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You may turn in your Bibles to 
Deuteronomy chapter 19. Deuteronomy chapter 19 as we 
continue our series on Christian ethics or biblical ethics. This morning taking up the ninth 
commandment and a biblical view of lying. The general statement 
of Exodus 20 verse 16 and repeated in Deuteronomy 5 and verse 20 
says, you shall not bear false witness. The Bible is very clear 
on this particular point. It is illustrated in a whole 
host of ways. I just want to read in Deuteronomy 
19, verses 15 to 21. 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. 
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, hand for hand, foot for foot." Amen. Let us pray. Our God, we pray 
for the mind of Christ even now through the power of Your Holy 
Spirit. Lord, as we consider what the Bible says concerning 
lying and dishonesty and those things Your Word condemns, help 
us to make the application first to ourselves, God. It's so easy 
to consider the lies of politicians or the lies of people we know. God, help us to search our own 
hearts. Help us to see that the man who 
fears God will speak with integrity, will be honest, will be able 
to ascend into the holy hill of Zion based on the righteousness 
of Christ, but will indeed seek to imitate his beloved Savior. 
We thank you, God, for your mercy and your grace. Thank you for 
all of the sins that you have forgiven us of. Thank you for 
the blood of Jesus, which does cleanse us from all sin and unrighteousness. May we never forget this. May 
this be our ultimate source of comfort and hope, not in our 
integrity, but in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it's in 
his blessed name that we pray. Amen. What we just sang, who 
shall the mount of Jehovah ascend, or who in the place of his holiness 
stand? The man of pure heart and of 
hands without stain, who has not sworn falsely, nor loved 
what is vain. The commandments that we have 
considered thus far, murder, adultery, or specifically homosexuality, 
in fact, or stealing, deal with the outward actions of man. And I say men to include women 
as well. Not as if men are the only murderers, 
adulterers, and thieves out there. Women are just as guilty. But 
man does speak inclusively of women. Now the commandments move 
from word and thought, or move to word and thought. You shall 
not bear false witness affects how we speak concerning others. And then, of course, You shall 
not covet reflects a matter of the heart, which God willing, 
we'll look at next Lord's Day. But as we consider a biblical 
view of lying, we'll take up our exposition in the same manner 
that we looked at the Eighth Commandment. We'll notice, first 
of all, the prohibition of the command, what the command prohibits. Secondly, the reason for the 
command. And thirdly, the positive aspect. of the command. Not only does 
the Bible forbid us to bear false witness, but it also enjoins 
upon us speaking truth. Now, we're not going to be able 
to deal with every single thing this morning. There are instances 
in the Bible, such as Rahab and the Hebrew midwives, and things 
that obviously will cause us to reflect on this particular 
commandment. But suffice it to say that in 
the language of one commentary, he says, the Christian is under 
obligation to God to tell the truth at all times where normal 
communication exists. This is absolutely crucial. This 
truth-telling means not the exposure of our privacy. The Ninth Commandment 
doesn't mean you have to go out and tell everybody everything 
all the time about yourself. That's not what's enjoined by 
the command. Not the exposure of our privacy, 
but bearing a true witness in relation to our neighbor. It 
does not apply to acts of war. In a wartime situation, you may 
not necessarily have to say, my wife is over there, go rape 
and pillage and destroy her. Spying is legitimate, as are 
deceptive tactics in warfare. In other words, camouflage in 
a time of war. That's okay. God is not anti 
that. And as well, protection from 
thieves requires concealment and walls. You don't leave your 
valuables on your dining room table. You usually hide them 
somewhere. Well, that hiding is an attempt, 
ultimately, to deceive a potential burglar. Is that condemned in 
the Ninth Commandment? No, it is not. But we cannot 
examine all of the details this morning. I just give that by 
way of a necessary qualification to say that in normal circumstances, 
when we're not engaged in an act of war, when we're not trying 
to trick a burglar or, you know, tell a robber that our money's 
at home or whatever the case may be, we are to tell the truth. 
