Being Truthful

The ninth commandment states, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
In our day of "political correctness" we might wonder what has happened to telling the truth instead of spinning the truth. In our study today we are going to look at the heart of what is taught in this commandment.

Michael Horton states in his book, "The Law of Perfect Freedom", that one must not raise up a bad report or take up a bad report concerning a neighbor. This means that before I say something about someone or repeat what I have been told I will check to see if the report I have heard is factual. This is a great truth to practice. But, why should we be careful not to "spin" or "pervert" the truth of something we have heard?

The answer to that question is given in the following three points which describe what actually takes place when we "spin" or "pervert" the truth.

The first thing that could happen in bearing a false report is that the person's name is ruined. We are told in Proverbs 22:1-2 the value of a person's name. The name of a person is more than mere identification of the individual but also bears testimony of the person's character. An individual spends a life time building a strong Godly character in themselves and then is known in the community. A false witness could cause serious harm and damage to that character and reputation.

The second thing that could happen is the value word of the person giving the false witness is lessened. Those who consistently give false or raise up false reports will soon realize that their own word is useless. Who will trust anyone who is constantly spreading lies about someone.

The third issue at hand is the value of truth itself. When truth is not held in high esteem by people then who can believe anything anyone says. This is what we are facing as a nation since so many politicians have put their "spin" on certain issues in our nation. In some situations we are at the point of "who can believe anything they say?" A terrible situation occurs when truth has been compromised, Judges 21:25.

The way of preventing the bearing of a false witness against our neighbor is found in
Proverbs 4:23-27.

A. Verse 23 We must constantly guard our hearts
B. Verse 24 We must avoid all false and perverse speech
C. Verse 25 We must set our eyes on a fixed goal, which is to be holy
D. Verse 26 We must remove moral hindrances from reaching our goal
E. Verse 27 We must no turn from our goal and turn away from evil

Bearing a false witness against our neighbor not only hurts them but the one who gives the false witness and the community in which they live. Let is do all we can by the grace of the Lord in following the ninth commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."