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everyone for our call to worship this evening i want to read Psalm 141 Psalm 141 beginning in verse 1 a psalm of David Lord I cry out to you make haste to me give ear to my voice when I cry out to you let my prayer be set before you as incense the lifting up of my hands is the evening sacrifice set a guard o Lord over my mouth keep watch over the door of my lips do not incline my heart to any evil thing to practice wicked works with wicked with men who work iniquity and do not let me eat of their delicacies let the righteous strike me it shall be a kindness and let him rebuke me it shall be as excellent oil let my head not refuse it for still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff and they hear my words for they are sweet our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave as when one plows and breaks up the earth but my eyes are upon you O God the Lord in you I take refuge do not leave my soul destitute keep me from the snares they have laid for me and from the traps of the workers of iniquity let the wicked fall into their own Nets while I escape safely amen please turn with me in your Trinity salter to Psalm 50 some 50 will sing the first six verses to a familiar tune will stand together let us pray or blessed God and our Holy Father it is a joy again to gather in the Lord's house on the Lord's Day we ask that you would be exalted in our meeting here together tonight we pray that you would be praised to the singing we pray that you would be worshiped through prayer and as we look to the Holy Scriptures may we hear from the voice of God most high tonight and in this may you be exalted and praised we thank you Father Son and Holy Spirit for your glory and your majesty and your excellence we thank you that from everlasting to everlasting you are God you have made this world that you govern this world that you have redeemed your people out of this world and in this Lord God we greatly rejoice that you have included us in this we thank you that the Lord Jesus Christ came to give his life as a ransom for many we thank you that you've included us in this blessed number and we would pray that we would conduct ourselves and the fear of God and with joy and Thanksgiving all our days we rejoice in your goodness to us not only in the spiritual realm but certainly God in the spiritual realm we have received every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ we praise you for your justifying grace we praise you that you are sanctifying us and we look forward to that day when Christ shall return or we shall pass away into the presence of the Lamb and we will be glorified we praise you as well for the daily benefits you give us we thank you for food and shelter and clothing all these necessities that have been met we thank you for your kindness to us that we may indeed live quiet and peaceable lives in this country we know God with the election tomorrow we would pray that these things would remain and continue but if it is the case that there is a turn if there is a change may you cause us to be continually faithful may we always seek and strive to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation and may you give us boldness and courage to hold forth the word of truth we tonight that you would look with favor upon each and everyone in this local church we know there are many that are sick many with illness many with ongoing concerns we just commit them to you and pray that you would look with favor upon each and every one for all of us God we come here with spiritual trials we all live in a world that is filled with temptation and sin and we pray as our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray that you would lead us not into temptation but you would deliver us from the evil one may the Word of God find its way into our hearts may we hide that word in our hearts and may we esteem it and may we live accordingly by the power of your Holy Spirit so that we may indeed be faithful witnesses in this lower world to a faithful and to a gracious and to a glorious God we ask that you would forgive us for all of our sins and transgressions we know the Apostle says our conduct is to be worthy of the gospel we know that the abiding validity of your law demands that we as Christians look to that law as a rule of life and we have fallen short and we have not done those good things that you call us to do and we have transgressed in areas where you say not to so we confess those sins and iniquities now we plead a fresh the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we thank you that if we confess our sins you are faithful and just to forgive us and declension righteousness then we know that even now Lord God and may we know the power of the Holy Spirit upon us so that we may indeed render acceptable worship to you our great God and may it be done with reverence and with godly fear and with great joy and Thanksgiving we're certainly as we consider the the Lord's Day as we consider the resurrection of our beloved Savior and the the great things he has wrought on our behalf may we be filled with joy and may we indeed be a people that have a desire to testify to others concerning the great salvation that Jesus Christ wrought at Calvary may we call may we invite may we implore sinners to look and live by the grace of God to know the joy of being found in the Lord Jesus Christ we asked tonight Lord God that you would look with favor upon the persecuted Church we think of brethren we think of people that are suffering in various parts of the world we think of the situation and the in the Middle East and we just pray God in heaven that in your mercy and in your grace you would send forth your gospel truth we know father that some trust in chariots and some trust and horses we will trust in the the sovereign God of the of the it has power and absolute authority and we pray that you would work in these situations that you would surround your people with protection and with peace and safety and Lord God if it is the case they continue to suffer given them grace so that they may persevere to the very end for Christ's promises blessing to those who overcome we ask as well for this particular nation we know that there are sins that are that are violent our site God and we are not holy people they must indeed be vile in the sight of a holy God we pray father for that day that abortion and euthanasia and sodomy these things would not be legalized and subsidized but they would be criminalized the Word of God is clear these things are abominable before a holy God and these things are continually practiced in this country we pray that in your wrath you would remember mercy we pray that you'd put the fear of God in