Exploring the 10 Commandments: The Ninth Command
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“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).
Have you ever watched a court drama show on TV, where you as the viewer have seen all aspects of the case, then you watch as someone lies on the stand about another person who is innocent? Even though the person placed a hand on the Bible and swore to tell the truth, sin so often leads to more sin. Someone willing to commit a crime is very likely someone who is willing to lie on the Bible in front of a judge and jury.
A false witness takes place when someone lies to damage the reputation or the life of another person.
A Biblical Example of False Witness
Remember the account of Joseph? He experienced the false witness of Potiphar’s wife. She accused him of sexual assault, when in actuality Joseph fled her pursuit and seduction. She grabbed his cloak that he left behind and used it against him.
“One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants. ‘Look,’ she said to them, ‘this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house’” (Genesis 39:11-15).
Potiphar’s wife later goes on to tell her husband the same lie and he ends sends Joseph to prison because of it (Genesis 39:16-23). We cannot forget that God was with Joseph even in prison, however Joseph was innocent and did not deserve to be there.
Bearing False Witness Today
Maybe you have not falsely accused someone or been falsely accused in a courtroom. Perhaps, however, you have made assumptions about people, spread vicious gossip or tried to break down someone’s reputation due to hurt or revenge? Or maybe this happened to you? This is breaking the ninth commandment. It matters to God.
Our words have power. James 3 teaches us to tame our tongues.
“All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (James 3:7-10).
As believers in Jesus, it should break our hearts that we and others have praised God and cursed others with the same mouths. Maybe you think that you have information that is accurate, however if one small detail is wrong, this is false witness. We need to be sure that our information is correct before presenting it to others, and consider the heart behind sharing it. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will take over our tongues so that we will not speak falsely or accuse others of things that they are innocent of.
You may not be the person who originally witnessed something in your office, your neighborhood or your church. If you are receiving second-hand information, be careful not to share that with others because you do not know the validity of it. False witness can be like a big game of telephone; somewhere down the line, the original message is skewed. The false witness does not just happen at the end of the line when the message is revealed, but it begins wherever the misinformation starts.
Proverbs 6:16-19 teaches about seven things that the Lord considers detestable. A lying tongue and a false witness who pours out lies are two included in this list. We need to take this seriously and ask the Holy Spirit to help us be honest people who are seeking the truth in love. This does not mean we never have to share hard truths or speak up on a stand for the justice of the innocent, but it does mean we need to be truthful when called to do it.
What Motivates False Witness?
False witness can happen unintentionally through avenues such as gossip, or it can happen intentionally. I think about people who like to get to the top in unfair and dirty ways. Someone might lie about another employee to a boss or superior to make himself look better. Or in the classroom, someone might lie to a teacher about another student out of jealousy. A child might lie to a parent about something that their sibling did or said but never occurred.
This leads us to ponder what our motivation is in lying about someone else? We might be struggling with pride, hate, jealousy, envy, lust, or something else. People use false witness to break others down and puff themselves up. They use false witness to hurt or take vengeance on another. They might lie because they wish that they had something like a position or a relationship that another has.
The Bible even teaches us that if there is a conflict, you should take another person with you if the person you are confronting will not listen one-on-one (Matthew 18:15-18). Genuine witness is important.
This is why we need to remember that often in Scripture, we see a rule of two or more witnesses. Two or more witnesses can help lessen the possibility of a false witness. Dr. David Jeremiah shares, “According to a study by the American Judicature Society, eyewitnesses correctly identify suspects 87.8% of the time. This 12.2% margin of error provides one explanation for why Old Testament law required the testimony of two or three witnesses to prosecute a crime.”
Be Careful of False Witnesses of God
This leads us to remember that if people can lie about their neighbors, then they sure enough can lie about God. We often call them false prophets or false teachers.
Jesus had many witnesses of His death and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). God describes the great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12:1 after Hebrews 11, the hall of faith. Nature gives witness to God (Psalm 19:1, Colossians 1:15-20, Romans 1:20). The Bible itself is a witness of Jesus and His redemptive plan.
God is serious about false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:20, Ezekiel 13:9, Matthew 7:15-20, Timothy 4:3-4, Acts 20:28-30, etc.) 1 John 4:1-3 teaches us, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”
A great way to know if someone is a false witness of God is if the person adds or subtracts from the Bible, because the Bible is God’s Word (Deuteronomy 4:2).
If someone says that God says something is acceptable that the Bible says is a sin, that is a lie.
If someone says that something is a sin that God never said was a sin, that is a lie.
If someone says that Jesus was a Prophet, but not the only way to heaven (John 14:6), that is a lie.
Be on the lookout for people and pastors who break the ninth commandment in leadership. We all need accountability to the Lord and each other.
The Ten Commandments List
Commandments 1-4
Thou shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images. (Exodus 20:4-6)
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. (Exodus 20:7)
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11)
Commandments 5-10
Honor your father and mother. (Exodus 20:12)
Thou shalt not murder. (Exodus 20:13)
Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)
Thou shalt not steal. (Exodus 20:15)
Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16)
Thou shall not covet your neighbor. (Exodus 20:17)
Jesus summed up all of the 10 commandments. As we look at commandments 1-4, they are vertical, about our relationship with God. (Love the Lord your God.) As we look at commandments 5-10, they are horizontal, about our relationship with others. (Love your neighbor as yourself.)
This week, may we be prayerful and cautious with our words. May we ask the Holy Spirit to forgive us for times when we have used false witness against others, and ask Him to help us to speak the truth. May we pray for discernment in hearing witnesses from others about God and other people, so that we can live in His truth and have confidence in Christ.
More in this series
The Eighth Command
The Seventh Command
The Tenth Command
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