Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Is "Do Not Lie" in the Bible? | Torah | Exodus 20:16, 23:1-3

Episode Date: June 29, 2022

How likely are you to tell a lie? Are white lies really a big deal? What counts as a lie? In today's episode, Jensen discusses the ninth commandment and why telling the truth matters. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Passages: Exodus 20:16, 23:1-3 Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now.

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair, and right now we're going through Exodus. When I was in grade school, probably around fourth grade, my sister got me a t-shirt for my birthday. It was my favorite kind of shirt. I had a whole closet full of t-shirts with sassy or clever quips on the front of them. This one, though, was a bit pointed. It said, would this face lie to you? And it was pointed because everyone in my family knew that, yes, in fact, this face would lie to you. I am not proud to admit it, but growing up, I was known for my over-exaggerated stories and embellishments on the facts. I always wanted to have the best story. I'd add in these crazy events that never

happened, just for fun, and I would twist the truth to get out of trouble whenever it suited me. I had no regard for what was true or not. I'd just... spin a story that benefited me the most. And so, mid-July of the early 2000s, I was gifted a T-shirt that called out my disregard for the truth. That shirt should have made me realize that everyone knew I was lying half the time, so no one really knew when to believe me or not. I wish it had woken me up and made me think twice about lying. But in reality, it was a while before I started to be convicted by the Holy Spirit about my disregard for the truth. Oddly enough, I wore that shirt proudly. I was in on the joke, and I didn't care if it was right or wrong. I just wanted to keep

saying whatever I wanted to manipulate a situation for my own good. Now, if you're on social media, or you pay attention to political news at all, you might think that my grade school disregard for the truth sounds a little too familiar. Our culture thrives on taking bits of the truth and spinning a story so it best suits their own agenda. This isn't a left or a right problem. It's an all of us problem. And while not all of us are writing or producing news, we share it. We read it, we talk about it, and we tend to share, read, and talk about only what best suits our own narrative. We have a disregard for what is really true when we manipulate the facts around us to fit our own agenda and belief system.

And so, in a day and age bombarded by fake news and the social media news cycle, I think a lot of us might need to face the music and ask the question, would this face lie to you? Because disregarding the truth isn't just a frustrating cultural or political problem we have. It goes against the Ninth Commandment in the Bible. Now, if you had asked me to recite the Ten Commandments from memory before this series, I probably would have thrown. out a thou shall not lie as one of them. And while you may think that I'd be right, it's not. The Ninth Commandment actually says, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. And while this command certainly includes the sentiment that one shouldn't lie, it encapsulates so much more than that. The wording here is really important. Bearing false witness lends itself

to a judicial context. It's saying that no one should misrepresent the truth in a court of law so as to pervert justice and harm their neighbor. This commandment has everything to do with justice. Just two chapters later in Exodus 23, this commandment is expanded upon. It says, You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil. Nor shall you bear. witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit. So there's a lot there. But ultimately, this command is telling God's people that they are to uphold justice and truth as the law of the land. See, God is a just God, and in the

kingdom he is building, evil is going to be punished, and goodness and truth will win out. And so, as he's instructing the Israelites on how to live in a way that is flourishing for humanity, he includes a commandment to uphold the truth with the highest regard when executing justice. He implores his people not to be swayed by the wicked to give false testimony for any reason. He warns them not to go along with the many and forget that there is truth that may not be on their side. In all circumstances, God's people are to uphold the truth, whether it benefits them in the moment or not. So the importance of this cannot be lost on us.

The idea of a little white lie can get stuck in our heads and make us believe that twisting the truth just a little is a victimless crime. And it's worth it sometimes when it helps us out. But this commandment brings into full focus the folly behind that idea. When we lie, when we bear false witness, we commit and act against our neighbors. We harm not just ourselves, but those around us when we spread and give ourselves over to falsehoods.

The larger Westminster Catechism lays out a long list of sins forbidden in the Ninth Commandment. It's a sobering list, but it includes these following. Raising false rumors, receiving and countenancing evil reports, and stopping our ears against just defense, calling evil good and good evil. wittingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause, concealing the truth, undue silence in a just case, speaking untruth, lying, slandering, backbiting, detracting, tailbearing, whispering, scoffing, reviling, rash, harsh, and partial censuring, misconstructing intentions, words, and actions. As I read through that list, I can't help but think of the ways I fall into these sins. Do you see them in yourself?

Do you see them in the world around you? See, when we have a disregard for the truth as a culture, we turn into a people who wield falsehoods as weapons. We manipulate the world around us to fit the narrative that best suits me. And in doing so, we lead those around us further into hatred, further into fear, deeper into tribes that sever relationships and distort the reality of the world around us. A world where we cannot know what is true and what is not

is a world thrown into chaos. Evil is called good and good evil. Slandering, mocking, disrespect, and tearing down other human beings as commonplace. Scripture tells us that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. The Word of God claims to be perfectly true, and God calls his people to be men and women who uphold and value truth no matter the circumstance, no matter the cost to his pride. Whatever political or social tribe you may fall in line with,

whatever agenda or narrative you tend to be the most comfortable with, if you are a Christian, you are called first to seek out and uphold truth. The Westminster Catechism also tells us what things the Ninth Commandment requires us to do as Christians. It says we should preserve and promote truth between man and man and the good name of our neighbor as well as our own. Studying and practicing of whatsoever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report. From the heart sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully speaking the truth and only the truth in matters of judgment and justice,

and in all other things whatsoever. Discouraging tailbears, flatters, and slanders. In a world confused about what truth is, Christian should be a breath of fresh air. We should only speak confidently about what we can know is true. We should approach topics that we're unsure about with humility rather than proudly spreading misinformation as fact. We should never twist facts or spin stories to fit our own agenda.

We must share information that is uplifting rather than divisive, based on biblical principles of truth rather than hate and slander. We should always seek humility and always do our best to speak truth about our neighbors. We should be willing to admit when we have made mistakes rather than try to cover up our sins with deceit. As Christians, we have to look first to Scripture and what it has to say about what is good and right and true. Let's be known as a people who share truth, who speak kindly about those around us, who uphold justice, and who are beholden to the truth of Scripture, not the truth of a political or social tribe. To the Ninth Commandment gives us a clear picture of a God who desires a world where there are good and fair laws. where neighbors seek out the good of one another and speak well of each other,

where people are honest about failures, and would rather the truth be known than their life be benefited in some way. Think about the way that you interact on social media. Think about how you communicate with your family about mistakes. Think about the sins in your life. Are you regularly upholding truth? Are you giving into gossip about others, sharing slander or misinformation,

or do you do your diligence to research and study things that you speak about? Do you speak out against evil and clearly, gently, and humbly stand for the truth of Scripture? Do you try to hide your mistakes and cover up sins in your life so that people won't know about your brokenness? Or do you humbly confess the mistakes you've made, bringing light to the truth even when it's difficult? upholding truth is not often the easy thing. It's easier to lie, to spin, to manipulate the truth, to keep brokenness in the dark because it is more comfortable, more beneficial to us. But God is calling us not into a community of confusion, chaos, and darkness, but one that is full of the truth of who he is and how he created the world to flourish. A community where people are honest and humble,

where they seek the good name of their neighbor, where they hope to see real justice above all else, where people speak kindly of one another and uphold good as good and evil as evil. So take a moment today and try to think of one way, one way that you can uphold truth this week, one way that you can be a part of building a community of God that is flourishing and rooted in the uncompromising truth of the gospel. Before you forget, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help encourage you in the middle of the work week and bring you deeper in your walk with Jesus. Thanks for listening.