Word of Salvation – Vol.48 No.28 – July 2003
Are You A False Witness Or A Truth-teller?
Sermon by Rev M P Geluk on Lord’s Day 43 (Q/A 112 Heid.Cat.)
Scripture Readings: Deuteronomy 17:6-13; 19:15-21; James 3:1-18
Suggested Hymns: BoW 148; 215:1,3,5,6; 101; 527
Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ…
The ninth commandment says: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour.” Here God shows His hatred against lying and expresses His concern for truth. So whomever you and I associate with, we are not to lie about them or to them.
What are some examples of false witnessing? Well, when someone is accused of sexually abusing children, then the accused ought to be convicted if the testimony is true. But if the accusation is not true, then such a false testimony could send an innocent person to prison. And even when the accusation is proven false, then many people may continue to have their suspicions about the person.
Another form of false witness is when a child in school acts friendly to another child but behind his back tells others what a loser he is. Or when a young lady tells a young man who is attracted to her what a nice fellow he is, but is just having him on because she likes to be a flirt. And, of course, the reverse happens, too. A young man says all kinds of nice things to a girl , only in order to get what he wants from her.
False witness takes place when members of the church rubbish other members in their absence. Or Christians making promises and vows before God and fellow believers at wedding ceremonies, professions of faith, baptisms, and installations or ordinations of office bearers, but then consistently fail to live up to these promises and vows. Or when a professional athlete signs a three-year contract, but after one year threatens to renege on the deal unless he is paid more. Or when the club signs up a player for a number of seasons but then tries to get rid of him after one season because they don’t want him any more.
Or when a smart-talking salesperson persuades a customer into signing a contract even though he knows the fine print will upset the customer later. Or someone writing a report falsifying the data to either hide some unpleasant facts or make things more attractive than they are. Or a doctor telling a patient that there is a good chance of recovery when there isn’t and not allowing the person to come to terms with the reality of the illness. Or politicians making all kinds of promises they know are not going to be kept anyway. Or a talk-show host saying unproven things and making wild speculations and half-truths that damage people’s reputations and their careers. Or preachers saying things that make them popular and boosts attendances but are biblically untrue.
Why do people tell lies? Well, in order to get out of trouble, to avoid being found out, to escape punishment, to make them look better than they are, to hurt someone else, or to protect others who should be exposed. There are many reasons. But God and lies do not go together. And He wants us to be truthful.
Let’s hear, then, the Word of God in the ninth commandment by putting this question: ARE YOU A FALSE WITNESS OR A TRUTH-TELLER?
1. Law Courts
The ten commandments were given to Israel at Mt Sinai. God gave all the laws that a nation under God would require. Because of sin and sinful nature, people will always have disputes and experience criminal activity. In order to have justice done, truth needs to be established and a judge has to decide what that is. The ninth commandment about not giving false testimony against one’s neighbour certainly had the law courts in mind. The law of Moses said: “On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness” (Deut 17:6).
It did not mean that the judge could automatically assume that the accused was guilty because two or three witnesses agreed. Witnesses can decide to lie in court because they don’t like the accused. Therefore, in order to expose any malicious witness, the law also demanded that, “The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among you.” God was determined to have truth and justice prevail among His people. For that reason He required that the harm a false witness intended against another, come back on his own head. And the Bible goes on to say, “The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. Show no pity; life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” (Deut 19:18-21).
In the law courts of Israel, where God’s law was followed, there was no place for pity. A witness to a crime could not soften the evidence because he felt sorry for the accused. And a judge must not allow his feelings for the accused influence his judgment and hand down a lesser sentence than the crime deserved, or give a harsher sentence than the crime deserved. He must be impartial and the punishment given must equal the severity of the crime. That’s what “life for life, eye for eye…” and so on meant. Judgment given to the guilty must be just and true.
Even then, innocent people can be killed because of lying witnesses. It happened to Naboth when Jezebel, the evil wife of king Ahab, conspired with some worthless characters, to give a false witness about Naboth in court. They accused him of having cursed God and the king, which he never did. But the truth was not established and Naboth was innocently put to death. Behind the whole setup was Ahab’s greed, he wanted Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21:8-14).
A similar thing happened at the trial of Jesus. The high priest, the teachers of the law, and the elders, all wanted to be rid of Jesus and were looking for false witnesses. Yes, the very people who were appointed to uphold the law and keep the nation just and true, were conspiring to subvert justice. Many false witnesses came forward but none could agree on anything. Finally, two came forward who agreed on something they thought Jesus had said, which would incriminate Him (Mt 26:59-61).
