Okay, well, we will go ahead and get started here. Let's open with a word of prayer. Our Heavenly Father, once again we come into your house, Lord, expectant of the blessings that you give to your people. Out of your word, Lord, We pray, Father, that your words would be my words, that I would depend on you, that, Father, we would be convicted of our sin, that we would be pointed back to you, O Lord. We pray, Father, that you would be with us, that you would strengthen us in our faith and in our inner man. Father, may you be blessed in this day, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. We're in the 9th commandment. We're in the commandments. We're in the 10 commandments. And we have a small group this morning. But Heather, would you like to read Exodus 20, 1 through 9? And Johnny, do you want to read 10 through 17? Or you don't want to read? OK. I can always depend on James. 1 through 9, Exodus 20. You can read 10 through 17 like you normally do. You shall not make yourself a part, image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water underneath. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, But the seventh day, the seventh day, to the Lord, Lord God, on it you shall not for the next stop for the... I don't know where it is. Okay, thank you. Well done. So we're talking about bearing false witness. This time we're going to rely on Thomas Watson and the book, the Ten Commandments, his section on bearing false witness. We looked at the definition of what is it to bear false witness, and we talked about the idea of Lying is, and we filled in the blank, what Ligonier said, whatever's not in accordance with reality. Whatever is not true. And Thomas Watson defines it as speaking that which is false. Okay, so Romans 3, 4 has something to say about that. Let's go to Romans 3, 4. Who has that one? Okay, go ahead. So God is the definition of what is true. Jesus is, we've looked at this passage of scripture before, John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. And so God is going to be the one who defines what is true. And we can go through philosophical systems and try to come up with what is true. The present culture says that truth is what science says is true. Yet, we know, I was just reading an article today, about there's anomalies even in the laws of physics. And they hypothesize that there's, in certain segments, there's little black holes that go through the universe. Have you seen this? So, you know, there's got to be some sort of reason for the laws not being true. But one of the interesting things about these black holes that make it through the universe, if they don't go through every 10,000 years, then through our solar system, then they have to go, well, this is actually not true. We haven't seen that. There's various ways to measure that. But even with the physical laws, how can you say that that law is true? Well, you know, observation. And yet, ultimately, we're going to have to go with God is the one who defines what truth is. Truth is what happens inside of us. It's the, you're at a four-way stop. None of you guys have to worry about this one yet. You're at the four-way stop. It's the middle of the night. You don't see any headlights coming. Do you still stop? Okay, so I'm gonna use that as a definition of what character is. What do you do when no one is looking? What do you do? when nobody's watching. What is inside of your heart? So Proverbs 15.2 says, The tongue of the wise are the character that we have. The tongue speaks out of the overflow of the heart, and so it is the tongue that's going to give some indication of what is in here and what our character is. The sin of lying isn't alone. It isn't something that happens by itself. We might say that it's a gateway sin. It is an enabling type of sin. And so as soon as you As soon as you start to lie, then others come in. Like, I mean, I've used this joke before, but one of the guys at a fighter pilot, that's probably part of the problem. But at work, he said, you know, once the integrity goes, the rest is easy. So that describes a certain condition that if we start to lie, we start down that road and that slippery slope, and lying ends up enabling the other sins that we end up committing. Okay? And lying provokes God. Let's look at Acts 5.3. So, this is about Ananias and Sapphira. Can any of you guys tell me about Ananias and Sapphira? No? Okay. But Peter said, Ananias, why have Okay. So what Ananias did, and then Sapphira following her husband's example, they had the field, they said, did you sell it for so much? Yes, I sold it for so much. Actually, they didn't sell it for so much. They kept back. Could they have kept back that portion and just said, we sold it for this much, we kept back this much because we needed it, but now this is the amount that we are giving to the church? They could have done that. That would have been an easy one. But they wanted to take credit for so-and-so amount. And what they said, what Peter says to Ananias is, you have provoked God. You've lied to God. You've lied to the Holy Spirit. And so you, in this time, that sin ended up resulting in death for Ananias and Sapphira. They lied to the Holy Spirit. That provokes God. Okay, so the level of sin is, you know, this is a serious sin. And it will lead to those other sins, the worst sins, but it's going to be part of the whole package deal. So, there's three different levels that Thomas Watson brings up and these levels are first off speaking. So, Stephen's got all of the Proverbs ones. It's helpful to go through what scripture says about these and to to hear scripture speak, to use scriptural examples, so that when we come up against, inevitably we come up against, in this world, conflicts and situations where we go, wow, what am I going to do? The question that we can ask, the Gestapo asks you, where are you hiding the Jews? And how do you answer that? Do you lie and, I'm not hiding Jews, or you do like, I think it was Corrie Ten Boom's sister, where are the Jews? They're under their table, and there's a rug that's over the trap door, but the The Gestapo goes, no, there's nobody there. Well, she told the truth, except that there are other people who actually lied. And it ended up saving the lives of Jews. That's a tough one. The first one, though, the first level is speaking. So sorry. Proverbs 12. Oh, I'm sorry. I gave the Proverbs up here. So the Lord is not pleased with lying lips. So don't lie. So that's that first level. We're speaking out. We already said