The Whole Truth (Dt 5:20)

Liberated - XI: The Whole Truth

[Good evening and welcome]

[Intro Liberated series]

Tonight we ‘re looking at the ninth commandment, ,

Deuteronomy 5:20 NIV

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

If you have a bible in front of your keep it open in Deuteronomy

On the surface, this commandant might seem a bit obvious to some,

as that is where we’ll be kicking off this evening.

“It’s simple - don’t lie, right?”

The Quest of Diogenes

In the 4th century BC there lived a philosopher in Ancient Greece called Diogenes,

certainly that is part of it,

but as we look at this commandment more closely,

We’re are going to see that

Diogenes was a bit of odd chap

He chose to live out his life in poverty

And slept in the marketplace,

in a large wine vat turned on its side

He got in trouble for stealing money from the coin mint that his father worked at,

And was well known for publicly heckling and loudly contradicting other more famous philosophers of his day,

Like Plato, for example.

But Diogenes is best known for walking the streets of the city,

in broad daylight with a lit lamp

He would then go up to random people,

thrust the lamp int heir faces and ask

“I’m looking for an honest man… have you seen one?”

Being a Cynic, the point Diogenes was trying to make is that their are no honest men.

Now I don’t know about you,

But when after 2400 years, I’m not sure how much has really changed.

On the heels of the Brexit Campaign, the US Presidential race, and now the General Election looming,

Not to mention the tidal wave of ‘fake-news’ flooding social media

It is easy to feel a bit like old Diogenes

wondering about in a futile search for some one who’ll show a bit of honesty and truthfulness.

Well as we look at the ninth commandment this evening,

we are going to see that this is exactly the kind of people God desires us to be,

People of honesty and truthfulness.

To get to grips with this commandment and how it plays out in Deuteronomy,

we’re going to look at it under these three headings

And how it plays out in Deuteronomy,

The Truthful God ()

The Truthful People

The Truthful Witnesses

Repeat

1. The Truthful God ()

notes:

God is the true God...

9th commandment is primarily focused on the law courts, as we’ll see in part 2.

Those who bring evidence or accusations against their neighbour must do so truthfully

As we’ve seen throughout this series the things that God desires for his people are things that reflect his character

God is a God of Justice ()

He shows no partiality - his judgements are honest and true

His excepts no bribes - his commitment to the truth is cannot be shaken

In scripture when God’s people forsake the true God ans worship idols, injustice is never far behind

Hosea 4:1-2

He is a God of justice because he is committed to the truth