Considering the Ninth Commandment

Intro

A couple of years ago, I was asked to write an article defending the work of a former pastor in our denomination who had written a book about his same-sex attraction and what it looked like for him to live an obedient life to Jesus. Sadly, his faithful obedience made him the target of many leaders in our circles who saw his example as something to be feared rather than commended. In defending this man’s book, I knew I would likely attract similar attacks against what I was prepared to write. I was confident that defending this man’s was the right thing to do, and I was assured that the group who asked me to write this article would speak up in my defense.

Yet I still found myself surprised by the form in which the attacks came, and dumbfounded when those who promised to have my back were nowhere to be found.

What surprised me most about the response to my article was not that people took issue with me, but the manner in which their complaints came. I did not receive a single email or phone call from an individual who had concerns about what I wrote. I did not receive any requests to have a conversation in order to try and understand each other. There were a few things out on the Twitter about me, but that’s to be expected.

But the biggest objection to me and what I wrote came from a private group of pastors and elders. In this group, of which I was not a member, my character and reputation was maligned by men who have taken vows to uphold the peace and purity of the church. Screenshots were provided to me of how I was stalked and had information about me and my ministry posted and made available for all to see. Men who are supposed to be reputable leaders called me childish; they said I was soft, and not a serious thinker. The men who asked me to write the piece in the first place kept silent while my name and reputation was drug through the mud, and I wasn’t there to defend it.

I’ll be brief and say there were a lot of things going on in my heart at the time. I knew that I had been sinned against, but I didn’t really have words to express how. I had a sense that what was happening to me were violations of the ninth commandment, but I had never really given myself to its study. I turned to my Reformed tradition and the Scriptures to better understand how I had been sinned against, and I can now tell you that nothing has been more transformative for me in my walk with Jesus than a serious meditation on this commandment for these last two years.

I have been validated in being given language that expresses how I have been wounded and sinned against by others, not just in this instance, but throughout my life. And I have also been deeply convicted of how often I have broken this commandment myself. I have often done to others exactly what they have done to me.

So that’s how we got here this morning. I want to speak to you about the importance of the ninth commandment. And while I will offer general comments about what this commandment requires of us, I want to specifically drill down to what is required of us when we have been wronged, when we have been sinned against.

Isn’t it the case that when someone else wounds us, we often want to take justice into our own hands? And what is one way we tend to do that the most? By going behind their back, trying to get back at someone by getting others to turn against them as well, by exaggerating someone’s flaws to try and justify how we feel; in short, we use our words to take revenge on others for the pain that we feel.

There is much here for us in this commandment, not just in what we should do or not do, but in how we can become more like Jesus. I’m going to do my best to open this instruction for us under 3 headings this morning: First, The Requirements of the Commandment; Second, The Sins of this Commandment; and Third, the Courage it takes to Keep this Commandment.

The Requirements of the Commandment

Now I don’t know if you’ve ever given serious consideration to the ninth commandment, but chances are that if you’ve given it any thought at all you’ve probably minimized the full scope of what God is requiring of us in this commandment.

One way we could do this is by limiting the breadth of what God wants from us here. So we might think well, I’m commanded to tell the truth, and not tell lies, so as long as I keep my mouth shut, I’m off the hook. I’ll just stay out of it; if I hear misinformation, I have no obligation to correct it, because I didn’t say it. If I hear someone being slandered near me, I have no responsibility to defend the one being slandered, they aren’t my words. As long as I try to tell the truth, as long as I’m not the one telling lies, I’m good; I’ll just keep my lips shut otherwise.

But the problem with this way of thinking is that this commandment isn’t about you; it’s about your neighbor. The ninth commandment requires more of us than just staying out of it; the ninth commandment requires a total commitment to the truth for the sake of our neighbor.

Or maybe we think of that old schoolyard proverb, “If you don’t have something nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.” As long as I don’t say hard things, as long as I don’t hurt someone’s feelings, I’m good.

But the problem here is that sometimes telling the truth means saying hard things. Our unwillingness to say the truth, even if its hard, even if it might hurt someone, is itself a lie, and a distortion of the truth.

Both of these ideas are gross distortions of what God requires of us in the ninth commandment. At their root, both lines of thought are about self-preservation; what is the minimum required of me in order to keep this commandment? But the call of God for us in the ninth commandment is a maximal commitment to the truth both for God’s sake and the sake of our neighbor.

