The Ninth Commandment

Jim ButlerDeuteronomy 5:20

The ninth commandment, 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor' (Deuteronomy 5:20), governs far more than courtroom testimony — it encompasses every form of lying, slander, backbiting, gossip, hypocrisy, and doctrinal heresy. Three grounds obligate God's people to truth-telling: God himself is truth, man bears God's image and his reputation is inviolable, and the stability of every social order depends on trust. The positive demand of the commandment calls believers to speak truth in all spheres of life, to discourage slander, and to resist the co-opting of humanist language that obscures biblical categories.