That's what God enjoins upon His people. First of all, the 
prohibition of the command. The first thing is perjury. Perjury. That simply means the deliberate, 
willful giving of false, misleading, or incomplete testimony under 
oath. Now, does this have relevance 
today? Absolutely. Perjury is rampant. Johnny Cochran, who after the 
O.J. Simpson trial said that the price, 
or the color of justice in America is green. The idea being, the 
more money you had, the better case you were able to present, 
and the more able you were to walk from the trial. Well, the 
color, or the money, or anything like that shouldn't affect anything. 
It should be true. But just about everybody agrees 
truth really doesn't have a lot of place in the courtroom today. The Ninth Commandment is primarily 
concerned with the courtroom. Exodus 23 verses 1 to 3, Exodus 
23 verses 6 to 9, and then here in Deuteronomy 19 verses 15 to 
21. If you followed the reading there, 
you will see that a false witness brought before the judges, if 
it was determined that he was a false witness, he would be 
liable to the punishment that he was hoping the other man would 
incur. Sometimes you'll hear that the Bible is unfair or barbaric 
or we can't really return to a biblical ethic. There is nothing 
fairer than this. We live in a litigious society 
where everybody sues everybody. I mean, if you trip at McDonald's, 
there's going to be some shark there saying, you've got a case. 
Oh, we shouldn't have our lives looking for a case. What happened 
to hard work? Discipline, industry, frugality, 
threat. You drink that hot coffee, spill 
it in your lap, and you can sue the man. Stick it to the man. Well, this highly discourages 
such an activity or practice. What's at play here is, let's 
say for a moment, I've got a problem with Don. And I allege that Dawn 
has done something vicious and vile. And I really wouldn't do 
that. That's why I'm picking Dawn as my example here. And 
I bring her before the judges and I allege that she's done 
this vicious, vile thing. But I know in my heart of hearts 
that if I am found out lying, whatever would have been the 
punishment for that vicious and vile thing will be given unto 
me. I'm going to think twice. I am going to count the cost. Does my desire for Don's demise 
outweigh my desire to live, should I be found out a false witness? 
Perjury is wicked. Calvin, commenting on this section, 
says, it appears that false witnesses and murderers stand in the same 
light before God. See, again, I think we've accepted 
so many of these ethical scriptures in the scriptures, all these 
requirements. Well, everybody breaks that. Why bother? I mean, 
it's just an accepted thing. Everybody lies. Everybody tells 
lies. Why? Because we haven't prayed 
to the Lord God that His will be done on earth as it is in 
heaven, and that liars and that perjurers be found out and be 
punished accordingly. It's not wicked to want that. 
That's to pray that petition. May thy will be done on earth 
as it is in heaven. A second thing is lying in general. The sanctity of truth in all 
areas of life is commanded and enjoined by this commandment. In Matthew 5, 33 to 37, Jesus 
says we're not to swear. We're not to be like these men 
that, you know, I'll swear on a stack of Bibles. No, let your 
yes be yes and your no be no. You need to tell the truth. In 
Matthew 15, 19, he highlights that lies come out of a heart. that is ungodly. He says, out 
of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, 
thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile 
a man. That to eat with unwashed hands 
does not defile a man. It's absolutely incredible how 
many of us actually think it's okay to lie. Again, not to give 
up all of our privacy information, not to tell everybody everything, 
It's actually a lie. It's wrong. It's wicked. It's sin. It's vile. And God 
abhors it. We all need to understand that. 
There's an old statement. Honesty is the best policy. It really is. Romans 1. 29, it is indicative 
of an ungodly age for there to be lying. Ephesians 4, 25, the 
Apostle Paul says that the Christian church, the people of God, are 
not to lie. So perjury, lying, thirdly, is 
backbiting and slandering. You don't bear a false witness. 
Don't backbite. Don't slander. I unfortunately 
fear that we're good at this. False and malicious statements 
made about another. If you have ever been the victim 
of this, you know how much it hurts. How much it stings. How much it stinks. How wretched 
it is. There's another old statement. 
