Ten - Part 10 [Notes]

The Ten Commandments are probably the best-known list of "rules" ever recorded, but there is so much more to these commands than meets the eye; they provide a framework for understanding who God is and what it means to be a holy nation. Join us for "Ten," and together, we will discover just how amazing the gift of the Ten Commandments is!
Takeaway: Do not bear false witness.
"Perhaps the most telling response came from the coach’s brother, who said, 'Is anyone trying to tell me that résumés are truthful? In the America we live in, the willingness to lie on a résumé is an indication of how much you want the job.'"
– Gary Smith
Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
– Exodus 20:16 (HCSB)
Do not give dishonest testimony against your neighbor.
– Deuteronomy 5:20 (HCSB)
In laws and formal rules, neighbor has nothing to do with proximity or familiarity; your “neighbor” connotes any other human being you may have dealings with, actually or potentially.
– D.K. Stuart
Bearing false witness has to do with giving false testimony in a judicial setting. According to Old Testament legislation the witness of two or three was the basis for a conviction and the death penalty should the crime be a capital offense. Therefore, a law against perjury was needed to prevent false charges from being brought against an individual.
– J.K. Hoffmeier
“One witness cannot establish any wrongdoing or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. “If a malicious witness testifies against someone accusing him of a crime, the two people in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and judges in authority at that time. The judges are to make a careful investigation, and if the witness turns out to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother, you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from you. Then everyone else will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything evil like this among you. You must not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.
– Deuteronomy 19:15-21 (HCSB)
A decent society requires a reliable court system and court processes. Because crimes and disputes do occur, it must be the case that they can be adjudicated and the criminal behavior or unfairness thereby stopped. If witnesses in a trial, whether civil or criminal, do not tell the truth, it is extremely difficult for judges to render proper decisions. In other words, the court system of a nation depends on the honesty of its people.
– D.K. Stuart
 One witness cannot establish any wrongdoing or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
– Deuteronomy 19:15 (HCSB)
If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible.
– Leviticus 5:1 (NIV)
The ninth commandment means “You shall not lie.” It is not just about the false testimony that people give in court, but also about the lies they tell their neighbors over the backyard fence and the rumors they whisper between the pews at church.
– P.G. Ryken
Remember how the Ten Commandments work. What they forbid is the most extreme form of any particular sin. Murder is the worst kind of hatred, adultery is the most destructive sexual sin, and so on. Similarly, the ninth commandment forbids the deadliest lie: one that condemns an innocent man for a crime he did not commit. According to “the rule of categories”… each commandment also applies to lesser sins of the same kind. In the case of the ninth commandment, the underlying principle is that God forbids every form of falsehood
 – P.G. Ryken
  1. God’s nature
2. God’s Word 
The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.
– Psalm 119:160 (HCSB)
3. God’s Son
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
– John 14:6 (HCSB)
“According to a survey of nearly three million job applicants, nearly 50 percent of American résumés contain one or more falsehoods.” We all know that lying is wrong. Yet we are so used to massaging the truth for personal advantage that we have trouble holding the line against falsehood.
– Michael Horton, The Law of Perfect Freedom
“The injunction against bearing false witness, branded in stone and brought down by Moses from the mountaintop, has always provoked ambivalent, conflicting emotions. On the one hand, nearly everybody condemns lying. On the other, nearly everyone does it every day.” Then he asked this question: “How many of the Ten Commandments can be broken so easily and with so little risk of detection over the telephone?”  
Time Magazine
Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest.
– Ephesians 6:14 (HCSB)
Since you put away lying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor,  because we are members of one another.  
– Ephesians 4:25 (HCSB)
But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head—Christ
– Ephesians 4:15 (HCSB)

Discussion Questions // 

  1. Why do you think people lie? 
  2. What are some of the consequences of not telling the truth? Can you give any personal examples?  
  3. Read Ephesians 4:15; Ephesians 4:25; Ephesians 6:11-14; 1 Corinthians 13:6 and John 8:32. What are some of the benefits of telling the truth?
  4. Read Zechariah 8:16-17. Why do you think God hates lying and false testimony so much?
  5. Do you think there are occasions where it is okay to lie (for example, Joshua 2:1-6, where Rahab lied about the Israelite spies she had hidden on her roof)? 
  6. What do you think we should do if we know we have lied against someone? 

Worship Setlist // 

Who Is Like the Lord // My Eyes Have Seen // Great I Am // Roses

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