Devotional #112

Question 112. What is required in the ninth commandment?

Answer: That I bear false witness against no man (a), nor falsify any man’s words (b); that I be no backbiter, nor slanderer (c); that I do not judge, nor join in condemning any man rashly, or unheard (d); but that I avoid all sorts of lies and deceit, as the proper works of the devil (e), unless I would bring down upon me the heavy wrath of God (f); likewise, that in judgment and all other dealings I love the truth, speak it uprightly and confess it (g); also that I defend and promote, as much as I am able, the honor and good character of my neighbour (h).

(a)Proverbs 19:5: A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.
Proverbs 19:9: A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.

(b) 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.
Psalm 50:19-20: “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.

(c) Romans 1:29-30: They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents.

(d) Matthew 7:1-2: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
Luke 6:37: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.

(e) John 8:44: You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

(f) Proverbs 12:22: Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

(g) 1 Corinthians 13:6: it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Ephesians 4:25: Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

(h) 1 Peter 4:8: Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

For your personal reflection:
Reading a commentary on this passage I came across this interesting thought: “In giving the Ten Commandments, God chose the concrete rather than the abstract.  That is, one specific example is used to illustrate a general principle.  In the ninth commandment, the concrete example is the sin of giving false testimony in a court of law.  The teaching of Jesus, however, clearly shows that there is implicit in this commandment the duty to tell the truth at all times and in every situation (Matthew 5.33-37).”

What did Jesus mean when he said, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’, ‘No?’”
In what circumstances are you tempted to lie?  How do you deal with those circumstances?