I-WITNESS

(You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor)

Commandments are given by God for us to have a blueprint on how we will live in this
world. He gave us a roadmap for us to follow in able to get the reward and not consequence.
Today we will going to learn another exciting and timely topic because we will know how to
conduct ourselves in relationship to other in terms of reputation.

Reputation is important in once life, others use it to judge and treat us. It expresses a person’s
reality; it embodies and identifies who we are.

Proverbs 22:1 New Living Translation (NLT)

22 Choose a good reputation over great riches;
    being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.

In this commandment God informs us that having a good name is also an asset. A good name
is a treasure that can be left on earth and taken into eternity as well. It is highly prized and so
valuable to each of us. Your name is the summary of everything you are.
A good name is God's respect for us. It is our pleasure when we earned God’s approval and
favor. When we have pleased Him, not only does God respect us, He also causes man to
respect us

IS GOD’S NINTH COMMANDMENT STILL RELEVANT TODAY?

Nowadays, compromise is a normal thing. People are so much willing to sacrifice their
reputations or someone’s reputation for selfish interests. They are more concern on what they
can get rather than thinking what it may cause to someone’s personality.
Damaging one’s name has result, it destroys one’s reputation, and it results in loss.

Exodus 23:1-3 New Living Translation (NLT)

23 “You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying
on the witness stand.
2 
“You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute,
do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice. 3 And do not slant your testimony in favor of a
person just because that person is poor.

Lying is out of God’s character. It ruins justice, which God cares deeply about.

WHO IS OUR “NEIGHBOR”?

Luke 10:30-37 New Living Translation (NLT)
30 
Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho,
and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him
half dead beside the road.
31 
“By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the
other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant[a] walked over and looked at
him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
33 
“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for
him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and
bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he
took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[b] telling him,
‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 
“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by
bandits?” Jesus asked.
37 
The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
In this parable, God showed to us that every person in the world is our neighbor. There is no
one in the world who is not our neighbor. He showed we are to be good neighbors to
everyone.
Example: Lazarus and the rich man.

WAYS WE GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY/LIE

1. To lie (making false testimony)
We give false testimony when we make statements about someone that are not true.
Proverbs 25:18 New Living Translation (NLT)
18 
Telling lies about others
    is as harmful as hitting them with an ax,
wounding them with a sword,
    or shooting them with a sharp arrow.

God’s words will never be out of date and God’s truth is for every generation. Lying isn’t just
a violation of truth; it contradicts one of the greatest commandments. Lying hurts people.
Whether we do this to protect ourselves or someone else or feeling that doing so is way to
make situation better, all are displeasing to God.

Example: White lies

2. To betray (revealing secrets or private and personal information)

Revealing secrets of another or disclosing private and personal information is another way we
please testimony against our neighbor.

Proverbs 25:9-10 New Living Translation (NLT)

9 
When arguing with your neighbor,
    don’t betray another person’s secret.
10 
Others may accuse you of gossip,
    and you will never regain your good reputation.
3. To slander (making malicious comments)
When we make comments about someone, then we are sinning against God’s ninth
commandment.

Ephesians 4:29 New Living Translation (NLT)

29 
Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that
your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

4. To criticize (diminishing a person’s stature in the eyes of another)

Finding fault, being ungrateful and being critical is also one way we disobey God’s
commandments.

James 4:11 New Living Translation (NLT)

11 
Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters.[a] If you criticize and judge
each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law,
not to judge whether it applies to you.

CONSEQUENCE OF GIVING FALSE TESTIMONY

1. Loss of trust
To be trusted is a highest compliment. Trust means to depend on, to have faith in, confidence
in, and security in.

2. Lack of integrity
It determines who you are and you become when things become tough. We
compromise our integrity when we trying to maintain a lie but hiding the truth.
Example: Building
CURE ON GIVING FALSE TESTIMONY

1. CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK

Obeying the command to not lie requires changing how we think.

2. GUARD YOUR HEART AND RENEW IT

Lying is not just a mouth issue. It is a heart issue.

Matthew 15:18 New Living Translation (NLT)

18 
But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you.

The only cure for lying is a changed heart and turn to God in faith.
CONCLUSION:
The importance of the ninth commandment goes even deeper than not lying, it emphasizes
the importance of truth, and of becoming more like our Creator God who hates falsehood and
loves truth.

God is a God of truth. He wants us to learn to hate lying and dishonesty and to love truth.
Jesus identifies Satan the devil as “the father” of lies. Dishonesty is in opposition to the
character and identity of God because it distorts and twists the truth, damaging relationships
and creating uncertainty. 

All lying is against God’s law, it is all sin.

Sin is serious—it required the death of our Savior as ransom for us! So we must not take
lying lightly.

We need to choose, let go the lie and own up the truth or denied the truth and start to believe
your own lies.
The further you go on that way, the harder to let go lie. The commandment has its roots in
integrity and honesty.
You will be accountable in every word that will come out in your mouth.

Matthew 12:36 English Standard Version (ESV)

36 
I tell you, on the Day of Judgment people will give account for every careless word they
speak,

Giving false testimony against anyone not only hurts that person but it destroys reputation,
not only the reputation of that person but your own reputation as well.
This reputation will be a mark for your own character.

God wants us to replace lying with honesty in our words, hearts and thoughts.

(PRAY)