Sermon Notes for December 10, 2000

The Ten Commandments

The Ninth Commandment

“Oh How We Love to Talk

About Other People”

Exodus 20:16

“Next week,” said the preacher, “I will deliver a sermon on the sin of lying. To help you understand what I’m talking about, I want you all to read Mark, Chapter 17.” The following Sunday the minister went to the pulpit and asked how many parishioners had read Mark, Chapter 17. Every hand in the congregation went up. “Mark only has 16 chapters,” said the preacher with a sly grin. “I will now proceed with the sermon on lying.”

Introduction

We SEEM To Be A Nation Full Of Liars.
In a 1996 N.Y. Times article, 91% confessed that they REGULARLY don’t tell the truth.
86% of youth lie regularly to their parents and 75% lie regularly to their best friends.
When calling in sick, U.S. workers define “sick” more broadly than they once did. In 1995, about 45% of those who took sick days were really sick. By 1998, that dropped to 22%.
The first graduating class of the new millennium (2000)
trusts their grandparents (79%)
trusts their parents 68%
trusts their fellow students 25%
As to the question, who lies most in America?, the studies tell us:

Men lie more than women.
Young men lie more than older men.
Gays and bisexuals lie more than heterosexuals.
Catholics lie a bit more than Protestants, and both lie more than Jews.
Unemployed people lie more than those with jobs.
The poor lie more than the rich.
Liberals lie more than conservatives.

Among the authors’ conclusions were these startling statements:

There are more serious liars right now (liars who do harm) than at any time in our nation’s past.
The majority of Americans today (two out of every three) believe there is nothing wrong with telling a lie. Only 31 percent of us believe honesty is the best policy.
32% believe they have been lied to by a clergyman.

We SEEM To Fail To See The Ultimate Danger In Not Dealing With Truth.
Our society and nation DEPENDS on telling the truth.
Look at what is happening to our country today!

1. Who is telling the truth?

2. All kinds of accusations.

The only hope is a court system that MUST deal in truth – OR WE COULD HAVE A CIVIL WAR!

We have no idea the DANGER of not telling the truth – thus, the Ninth Commandment – “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
It is the need of a country.
It is a need of a church.
It is a need of a family.
It is a need of a friend.
To teach her child about lying, one mother said to her son who was caught in a lie.
She decided to practice lying to him – told him that after school she would take him to get some French fries.
After picking the child up, she told him that she had lied. He got the point.

I. DEFINING A False Witness.

The OLD TESTAMENT View of Lying.
In a courtroom.
Essentially, bearing false witness referred to a courtroom.

1. BECAUSE Old Testament practice did not revolve around
lawyers, detectives and courtrooms.

2. The “courtroom” met at the city gate and depended LARGELY
on the testimony of WITNESSES.

a. One witness was not enough. Deut. 17:6 – “On the
testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be
put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the
testimony of only one witness.”

b. The witnesses were to be the FIRST to throw a stone at
the guilty party – Deut. 17:7 – “The hands of the
witnesses must be the first in putting him to death, and
then the hands of all the people. You must purge the
evil from among you.”

c. HOWEVER, if the witnesses were found not telling the
truth, they were to receive the PUNISHMENT that they
intended for the other party. Deut. 19:16-21 (read)

Is there any DOUBT that the rule needs to be followed in today’s courtroom?

1. Larry Goldman, a criminal defense lawyer in New York said
in 1998: “As a practical matter, there’s a rampant amount
of perjury in civil litigation. Both sides commit perjury.”

2. What is the OBVIOUS danger when we can’t trust our court

systems?

3. Once again, how much faith do we ACTUALLY have
regarding the involvement of lawyers in the present Presidential
court case?

In Life.
However, there are plenty of verses throughout the Old Testament that DISCOURAGE us from lying.

1. Proverbs 12:22 – “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights
in men who are truthful.”

2. Proverbs 6:16-19 – “There are six things the Lord hates, seven
that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands
that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours
out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”

a. Of the seven things that God hates . . .

b. FOUR have to do with lying.

In The NEW TESTAMENT.
One of the FIRST sins committed by the early church was lying – Acts 5:1-4.
A couple, Ananias and Sapphira, had said that they were going to give a certain amount of land and kept back some of the proceeds, instead of giving it to the church.
Peter, knowing that they had lied about the land, called in the husband, Ananias and asked him about it. In front of everyone, Peter confronted him and after doing so, Ananias DROPPED DEAD!
Whereupon, the wife was also summoned and THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO HER!
Look at the WARNING of Jesus! Matthew 12:36-37 – “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

II. DEALING With Your Actual Neighbor.

The JEWISH View of Neighbor.
A Jew defined his neighbor AS A FELLOW JEW.
He was SUPPOSED to hate non-Jews; they were the enemy.
And he did not have to obey this commandment regarding those who were not Jews.
In fact, the Jews found a way to get around telling the truth.
If a Jew made an oath TO THE LORD, then he HAD to tell the truth.