False witnesses and crook law-keepers have always been around. They are not interested in telling the truth. They have hidden agendas which they want to see fulfilled. But if we want to see truth and justice in a nation, ours included, then we must pray much that God will expose all liars, and we must fight for that as well. We must also pray for those whose work involves the law and the courts, that they remain impartial and uphold truth and justice.
2. The power of words
The ninth commandment is not only for the law courts. Everywhere else we should also avoid lying and deceit of every kind. With the ninth commandment God is watching over our words. Speech is a wonderful God-given tool with which to communicate. Where would we be if we could not speak, read or write? Words articulate our thoughts and give expression to our feelings and love. Words pass on knowledge and wisdom. But words can also distort the facts, twist the truth, lie, spread half-truths, and ruin people.
Proverbs 25 has telling examples of the power of words. For example, you may be arguing your views about something and in order to strengthen your case, you might speak of things that someone else told you to keep confidential. You have now betrayed that other person. Words that are not meant for other people’s ears may do a lot of harm (vs 9). Or you may speak about something of which you only know the half of it. Others hearing you blab on may know the full story. When you are corrected you are embarrassed. If you keep on shooting off your mouth, you become known as someone whose words are unreliable (vs 10).
Proverbs 25 goes on to say: “a word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (vs 11). When you say something that is appropriate and wise, then it results in others respecting you. It’s the same with words of rebuke from a wise man and spoken with great discretion. Those who are willing to listen benefit a great deal from that rebuke (vs 12). A trustworthy messenger refreshes the spirit of those who send him (vs 13). The messenger is reliable and those who entrusted him with it are delighted to know that they are not going to be misrepresented. But a man who boasts of things he cannot do or does not even have, is like clouds and wind without rain (vs 14). And the man who gives false testimony against his neighbour is like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow. His words can cause a lot of pain (vs 18).
The letter of James in the New Testament also has some true things to say about the tongue. With it we can “praise our Lord and Father” (3:9). Yes, how we can sing in church. “Lord, we worship you.” “I just want to praise you … and say I love you.” “O Lord, you’re beautiful, your face is all I seek.” I this and I that. Some of the psalmists even did that, only to repent at other times for sins of the tongue, like slander and cursing.
Aren’t we all guilty of that? Words of praise to God, coming from our hearts with great conviction, and serene faces, and then some time later saying nasty things about others or to others, which are not true, making them out for everything and anything. As James says in his letter, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praising and cursing. My brothers, this should not be” (vss 9-10).
Small as it is, the tongue, says God, can tame all kinds of animals. A good cattle dog responding to various commands with words and whistles is worth its weight in gold. “But no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (vs 8).
Of course, it is not the tongue that is the culprit. It is the mind from where all sin originates. The tongue is only the means, but for just a little member of the body it can do many things, both good and bad. Just like the bit in the horse’s mouth can turn the whole animal, and that small rudder can steer that huge ship, so also can the tongue do great things. But just like a small spark can start a devastating bush fire, ruining thousands of hectares of crops and property, so also can the tongue spread rumours and innuendoes that are impossible to contain.
So what are we? False witnesses or truth-tellers?
You and I need to be people of truth because God is a God of truth. If you know God, then you will love truth and hate lies. Why? Because that is what God does. In His own Word God testifies that He loves truth. “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful” (Pr 12:22). We should be cautious before we trust other people. But to God we can give our absolute trust because His whole Word says that He is “the God of truth” (Ps 31:5).
A true believer regards as true the message from God about forgiveness, salvation, and whatever else the Bible says. How do I know it is true? The bottom line is that God “does not lie” (Titus 1:2). If He did, then you and I are wasting our time and efforts to be believers and we are the biggest fools believing something that isn’t true. I mean, our whole life is influenced by what the Bible says. Now if God is a liar, then we and the whole Christian church right through history, have been chasing shadows. But the Bible says, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?” (Num 23:19). “The word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does”, says the Psalmist (33:4).
And Jesus, whose name is above every name and through whom we are saved and become right with God, said, “I am … the truth” (Jn 14:6). To Pilate our Lord said, “…for this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (Jn 18:37).
Do you remember what Pilate answered? He said, “What is truth?” (vs 38). Pilate thought that truth can be whatever people make of it, and that kind of thinking allowed him not to take Jesus serious. That’s how it still is today with all who do not regard Jesus as a matter of life and death. They don’t believe that He has the truth. And if Jesus is not absolute truth, and His Word is not the absolute truth, then it doesn’t seem so terribly wrong to tell a few lies. What’s wrong with twisting the truth a little to advance your own cause?