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt 
me. That's a lie from the pit of hell. God says in the book 
of Proverbs that words are like swords and clubs and daggers 
and knives. Backbiting and slander, circulating 
false and malicious statements made about another is wicked. We actually think it's okay. Please keep the injunction of 
Solomon. Please. If you get one thing 
out of this sermon, please take this one home. Proverbs 18. The 
first to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes 
and examines him. If somebody comes and tells you 
something, don't automatically, oh yeah, that's horrible. If you've ever had it done to 
you, brethren, you know how horrible it is. When people will believe 
the worst about you, people will put the most evil construction 
upon you, We saw this in our Bible study over the last couple 
of weeks. Paul comes back to Jerusalem after the third missionary 
journey. He comes to the church in Jerusalem, 
meets up with James, and James says, it's good to see you, brother 
Paul. It's good to see the fruits of your missionary enterprise. 
I do need to talk to you about something, Paul. I've heard, 
and James wasn't doing what I'm saying. He is checking with Paul 
to determine the validity of the allegation. I'm hearing, 
Paul, that when you're out preaching, you're telling the Jews that 
they no longer have to keep the customs, that they no longer 
have to be circumcised. This is causing a bit of a wreck. 
Paul says, no, that's not what I've been doing. In fact, it's 
such a good show to maintain good spiritual relationships 
between Jew and Gentile. Paul went into the temple and 
kept a religious feast to show that he was not anti-custom of 
the Jews. And then, lo and behold, a mob 
riot breaks out. I mean, Paul's a great study 
in people saying bad things about you. This mob breaks out. They 
want to kill Paul. They want to destroy Paul because 
he's a lawbreaker. Lo and behold, he was in the 
temple doing what the law said. So then they bring him before 
the Roman governor, and Paul addresses the Roman governor 
in Greek. The Roman governor says, you speak Greek? Paul says, 
yes. Oh, aren't you the Egyptian who 
led the rebellion some time ago? No, that wasn't me. You see, we get a half of a statement 
we run with. I don't want to sound trivial, 
I don't want to sound trite, I don't want to sound really, 
you know, wimpy here, but one of the things I think as Christians 
we need to set an example in, you're going to think, oh, this 
is crazy, email. And the one thing I picked, I 
remember seeing this several years ago, it's not even going 
around anymore, thankfully, that the owner of Procter and Gamble 
was a Satanist. and that he was taking all the 
proceeds made from their business, Procter & Gamble Products, and 
throwing it into the Church of Satan. That's not accurate. But as Christians, sometimes 
we'll hit send, or forward a reply, and we want everybody to get 
on this bandwagon. I'm sorry, brethren. If that 
isn't a violation of the Ninth Commandment, I don't know what 
is. Respecting a man's livelihood. We will see one of the reasons 
for the command is his character. We actually think it's okay to 
engage in character assassination, but the Bible says that a good 
name is valuable. God's not anti-reputation. We all try to be humble, and 
we all repudiate pride, and, oh, I'm so ungodly, I'm so unholy, 
I'm so great, but we still need a good reputation. And to break 
the ninth commandment infringes upon this protection that God 
has given. Proverbs chapter 10, verse 18. Proverbs 10, 18, whoever hides 
hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander This is what 
the Bible says, if you spread slander, you're a fool. You're a fool if you spread slander. 25-23. 25-23, Proverbs. Get familiar 
with the Proverbs if you want to understand biblical ethics. 
Proverbs 25-23, the north wind brings forth rain and a backbiting 
tongue and angry countenance. The one I referred to earlier 
in Proverbs 18 is verse 17. The first one, to plead his cause 
seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him. Backbiting and slander. Fourthly, 
gossip and tail bearing. Rumor or talk of a personal, 
sensational, or intimate nature. I actually think that sometimes 
our prayer meetings aren't as honest as they ought to be for 
fear of gossip. We are told in Galatians 6 verse 
1, to bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. 
But when we come into the prayer meeting, we might fear, if I 
say this, I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know, 
you know, who else is going to hear about it. We've had that 
happen in our own church. We've had members meetings where 
intimate things were shared. And they got all the way up to 
northern B.C. and back to my ears. What's that 
do? It makes you think twice about 
being intimate again. I'm sorry. Gossip. Tailbearing. Leviticus 19. Leviticus 19. Isn't it amazing 
that God's Word speaks so boldly on these issues? Leviticus 19.15, 
you shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial 
to the poor nor honor the person of the mighty. Isn't that great? 
That's why justice has a blindfold on as she's holding her scales. 