1. “Cross my heart, hope to die . . .”

2. NOT cross my fingers.

HOWEVER, if a Jew swore by ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE LORD, then he didn’t have to keep his oath.
But what does JESUS say? Let your yes be yes and your no be no!

1. You shouldn’t NEED to make an oath.

2. If you make a promise, THEN KEEP IT . . . PERIOD!

JESUS’ View Of Your Neighbor.
THAT is why Jesus told the parable of the GOOD SAMARITAN. (Luke 10:33)
A Priest left the temple and walked by an injured man on the side of the road but did not stop to help him.
A Priest’s helper, a Levite ALSO passed the same injured man, but did not stop to help him as well.
BUT A SAMARITAN HELPED HIM.

1. The Jews HATED the Samaritans.

a. The Jews who intermarried with the Assyrians during
the years of captivity (the Northern tribes).

b. While the Jews represented the “pure Jews” from the
Southern Kingdom.

2. And JESUS MADE THEM ANSWER THE QUESTION – vs.
36 Now . . . “which of these three do you think was a
neighbor to the man who fell in the hands of robbers?”

a. And the Jews HAD to SAY:

1. They couldn’t even say the word Samaritan.

2. They simply said, “The one who had mercy on
him.”

3. So . . . by Jesus’ own definition –

a. Your neighbor is like the injured man . . . He is whoever
you encounter in your life.

b. He is any man and any woman – Christians and non-
Christians.

c. We are to be truthful to EVERYBODY!

III. DENYING Your Struggle With Lying.

TYPES of Lies (Glen Martin – God’s Top Ten List)
The CRUEL lie.
This is a blatant attempt to discredit someone.
It may be open libel when you want anyone and everyone to hear publicly or slander behind their back.
It is malicious and destructive with an obvious desire to tear down one’s reputation.
Shakespeare in Othello: “Who steals my purse steals trash; tis something, nothing. But he that filches from my good name, robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed.” (Act 3, Scene 3)
As one has said, It’s not that the gossip goes in one ear and goes out the other. No, it goes in one ear, gets all mixed up and the slips out of the mouth.”
The COWARDLY lie.
Because of fear, you attempt to protect yourself from being “found out.”

1. Your boss walks up to you and asks about your report. You are
nowhere close to finishing, but blurt out, “I’m finishing that
report right now.”

2. A creditor calls you looking for payment and you say, “The
check’s in the mail.”

3. A fan that took 6 months to repair: “It’s on the table right now.”

You may compliment someone publicly, but don’t believe it. “Flattery is saying to a person’s face something you would never say behind their back.”

The CONCEITED lie.
We want others to think well of us, so we “inflate the truth.”

1. The job market is tight, so you pad your resume.

Applying for my first job, I realized I had to be creative in
listing my few qualifications. Asked about additional schooling
and training, I answered truthfully that I had spent three years in
computer programming classes. I got the job. I had neglected
to mention that I took the same course for three years before I
passed.

2. We shade the truth about our speed, grades, jobs and successes.

From the Readers Digest – I was renewing my drivers’ license
at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles and shaded the truth on the
question about weight. Then I noticed a sign warning it was a
CRIME to provide inaccurate information. “That’s not my true
weight,” I admitted to the clerk. “That’s okay,” she said. “We
pretty much expect everyone to write down their dating
weight.”

BASICALLY, THIS IS HYPROCISCY.

1. Representing ourselves to be something THAT WE ARE NOT.

2. You must not be too comfortable with who you are.

The CALCULATED lie.
We manipulate others to get our way.

1. We whine, plead, and “set the stage” to get what we want.

2. The classic example in buying a car.

a. Me – vacation; “Let me talk to my manager.”

b. I walked out of a car dealership for $100 one day: I was
sick of the game.

3. Another example is deciding what restaurant to go to:

a. I know where I want to go.

b. “Oh, there will be a crowd there.” Let’s try ______.

c. We may not “think” we are lying, but we are making the
situation work for our advantage AT THE EXPENSE
OF ANOTHER WHO DOESN’T KNOW THE
WHOLE TRUTH.

The CONVENIENT lie.
This lie happens when it’s going to take too much time and effort to tell the truth.

1. An invitation to a party or a date.

a. “Well, I’ve got to study.”

b. “I haven’t had much rest this week, so I’d better stay
home.”

2. Reminder of a meeting at the church.

a. “Well, I will check my schedule.”

b. “I probably won’t be able to attend. I will see.”

