven that gives you the absolute right 
to say what you want, when you want, where you want, why you 
want, how you want, whenever you want. There are times and 
there are seasons that the people of God engage in gossip or they 
engage in tailbearing. Again, Leviticus 19.16 speaks 
specifically against tailbearing. Proverbs 11, verse 13. Proverbs 
18, verse 8. Proverbs 20, verse 19. Proverbs 
26, 20. And Proverbs 26, 22. All speak 
of this issue of gossiping or tail bearing. And this is something, 
again, we need to guard. We need to watch our mouths. 
We need to watch our hearts. We need to make sure that we 
do not tell others something that somebody told us. Or that 
we don't make something up. Or that we don't interpret the 
worst about something. about someone. Isn't this something 
that happens? You know, we operate so outside 
of 1 Corinthians chapter 13. You can turn there for just a 
moment. You see, all of this is an expression of the way that 
we love people or the way that we don't love people. Notice 
in 1 Corinthians 13.4, love suffers long in his kind. Love does not 
envy. Love does not parade itself, 
is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, 
is not provoked, thinks no evil. I think the NIV renders that, 
keeps no record of wrongs. We always want to see and we 
always want to capitalize and we want to make the most out 
of somebody else's misstep or mistake. Brethren, we ought, 
by the grace of God, seek to cover a multitude of sins and 
exhibit love as we ought. Lofte does not rejoice in iniquity, 
it rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, it believes 
all things, it hopes all things, it endures all things, and it 
never fails. So these are some of the specifics 
that are dealt with by the ninth word. Perjury, lying, backbiting 
and slander, gossip and tailbearing. And we ought to recognize, before 
we leave this particular point, the twofold manner by which we 
may commit this particular sin. In the first place, there is 
the active participant. The active participant, we'll 
call this one the one with the lying tongue and the big mouth. 
This is the one with the lying tongue and the big mouth. It 
is he actively, or she, actively who engages in these sorts of 
things. They open their mouths and bad 
things come out. They open their mouths and swords 
fly out. They open their mouths and clubs 
fly out. They open their mouth and destruction 
is in the path. But there is a passive participant 
as well. And we ought to identify these 
as people with willing ears. You see, if no one ever had anyone 
to speak ill to, they'd have to stop. I guess they could talk 
to themselves, then they'd both be the active and the passive 
participant. But that probably wouldn't be 
any fun to them, looking in the mirror and railing upon others, 
or gossiping, or tail-bearing, or slandering, or bearing false 
witness. Probably wouldn't be as satisfactory as it would be 
to tell another person who has a willing ear to receive those 
dainty morsels. The Westminster Larger Catechism 
says involved in this commandment is to discourage tail-bearers, 
flatterers, and slanderers. Discourage them. That means if 
someone tries to put a sword in your ear, it is legitimate 
for you to say, I do not want to hear that. Did you hear about 
brother so-and-so? Did you hear about sister whoever? 
Is it under edification? Is it godly? Is it true? Well, 
you know, I don't know. Then I don't want to hear it. 
Please, I've got enough real sins in my life. I don't need 
to add this one to it. I wouldn't even say go find someone 
else. Don't tell them that because they always will. Go talk to 
the mirror. Actually, go repent. You shouldn't 
gossip. You shouldn't tail bear. You 
shouldn't slander. You shouldn't engage in false 
witness. You should not use your tongue for wickedness. Do not 
be afraid to discourage someone. Calvin said it this way, we must 
also close our ears against false and evil speaking. Imagine that. Somebody comes up to you with 
this tasty morsel of gossip about sister whoever, and you plug 
your ears and you start making noise so you can't hear them. 
They think you're mad, odd, or weird, but you are doing what 
God the Lord commands. You are not going to be the passive 
participant in somebody else's Wickedness. I like to think that 
if somebody was walking up to you and they had a physical sword 
and they were going to plunge it right into your ear, you would 
make an effort to deflect that. You would defend. You would run. 
You would hide. You would throw things at them. 
