"You shall not bear false
witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16)
Today’s sermon is a look at the
Ninth Commandment, which is all about truth (or its lack) in our words
concerning other people. The main setting of this verse is about the
courtroom. Someone
has been accused of a crime and someone else is witnessing against the
person who has been charged. There is no problem with your statements as
a witness if those words are true. But if they are not true, you have
become a “false witness
against your neighbor.”
From a merely human
perspective, if you are caught lying in a Court of Law, you will be
charged with the crime of perjury – lying while under oath - and you
might pay a fine and spend some time in jail. That’s what was happening
at the trial of Jesus. He was innocent of EVERYTHING. He was the only
sinless person who has ever walked this earth, and “the
chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false
testimony against (Him) so that they might
put Him to death” (Matthew 26:59). He was not guilty, but the
leading religious people of that time hated Him and were willing to lie
in order to bring Him harm. They had become false witnesses in a court
room setting.
But most of the words uttered
by a “false witness” are more subtle and a
Court of Law is not what’s involved. We call the problem “gossip”
and many lives have been ruined by
it.
One of the most important
lessons in life for us all to learn is that there are times when we
should not say anything. Usually when we dislike somebody, it is for
superficial reasons. Often it’s because they remind us of someone who
has harmed us in the past. When we meet a new person, they should be
like a blank slate to us, neither good nor bad because we don’t know
them yet. And those “new” people don’t know us either. If you’re in the
church or not, it’s a
good idea to accept others because God expects it of you. And we should
all live a clean life, not giving others reasons to reject you or gossip
about you. As Will Rogers said, “Live
so that you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town
gossip.”
In humanity we tend to talk too
much. William Redpath in “A Passion for Preaching,”
said, “I once formed a mutual encouragement
fellowship at a time of stress in one of my pastorates. The members
subscribed to a simple formula applied before speaking of any person or
subject that was perhaps controversial” ---
“T - Is it
true?”
“H - Is it
helpful?”
“I - Is it
inspiring?”
“N - Is it
necessary?”
“K - Is it
kind?”
Redpath continued: “If
what I am about to say does not pass those tests, I will keep my mouth
shut!” And he went on to say:
“It worked!”
How do we learn to “think” like he did?
The answer is that we are to
trust in the Lord, and learn to pray as we speak, giving our hearts and
our conversation to Him who made us. Romans 1:29 and its context
contains a listing of many of the problems found in the hearts and
actions of
humanity. That verse ends with the word, “gossip.”
The context continues, “Though they know God’s
decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only
do them, but give approval to those who practice them” (Romans
1:32). It’s time for us to prayerfully say less and to love more.
The book “Hooray
for Yiddish” gives us good advice: “If you
don't say it, they can't repeat it. Yiddish folklore offers a story
about gossip-makers. One such man had told so many malicious untruths
about the local rabbi that, overcome by remorse, he begged the rabbi to
forgive him. ‘And, Rabbi, tell me how I can make amends.’ The rabbi
sighed, ‘Take two pillows, go to the public square and there cut the
pillows open. Wave them in the air. Then come back.’ The rumormonger
quickly went home, got two pillows and a knife, hastened to the square,
cut the pillows open, waved them in the air and hastened back to the
rabbi's chambers. ‘I did just what you said, Rabbi!’ ‘Good!’ was the
reply. The rabbi smiled. ‘Now, to realize how much harm is done by
gossip, go back to the square...’ ‘And?’ ‘And collect all your
feathers.’”
How many times have we violated
the Ninth Commandment through our careless and perhaps mean words? "You
shall not bear false witness against your neighbor"
(Exodus 20:16) must be taken seriously by us all. And it
is far more than just hurting someone’s feelings.
Have you ever had something
said about you that simply was (and is) not true? Do you remember how it
felt? It feels like your soul has been flooded with abiding
embarrassment. It becomes difficult to leave the house for many. Some
become VERY angry to the extent that they might actually do harm to the
one who spread the gossip in the first place. Worse, you can become so
angry that the next motorist who cuts in front of you might be run off
the road. A violation of
today’s commandment can lead to a violation of the Sixth – “You shall not commit murder”
(Exodus 20:13), in your thoughts as well as your actions.
We learned from Jesus in
Matthew 5:21-22 that if you have anger in your heart to the extent that
your thoughts are murderous toward others, you are guilty of murder in
the sight of God. That’s what James said in quoting the Law – “He
who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not commit murder.’
If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a
transgressor of the Law” (James 2:11). If you “bear
false witness,” you are capable of more. If
one Commandment is broken, you are
guilty of them all.
Through gossip, through bearing
“false witness,”
we have become Lawbreakers in the
sight of a Holy God. Even worse, that very God who can see better than
we can, knows that your work in harming others leads them to break the
Law also. A person who is the victim of a “false”
witness is to become like somebody who carries a deadly disease. The
injured person will injure others, infecting everybody they meet.
James continued in his
discussion about the Law, stating what we have seen; that if we have
committed one sin we are guilty of all. He said that “judgment
is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy,” and he
continued, “Mercy triumphs over judgment”
(James 2:13). It’s time to seek God’s help and show “mercy,”
for in doing so, you make the world a better place.
If you have ever said an unkind
word about anyone, you are under God’s judgment. Is there no escape? Yes
there is. You can’t go back and change what was done, but you can be
forgiven. Romans 6:23 recognizes our condition by stating, “the
wages of sin is death;” and of course, to “bear
false witness against your neighbor” is sin. But praise the Lord,
the verse in Romans continues, “but the free gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amazingly, “there
is… now no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus. For the Law of the Spirit of life has set you free in
Christ Jesus from the Law of sin and death” Romans 8:1). Praise
the Lord!
Lord, I am condemned by the Law of God. I am
sorry for my sins, and I confess them. Please forgive Me. I trust in the
Son of God & receive Him now. Thank You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