JUST SAY, I WON’T BE AT THE MEETING!
Francis Schaffer calls it “true truth;” i.e. what is the “true truth?”
Don’t you wish for situations like this? “The young lady went to the hospital to see her friend. She found his room and started to enter. “May I see Irving, please?” she said to the woman blocking the door. “We don’t allow anyone but relatives to see the patients,” replied the woman. “Are you a member of the family?” “Why-er-why, yes. I’m his sister.” “Oh, I’m so glad to meet you,” said the woman. “I’m his mother.”

The COVERT lie.
This is a lie of “silence.”

1. You hear gossip or a rumor about someone that you know IS
NOT TRUE, but you say nothing so that you don’t get
involved.

2. You become an “accomplice in a crime” by not saying
anything.

Someone has said that when you say nothing, you become somewhat of a “fence.”

1. A “fence” is someone who sells stolen goods for another.

2. However, if the “fence” refused to sell the stolen merchandise,
the thief would be out of business.

3. When you hear untrue rumors, you can stop the rumors by
speaking up and then not repeating them.

Brian Burrell tells of an armed robber named Dennis Lee Curtis who was arrested in 1992 in Rapid City, South Dakota. Curtis apparently had scruples about his thievery. In his wallet the police found a sheet of paper on which was written the following code: 1. I will not kill anyone unless I have to. 2. I will take cash and food stamps – no checks. 3. I will rob only at night. 4. I will not wear a mask. 5. I will not rob mini-marts or 7-Eleven stores. 6. If I get chased by cops on foot, I will get away. If chased by vehicle, I will not put the lives of innocent civilians on the line. 7. I will rob only seven months out of the year. 8. I will enjoy robbing from the rich to give to the poor. This thief had a sense of morality, but it was flawed. When he stood before the court, he was not judged by the standards he had set for himself, but by the higher law of the state. Likewise when we stand before God, we will not be judged by the code of morality we have written for ourselves but by God’s perfect law.

To some degree, we think about lying like this man thinks about stealing.

TYPES of Strategies.
SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE.
Paul says in Eph. 4:29 – “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
OUR GOAL WITH OUR TONGUE MUST ALWAYS BE EDIFICATION!

1. WHAT IS YOUR GOAL IN YOUR CONVERSATION?

a. Is it to build another person up?

b. Or is it to tear them down?

2. All you have to ask yourself IS THAT QUESTION.

a. Is what I am about to say going to build another person
up?

b. Is what I am about to share about another person
BEHIND THEIR BACK going to build them up or
TEAR THEM DOWN?

c. Is my SILENCE when I hear another person being
turned down verbally going to build them up or tear
them down?
3. ULTIMATELY, could I share this information with that person
TO THEIR FACE?

4. BUT BE CAREFUL HOW you use your truth.

a. If my goal is to edify, can I tell them the truth?

1. How do I look in this dress?

“You look horrible . . . truthfully.”

2. What did you think of the sermon? “It stunk.”

b. You can still speak the truth – but remember your goal –
EDIFICATION!

ATTEMPT TO GIVE A GOOD REPORT.
No matter WHAT the situation, attempt to represent a person well.
Look at what Paul says in I Corinthians 13.

1. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things.

a. If a person tells me something, UNLESS I HAVE
HARD EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY, I AM TO
GIVE A GOOD REPORT.

b. In fact, I am to HOPE AGAINST ALL HOPE THAT
THEY ARE TELLING ME THE TRUTH.

2. Only when the evidence is made so obvious, that it cannot be
avoided . . . however, we are still giving an HONEST report!

a. George C.

WALK IN THE SPIRIT.
Look at what God’s Word says in Romans 9:1 – “I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit.”

1. A person who is walking in the Spirit will be made aware when
they have lied consciously or unconsciously.

2. Hebrews 5:14 – “But solid food is for the mature, who by
constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from
evil.”

Bearing false witness can at times, be a difficult sin to detect. That is the task of the Holy Spirit.

1. My life as an early Christian – I slandered people all of the time
until I became a Christian.

2. And then it became a great deal more protected.

a. “You know _____ needs prayer because he/she has a
problem with _____.”

b. “Have you heard what happened to _____?”

A loose tongue that CONTINUES to slander and malign people REVEALS more about your spiritual condition than anything else in your life. Your tongue is the world’s barometer of your spiritual maturity in Christ.
Let me give you some advice.

1. EVERYONE is tempted to slander others.

2. Take that slander to the Lord.

a. He will hear you.

b. It is His to deal with.

A middle-aged pastor in a small farming community in the Midwest had been falsely accused. It was a vicious, scandalous story, and it swept through town like a prairie fire.

“Have you heard about the Pastor?”

“Can you believe it?”

“He oughta leave town.”

“You’d never think such a thing to look at him, would you?”