You would take the sword. You would do whatever you could 
to stop them from plunging that sword into your ear. Why is it 
that we give ears to those who sin with their tongues? Why is 
it that we give ears to those who sin with their tongues? Because 
this rotten spirit is in us as well. If it were the case that 
no one had their stuff to speak to, then hopefully they would 
go away and stop doing it. Now in the second place, the 
reason for the command. In the first place, it's the 
character of God. God is described in Psalm 32 
as the Lord God of truth. Truth is absolutely crucial to 
our Lord God. It is what He is. He is His attributes. He is true. Just like we say 
God is love, we can equally say God is true. This is a self-identification 
of our Lord Jesus by our Lord Jesus in John 14, 6. I am the 
way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except 
through me. This is, or its opposite, is 
a description of the devil. You see, when we engage in falsehood, 
when we engage in deception, when we engage in lies, we are 
identifying self-consciously with the one of whom Jesus said, 
you are of your father the devil and the desires of your father 
you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning 
and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in 
him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks 
from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. So the reality that God is true, 
God is truthfulness, we might say the veracity of God demands 
that his people therein take the same tap. As well, the character 
of man. We are image bearers. You see, 
that right in and of itself, the creator-creature distinction 
and the fact that we as creatures image God, that right there demands 
truthfulness on the part of the creature. And then we move into 
the sphere of redemption. That's what Ephesians 4 is all 
about. We move from this place of a creature who has, in Adam, 
died. And then God the Lord sends his 
son to redeem us, to bring us back to life, to bring us to 
newness of life, and then he tells us to not lie, to speak 
the truth, to not tear persons down, to not backbite, to not 
gossip, to not tailback. We are image bearers and we are 
remade in Christ, and therefore we are to speak the truth in 
love. And then in the third place, 
the character of God, the character of man, and the stability of 
the social order. Remember tomorrow when you go 
into the voting booth, or your voting place. I don't know if 
it's a booth, we haven't voted here yet. I wish we would have 
got our immigration test last week so we could have voted, 
but don't forget the decalogue. You are Christians, you are believers, 
you have a particular world and life view. And certainly you 
view the world and life through that blessed lens of God's holy 
law. The stability of the social order 
depends on truth-telling. You say, well, that's a pretty 
epic statement. It is accurate, isn't it? R.L. Dabney said with reference to 
lies destroying confidence, He said that lies destroy confidence. And 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. We can't depend on the word of 
others. If we can't speak the truth and 
love one to another, the social order breaks down. You say, well, 
again, that seems pretty epic. Read the history of Israel. You 
don't have to go get an exterior book. You can read your Old Testament. 
You know, there's books today that are called the history of 
Israel. Those are helpful. You know what they do? They expound 
what scripture says. What do the prophets do when 
they come to God's people? Do they say, we just want to 
encourage you to be the best covenant people you can be? We 
just want you to have your best day now. We just want you to 
prosper and be happy. Now the prophets came from God 
to indict the people of Israel. They were like prosecuting attorneys. They were certainly not health, 
wealth, and prosperity preachers. They were prosecuting attorneys. They came on behalf of Yahweh, 
and they engaged in what was called a covenant lawsuit. In 
fact, the prophet Micah calls the mountains in the created 
order to serve as witnesses when he indicts the nation of Israel. Do you know what is fundamentally 
repeated in each of these instances? is this idea of lying, this idea 
of false witness, this idea of deception. The prophets didn't 
come to tell the people of Israel, you can't continue to eat pork. 