She's got a blindfold on so she doesn't see green, so that she 
doesn't see rich, so that she doesn't see poor. She's got a 
blindfold on because she is to be Impartial. You're not to regard 
the poor. Oh poor guy, I completely sympathize. It's okay that you committed 
grand larceny. Just go on your way. No it isn't. 
Or for the rich man to be able to walk because of his influence 
and because of his connectedness. No. Doesn't matter. 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. Proverbs 11, 13, Proverbs 18, 
8, Proverbs 20, verse 19, Proverbs 26, 20, and Proverbs 26, 22, 
all deal with gossip and with tail-bearing. You can say, well, 
what business? Is this really important? This 
is very important. And you know one of the things that Yahweh 
abominates in Proverbs 6? It's mentioned twice. A lying tongue and a false witness. In that list of seven things 
abominable to the Lord, we don't find homosexuality. We don't 
find bestiality. We don't find, you know, auto 
theft. We find worry. A fifth application with reference 
to the ninth commandment is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy. Religious hypocrisy. 
Professing without possessing. Right? Talking a good game. Proverbs 11, verse 9. Proverbs 11, verse 9. The hypocrite 
with his mouth destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous 
will be delivered. The Lord Jesus Christ spoke often 
against hypocrisy. Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 
7. In a grossly misunderstood verse, 
verse 1, judge not that you be not judged. People say, well, 
you can never be judgmental as a Christian. And yet, a little 
later, Jesus says, don't throw your pearls before swine. Sorry, 
brethren, but that takes a judgment call to figure out who's a swine 
and who isn't. Can we get away from that current 
exegesis? Can we abandon the garbage 20th 
century approach to biblical ethics that has plagued and affected 
and brought the Church of Witness down? You're going to actually 
tell me in the light of an open Bible that God says, never discriminate? I don't mean by black or whatever. I mean by truth and standard. You're going to say that God 
says never to judge? Jesus is judging in this passage. What he is saying or condemning 
is a hypocritical attitude. Don't come to judgment with a 
log hanging out of your eye trying to get the speck out of your 
brothers. Oh brother, come here, let me 
help you. You've got a speck in your eye, as this guy's got 
a redwood hanging out of his eye. It's interesting because 
Jesus in John 7 says, we are to judge with righteous judgment. In other words, the standard 
of judgment is what's in view here. It is not supposed to be 
our feelings, our sensitivities, or our sensibilities. We are 
to go to the law and to the testimony. They do not speak according to 
this, there is no light in that. With what judgment you judge, 
you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will 
be measured back to you. Why do you look at the speck 
in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your 
own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me remove the 
speck from your eye, and look, a plank is in your own eye. Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your 
own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from 
your brother's eye. We need to realize, sixthly, 
the prohibition of the command applies to engaging in these 
things. In other words, when I use my 
mouth to perjure, or to lie, or to backbite, or to gossip, 
or to be a hypocrite, the Bible restricts that. The Bible forbids 
that. The Bible says, don't do it. 
You shall not bear false witness. You shall not take an active 
role in the promotion of falsehood. Charles Bridges in his commentary 
on Proverbs made this statement, and I think if you get this in 
your head and you actually live by it, you'll do well. He says 
we are to think twice before we speak words. Isn't that beautiful? Think twice before you speak 
words. You know what James says? James 
says, be slow to speak. Do you realize that God physiologically 
has orchestrated you to speak less than you listen? You've 
got two ears and one tongue. You should listen twice as much 
as you talk. I mean, we all like to... So cool, the other day, Lily 
was at our house, and she had a little toy car. And she started 
roaming it around the floor going, brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr A lot of us listen just so that 
we can seize the opportunity to talk when the other person 
takes a breath. Think twice before you speak 
once. Be slow to speak. Loose lips do think shifts. God is so awesome that he tells 
us like it is. He says in the Proverbs, even 
a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace. Isn't that beautiful? You look at a guy and you say, 
man, that guy's full of wisdom. He may be as ignorant and as 
foolish as anybody in this world, but because he does that blessed 
thing of shutting his mouth, He is regarded as a wise man. 