we're speaking out of what's in the heart. The heart is the one that the overflow of the heart is what expresses itself. And then in the next level is going to be that more serious level where you are actually bearing witness. And we might say that there's there's more of a direct accusation or more of a making a statement definitively. There's certain things that you say day in and day out. And you go, my truth meter is, you know, I have to be 100% accurate on everything that I say. But what that would mean is I have to investigate everything that I say. And I'm taking some of this the statement that I'm making on kind of generalized knowledge, knowledge that I've read in the paper. You know, what about fake news? Did I investigate that? Does that mean I'm not going to say anything? But when I do come out and I say something, well, this is definitive, then can you actually trust me about what I'm saying? That's where things become a little bit more serious. I don't want to say that you don't want to be true in what you're saying in the general discourse, but there's going to be a difference between that and now when we start stepping into a more official capacity and ultimately when we start to go into the into the courtroom, then that's going to require a level of truth and certainty about what we're saying that we want to make sure that we're emphasizing here. The two types of witnessing would be witnessing for another. So if I know that this individual has done something wrong, and I end up defending that person, and I say they didn't do what was wrong, I am witnessing for that person. And I'm witnessing falsely. I am witnessing by lying. And so that obviously, if I'm going to say, I'm going to stand up for this guy, and I'm going to say that his character is impeccable. And now I'm witnessing, I'm witnessing falsely though. Okay, so there's testimony for another. There's Okay, and here's the quote from Thomas Watson, he that seeks to make a wicked man just makes himself unjust. So you may be defending that individual, you may be elevating that person up and being a character witness for that person, however, guess what? you've just impugned your own integrity and your own sense of justice. Okay? Okay, you can also testify against another person. Okay, do you guys remember the story of Naboth? So I don't think I gave out 1 Kings 21, 13. So the story of Naboth, you want to tell the story? Did you nod or did one of them? So what happened? What did the king do? The king, except he, you know, to thread the needle a little bit, the king ended up going through, listening to his wife, you're the king, you know, just have a couple of false witnesses here. So the false witnesses come forward, the false witnesses come forward, and then what? So, Naboth's a bad character, we get the goods, guess what? It's all done under pretense, it's done under falsehood. And that whole thing is, it's false. God is not pleased with that one either. Ends up Jezebel, you know, falls out later on in judgment, is killed as her body falls out and the dogs lick up her blood. So there's a judgment that falls because, not just because of that lie, but because of the other things that Jezebel was a wicked person. So Proverbs 19.5 addresses this and helps us out. Okay, so if you're going to bear witness either for somebody else or against somebody else, there's a level of truthfulness that is required by this commandment that you better be right in your accusation. When we go head to head and we start accusing other people of doing something, then we better be right. We better have the video camera and the name when we make that accusation. Now we go to the next level, and the next level is by invoking the name of God. It's not that before this point that God isn't witness, God is witness. But when we specifically use God's name, as in a court setting, you know, I swear with my hand on the Bible, and I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That swearing is that next level, and there's levels of judgment that go with each one of them. Zechariah 5, 1 through 4. Or you can, do you have it? Who has Zachariah? I'm sorry. Then I turned and raised my eyes and saw there a flying scroll. And he said to me, what do you see? I see a flying scroll. Its length is 20 cubits and its width 10 cubits. Then he said to me, this is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth. Every thief shall be expelled according to this side of the scroll, and every perjurer shall be expelled according to that side of the scroll. I will send out the curse, says the Lord. It shall enter the house of the thief, the house of the one who swears falsely by my name. It shall remain in the midst of this house and consume it with its timber and stones. Talk about judgment. That is judgment. Here's what Watson says very colorfully. A perjured person is the devil's excrement. How about that? Yeah, that's good. Perjury, making a statement under oath that is false. And a perjured person, you know, is going to be judged by the Lord because that person ended up using the Lord's name. You've heard the expression, I swear on a stack of Bibles. Somehow that ends up being more authoritative than if you swear on one Bible. But, you know, we know as good Reformed people that Swearing an oath to the Lord is not a bad thing. Invoking God's name in a court of law, in something that is solemn, that needs that judicial overwatch, then that is a good thing. But if you say what is false, now there's a level of judgment, an extra level of judgment that goes with that. So far so good? Any questions, comments, any thoughts? Okay. We talked about this the last time, and slanderers, and so I'm gonna ask, who's got First Timothy 3.11? Jeannie? I got this one right. Okay. The word slanderer is that Watson points out is, and this is the qualifications we say of deaconesses, then that word 1 Timothy 3.11 is diabolos. We know what that word is. We know that this is another word for the devil. Paul will use this two other times, and it will be translated slanderer, but here's the point, that slanderers are acting in accordance with the devil. John 8.44 Q. Can you give us a preview of your father's life? He was a lover on the street and had nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, but he is a liar and a liar. When you lie, when you slander, so specifically slander, we talked about this the last time, is accusing somebody else of something that is false and impugning their integrity, tearing down their good name. and