The 9th command pertained to legal testimony. The idea of justice is prominent in the Old Testament, and honesty in the courtroom was a precondition to maintaining justice. The prophets spoke harshly against giving false testimony and stated that one of the primary reasons for the punishment of Israel and Judah was the false testimony that took place there.
Amos 5:15 Hate evil, love good (Romans 12:9); maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.
God knew that Israel could not survive unless its system of justice was incorruptible. Exodus 23:2: “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd”. Deuteronomy 19:18-19 The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, 19 then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you. The same is true today, in order to have a healthy society justice cannot be corrupted.
While the 9th Commandment forbids testifying falsely against one’s neighbor it also had to do with honesty, integrity, and telling the truth, which are all part of God’s character. The Israelites were forbidden from making false statements about or to their neighbor but the 9th command forbids all types of deceit.
Psalm 101:7 No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence. Proverbs 6:16-17 says that a lying tongue is one of the things that are detestable to the Lord. We should be honest in our private dealings as well as in our public statements. In either situation, we give “false testimony” by leaving something out of a story, telling a half-truth, twisting the facts, or inventing a falsehood. God warns us against deception. Even though it is a way of life for many people, God’s people must not give in to it.
Now, some may ask, aren’t there positive examples in the Bible of people not being truthful? There are multiple instances of God’s people being deceitful to protect human life. In Exodus 1:15-21 we have the story of the two Hebrew midwives, Shiprah and Puah (Exodus 1:15), who refused to follow Pharaoh’s order to murder new born Hebrew males (Exodus 1:16). Exodus 1:17 says these women feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. When Pharaoh summoned the midwives and asked them why they let the boys live (Exodus 1:18), the midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive” (Exodus 1:19). Exodus 1:20-21 says God was kind to the midwives and gave them families of their own. Clearly the midwives violated Pharaoh’s orders but did they give false testimony, did they lie? Some argue that the midwives could have warned the Hebrew women to give birth before they arrived so that what they told Pharaoh in verse 19 was, in fact, the truth.
This is certainly plausible but not verifiable. Regardless we know that God blessed these women because they honored God above man and they protected human life.
In Joshua 2:3-6; 6:24-25 we have the story of Rahab, a pagan prostitute, who God used to help conquer Jericho. Joshua sent two spies into Jericho to look it over (Joshua 2:1) before the Israelites invaded. Jericho’s king became aware of these two spies and apparently knew they were in Rahab’s house (Joshua 2:2-3). The king told Rahab to bring out the two men who had entered her house (Joshua 2:3). In Joshua 2:4-5 Rahab clearly deceived the king by telling him the men had left though Joshua 2:6 tells us she had hidden them on her roof. Rahab clearly lied to the king of Jericho concerning the two Israelite spies. Yet, she and her family were saved because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho (Joshua 6:25).
In both of these stories the root cause of the deceit was to protect human life. And while God certainly blessed both the midwives and Rahab these two events do not condone or justify lying. God held Israel to a high moral standard and anything that deviated from the truth was falsehood. God’s very identity is linked to truth, as Jesus Himself proclaimed He is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). If God is truth, then He opposes all falsehood; and when we lie, we disappoint our creator, who hears our every word and sees our every action. We live in a world where lying is seen as convenient in order to get out of a jam or to avoid consequences. However, lying itself can have bad consequences, as lies eventually catch up with us. God is very clear that what is true is completely true, and what is false in the least bit is completely false.
1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Christians are told to rid themselves of all deceit. Lying includes gossiping and slandering, because these activities damage others and our relationship with them by attributing untrue or destructive statements to them. We also give false testimony when we say hurtful or malicious things about others, as being truthful involves more than just making a true statement; it also includes speaking words that edify, encourage, and build up. Romans 14:19 reminds us to make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Falsehood is likewise more than just making a false statement, it is unjustifiably and maliciously stating something that hurts or harms someone else.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 reminds us to “encourage one another and build each other up”. Just as our words have the potential to tear down, they also have great potential to build up. When we say things that encourage others, we reflect the goodness of God and become a witness to God’s character. Falsehood does the exact opposite by contradicting the very identity of God. So, as God commanded the Israelites, we must not give false testimony. We must cling to the truth and use our words and actions to uplift others.
The 9th command can be seen throughout the New Testament. In order for there to be healthy congregations of the Lord’s people, there must be honesty.
Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices. Lying to one another disrupts unity by destroying trust. It tears down relationships and can cause serious conflict within a congregation. As Christians we should not exaggerate facts or pass on rumors and gossip. We should be committed to lovingly speaking the truth.
Ephesians 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Sometimes people hear truth, but do not hear any love. One is absolutely useless without the other. If we are truthfully hateful with people, we aren’t really speaking truth because as 1 Corinthians 13:6 reminds us, love rejoices with the truth. Likewise, if we are lovingly false with people, we may seem nice but we are lying to them and we aren’t showing genuine love because as 1 Corinthians 13:6 says, love rejoices with the truth. But the point of Ephesians 4:15 is that we speak truth because we love.
Speaking the truth in love helps us to grow in Christ. Ephesians 4:14-15 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. When we fail to speak the truth in love, we cease to grow. When we lack truth, when we don’t emphasize and prioritize the truth, we become susceptible to the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. We become like infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, blown here and there by every wind of teaching. That is why God tells us through Ephesians 4:25 to put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor.
Ephesians 4:25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. We all belong to the same body therefore we must speak truthfully and put off falsehood. The 1599 Geneva translations puts it this way
“cast off lying, and speak every man truth unto his neighbor: for we are members one of another.” When we deal deceitfully with our brother or sister in Christ or when we compromise God’s truth in order to appease, we damage the whole body.
Romans 12:9 reminds us that “Love must be sincere.” We practice falsehood and give false testimony when we deal with brethren in an insincere way, when we pander to certain people. When we pretend to care or be concerned but in reality aren’t really willing to do anything that might actually help. James 2:16 refers to this insincere love “If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” Love must be sincere, when it isn’t; we are practicing deceit and giving false testimony.
There’s a lot of false testimony in this world. We live in a world where truth is considered relative; whatever is true for you is true for you and vice versa. This is a lie, this is wrong, and this belief will cost people their eternal soul.
That is why as Christians we must love the truth, seek the truth, speak the truth, and live the truth. A lot of people in this world are seeking answers, they are seeking truth. It was no different 2000 years ago. Listen to Jesus’ conversation with Pilate recorded for us in John 18:37-38, “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” 38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate”.
Let’s start with the last part of this passage, Pilate’s response to Jesus “What is truth?” Pilate, like many in our world today wanted to know what truth was. Well, what is truth? Jesus Christ is the truth (John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life”) and He has given us the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). We have the Holy Spirit living in us guiding us into all truth. We don’t have the miraculous powers of the Spirit that the first century Christians had (1 Corinthians 13:8) but we do have the Holy Spirit to guide us in truth. How does this happen, through God’s Word, because God’s Word is truth!
The psalmist, inspired by God, says in Psalm 119:142 “your law is true” in Psalm 119:42 he says “for I trust in your word.” Like the psalmist we can trust in God’s Word, knowing that it is altogether true. We cannot trust everything we read on the internet, especially social media! We certainly cannot trust everything we here in the media. We can’t trust everything we learn in school. We can’t trust all the statements given by our politicians. We can’t even trust the fact-checkers who check those statements because of political bias. Statistics can be manipulated. Photographs can be faked. Magazine covers can be airbrushed. Teachers, members of the media, our acquaintances, sometimes our friends, even our own eyes can deceive us. But the Word of God is entirely and absolutely true. Proverbs 30:5 tells us “Every word of God is flawless”
God’s Word is eternal and fixed in the heavens (Psalm 119:89); it does not change. There is no limit to its perfection God’s Word is boundless (Psalm 119:96); it contains nothing corrupt. All God’s righteous “ways that work” are true and eternal and will endure forever (Psalm 119:160); they never get old and never wear out. If you ever think to yourself “what is truth?” then go to God’s Word; it teaches only what is absolutely true. John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. This brings us back to the first part of the passage of Jesus’ conversation with Pilate. John 18:37 “the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
In its basic form the 9th command was about testifying honestly and not giving false testimony. The reason he was born and came into the world was to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth will listen to him (God’s Word); those that choose not to are living a lie. When we claim to be Christians but live like everyone else we are giving false testimony. When we fail to live honestly, truthfully, and with integrity we are giving false testimony. When we fail to live like we’ve won (1 Corinthians 15:57) we are giving false testimony about our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to seek the truth, know the truth, dwell on the truth, speak the truth, and live out the truth of Jesus Christ and His Word every chance we get. That is how we testify to the truth. Are you giving false testimony by how you live your life or is your life a living testimony to God’s truth?