God tells it like it is. Seventhly, not only are we not 
to engage in these things, we are to fight against receiving 
these things. We're not only to not be the 
active participant in promoting falsehood, but you know, for 
everyone that promotes falsehood, there's a set of ears receiving 
it. Right? You may in your own hearts 
right now be saying, well, I don't perjure. I've never been in a 
courtroom. I don't lie. I don't backbite and slander. 
I don't gossip and tailbear. I'm not a hypocrite. But do you 
receive these things? For if you do, as Calvin said, 
we must also close our ears against false and evil speaking. Well, 
that'll offend them. So what? They shouldn't be gossiping 
anyway. Well, what will they think of 
me? Who cares? They're sinning. Look, maybe 
we shouldn't talk about sister so-and-so or brother whoever 
right now. It's wrong. We don't know all 
the facts. Hopefully, anybody with the Spirit of God in them 
is going to say, you know, you're right. We shouldn't gossip. We shouldn't tail bear. We shouldn't 
lie. We shouldn't slander. We shouldn't 
be hypocrites. I mean, I have had very few say, 
oh no, you've got to listen to what I have to say. We need to 
guard our hearts. There's something tantalizing 
about dirt, isn't there? An old song called Dirty Laundry. We love Dirty Laundry, don't 
we? I mean, look at the 5 o'clock news. It's all about Dirty Laundry. 
You don't get the story of the man who fears God, who goes to 
work, who does his job well, who is renowned among his contemporaries 
for being a faithful, good guy. You don't get those stories on 
the news. This guy's good. He does what he's supposed to 
do. Wife is good. She does what she's supposed to do. Kids are 
good. They do what they're supposed to do. That's not what you get. 
Why? Because dirty laundry sells. We're attracted to it. Don't 
say, well, not me, Pat. We are attracted to it. You may be the holy or pure one 
among us that has transcended this base and carnal and lower 
end of most of God's creatures. For you, you can temporarily 
tune out. But for the rest of us, we gravitate 
often toward the base. We gravitate often toward the 
carnal. We gravitate often toward the 
sensational. Proverbs 17, verse 4, an evildoer 
gives eating to false lips. A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful 
tongue. Proverbs 18, verse 8, the words 
of a tailbearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into 
the inmost body. Hear that? That speaks of the 
hearer. When that tail bearer comes around and you get wind 
of it, it's like, ee, that's yummy. And it goes into the inmost 
body. All right. Why is that? I mean, that's psychologically 
messed up when you stop and think about it. Why do we thrive on 
the base, the carnal, and other people's misfortune? I've wrestled 
with that. The only thing I can come up 
with is total depravity. This is what it is. It's an expression 
of our depravity. It's an expression of that base 
character. That Adamic nature. And we need 
to resist it. Secondly, by way of a major concern, 
the reason for the command, the first is, of course, God. It 
is theological in nature. He is Lord God of truth. This is how David addresses Him 
in Psalm 32, verse 5. Paul describes the Lord God of 
truth in Titus 1-2 as the God who cannot lie. The Lord Jesus 
Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. So therefore, 
as Christ's people, we must value and prize truth. We must abhor 
and loathe lies and slander and perjury and all that stuff that 
the command prohibits. The second reason is the character 
of man. You see, the Ten Commandments 
are structured in such a way as to provide protection for 
man's life. The latter table, the second 
table. Protection. to a man's family adultery, protection 
for a man's property, if you shall not steal, and protection 
for a man's reputation. It's not right to slander. That 
hurts people. If you've ever done it, and you've 
never had it done to you, shame on you. It's wrong, it's wicked, 
it's base, and it really hurts people. I hate that statement, 
sticks and stones may break my bones. The worst I've ever been 
hurt is not by physical punches, not by any, I've broken a wrist, 
I've broken a collarbone, I've broken fingers, I've broken toes. 
That is nothing compared to a broken spirit because people can't control 
their tongue. It's wicked. It's criminal. It's vicious. Tell the truth. Or shut your mouth. It's that 
simple. Proverbs 22 verse 1 and Ecclesiastes 
7. Both promote a man's reputation. 
Again, God is real. God is awesome. God is glorious. 
God knows us. We try to be super pious, super 
holy. Oh, let my name perish. Okay, 
in the right context, that's good. When Spurgeon said it, 
he's right on. Let the name of C. H. Spurgeon 
die, but let the name of Jesus Christ reign supreme. Amen, 104. But in matters of horizontal 
relationship, we ought to seek to protect one another's reputation. 