That was certainly important. It was covered by the ceremonial 
law. But when the prophets came to 
prosecute the covenant, what was fundamental to them was the 
Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. And this ninth word was not lacking. The nation of Israel engaged 
in lawlessness. And one description or one characteristic 
of that or expression of that lawlessness was lying, was deception, 
and false witness. So we need to keep the commandment 
for those, and there are other reasons, we only have a bit of 
time tonight. And in the third place, the positive 
aspect of the command. There's four things, and then 
we'll conclude with some final observations. The positive aspect 
of the command. We're not to be perjurers, we're 
not to be liars, we're not to be gossips, we're not to be tail-bearers 
or back-biters, but we are in the first place, there is a need 
to speak the truth in matters of justice and judgment. If you 
are called upon to testify, testify the truth. It is that simple. You can't say, well, if I say 
this, then you just say what's true. Why is that a challenge 
for us? Just say what is true. Calvin says, if a good name is 
more precious than all riches, Proverbs 22.1, which we looked 
at. We harm a man more by despoiling him of the integrity of his name 
than by taking away his possessions. I believe that. I believe that 
is absolutely accurate. You may live under the bridge 
and have a good name and be happier than having everything this world 
has to offer and be treated like garbage because you have no good 
name. Brethren, we need to speak the 
truth in matters of justice and judgment. Secondly, the need 
to speak the truth in all areas of life. You can turn to Ephesians 
4. The necessity to speak the truth in all areas of life. Ephesians 
chapter 4. I've already said this is the 
ethics for the new man, that man in Christ Jesus. Notice in 
Ephesians 4.25, therefore putting away lying. Let each one of you 
speak the truth with his neighbor. Four, we are members of one another. Dropping down to verse 30, do 
not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for 
the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, clamor, 
and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and 
be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as 
God in Christ forgave you. Similar passage in Colossians 
3, verses 9 and 10. Do not lie to one another since 
you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on 
the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image 
of him who created him. We need to speak the truth in 
all areas of life. Or Sinus in his commentary on 
the Heidelberg Catechism, which by the way on the Decalogue is 
most excellent. I have been blessed tremendously 
by reading Ursinus on the Ten Commandments. I mean, this would 
be great Sunday afternoon reading for any of you. It really is 
helpful. He gets into the ninth word and 
he starts to pull out lots of different things that are violations 
of that word. But listen to what he says. The 
head, the fountain, and genus, as it were, of the virtues which 
are here enjoined is truth, or rather veracity in our words, 
thoughts, judgments, contracts, and in our doctrine. So we need to speak the truth 
in matters of justice and judgment a la the courtroom. We need, 
secondly, to speak the truth in all areas of life outside 
the courtroom. Thirdly, we need to promote the 
truth by exercising charity toward others. We promote the truth 
by exercising charity toward others. It is an absence of charity 
to slander someone. It is an absence of charity or 
love to gossip about them. When you're passing on that tasty 
morsel or when you're receiving that into your ears, you are 
not loving your brethren. You are not acting in charity. 
If you are entertaining a false report about a good man or a 
good woman, shame on you. You are not engaged in charity 
toward that particular person. Bridges in his commentary on 
the Book of Proverbs says we need to think twice before we 
speak once. That is a good rule. We need 
to think twice before we speak once. Elsewhere he says that 
a restrained tongue is a great blessing in the church of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. I've mentioned before that by 
design we ought to listen more than we speak. Typically that 
is not the way it goes. We just speak and we speak and 
we speak and it's like our job. We go on and we go on and we 
go on. Perhaps we ought to shut our 
mouths to make sure that what we are speaking is not a violation 
of the love command. If I say evil things about another 
person, I cannot claim to be loving them. And then finally, 
with reference to the positive aspect, this may feel a bit negative, 
and it may certainly be difficult, but it is a positive aspect of 
the command, we've already touched on it, the duty to promote the 
truth by discouraging the slanderer or the gossip. the duty to promote 
the truth by discouraging the slander or the gossip. I mean, 
if somebody comes over to your house to have a cup of tea and 
talk about someone else, don't do that. Tell them to go get 
tea at the gas station. Tell them to go to Tim Hortons. 
