The Ninth Commandment

' You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor', Exodus 20:16

' Every word of God is pure...' Proverbs 30:5

' the Scripture of Truth,' Daniel 10:21

' Your word is truth,' John 17:17

' Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on Your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellow man... and who keeps his oaths even when it hurts,' Psalm 15:1-3

In the King James Version of the Bible we find the word - lie/false words/lying and other derivitives that all sten from lying 65 times. In the same Bible version we find the word - truth - used 224 times.

Truth
Used in various senses in Scripture. In Prov. 12:17, 19, it
denotes that which is opposed to falsehood. In Isa. 59:14, 15,
Jer. 7:28, it means fidelity or truthfulness. The doctrine of
Christ is called "the truth of the gospel" (Gal. 2:5), "the
truth" (2 Tim. 3:7; 4:4). Our Lord says of himself, "I am the
way, and the truth" (John 14:6).

Lie - 5579 pseudos {psyoo'-dos}
from 5574; TDNT - 9:594,1339; n n
AV - lie 7, lying 2; 9
1) a lie 2) conscious and intentional falsehood 3) in a broad sense, whatever is not what it seems to be 3a) of perverse, impious, deceitful precepts

Liar - 5583 pseustes {psyoos-tace'}
from 5574; TDNT - 9:594,1339; n m
AV - liar 10; 10
1) a liar 2) one who breaks faith 3) a false and faithless man

Technicals aside , ' God is not a man that He should lie,' Numbers 23:19

'The word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth,' Psalm 33:4

' He is a God of truth,' Deuteronomy 32:4

As the source of all truth, God requires that His servants always speak truthfully. Our personal relationship with God through His son, Jesus Christ, begins with our acceptance of and surrender to God's Word as truth.

" In the begining was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us ( and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth,' John 1:1 & 9 & 14.

Jesus character was (and is), a perfect reflection of the character of our Father, the God of Truth. In response to a question from one of the disciples, Jesus said,' I am the way, the truth and the life,' John 14:6. To be considered servants of God, and disciples of Jesus we must strive to consistently speak the truth, to demonstrate our sincerity, and love for the Father, the Son, and for others.We must also accpet and obey - the way of truth - the commandments and teachings of God ( Psalm 119:30,151,160). Samuel said ,' only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart, for consider what great things He has done for you,' 1 Samuel 12:24.

It is almost impossible anymore to determine who lies and who does not. That is why we must unequivicolly accept God's word as truth, for on it we can judge truth from lying.

Lying has become an accepted way of life. Our world is accurately described in Isaiah's description of ancient Israel,' no one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and pseak lies; they concieve evil and bring forth iniquity,' Isaiah 59:4.

How did God see the epidemic of lies Israel was committing,' So you shall say to ," This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the Lord their God nor recieve correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth,' Jeremiah 7:28.

From the past until now, people find themselves routinely speaking lies whether in personal relationships, in buisiness, political, religious or otherwise. The vacuum of honesty is so widely accepted that the public rarely cries out against it. A demand of this type must come from deep within a person who has accpted God as truth.

Do you lie?

It could be put a little kinder, but the fundamental question would be the same.

Just how important is the truth? Is a lie revolting to you? These are questions we must ask ourselves on a regular basis, and we must allow God to present the truth to us.

The temptation to lie is never at rest; for lying is effortless and quick. It is a way to gain an advantage over others; it appears to offer easy and quick escapes from situations.

But the Bible says,' Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight,' Proverbs 12:22.

We all face a choice , to follow God's way of truthfullness and honesty, or we can follow the example of the originator of all lies, Satan. Jesus told us that the devil is ,' a murderer from the begining, 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. So we see Satan as the father of lies, and that God is the Father of Truth.

The act of lying was one of the original sins of our first parents, and from that point on the devil has relentlessly misinformed, misguided and misled humanity into a wide array of false views of God and His ways, and of His desire for our obedience. In fact, in Revelation 12:9 we are told, ' and that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which decieveth the whole world...'.

We must learn to be consistent with all our dealings with truth, we must be firm in our beliefs, and we must be ready to defend them. For we know we often find ourselves doing things we know that are wrong. And since this is so, why then do we do them? Jeremiah's reply to this was ,' the heart is decietful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to every man according to his ways, and according to the fruits of his doing,' Jeemiah 17:9-10.

God knows our nature better than we do, and this is why His plan for our salvation has unfolded and is unfolding as He laid it out before the foundation of the earth. He knows we lack the resolve to combat our nature, of how it is all to easy for us to give in to it. This is not just an individual problem but it is universal, one that began with the father of lies and stretches it's clutches down to today.

God through Paul explains the cause of and solution to this universal problem, this timeless struggle goes,' For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice, but what I hate, that I do,' Romans 7:14-15.

I believe we can all relate to that. We have all felt that same type of frustration. Paul continues,' For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?' Romans 7:22-24. Paul ahd learned that he and people need God's help to rise above the weakness of the flesh (human nature).

And for those who believe as Christians that they do not have to follow the Ten Commandments as God's moral Law, then what is your guideline when the frustration of sin comes over you. These ten moral guidances were given for all eternity. They are God's moral will. And if God does not change, then His morality does not. So then how is it some deem it necessary to teach otherwise? They would do well to put aside the deciet Satan has cast over them, and to throw themselves into God's word, and to study what is to remain by His decree for eternity. We at Sullivan, say all Ten of these guidelines will be forever, not just the nine, or the two most follow. ( there should be no need to state these nine but we will....the First Three of the Commandments- skip the Fourth - resume at the Fifth through the Tenth. And for the Two to keep, Love the Lord your God, Love your neighbor as yourself, they are the sumnation of the total Ten, as example, we have ten fingers that makes two hands, but yet you still need the ten fingers to make the two hands... so it is with the commandments. With Ten you have God's total truth for the moral way to conduct our lives, or you have none and face a loss).

Those who willingly believe and obey the truth of God can, by being baptized and recieving the Holy Spirit, become members of the Curch Jesus Christ built and is building. He refers to them and us as ,' the light of the world,' Matthew 5:14. And they and we represent,' the way of truth,' 2 Peter 2:2.

Paul calls the church, ' the pillar and ground of the truth,' 1 Timothy 3:15. Its members are the servants of,' the living God,' 1 Thessalonians 1:9. By ', rightly dividing the word of truth,' , 2 Timothy 2:15, it has been commisioned by Christ to preach,' the truth of the gospel, to all the world,' Galatians 2:5, Matthew 24:14, 28:19.

Everything in a Christians life must be anchored to the truth. God wants us to commit ourselves to truth and to reflect it in all that we do... that is the purpose behind this Ninth Commandment.

go to the Tenth Commandment

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