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches. You pass on 
much more of a heritage to your children, a great name, than 
a pile of money. Ecclesiastes 7-1 repeats that. 
God instituted protection for parents, life, marriage, and 
property, all of which assume a foundation of trust in order 
to carry such things out. And that's the third reason for 
the command, the stability of the social order. How do we do 
life if everybody's lying? How are we doing life, that's 
my question, in a society where lies are so rampant? R.L. Dabney spoke of lies destroying 
confidence. He says, in short, if confidence 
is destroyed, then all the bonds which unite man with his fellows 
are loose. Each man must struggle on unaided 
by his fellows, as though he were the sole forlorn remnant 
of a perishing race. That's the way to live. Sometimes I tell my kids, you 
know, I'm out driving around, and you look at someone, and 
they get mad at you. You ever done that in show act? 
I don't think it's just show act. I mean, it probably happens 
in LA too. You actually lock eyes with somebody for months. 
And they look at you like you've just done a criminal act. I mean, 
I'm part of a society. I hope I can lock eyes with a 
fellow member of the human race without him wanting to kill me. Is that where we've gotten to? 
And yet we hear, oh, biblical ethics, biblical law, that's 
barbaric. You could walk down the streets 
at night and probably lock eyes with one another and not want 
to get in a fight. What Dabney is saying is that 
if trust and truth and those things are broken down, we have 
no confidence in our fellows. I praise God that I haven't heard 
it yet, that we're not there. But there's some that, oh, I've 
given up on society. Yeah, I mean, it's bad. I'm right 
there. I'm at the front of the line to say it's bad, man. But 
to give up? God hasn't given up. We're not 
all in hell. The earth is still rotating. 
I mean, those things are still true. We need to understand that. Israel was indicted of all through 
the prophets several times for this fact. They forgot the truth. Society breaks down. Society 
crumbles. What happens in one another? 
Thirdly, the positive aspect of the command. Guess what? You're to speak the truth in 
matters of justice and judgment. You're to speak the truth in 
matters of justice and judgment. This is what the Bible affirms. 
This is what we're called to do. If you are a witness to a 
crime, you testify. If you are the victim of a crime, 
you testify honestly. Oh, he slapped me up both sides 
of my head. No, maybe he only slapped you up one side. It's 
funny how Will sort of had on the side the truth when it affects 
us in a real practical way. Another positive aspect of the 
command is what's called corroboration. I know you kids are going, man, 
that's a little corroboration. That simply means what we read 
in Deuteronomy 19. You have witnesses. We don't live in a society where 
every man's a law unto himself. He has to just say whatever he 
wants unchecked. The courts, as Rush Dooney says, 
represent God's vengeance as ordered and channeled through 
human, but God-ordained agencies. within the courts for justice 
to prevail, honest and faithful testimony is a necessity. However, because man is a sinner 
and the agencies of human society reflect man's sin, checks and 
balances are necessary. You see that? The two or three 
witnesses isn't just because, you know, that works. It's absolutely 
crucial in a society of sinners. The testimony of a witness must 
be subject to cross-examination and to corroboration. This is 
true in the civil realm, as we see throughout the Old Testament. 
It is true in the ecclesiastical realm. Your brother sins, go 
to him. He hears you, he repents, everything 
is great, wonderful. You hug him, you embrace him, 
you love on him. If he doesn't hear you, take 
two or three witnesses. What about 1 Timothy 5.19? Do 
not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis 
of truth or witnesses. Because God knows anything less 
is harassment. Harassment. We need to speak the truth in 
all areas of life. Speak the truth in all areas 
of life. Again. Every bit of our privacy, 
not in a time of war. I mean there's, God will give 
you wisdom in those particulars. I'm not saying in a time of war 
go out and lie like the devil. I'm just saying that this command 
has to be interpreted in light of the fact that we're in a fallen 
world. Sometimes in a fallen world, countries war with each 
other and is it wicked and a violation of the commandment to put camouflage 
netting over a hospital? I don't think it is, Percy. But we are. to speak the truth 
in all areas of life. We are to promote the truth by 
exercising charity toward others. Boy, I just think if we would 
get that. Ephesians 4, classic passage dealing with the grieving 
of the Holy Spirit. You hear about that a lot in 
evangelical circles. You hear a lot about that in reforms. 
We can't grieve the Spirit. Can't grieve the Spirit. Don't 
grieve the Spirit. And I agree. We aren't to grieve the Spirit. 
It's interesting in the context what is mentioned. We would think 
grieving the spirit must be murder, must be abortion, must be people 
within our ranks that have had a divorce, must be people in 
our ranks that have done this out of the other. I'm not saying 
those things make the spirit happy, but it is interesting 
and intriguing to me in Ephesians chapter 4 what is in view with 
reference to not grieving the spirit. Ephesians 4.25, Therefore, 
putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his 
neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and 
do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on 
your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stalls 
feel no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands 
what is good, that he may have something to give him who has 
need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is 
good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the 
hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you 
were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, 
clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, 
forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Everything 
surrounding the command not to grieve the Holy Spirit has to 
do with what comes out of our mouths. Because you know what 
the Bible says? What comes out of our mouths 
is indicative of what's in our hearts. And when you speak ill of others, 
and when you gossip, and when you lie, and when you slander, 
it's indicative of a bad heart, man. You don't get good water 
out of a polluted well. And we ought to promote the truth 
by discouraging slander and gossip. Somebody comes to you and says, 
oh, I don't want to hear it. Well, then we have nothing to talk 
about. Okay. That's it. Smile at each other. Or better yet, we can pray for 
people. Don't do it, man. Let us discourage 
slander and gossip. Well, in conclusion, we need 
to remember lying originated with the devil. That right there 
should make us want to work. Anything connected to the devil 
should make us want to run. What? How does Jesus describe 
the devil in John 8, verse 44? He was a liar and a murderer 
from the beginning. He cannot speak truth. He has 
no resources for the speaking of truth. Lying is a sin which 
affects us. In fact, we don't like this, 
but it affects us from an early age. In fact, the psalmist says 
that the wicked go estranged from the womb, speaking lies 
as soon as they're born. Isn't that amazing? It's there. It's in you. Don't 
say, oh no, this sermon's not for me. I'd say you're lying, if that's 
your heart's attitude. And that proves it is for you. It is an abomination to God. Proverbs 6, 16-19. I alluded to it earlier. It's 
good to read it. Proverbs 6, 16-19. These six things the Lord 
hates, yea, seven, are an abomination to Him. Verse 17, a proud look, 
a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that 
devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 
a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among 
brethren. So actually, if we take one who 
sows discord, that falls under the parameters of this as well. 
So out of seven, we have three connected to the ninth commandment. I don't think in the church we 
have, you know, a real Christian says, I'm going to go and sow 
discord among the brethren. But if we're not careful, it can 
happen. I don't think when Peter stood up to Jesus and said, Lord, 
I don't want you to go to Jerusalem, he had prayed that morning and 
said, I want to be filled with the devil, and I want to go and 
reprove Jesus Christ. No. But nevertheless, Jesus said, 
get thee behind me, Satan. We need to be very careful that 
we're not opening ourselves up to that influence. And it is 
punishable, ultimately, by death and hell, according to Revelation 
21, verses 8 and 27. Those in the lake of fire include 
all liars. We need to reform our speech. We need to use our tongues as 
a weapon, or not as a weapon rather, but as an instrument 
of blessing. Proverbs 18.21 says, death and 
life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it 
will eat its fruit. How about our ears? Do they just 
tingle at the thought of gossip? Calvin says, we must go further 
and not be suspicious or too curious in observing the defects 
of others. Right? We're not supposed to 
put them on our project list of examining how messed up they 
are. I remember a long time ago, I 
heard a pastor preach. He said, make sure that when 
you're sitting in church and you're hearing sermons, you don't 
go home and have roast pastor for lunch. But, oh this and oh that, oh 
this and oh that. You know, those things may be 
true, but if there's something said that's true in the sermon, 
let's focus on that. We're too quick to want to look 
at everybody's life. I think it's because we're so 
jacked up, it's better to have someone else below us. It's just 
