The COMMANDMENTS (11)
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." — Exodus 20:16
The Lord Jesus said, in a very familiar verse, “I am the…Truth.” And of God it is written, “God…cannot lie [Titus 1:2].” We have suggested that the commandments are a reflection of God’s character, and this ninth is no exception. The God who is Truth and cannot lie counsels His own that we should “walk as He (Christ) walked,” hence we should walk in truth (II John 4). “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight [Prov.12:22].”
When the Savior distilled the second table of the law into single statement He said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” It is interesting that this terse phrase first occurs in the review of the law in Leviticus, in the context of this very commandment. “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord [Lev. 19:15-18].”
The perversity and power of false witnesses is amply illustrated in scripture. False witnesses, acquired under the evil genius of ungodly Jezebel, resulted in the murder of Naboth (I Kings 21:9-14). The Psalmist cried, “False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not. They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul [Ps. 35:11-12].” Godly Stephen was stoned by an angry mob after false witnesses charged him with blasphemy. (Acts 6:9-15; 7:54-60) Certainly the ultimate illustration is in the person of the Son of God, of Whom it is written, “Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee [Mt. 26:59-62]?” These false witness provided the flimsy ground upon which the Savior was condemned to the death of the cross.
Of course the outcome does not have to be so radical in order to be guilty of breaking this commandment. False witnessing may include gossip if one repeats things that prove not to be true, and injures the reputation of another, as the above passage from Leviticus would indicate. Those preachers who deny the resurrection of Christ are false witnesses. (See I Cor. 15:14-15) All lies and deceit told to or about others, compromising truth, fall within the scope of this commandment.
The root of all lying is Satan. Jesus said to those who opposed Him, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it [John 8:44].” Those who choose to lie are not only out of favor with God; they are in league with the devil.
Lest there be any question about the seriousness of the commandment, we have only to consider the conclusion of the matter. In Revelation 21 the beloved apostle gives us the glorious description of the new heavens and the new earth, and the city of God that is central in it. Concluding that description he declares, “And there shall no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie…” (v.27) And lest there be any doubt or uncertainty he adds in the following chapter, “For without (the holy city) are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolators, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie [Rev. 22:15].” Such are the companions of liars!
Our tendency, I believe, is to think that lies are not always as serious as other sins. The word of God will not allow that distinction. And when we take this commandment seriously, we are once again confronted with the stunning truth that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We will never achieve citizenship in the commonwealth of heaven on our own merits. We stand in need of a Savior, and Jesus Christ, “Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree,” is the One through Whose stripes [we may be] healed.” (I Peter 2:24) Have you fled to Him for refuge?
Thankfully “free from the law,”
"Pastor" Frasier
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