“I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, our of the land of slavery.” These familiar words begin the Ten Commandments, and they serve to remind us that at the center of these Commandments is God himself. In each of these commands we learn something significant about who God is and what he therefore requires of us. And the Scriptures are clear that God does not, he cannot lie, for he is the embodiment of the truth (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18). And so we cannot be those who claim God’s name while concealing, covering, or distorting the truth.

But the Ninth Commandment doesn’t stop with the words, “You shall not bear false testimony,” the full thought is completed with “against your neighbor.” It is for our neighbor’s sake that we are to tell the truth. See, here’s the really touchy thing about this commandment. Our neighbors, even the ones we don’t like, have a right to having the truth spoke about them. More than that, they have a right against us to our telling the truth about them, and we have an obligation to bear the truth for our neighbor to the best of our ability.

So we can’t just stay out of it; when we refrain from speaking we sin against the rights of our neighbor, and we break our corresponding obligations to them.

Here’s how the Westminster Larger Catechism, an instructional document from the Reformed Christian tradition, articulates the positive requirements of the ninth commandment. It says that the

The duties required in the ninth commandment are, the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man, (Zech. 8:16) and the good name of our neighbour, as well as our own; (3 John 12) appearing and standing for the truth; (Prov. 31:8–9) and from the heart, (Ps. 15:2) sincerely, (2 Chron. 19:9) freely, (1 Sam. 19:4–5) clearly, (Josh. 7:19) and fully, (2 Sam. 14:18–20) speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice, (Lev. 19:15, Prov. 14:5,25) and in all other things whatsoever; (2 Cor. 1:17–18, Eph. 4:25) a charitable esteem of our neighbours; (Heb. 6:9, 1 Cor. 13:7) loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; (Rom 1:8, 2 John 4, 3 John 3–4) sorrowing for, (2 Cor. 2:4, 2 Cor. 12:21) and covering of their infirmities; (Prov. 17:9, 1 Pet. 4:8) freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces, (1 Cor. 1:4–5,7, 2 Tim. 1:4–5) defending their innocency; (1 Sam. 22:14) a ready receiving of a good report, (1 Cor. 13:6–7) and unwillingness to admit of an evil report, (Ps. 15:3) concerning them; discouraging tale-bearers, (Prov. 25:23) flatterers, (Prov. 26:24–25) and slanderers; (Ps. 101:5) love and care of our own good name, and defending it when need requireth; (Prov. 22:1, John 8:49) keeping of lawful promises; (Ps. 15:4) studying and practicing of whatsoever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report.

Comprehensive, no? Listen to the words of the 20th century theologian and ethicist Lewis Smedes who summarized the teaching of the ninth commandment this way. He said in it, we are obligated to:

“come to the defense of people whose lives are hurt by gossip, innuendo, and rumor. When we hear a story that demeans or maligns another person, we need to expose it. When we are privy to slander, we must refute it. When our friends pass along half truths that distort the image of another person, we must supply the other half if we can. We must, in short, expend ourselves to protect people from untruth about themselves. This is the work of love; for love not only "rejoices in the truth" for one's own self, but protects the truth for others.” (Smedes, Mere Morality, 218)

This means you and I can’t keep quiet when we hear falsehood. The ninth commandment is a call to justice and protection for our neighbor. In the workplace, when you hear one coworker slander another - you’re responsible for defending your neighbor. In our families, we are responsible for protecting the reputation of a sibling, or a parent, when everyone else wants to pile on. In our churches, we are responsible for telling the truth about each other; we are responsible for speaking up for someone in their absence. We ought to rejoice in the good name of others rather than relishing in their mistakes.

If you think about it, this ninth commandment is really the foundation of a healthy society. There was a hilarious example of this breakdown this past week in the news, did you hear about the Wonka fiasco in Scotland? Kids show up thinking they’re going to see Wonka-themed illusions that will amaze; instead they get scary actors, a bounce house, 1 jelly bean, and an empty warehouse. Can you imagine being one of those kids? Like, I’ll never hold out hope for a fun event again.

But you really can’t have a healthy society without this commandment being kept. You can’t have a helathy marriage, family, neighborhood, politics, government, church, business, unless the truth is being preserved; both in general, and about each other.

But the purpose of this commandment goes beyond the practical. Because God is a God of truth, and our neighbors have inherent, God-given rights to the truth being spoken about them.