the hearts of those in high places that they would rule in equity and with justice and righteousness our Father we pray for the churches in this land that you would revive your Saints she would cause your people to be about the truth as it is in Jesus cause us to be a people that are marked by godliness and uprightness and may we indeed be a salt and light in this community in this in this country we pray father that you would look with favor upon other churches we thank you that we're not alone we pray for those faithful churches here in chilliwack that you would prosper them she would bless them that you would use them Lord God to continually propagate the true earth as it is in Jesus Christ we pray for our cut we thank you for our association of churches we pray that your peace and your mercy and your grace would rest upon the churches that make up this association continue with us now we pray and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well please turn with me in your Trinity hymnal to 492 492 again we'll stand as we sing together you you and we may turn to the Prophet Jeremiah for our scripture reading this evening finishing up chapter 50 in Jeremiah specifically a prophecy concerning the judgment of Babylon in Babylonia were picking up in verse 29 of Jeremiah chapter 50 here now the word of the living and true God call together the archers against Babylon all you bend the bow and camp against it all around but none of them escape repay her according to her work according to all she has done due to her for she has been proud against the Lord against the Holy One of Israel there for her young men shall fall in the streets and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day says the Lord behold i am against you almost haughty one says the Lord God of hosts for your day has come the time that I will punish you the most proud shall stumble and fall and no one will raise him up I will kindle a fire in its in his cities and it will devour all around him thus says the Lord of hosts the children of Israel were oppressed along with the children of Judah all who took them captive have held them fast they have refused to let them go the Redeemer is strong the Lord of Hosts is his name he will thoroughly plead their case that he may give rest to the land and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon a sword is against the Chaldeans says the Lord against the inhabitants of Babylon and against her Prince's and her wise men a sword is against the soothsayers and they will be fools a sword is against her mighty men and they will be dismayed a sword is against their horses against their chariots and against all the mixed peoples who are inter midst and they will become like women a sword is against her treasures and they will be robbed a drought is against her waters and they will be dried up for it is the land of car images and they are insane with their idols therefore the wild desert beats shall fall ad well there with the Jackals and the ostriches shall dwell in it it shall be inhabited no more forever nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors says the Lord so no one shall reside there nor son of man dwell in it behold the people shall come from the north and a great nation and many kings shall be raised up from the ends of the earth they shall hope they shall hold the bow in the lance they are cruel and shall not show mercy their voice shall roar like to see they shall ride on horses set in array like a man for the battle against you o daughter of Babylon the king of Babylon has heard the report about them and his hands grow feeble anguish has taken hold of him pangs is of a woman in childbirth behold he shall come up like a lion from the flood plain of the Jordan against the dwelling place of the strong but I will make them suddenly run away from her and who is a chosen man that I may appoint over her for who is like me who will arraign me and who is that Shepherd who will withstand me therefore hear the counsel of the Lord that he has taken against Babylon and his purposes that he has proposed against the land of the Chaldeans surely the least of the flock shall draw them out surely he will make their dwelling place desolate with them at the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles and the cry is heard among the nations amen well those of you familiar with the Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans will realize that in Chapter 1 after announcing that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness Paul starts with ungodliness visa V idolatry he tells us very specifically that men apart from Christ know God they have neither given God glory or given thanks to him for who he is and as a result of this idolatry they exchanged the truth of God for the lie and they worship and serve the Creator rather than the Creator it is that commitment to idolatry and to the abandoned abandonment of the true and living God that all of the several vices and sins follow in Romans chapter 1 so in other words when we see a nation that is filled with sin we ought to conclude that idolatry is at the very heart and soul of that particular nation God through the Prophet indicates what babylon's ultimate problem is at the end of verse 38 says for it is the land of carved images and they are insane with idols so when men are in sight insane with their idols when they are given over to the worship of that which is not God certainly degenerates their entire society sin and specifically idolatry has a degrading influence upon the idolaters and upon a of people that engage in such things so God's condemnation of Babylon is for a multitude of reasons to be sure but when we take those particular sins and we trace them down they are a people that have rejected the true and living God it never goes well for a people who reject the true and the Living God if you have not come to the true and the Living God through our Lord Jesus Christ then the Bible says believe on him and you shall be saved repent from your sins look to the one alone who is able to save sinners to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through him Christ is able to save will let us pray our Father we thank you for the clarity of your word we see God clearly these sorts of things continue on in our day men are insane with their idols men are given to a rejection of God and a rebellion against your authority we see from that all man of wickedness and sin that precedes we would ask Lord that she would help us with steam you highly to worship you and praise you as you ought to be and may you by your grace and by the power of your Holy Spirit keep us on that narrow path may you keep us Lord God on that way so that we may one day be with you where you are