The Ninth Commandment- Exodus 20:16

A wife walks into the den of her home, approaches her husband, and asks him this question, “Does this dress make me look fat?”

The man realizes what a predicament he faces. He considers several potential replies.

“I guess not. A few extra pounds looks good on you.”

“Fat? Compared to whom?”

“Well, you’ve been fatter.”

“It doesn’t matter to me.”

According to Psychology Today, a better way to answer that question is, “That outfit is really nice on you.”

This rather humorous hypothetical situation helps us to approach the subject of the Ninth Commandment. In many instances, individuals believe it is acceptable to tell “a little white lie.”

What we will see this morning is that...

The Ninth Commandment reveals the Holiness of God, demonstrates the sinfulness of Satan, offers the hope-filled message of the Gospel, and then provides warning of damnation.

That is, we will that to lie in any form is a grave sin against the God who is Truth.

I. The Source of the Truth—God Himself- Deut. 32:4; Psalm 86:15

“But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

God is truth. There is no deceit, no lying, no potential for mistrusting God for He is truth.

I love how Herman Bavinck phrases it,

“God is also true and trustworthy; he can be counted on. Truth is a matter of veracity and genuineness, of logical consistency, and ethical correspondence between a person’s being and self-revelation. God is true in all senses. He is the only God, and he cannot lie or be in error. He is truth in its absolute fullness, the source and ground of all truth, all reality. He is the light by which alone we can know truth.” Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 2: 180

Any form of lying, deception, or exaggeration, is a direct attack upon the truth of God, i.e., God himself.

“First, lying without any exception is everywhere condemned in Scripture as a sin abominable to God (Ps. 5:6; Prov. 6:17; 12:22; Eph. 4:25; Col. 3:9).” (F. Turretin, 130)

So where do lies come from?

II. The Source of Lies—The Devil- Gen. 3:1–7; John 8:44; Rev. 20:8

Satan questioned several things in relation to God: His goodness and love, His provisions for Adam and Eve. But Satan primarily questions God’s trustworthiness.

“Did God actually say…?”

“You will not surely die.”

“You will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Jesus, in His interactions with the Pharisees, plainly tells them where they receive their deception from: the devil their father. Satan cannot help but lie, and those who follow the devil also follow in his footsteps.

“As our neighbor ought not to be injured by deed, so neither should he be injured by word.” (Francis Turretin, 129)

A brief word needs to be said concerning those who are afflicted by dementia or Alzheimer’s. How do we respond when they genuinely think that something is true when it is not? Are they lying?

“A person can speak what is false and yet not lie because through ignorance he believes it to be true and his speech does not contradict his thought.” (F. Turretin, 130)

III. The Sorts of Lies- Select Scriptures

There are many ways in which we can follow the devil in this. We will view a sample in Scripture and see not only how they demean the character of God but also harm a fellow image bearer of God.

False witness- Acts 6:13 “and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law,”

Unjust sentencing- Proverbs 17:15 “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.”

Lying- Col. 3:9 “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices”

Slandering (the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation”- Psalm 50:20 “You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.” Psalm 15:3 “who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;”

Even lying with a good motive is sinful (Lev. 19:15).

"It is no more lawful to bear false testimony in favor of a neighbor than against him, as it is no more lawful to pervert justice in favor of a widow and orphan than against them (Lev. 19:15)." (Francis Turretin, 132)

“Augustine, ‘A lie is not to be considered as no sin because we can sometimes benefit someone by lying. For we can also profit another by stealing.’” (F. Turretin, 132)

IV. The Salvation of Repentant Liars- Rom. 8:28–29; 1 Corinthians 2:6–10; 6:9–11; Matthew 26:57–66; 27:38–44

It was through the lies of sinful human beings that the Savior was given to execution, all through the power and providential guidance of the Triune God.

“The wisdom of God appears more fully, and his superiority over Satan in every way, not just in sheer power, shines more brightly in the manifold ways he brings Satan to ruin....It must infuriate Satan that God’s ways are so pure and brilliant that Satan not only fails to obstruct them but unwittingly serves them.” John Piper, Providence, 280

How fitting that the God Who is Truth would send the God the Son to become a man like us, though perfect in every conceivable way, to be lied about throughout his life and ultimately his death, in order to save those who are in Christ!

Those who are being sanctified, though still tempted to lie, are no longer without hope. Through the lies of false witnesses the Son of God was slain on the cross by the predetermined plan of God for our eternal good.

What glorious news this Gospel is!

Where we have failed, Jesus has succeeded.

Where we lie, He always speaks the truth.

Where we deserve death, through faith Jesus died that we would never taste of death.

Where we would have spoken lies, through the power of the Spirit of God with the Word of God, we are speaking the truth.

Indeed, we know that for those who love God all things work together for good. But what about those who persist in their lies? What is their fate?

V. The Sentence of Unrepentant Liars- Rev. 21:5–8; 22:14–15, 17

Those who refuse to submit to the God of Truth, who refuse to believe the Word of God and thus acknowledge their sinfulness, have a terrible eternity awaiting.

They will be thrown into the lake of fire that burns with fire and sulfur for ever.

Yet even as we consider these grim words and the dire fate, we still read the glorious invitation of Rev. 22:17.