The Ten Commandments Up Close

The Ninth Commandment

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor

"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16) What this commandment is saying, put more simply, means do not lie. You see, God absolutely HATES lying. In fact, it is the only thing that is impossible for God to do. (See Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18) The devil; on the other hand, loves it when you lie. He is cheering for you when you do. The next verse is one that shows this principle. "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44) Please pay attention to that last part, he is the FATHER OF LIES, where as, God, is the FATHER OF TRUTH.

Another thing to thing about is that if you lie, you're disregarding what God says, and more simply put, saying that the ninth commandment isn't true. If you're saying that part of the Bible is false, you might as well be saying the Bible in a whole is false. After all, the entire Bible is all encouraged by one author, God.

Another thing wrong with lying is that when you lie, even a small lie, tends to lead to more lies in order to cover up the previous lie. This repetitive lying also tends to lead to someone getting hurt. A verse supporting this statement can also be found in Exodus, just shortly after where the commandment is listed in the first place. "Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being malicious witness." (Exodus 23:1) You see, when you lie to or to help someone, in the long run you're hurting someone else.

God takes lying as a very serious offense, and will not let a liar go unpunished. A verse to illustrate this point is found in Proverbs. "A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will not go free." (Proverbs 19:5) This said, you can not just go and lie and expect not to face the consequences, also remember, a white lie is still a lie. God promises to forgive our sine, even forget them, "'I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." (Isaiah 43:25). Although God will forgive you of your sins if you repent, that doesn't mean you can go about lying and think, "Hey, might as well lie, I just can repent later." It doesn't work that way, you have to repent with all your heart, mean it, and promise to try to never lie again.

The Bible gives an analogy about what God thinks a liar is. "Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor." (Proverbs 25:18) This is a very important commandment to remember, because it is one of the easiest ones to disobey. We must constantly remember that lying is a sin that God does not approve of and wants to stop. As Christians we must remember that whatever God says goes, and remember to obey. The severity of breaking the ninth commandment is unbelievable, bearing false witness against your neighbor is as if one bears false witness against God, saying He didn't create the universe. In short, DO NOT LIE!!!

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