Again, they're going to find someone there. Tell them not 
to do it. Brethren, that's what's faithful dealing in the context 
of the Church of Jesus Christ. It's not easy. It's not simple. It's not something that comes 
natural. But you might need to say to someone, you know, I can't 
listen to that stuff. It affects me. It hurts me. I 
don't like it. Actually, I like it at some level, 
and that's why I need to shut my ears to it so I don't respond 
in such a way. Well, in conclusion, we ought 
to consider three things. In the first place, the facts 
about lying. It originated with the devil, 
and it is contrary to God. It's not the case that a lie 
ever puts us in good company. It's just not. It originated 
with the devil and it is contrary to God. Wasn't it lies? Wasn't 
it deception? Wasn't it paring off some of 
the truth that the devil used with Eve? Secondly, it is characteristic 
of man and Adam, Psalm 58.3, the wicked are estranged from 
the womb. Imagine that in the modern day. happy, peppy church setting. The wicked go estranged from 
the womb. That's not popular, is it? I 
shared with one of my brothers recently back when I was in Southern 
California, I think the most listened to radio station, Christian 
radio station in the world is KKLA. maybe that's not it, but 
the Christian radio station in Los Angeles. And at noon, lunchtime, 
when presumably Christians would eat their sandwiches and listen 
to Christian radio, R.C. Sproul was on at that particular 
time. He was talking about the doctrine 
of total depravity. And he had mentioned, now again, 
noon, probably a lot of people are listening to this, right? 
And he says something about John Calvin. He said, John Calvin 
mentioned that little children were like little rats. you know, 
that they were sinful and liked rats. I mean, that's probably 
making someone choke on their bologna at that particular time. 
You just don't say that. Come on, Calvin. These are, you 
know, little balls of things that smell good. They're not 
rats. Rats are just the opposite. They're 
nasty. They're vermin. They're gross. But Sproul said, Sproul was quoting 
Calvin. He said that Calvin likened little 
children to rats. And then Sproul said this, I 
think Calvin was wrong. People put down their bologna 
sandwiches at Sproul's, disagreeing with Calvin. Sproul said they're 
worse than rats. Now persons are throwing up their 
bologna because they can't handle this, right? The doctrine of 
total depravity, brethren, has implications like that. Psalm 58.3 says, the wicked are 
estranged from the womb, speaking lies as soon as they are born. It is a reality that man in Adam 
has died, and in that he abuses truth. It is a sin, however, 
that is forgivable by Jesus Christ. When we come to Christ in the 
gospel, he says, all manner of sin is forgiven you. And it is 
punishable by death and hell when we do not believe the gospel. If we reject the gospel, the 
free and sovereign grace, what we may find is that that lying 
tongue and that deceptive heart is the means by which we find 
ourselves in the lake of fire. Revelation 21, verse 8, but the 
cowardly. 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. And then again in Revelation 
21, 27, but there shall by no means enter it anything that 
defiles or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who 
are written in the Lamb's book of life. In the second place, 
how do we use this Ninth Commandment? Civilly, the civil use. We pray 
to God Almighty that he raises men up who speak the truth. I 
mean, if you can't trust political leaders, brethren, that's going 
to cause societal decay. There is no confidence in what 
our persons are saying to us or representing to us. There 
is no stability in the social order. This civil application 
of the Ninth Commandment is grossly lacking and it's gross severely 
needed in our day. We just accept that politicians 
lie. We just accept that lawyers lie. We just accept that people lie. It is wrong. It is sin. It is 
wicked. It is vile. It is rebellion against 
God. In terms of the pedagogical use 
of the ninth commandment, we all ought to rejoice that there 
is a fountain open for sin and uncleanness. When we consider 
this list of prohibitions and we could add to it, there's many 
other passages in the scripture that speak against this sin of 
deception or lies, we ought to praise God for our Lord Jesus 
Christ who came to give his life a ransom for many. many who had 
engaged in lying, many who had engaged in gossiping, many who 
had engaged in slandering, many who had engaged in reviling. 
That's in 1 Corinthians 6. And such were some of you, but 
you were washed, you were justified, you were sanctified. We, in terms 
of the pedagogical use of the Ninth Commandment, ought to praise 
God Almighty for our Lord Jesus Christ, that he who always spoke 
the truth gave himself on our behalf. And then finally, in 
terms of the normative use of the law, I believe we ought to 
recognize the power of the tongue. I believe we need to recognize 
the power that we wield in the tongue. Proverbs 18.21 tells 
us, death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those 
who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 26.28, a lying tongue 
hates those who are crushed by it. and a flattering mouth works 
ruin." You see, Solomon paints the picture in graphic detail. 
