Intentions Matter
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A life in view
A life in view
What are all of the best things that have happened in your life over:
Your last 5 years: I came here to serve as your pastor, We have seen people be saved, recommit their lives to Jesus, and be baptized.
Your last 10 years: My family grew again to 8 people, We were part of an amazing home group, We moved back to Washington to be close to family, I discipled believers, performed weddings and funerals, and rejoiced with the people of God.
Your last 20 years: I saw my family grow to five, I served in 2 different churches, I made life long friends, I saw people come to faith in Jesus and get baptized.
Your last 30 years: I traveled to France and the UK, I graduated college, got married, began working in the ministry.
What if a single lie, took all of that away ?
This is our topic for today. It is a simple topic with profound effect. This portion of Moses sermon touches on the eight commandment,
19 “ ‘And you shall not steal.
and is focused on the ninth commandment,
20 “ ‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Let’s read our passage
14 “You shall not move your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.
16 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing,
17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days.
18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely,
19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you.
21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Moving Rocks
Moving Rocks
14 “You shall not move your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
Why is this topic here?
Why is this topic here?
a form of Murder
a form of theft
A form of false witness
An easy sin to commit.
In 2 kings 21 there is an account of Ahab and Jezebel having a man named Naboth killed so they could take over his vineyard. They used false witnesses to accuse Naboth, who was stoned, and then his land was not given to his descendants but was stolen.
This topic ties us back to the commandment of do not murder and how God made provision for those who accidently commited murder but would hold intentional murder to the the justice of the death penalty.
Witness to a crime
Witness to a crime
Requirement for multiple witnesses.
Requirement for multiple witnesses.
15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.
What if only one witness comes forward?
What if only one witness comes forward?
The town elders and judges would get involved to settle the issue.
16 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing,
17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days.
18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely,
19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you.
21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
As we discussed in the introduction, bearing false witness can destroy a life and God takes this very seriously.
Imagine if all who were involved in wrongly incarcerating someone would in turn be incarcerated themselves . . .
the judge,
the jury,
the lawyers,
the police,
the detectives,
the accusers,
If any one of these groups was show to have been a false witness, whether by omission of truth or by outright lies. they would go to jail.
That might inspire some fear and respect in the realm of administering justice.
What about in our lives?
Bearing False Witness
Bearing False Witness
We have talked about big examples but the problem isn’t just one of courts and criminals.
Why do we struggle with falsehood?
Why do we struggle with falsehood?
To begin this answer I want to look at a teaching by Jesus:
10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand:
11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.
14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.”
16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding?
17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?
18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,
44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
It’s a matter of motive.
It’s a matter of motive.
Notice that the accidental killing was forgivable
4 “This is the provision for the manslayer, who by fleeing there may save his life. If anyone kills his neighbor unintentionally without having hated him in the past—
Notice that the intentional lie is unforgivable
16 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing,
The difference is the heart motive. One did not intend to do harm and the other did intend to do harm.
So we are left with the Question:
What’s in your heart?
What’s in your heart?
What are ways that we can bear false witness in our lives?
Forming and sharing an opinion of a person based on the opinions of others.
Forming and sharing an opinion of a person based on the opinions of others.
We see this a lot in our political lives. We must be careful to not propagate stories that we heard without making sure they are true.
What does this reveal about our hearts?
Not keeping our word.
Not keeping our word.
Divorce is a key example of this.
What does this reveal about our hearts?
Omitting part of the truth.
Omitting part of the truth.
Telling only part of what we did when we confess sin.
Making accusations.
Making accusations.
Using assumptions to accuse someone of doing wrong because of past failures or just a distrust/dislike of the person.
Jesus reminds us of this
The Golden Rule:
The Golden Rule:
12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
What is God calling you to do in response to this teaching today?
What is God calling you to do in response to this teaching today?
If you have anything that you have not been honest about and it has caused someone else harm, or damaged your relationship, or God keeps bringing it to your attention . . . then take care of it today. Don’t wait around. Don’t hem and haw over it. Take care of it, TODAY!