The Sins of this Commandment

Now, if you’re not feeling the pressure already, let’s take it a step further. At no point are we ever let off the hook in the keeping of this commandment. Jesus never tells us that a little bit of slander from time to time is acceptable. We’re never given the impression by Jesus that it is acceptable to lie malign someone in order to achieve a just or good end. The ends never justify the means. We are always responsible for telling the truth, preserving the truth, and defending our neighbor to the best of our ability.

I’ve been reading the Narnia series by CS Lewis to my kids at night. I’m sure many of you are familiar with the story, but in case you’re not, the story centers on five children who are whisked away into the land of Narnia where it is ruled by the lion Aslan and constantly under the attacks of evil forces. We’re reading the book titled Prince Caspian right now, and there’s this wonderful moment toward the end of the book between Aslan, who is this representative picture of Jesus, and Lucy, the youngest of the five children. Aslan assigns her the impossibly difficult task of trying to convince her older siblings that Aslan has returned to Narnia when only Lucy is able to see him. As she begins protesting her assignment, she starts to utter words of slander about her siblings, but she’s interrupted by what is described as “the faintest suggestion of a growl” welling up from inside Aslan.

At several points in the books, the children doubt Aslan, they go against him, they even betray him, and yet he’s always gracious and forgiving to the children. The only time, as far as I can remember, that Aslan ever expresses anger toward the children is when Lucy begins to slander her siblings.

Proverbs 6 says that there six things the Lord hates; seven that are detestable to him.

The New International Version Chapter 6

haughty eyes,

a lying tongue,

hands that shed innocent blood,

18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,

feet that are quick to rush into evil,

19 a false witness who pours out lies

and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

The surest way to wound our neighbor, the easiest way to tear apart the new human community Jesus is building, the most public way to dishonor the name of God in the world, is by violating the ninth commandment. This is why the Lord hates it.

Now, I said a few minutes ago that I think we are most tempted to break the ninth commandment when we have been wronged. Lying about someone, slandering them, spreading reports about them, is one of the easiest ways for us to get our revenge and defend ourselves when we have been wronged. We can deceive ourselves into thinking that we can elevate ourselves by cutting others down in retaliation.

This is evil. Look again to the words of the Catechism which break down the breadth of how we violate this commandment. I don’t have time to read this whole paragraph, but let me try and draw out a few themes we see here with some application for us, especially when we suffer being wronged by another.

Thinking about someone improperly, not according to the truth. When we entertain the ill reputation of others, when we rejoice in their downfall, even in our own hearts, we are sinning against our neighbor. What can this look like? Have you ever rehearsed a fight in your head that hasn’t even happened yet? Like, an imaginary argument where you get to finally say all the things in your heart that you really want to say? Oh cmon yes you do! Inevitably you start making accusations against that person in your head don’t you? You did this, you did that.

You see what that is? Rejoicing in the faults of others, nursing their errors in your heart. Do you know what that does? It makes us more willing to believe the worst in someone than believe the best. It closes our hearts to our neighbor. That’s a sin against the ninth commandment.

2. Then there’s how we use our words. Speaking about someone untruthfully, magnifying their faults while ignoring the full picture about someone, unnecessary seeking out of their faults, anything we might do that wrongfully harms the reputation or good name of someone else.

Here’s where meditation on this commandment has really hit home for me. Both my wife and I are adult converts to Christianity, and in our first three churches together we experienced deep wounds on account of the errors, sins, and abuses of leaders over us. One particular leader did a great deal of damage to me. He slandered me behind my back, he manipulated me for years, he constantly shamed me and made me feel pathetic.

And do you know what my response was to the way he treated me? I did the same kind of things in return. Now let me be clear, I am not saying that in a situation like this that the sins of the person with less power are equal to the sins of the leader with more power. I believe the Scriptures and our catechism is clear that those with power are guilty when they provoke those under them to anger, wrath, and bitterness.

Nevertheless, my sins in return are just that: sin. I believed that his wounding me somehow validated my response and exempted me from culpability. I entertained his faults to anyone who would listen. I sought out and dwelled on his faults toward others in order to validate how I felt. I aggravated smaller faults. I was guilty of backbiting.

I thought that I could validate my pain, that I would find healing for my pain, if I magnified his faults and got others to agree with me how awful he was. But you know what? All that did for me was make me more bitter, more angry, more upset. And that anger and bitterness bled over into other places in my life.

