The Ninth Commandment
The Ninth Commandment
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exo 20:16
God is only truth and light, with no darkness; the devil is only lies and darkness, with no light.
“This then is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” 1Jn 1:5
“… he (the devil) is a liar and the father of lies.” Jhn 8:44
The point of this commandment obviously regards Truth. Truth is of God, lies are of the devil, and so therefore we must not lie in any way, shape, or form.
One could try to be cute and say that the commandment says do not lie about someone in a court situation, that it is not prohibiting lying to someone, only about them, but that is
the devil’s logic, always looking for a loop hole, an escape clause, a way to rationalize sin, and say it is not sin.
This commandment is against false representations of any kind, in any way, to any person, in any situation.
Consider this: God is so against lying and false representations that he even evaluates the scales in the store:
“A false balance is abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight.” Pro 11:1
“Diverse weights are an abomination to the LORD, and a false balance is not good.” Pro 20:23
All lies are of the devil. The below verse is crystal clear.
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in
him. When he lies, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Jhn 8:44
The devil persuaded Ananias and Sapphira to lie to God the holy spirit: “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to deceive the Holy Spirit. … You did not lie to men, but to
God.” Act 5:3, 4
When you lie, you are lying to God. You are assuming he does not know, and so you can get away with it; but he does know, and he does care, and you cannot get away with it.
God is the God of Truth.
“Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.” Psa 31:5
Consider what happened with Adam and Eve.
“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the
day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Gen 2:16-17
But “The serpent said to the woman, You surely will not die!” Gen 3:4
Who told the truth? Who lied?
The devil wants you to lie like he does, to lie and deceive and trick, so that you will remain in his camp now, and when you die, you go to be with him, and live with him
forever; think about that!
So while this commandment clearly tells us “Do not lie”, think about the reason: lies are of the devil, Truth is of God. If you lie, you are showing you are “of the devil … he is
your father” and you will be with him forever.
“No unclean thing shall ever enter it, nor shall anyone who commits abomination or falsehood (lies) …” Rev 21:27
“Outside are dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices a lie.” Rev 22:15
Are you a liar? Do you love and practice lying? Does the devil have you in his grip!
But you can escape; there are people who “are of the Truth”, God’s people, Christians. Imperfect as we are, yet we are “of the truth.”
“… for this reason I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Jhn 18:37
We were “of the devil”, but Jesus Christ saved us, and brought us into “the Truth.”
To whom will you listen, the Father of Truth, who only speaks Truth, and wants you to live, or the Father of lies, who only speaks lies, and only wants your death?
Think about Adam and Eve!