It's not a little thing. It's not a simple thing. It's 
not just to make myself look a little better or to make them 
look a little bit worse. No, Solomon employs very heavy 
language to indicate the great power of the tongue. Secondly, 
we ought to have a willingness to shut our ears against falsehood. We must go further, Calvin says, 
and not be suspicious or too curious in observing the defects 
of others. Why is it when somebody says, 
hey, how about that guy? He's got this problem. Boy, we just 
want to hear that. Do you see that guy? He's really 
faithful and he's godly and he always does what he's supposed 
to do. We don't always want to hear that, do we? I mean, the news 
is not punctuated on television or on the internet or in the 
newspaper with persons who are doing what they're supposed to, 
is it? You don't pick up the progress and read about Joe Blow 
who gets up every morning and works hard and he comes home 
and he cares for his family, he goes to bed and he does it 
again and he keeps doing it. You don't read that. You read 
about Joe Blow who took an axe and he whacked his wife and he 
went and, you know, went on a murderous campaign and rage. Something 
about that is somehow pulling to us. And what Calvin says is 
true and I believe this is right. We must go further. and not be 
suspicious or too curious in observing the defects of others, 
for such inquisitiveness betrays malevolence or at any rate an 
evil disposition. We need to as well engage in 
the godly restraint and the use of our tongue. It is better to 
shut your mouth than sin. It really is. It is much preferable 
to shut up your mouth than sin. We read it tonight, Psalm 141.3, 
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth, keep watch over the door 
of my lips. David in Psalm 39.1, I said, 
I will guard my ways lest I sin with my tongue. I will restrain 
my mouth with a muzzle. If the man who is identified 
as the man after God's own heart needs to go to Pet Cetera and 
buy a muzzle and get it specially fitted for his mug, then you 
and I must do the same as well. A muzzle is a helpful tool. It 
ought to be preferred to wear a muzzle and keep the mouth shut 
than to sin against God and a brother. And James 1.26, if anyone among 
you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue. He 
doesn't bridle his tongue. This man's religion is useless. I'm sorry, he deceives his own 
heart. This one's religion is useless. This word useless 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. You may stand with us and sing 
the praises of God Most High from the Trinity Hymnal or the 
Trinity Psalter or whatever it is. We just happen to use that 
in our church. You may do that. You may bless 
God through song and then go and curse your brother who is 
made in the very image of God Most High. We need, by the grace 
of God, to engage in godly restraint. And we need, by the grace of 
God, to love the truth. Isn't that what is absolutely 
necessary? We need to love the truth. I 
love what Solomon says in Proverbs 23, 23, buy the truth and do 
not sell it. I don't believe that Solomon 
is saying that, you know, if you need a testimony, just go 
to testimony.com and pay this guy so he'll go and lie for you 
in court. That's not what he means. He 
means acquire it. Pursue it. Get it. Obtain it. Find it and hold it. Buy the truth and do not sell 
it. Also wisdom and instruction and 
understanding. The necessity to love the truth 
is going to be evidenced, it will be displayed in our doctrinal 
pursuits. Why go to a church or why put 
ourselves under a particular ministry that is not about the 
truth? We need to embrace the truth 
in our doctrine, both so that we are honoring God and so that 
that truth will keep us in the path to heaven. As well, we need 
to make sure that we are hearing what God's Word says in its totality 
and entirety so that we will be responsible, functioning human 
beings that do what they're supposed to do as Christian men and women, 
Christian husbands and wives, Christian mothers and fathers, 
Christian children, Christian workers, and dare I say it, citizens 
in a body politic. We need to know the law of God 
Most High. and we need to buy the truth 
and not sell it. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word. We thank you for this perfect 
rule that is given to us in Deuteronomy 5 and in Exodus 20 and what was 
given to Adam in the garden. We pray, Lord God most high, 
that as it's written in our hearts, we would be careful to pursue 
pursue these things, that we would be those who promote love 
by truth, and that we would be a people that do restrain, that 
muzzle, that do what is necessary to keep ourselves from falling 
prey to this particular sin. We ask again, our Father, that 
you would go with us now, that you would watch over us in this 
coming week, that you would bless your people in this local church, 
and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.