That’s exactly what Satan is doing. All lies come from him because he is the father of lies. When he lies, says the Bible, then he is speaking his native language (Jn 8:44). He is behaving according to his evil nature. Whenever we are giving a false witness, then we are in league with the devil. Does that sound too extreme? Well, when we lie, then it’s obvious we are not on the side of truth, and truth is where God is.
Adam and Eve were persuaded to disobey God in paradise as a result of Satan’s lies. “Did God really say…” (Gen 3:1). Satan’s lies brought us sin and its misery. The first sin described in the Bible is the lie. The devil was talking about God in a dishonest way. It was a false witness. As soon as God created the world and man, Satan was on hand to destroy God’s works with lies.
Satan was there again at the beginning of the Christian church at Pentecost. Satan tried to destroy the church by persuading Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, to tell lies about a block of land they sold, the proceeds of which were to help the church. They only gave a part, which was their freedom of choice, but they pretended it was the full price in order to make themselves look good. The apostle Peter accused them of lying against God, and as a result Ananias, and shortly thereafter, Sapphira, dropped dead (Acts 5:1-11). God does not strike every liar dead, but He severely punished this husband and wife because He did not want Satan to destroy the beginning of the church with lies. Neither did God want people to think that lying isn’t so bad in a church that belongs to the God of truth.
Truth in God’s church is extremely important for genuine fellowship. In the church we’re bound to rub each other the wrong way sometimes. The church on earth is not perfect. And we will not agree on every issue. But believers can still live together in love and harmony because, as the Bible says, each of us “must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbour, for we are all members of one body” (Eph 4:25). The craftiness and the deceitful scheming that we see so much off in the world must not be found among the people of God. So how then can Christians live and work together?
3. Love the truth and speaking the truth in love
We will begin to see how precious it is to love the truth and speak the truth in love when we look at the opposite of this. Our culture is not interested in truth. It is much more interested in perception. That means that whatever people like to see, that’s what you give them. If people want to see strong leadership, then let’s work on our image and pretend to be strong. Never mind if the leaders are not really strong. The substance is not what counts in our culture, it’s the appearance. Hide the real character if it is crook, just work on a positive image.
This hiding of the truth is what makes advertising and marketing so successful. With all the hype, crook politicians are voted back in and worthless films become popular. Words are not used to tell the truth but to manipulate people’s thinking.
In our daily work, at home or in the office, and in the life of the church, God wants adults and children to love the truth and speak the truth in love. If we are going to say something, then let’s first make sure that it is the truth. But that’s not all. Truth-telling can be done in a blunt and hard way, leaving the person we’re talking to emotionally wounded and scarred. So we need to also make sure that the truth we speak is done with tact and sensitivity. That is, God wants us to love the truth and love the neighbour.
The Lord Jesus Christ always spoke the truth but the circumstances were not always the same. The pharisees were usually addressed in a no-nonsense way because in the Lord’s wisdom that was obviously the best way. But the woman whom Jesus met at the well, who had had five husbands and was living with number six in a de facto relationship, was truthfully spoken to by Him in a loving way.
Speaking the truth in love is what all gossipers need to be reminded of, and all of us gossip some of the time. What you tell others about someone else may be true, but how are you telling it? Of course, if it is not true, or only half true, then we are false witnesses and the quicker we stop talking the better it is. But when you are talking about someone else in a truthful manner, then do it in such a way that the person you’re talking about would not mind what you said if he were there to hear it. You have to be careful even if the person you’re talking about is not there, for remember, God is the silent listener to every conversation. But we must stop talking about other people when it serves no purpose, when it’s taken out of context, when what we happen to know about them should remain confidential, and when it has nothing to do with us.
Let me quote two texts from Proverbs about gossip and then close with reading the Catechism answer again. Why do we like to gossip? God’s Word says this: “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts” (18:8). It’s like standing in front of a table with all kinds of delicacies. You survey the whole lot and then you pick a bit from here and a bit from there, stuff that you like. In the same way we hear all kinds of things and from it we pick the bits that interest us and then pass them on to others. We had our first enjoyment when we chewed on it, and then we enjoy it a second or a third time when we regurgitated it and passed it on to others.
But that’s not speaking the truth in love. Proverbs says, “He who covers over an offence promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends” (17:9).
What is God’s will for us in the ninth commandment? “God’s will is that I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one’s words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone without a hearing or without a just cause. Rather, in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are devices the devil himself uses, and they would call down on me God’s intense anger. I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbour’s good name.”
Amen.