Do you remember how James talked about it in his epistle? He talked about the tongue being powerful enough to direct our whole body; that it’s like a fire that can set our whole lives ablaze. I hear people all the time say things like, “I’m not going to be like those people, like that person.” Inevitably the person or people they always have in mind is someone who has hurt them. But do you know what’s typically driving you in those kind of resolutions? Your pain. Your anger. And if the power you’re seeking for change is primarily anger and pain, and not some positive vision that can heal you, then you’re going to end up exactly like the person who hurt you.

You see, in a way, the ninth commandment isn’t just about our neighbor, its about protecting our own hearts from being corrupted when we’ve been wronged, when we’ve been sinned against.

3. Which leads to the third theme you see here in the catechism. In the pursuit of justice we are never allowed to pursue justice with unjust means. So you see not only the importance of telling the truth in legal matters, but promoting the truth in a just cause, or even prejudicing the truth and justice by the way we speak.

Dr. King would hit on this theme often when he taught on non-violence. He would often teach, in one way or another, that the only weapon a Christian can wield in the face of injustice is that of love. He taught that we cannot give in to bitterness, hate, or retaliating in kind. The reason for this, he said, was because that when we do so we are only multiplying the injustice in the universe.

And so if in the cause of justice for ourselves or our neighbor, we ever allow our hearts to be corrupted, if we ever allow ourselves to utilize lies, slander, backbiting to achieve what we consider just ends, we are simply multiplying the amount of hate and injustice that exists in the world.

Now let me give this important qualification: This doesn’t mean we never defend ourselves, we never speak up about being wronged, we never report abuse, nothing of that sort. That’s not what I’m saying here. What I am saying is that how we pursue justice for ourselves or our neighbor matters just as much as that we pursue justice for ourselves and our neighbors. These two things go hand in hand.

Someone recently asked me, “What is the difference between a secular vision for social justice and a Christian vision for social justice?” Now, I think there are a lot of key philosophical differences that matter. But I think the most practical difference is the emphasis on the character of the one striving for justice.

Jesus won’t allow us to retaliate in kind, to defend ourselves through vengeance. Even when we’ve been wronged, our words matter, and we ought always to strive for the truth, and to tell the truth and only the truth about our neighbor, even if they have not treated us with the same respect.

The Courage to Keep This Commandment

Finally, where do we get the courage to do this? Because this does take courage, doesn’t it? It takes strength, resolve, the ability to do hard things when our circumstances and our desires might tell us to do otherwise. Where does that come from?

Two things, briefly, and I’m done. First, its the validation we get from this commandment, and its also that we get God himself in this commandment.

First, validation. Look at Psalm 69. This is such a great prayer to pray when we’ve been hurt by someone’s words. Look at the language that this Psalmist uses. Its enduring scorn. It’s being mocked. Its the loneliness of having no one who will come to your defense. It’s even - verse 20 - experiencing a broken heart on account of someone else’s words. Thats how the playground taunt ought really to go, you know? Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will break my heart.

The ninth commandment validates all of the ways we have been hurt. If we are going to heal from the ways others wound us, we need specific language that names how, exactly we have been hurt. What the ninth commandment gives us, what this psalm shows us, is that we not only have language, but God cares about those specifics. He does. That’s validation. Your pain is valid. Your wounds are valid. You don’t need to keep those in the dark, you can name them.

But keep going in Psalm 69. Look at verse 21, “They gave me vinegar for my thirst.” Now who does that sound like?

Who is the real author of Psalm 69? Who knows the pain of Psalm 69 more than anyone else? Who knows what its like to be scorned, mocked, abandoned, to receive all of the violations of the ninth commandment in abundance?

Jesus does. 1 Peter 2. When he was violated, not sin came from his mouth. He didn’t retaliate in kind, he didn’t threaten. He trusted himself to God. Why? Because it was easy? Because it was the right thing to do? No. So that he could bear our sins; so that in his keeping of the Ninth Commandment, we would in turn receive God himself. We receive the Shepherd, we know intensely that he is for us to the very end.

Is keeping this commandment hard? Absolutely. Is it scary to confess that we have broken it ourselves? Yes. But if you know God is for you, if you get God himself, isn’t that safety? Isn’t that strength? Isn’t that courage?

You can trust your reputation to the Lord rather than responding in kind. His validation heals our wounds and our desire for revenge. By his wounds you will be healed.