and with the lord christ almighty who gave his life for the sins of his people and we pray in Jesus name Amen well for our final him before we look at the ninth commandment will sing number 704 704 will stand as we sing together you you you can turn to Deuteronomy chapter five as i said the ninth commandment specifically verse twenty i do want to read the entirety of the sections good to continue to see 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 father's 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 know your son nor your daughter nor your male servant nor your female servant nor your ox nor your donkey nor any other 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 out stretch darm 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 is donkey or anything that is your neighbors 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 let us pray bless it 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 were 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 well 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 to hang all the law and the prophets Oh love to God commandments 124 love to man commandments five to ten in this second table the commandments are given to protect life the sixth marriage the seventh and property the eight against invasion and intet and attack the last two moved 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 that's all those particulars what Frances turret and 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 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 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 that the deliberate willful giving a 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 this the court system of the nation depends on the honesty of its people if people are not honest we have big problems all over society notice in Exodus 20 31 you shall not circulate a false report do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness you should not 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 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 has 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 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 20 36 you shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute and then over in the Proverbs which in many respects our 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 hears 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 20 21 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 balanced 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 Jack so the specific prohibition in view with reference to this ninth commandment is against perjury it says in the tax 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 Stewart says this is the first commandment to employ the word ray up 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 a 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 six and seven specifically there what's in view is the capital of 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 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 again this is 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 a testify against him of wrongdoing so here's the problem we have a false witness even a light of the ninth word even the light of the fact that this is the old competent 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 here we bring our our 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 right 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 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 19 11 Leviticus 19 11 which is where Jesus quotes from when he says love your neighbor as yourself that section there in Leviticus 19 specifically and make ourselves look good well it wasn't as bad as it may have appeared we never ever just Excel maybe you do but a lot of times we don't accept the consequences without trying to Pat the situation to make ourselves look just a little bit better notice in proverbs 12 17 to 19 who speaks truth declares righteousness but a false witness deceit there is one who speaks like the piercings of the 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 1922 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 129 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 chapter 4 verse 25 the 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 and first Corinthians chapter six at verse 10 the idea there it communicates it as reviling and reviling means to assail with abusive language its whole idea of backbiting of slander of revealing 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 revealing 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 yet 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 law in the next place the act of gossip and tale-bearing 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 tale-bearing again Leviticus 19 16 speaks specifically hence tale-bearing proverbs eleven verse 13 proverbs 8 18 verse 8 proverbs 20 verse 19 proverbs 2620 and proverbs 2622 all speak of this issue of gossiping or tale-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 first Corinthians chapter thirteen 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 first Corinthians 13 for love suffers long and is 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 provoke 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 we want to make the most out of somebody else's misstep or miss state rather than we ought by the grace of God seek to cover a multitude of sins and exhibit love as we are now if they does not rejoice in iniquity it rejoices in the truth it bears all things it believes all things it Oaks 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 tale-bearing 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 will call this one the one with the lying tongue in 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 mouths 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 are gossiping or tale-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 tale bearers flatterers and slander the 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 unto 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 tale 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 man's you are not going to be the passive participant in somebody else's wickedness I'd 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 sight we say god is love we could 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 end of the reality that God is true God is truthful nests we might say the veracity of God demands that his people there and take the same tab as well the character of man we are image bearers see that right 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 back by two not gossip to not tale there 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 