the nature of the game, man. We are messed up, we're insecure, 
and we want to exploit others. Oh no, that's not me. Oh good, 
good for you. He goes on to say, for such eager 
inquisitiveness betrays malevolence, or at any rate, an evil disposition. Being caught up with the false, 
being curious about them, being so, you know, moved by what makes 
sense. No, man, that's just weird. That's 
just really weird to be so caught up with someone else. James speaks 
of bridling our tongues. If any man among you thinks he 
is religious, but does not bridle his own tongue, he deceives himself. I love that passage because he 
says he bridles his own thoughts. And I know the temptation. We're 
going to go home today and instead of Rose Past, we're going to have 
Rose Kid. You know, kid, you speak ill. You know, kid, you 
lie. You know, kid, you this. Bridle 
your tongue. Now, help your child bridle theirs, 
but we need to bridle our own tongue. The Bible always focuses 
on the person first. Keep your heart with all diligence, 
for out of it spring the issues of life. I guarantee you, that's 
a full-time job. You keep your heart, and you 
bridle your tongue, you're going to have a lot, you're going to 
have little energy at the end of the day. To fix everybody 
else. Right? That's a full-time man, 
24-7. Keeping your heart, bridling 
your tongue. That takes work. It takes effort. In order to 
bridle our heart, first and foremost, we must be born again. To bridle 
our tongue. You can't bridle your tongue 
if you're not a Christian. How do I become a Christian? 
Let's just say for the sake of argument, I'm sitting at the 
Pre-Grace Baptist Church on Sunday morning, the 15th of February, 
and I am not a believer. You know what the answer is? 
Believe. The answer is not leave from this place, resolve never 
to tell a lie again. Leave from this place, resolve 
never to gossip or slander again. Leave from this place, resolve 
that if I'm ever called to testify, you won't perjure yourself in 
a court of law. That's not the answer. The answer is believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ. We read about Him in Matthew 
27. We read about Him throughout the pages of the Bible. God says 
that because we have lied, because we have perjured, because we 
have spoken evil, because we have sown discord, because things 
that proceed from our mouths are filthy and reveal an ungodly 
heart, because of that, God sent His Son into this world. His 
son never lied, his son never slandered, his son never gossiped, 
his son never committed any sin with his tongue. He always fulfilled 
the law of God. He exacted every, every ounce 
of God's law. In fact, he says, it is my delight 
to do your will, O God. And not only did he live a perfect 
life in obedience to God's law, never using his tongue in a bad 
way, He then died for our sins and he rose again. So the way 
of salvation today is not clean up your act, bridle your talk. 
The way of salvation is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and 
you shall be saved. One of the temptations I believe 
we run when we study biblical epics To study the law, it's 
great, it's great, and I could definitely be guilty of this. 
I love God's law, not because I'm so good, but because I see 
the beauty of it. And the tendency is to see law, 
law, law, law, law, but we stand by grace, grace, grace, grace, 
grace, through blood shed at Calvary. There is a fountain 
open for sin and uncleanness, and it's not filled with your 
good works. It is filled with the blood of 
Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin. Do not take this 
message today and say, I'm going to be a better person and not 
tell any more lies. Go to the Lord Jesus Christ and 
become a Christian. Become forgiven. And then he 
will say, you're not going to go tell any more lies. Well, 
let us pray and ask God to give us clarity in these things. Father, 
we thank you for the Holy Scriptures. We thank you for their beauty. 
We thank you, Lord God, for all of the scriptural admonitions 
concerning truth, concerning your mind and your heart revealed 
against lying. We pray that you would help each 
one of us who are Christians to bridle our own tongues. And 
Father, for those who do not know you, I pray that you would 
cause them to believe the gospel, to be saved, and to know the 
joy of being found in Christ Jesus. We pray, God, for our 
church. We pray for other churches and 
for society as a whole, God. We pray that your will would 
be done on earth as it is in heaven. We know there's no lying 
going on in your kingdom, God. We know there's no lying and 
perjury going on in heaven. So we would pray, Father, that 
you would help us to reform our own minds and hearts, and we 
pray, God, to those among whom we live, that truth and that 
honesty and that those things would be valued and they would 
be prized, and that you would give us grace, even in this day, 
to lead the way. We ask through Christ Jesus our 
Lord. Amen.