you are acting like the devil. And it doesn't take too long in lying to get to the point where we have to say that your father is the devil. So Watson has a good quote. The slanderer wounds three at once. He wounds him that is slandered, he wounds him to whom he reports the slander by causing uncharitable thoughts to arise up in his mind against the party slandered, and he wounds his own soul by reporting of another what is false. So we got three people that are being affected by this. And so the person that's being affected by the slander, but the person that hears it. So we have to keep a watch at ear gate, at eye gate, and we have to sift what we hear. We cannot take what we hear at face value and trust everything that we hear. That's just a great statement to recognize the fact that when you hear a false report, there is a tendency to go, OK, I can kind of understand maybe what that person is saying. And maybe there's a level of truth to it when, in fact, it may be just a bunch of falsehood. You can kill a person in name, and you can kill a person in person. You can kill a person by what you say, and you can kill a person physically, Sixth Commandment violation. The pen is mightier than the sword in one sense and we don't say that sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me because they do. And because there is an emphasis that is important about the words that we say and the truthfulness with which we say those words. Thomas Watson has some really good points on how to avoid this sin. We'll go over real quickly a couple of things out of the larger catechism. But to avoid this sin, then first off, get the fear of the Lord. Psalm 19.9 and 1 Corinthians 13.5 says, You were just waiting for me. He's not going to do it. No, he's not. Yeah, you're right. OK. OK. The fear of the Lord is clean. So what does that say? That there is a cleansing aspect of the fear of the Lord. OK. We go, well, perfect love drives out fear. And this is what John said, and yet, we know that there are certain things that we don't do because of a godly fear. And we, early on, we fear the punishment of our parents, but our parents punish because of trying to keep us from running out in the street, for instance, or touching a hot stove. But then there's going to be that, you know, after today's lesson we're going to go out and be maybe a little bit more concerned, I know that I will be, about the way that you say things and the level of truthfulness that you end up speaking with. So, 1 Corinthians 13.5, I brought this up last week, and Calvin did a good job of explaining the law of love, but 1 Corinthians 13.5 specifically says... Thank you. Okay? Love tells the truth. Okay? This is an outstanding point. And he's got a really good example here. So 2 Samuel 16.10 is the example of Shimei. The verse specifically, Stephen. The king said, what have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the Lord has said to him, first David, you then shall say, why have you done so? Okay, so we know Shimei, he's the one that throws stones, he's cursing the king, and he's across the river and they're gone. Boss, can't we just go and kill this guy and wax him? You know, he's already insulted the king. Can't we just go take him out? And David says, David labors to make a sanctified use of it. Maybe it's the Lord that's speaking through him. Okay, so this is really helpful, that in our situations that we encounter, that we are slandered, we can ask that question. What can I do with this that is, how is the Lord specifically touching the sins that I am committing? How is the Lord talking to me through this? You go, wow, I've been offended and he's wrong. But is he 100% wrong? Is that person that is accusing you all wrong? Can we just say 100% and nothing? There's no truth to what this person is saying. That's possible. it's probably not likely. Most lies are based on some sort of truth. And then given the attitude that David here is displaying, then we can say, how is the Lord training me in righteousness? How can I take from this example and say, this is something that is good for me? This is, you know, I mean, I think that in the Christian walk this is something that we all, we get to the point where we can look at the situations in our lives and say, oh man, that connects with me. It's been, it's always difficult for parents to see their own sins in their kids. And yet, that's true. I see my sins in my daughters and how they parent. I go, man, that is exactly how I would have treated her. I wouldn't have admitted it at the time. And so then there's maybe a more helpful way rather than I would never do that. No, actually you did do that. And so we can take that as the Lord training us. Okay, if you're innocent, even, I mean, if you're largely innocent, you can rejoice in the witness of a clear conscience before God. And this is one that we've emphasized before, that Stephen has done a great job of pointing us back to conscience and to, you know, having an informed conscience, a conscience that is trained by Scripture itself. And to say, God, I am innocent. That's a caution warning. But there are situations that will demand that we say, this commandment, by the way, goes both ways, that we, you know, that we not think so lowly of ourselves that we say that every sin on the planet is due to me. Paul said, I'm the chief of sinners and I think we need to have that attitude and yet there's still going to be times when a clear conscience is, we need to acknowledge that and claim that even before God. Okay, and then we can be thankful to God if he has preserved us from slander, from lying, from being a perjurer and impugning somebody else's character in that fashion. We can say that the fear of the Lord has worked and that God is working in our lives. We also have we have to stand up for those who are slandered and the examples that that Thomas Watson points back to our Peter at Pentecost. Remember that they're speaking in tongues, and what happens? The people around them say they're drunk. Well, Peter responds by giving witness that they're not drunk and that they are, in fact, speaking in other languages, known tongues. And so this is an example again of a scriptural character defending what is actually going on, defending truth. And then Jonathan's defense of David before his father. David is innocent before Saul. Saul even acknowledges this and yet he still wants to kill him because of jealousy, because of envy. Jonathan defends his friend even in the face of possible death.