wish we would have got our immigration test last week so we coulda vote it 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 in life through that Blessid lens of God's holy law the stability of the social order depends on truth-telling he said well that's a pretty epic statement it is accurate isn't it RL Dabney said with reference to lies destroying confidence he said that lies destroyed confidence and he said in short if confidence is destroyed then all the bands which unites man with his fellows are boost 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 in 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 expand what scripture says one of 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 fact the prophet Micah calls the mountains in the created order to serve as witnesses when he indict seeeeee 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 in one description or one characteristic of that or expression of that lawlessness was lying was the 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 the third place the positive aspect of the command for 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 or not to be gossips we're not to be tail bears and 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 that 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 20 21 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 to speak the truth in all areas of life Ephesians chapter 4 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 for 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 tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God in Christ a view 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 and 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 her sinus 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 enjoying 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 all out 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're 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 and 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 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 don't go to Tim Hortons again they're going to find someone there tell them not to do it rather that's what's the faithful dealing in the context of the Church of Jesus Christ 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 pairing off some of the truth that the devil used with Eve secondly it is characteristic of man in Adam Psalm 58 3 the wicked are estranged from the womb imagine that in the modern happy peppy church setting the wicked go estranged from the whoo that's not popular is it I shared with one of my brother's recently back when I was in Southern California I think the most listened to radio station Christian radio station in the world is a cake a la maybe that's not it but the Christian radio station in Los Angeles and at noon lunch time when you know presumably Christians would eat their sandwiches and listen to christian radio RC 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 like little rats you know that they were sinful and like like rats I mean that's probably making someone choke on their bologna at that particular time 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 vermin they're gross but roll said the sprawl was quoting calm and he said that Calvin like and little children to rats and then sprawl said this I think Calvin was wrong people put down their bologna sandwiches and it sprawls disagreeing with Calvin roll 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 say though it 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 for given you and it is punishable by death and he'll 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 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 the files 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 man up and 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 are 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 fly we just accept that people lie it is wrong it is said 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 gossipy many who had engaged in slandering many who changed and reviling that's in first 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 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 wheeled in the Tong proverbs 18 21 tells us death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who have 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 ruined 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 solemn and 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's hear hear about that guy he's got this problem boy we just want to hear that do you see that guy he's really faithful he's godly and he always does what he's supposed to do they always want to hear that do we I mean the the news is not punctuated on television on the internet or in the newspaper with persons who are doing what they're supposed to is it she'll pick up the progress and read about Joe Blow who gets up every morning and worked hard and he comes home he cares for his family goes to bed he does it again he keeps to you don't read that you read about Joe Blow took an ax and he whacked his wife and he went and 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 and evil disposition we need to as well engage in the godly restraint and the use of our time 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 three 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 last ice in 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 than 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 126 if anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not Bridal his talk he doesn't bridle his tongue this man's religion is useless I'm sorry he deceives his own heart this one's religious is 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 Jane suggests then idolatry you may stand with us and sing the praises of God most high from the Trinity in nola the Trinity salter or whatever it we just happen to use that in our church you may do that you make 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 by 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 calm and pay this guy so he'll go and lie for you in court that's not what he means he means a choir it pursue it get it obtain it find it and hold it by 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 and a body politic we need to know the law of God most high and we need to buy the truth and not sell it will 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 time 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 the 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 she would bless your people in this local church and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll have a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed you