Hold to the Truth 9th Commandment, Week 2

Hold to the Truth 9th Commandment, Week 2 TITLE PORKY PIES Porkies, fibs, economical with the truth. Whatever words we may use, we can t get away with the fact that telling lies and deception are all part of routine life these days. Dr Leonard Keiller, who invented the lie detector, surveyed 25,000 people in devising the instrument. He concluded that people are basically dishonest. We live in a society of truth-decay. Of course we ve all come up with those lame excuses when people are caught red- handed: A man, who had spent a fruitless day fishing, picked out 3 big fish in the market. Before you wrap them, he said to the sales assistant, toss them to me one by one. That way I ll be able to tell my wife I caught them and I ll be telling the truth. Or there was the man arrested for stealing a car, he said he found the car in front of a cemetery and thought the owner was dead. Do you believe in life after death? The boss asked one of his employees. Yes Sir the man replied. Well then, that makes everything just fine. The boss went on: After you left early yesterday to go to your grandmother s funeral, she popped in to see you. James in the Bible, (James 3:5-6) writing 2,000 years ago, said that: the tongue, even though only a small part of the body, could do enormous damage. And for 2,000 years, millions of tongues have proved the truth of that statement. FALSE TESTIMONY So here we are. The 9th Commandment: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour. Exodus 20 v16 The basic message of the 9th Commandment is, tell the truth, and specifically relating to other people. Don t ruin someone else s reputation. The press is very good at bending the truth or even just making facts up. The downward spiral in journalistic standards over the years is astonishing: Facts aren t always checked Sources go unnamed Corrections needn t always be published And opinions masquerade as news The newspaper magnate WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST famously said Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. It has been said that: Truth has only to exchange hands a few times to become fiction It all kind of reminds me of a saying of TIMMY MALLETT who used to tell highly improbable stories and ended it with I know this is a true story I made it up myself. THE BIBLE WARNS ABOUT THREE TYPES OF FALSE TESTIMONY GOSSIP - idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others. It isn t the things that go in one ear and out the other that hurt as much as the things that go in one ear get all mixed up, and then come out the mouth. Today, gossip is the fuel that drives many T.V. talk shows, newspapers and magazines. It s amazing how a gossip can give you all the details, without knowing the facts. Gossip seems to travel fastest over grapevines that are slightly sour. We talk about hearing juicy gossip. What s the goss? When people say, I probably shouldn t tell you this Why don t we reply, Well then, I guess you better 1

not, Instead we say, Oh go on, let s hear it. There were three friends that went on a fishing trip. One of the three friends said, Look we re in the middle of no-where, why don t we share our deepest secrets about the things we struggle about most. The first one said, my big problem is lust, I just lust all the time. The second one said, my one s money, I m just obsessed about money. The person who suggested it said, well mine is gossip and I can t wait to get back and tell everyone. A gossip eventually gets caught in their own mouth trap. SLANDER is malicious untruth with the intention of doing harm. We use slander to try to discredit someone. And slander isn t some big intentional attempt to smear someone it s just putting something in someone s mind that makes them doubt another person s integrity. Someone s reputation can be easily ruined with one word. The word is, but. He s great, but..., She s popular, but... Or there s this. Have you ever heard someone say: Well I better not say anything. It s insinuation. If you only knew what I know. An insinuation is where you make a statement that leads people to think something that is not true. It encourages people to jump to the wrong conclusions. We provide the building blocks and let them construct the lie themselves. It s how spin doctors work. Politicians are experts at destroying another s reputation by insinuation. Shakespeare s play Othello, is about a jealous husband who listens to and believes slanderous rumours that his wife is having an affair. In his rage, he murders his wife, learning almost immediately afterwards that the rumours were all lies. FLATTERY is saying things to a person s face, which you would never say behind their back. Flattery is insincere praise. We compliment somebody, but we don t really mean it. Or we say one thing to one person, and then something else to another. Flattery is an artificial sweetener but flattery that gets us no-where is the kind we listen to. Flattery causes ruin. Proverbs 26 v28 Why do we say things to people, When we don t really mean it? When employees flatter their bosses with the intention of gaining a promotion or a raise, they break this Commandment. There is, however, an appropriate time to show genuine appreciation. We probably do not show as much appreciation for people as we ought to. How do we hold to the Truth? I NEED TO EXAMINE MY OWN HEART Jesus said, Whatever is in your heart determines what you say, Matthew 12 v34 The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I know. I, the Lord God search all hearts and examine secret motives. Jeremiah 17: 9-10 Have you ever said, I am so surprised, I said that it s not like me? Oh yes it is. Because our words reveal who we really are What motivates us to lie? One of the reasons is because we don t want to take responsibility for the things we do. We are afraid of what might happen if we tell the truth. The disease of B.S.E. is widespread. B.S.E. - Blame Someone Else It began in the Garden of Eden and has affected and Infected every descendent of Adam and Eve since. The main reason we lie is because we want to put our own interests above everything else, including truth. I NEED TO REFUSE TO GOSSIP If we listened to ourselves more often, we would talk less. When we are tempted to pass on a rumour, 2

we ought to stop and ask ourselves, Am I willing to sponsor this story by signing my name to it? If we are not willing to put our name to it - we shouldn t say it, because when we do, we are sponsoring it. It s amazing how many people back off when asked for verification for a rumour. Have you checked that out with the source? Someone might say, There s been some talk Who said it? - because we can t evaluate a statement, if we don t know where it came from. GET CONNECTED WITH THE TRUTH The 9 th Commandment is not about censorship, but rather about how to build a sense of community that includes discretion, respect and mutual caring. In any community of people, there are bound to be situations in which it is right to speak up with certain facts and information. If we are going to give a job reference be honest with what we know. The key: Hold to the truth in love. Ephesians 4 v15 Say what you mean, mean what you say. But don t say it mean. If you ever have something negative to say about anybody, be sure the answer to these two questions is yes before you say it: Is it true? Will it do anybody any good to say it? The fabric of all healthy relationships is woven with truth. Lying tears this fabric apart and destroys confidence and trust in one another. The reason that truth is so important to God is because truthfulness is part of His nature. So get connected with the truth. God cannot lie, Titus 1 v2 JESUS IS TRUTH. Jesus words are true Jesus is truth and speaks truth: Truth about ourselves, Truth about our world, Truth about God. It is interesting what Jesus had to say about the devil: He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8 v44 Jesus makes the point that the devil not only speaks lies, but spreads lies. But God s Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. We must decide whom we align ourselves with. Jesus: You are truly my disciples if you obey my teaching. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8 v32 We think the truth is going to confuse things if it comes out. But Truth is actually liberating. Need for Jesus Many of us, have had many lies told about us and we need to encounter the truth - Jesus Christ. Many of us can still remember hurtful things said to us in the school playground. Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never harm me. Has there ever been a greater untruth sung in the playground? That is NOT a Nursery Rhyme, it is a Nursery Crime. Names do hurt. Broken bones heal quicker that broken spirits. External wounds heal quicker than internal wounds. The fact is, that many of us, have been told a lot of lies. When we look at a distorted mirror, we get a distorted image of ourselves. With false information we arrive at false conclusions. Jesus wants to set us FREE 3

There was a woman who went to see a psychiatrist because of the problems she was having, and the psychiatrist tried to understand when this women s problems all began. So he journeyed back through her life to an occasion when she was at school. For some unknown reason one of her teachers took a dislike to her and told her one day to come out to the front. The teacher gave her a piece of chalk and instructed her to write on the blackboard I am a failure. Then the teacher said to the class, I want you to write on the blackboard what you think of her. The Children came up and wrote terrible things about her on the blackboard. The psychiatrist said, how did you feel? The women replied, I started to cry, I felt ashamed, I couldn t look at anybody, I just wanted to die. The psychiatrist said as a Christian, I know that something else happened that day, and I m sorry that you weren t aware of it. When everybody had finished writing on that blackboard, there was a man sitting at the back called Jesus. He got up, he walked to the front and he erased everything that was written on that blackboard and he wrote on that blackboard: I love you. If you want to know one little picture that sums up Christianity, then that s one. That sums it up. Jesus didn t come to rub it in, but to rub it out. Jesus the victim of lies Towards the end of His life, Jesus became a victim of those who broke the 9th Commandment literally. In the court many testified falsely against Him. Mark 14 v56 "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of." But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. Mark 15: 4-5 The lies they told about Jesus, eventually took His Life, but no amount of false witness could smother the truth of His words. Jesus said, I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognise that what I say is true. John 18 v37 On the Cross Jesus paid the price for our lies and untruth. Jesus took responsibility for the sins that we refuse to take responsibility for. And because of Jesus Death and Resurrection, we are offered a new start, forgiveness, transformation and the power to live a different life. To be a Christian What does it mean to be a Christian? A Christian is not someone who just tries to live a better life. A Christian is someone who has said: I have examined my heart and it is deceitful I need Spiritual Heart Surgery I believe Jesus is the Truth I invite Jesus into my life by His Holy Spirit to forgive me and transform me. All of us need to become Christians. That is the truth. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. I invite you to Face the Truth Jesus Christ. And to experience that we need to go Via King s Cross. Some of you are living and believing lies about yourselves and that has bound you - You need to be set free. Some of you have been perpetuating lies you need to repent and change. The beginning of honesty is the confession of dishonesty. Song: PURIFY MY HEART 4

Response Do you need to meet the Truth Jesus Christ? Do you need to come to Jesus for cleansing gossip, slander and flattery? Do you have a loose tongue? Do you need to be set free from lies? Do you need healing from words spoken to you and about you? Prayer Jesus I acknowledge You as the Truth. Forgive me for the times I have deceived or spoken untrue words. How foolish to think I could ever hide anything from you. Jesus, I want to be a person who builds people up, who seeks to strengthen and encourage them. When I am tempted to speak ill of someone, remind me what terrible damage a false word can bring. Jesus, may people around me, feel they re in a safe place because I speak only the truth. I ask, that You heal me and help me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Help me to follow the Way, the Truth and the Life. Amen. Preached by Mark Reid MRBC Felixstowe 19/9/10 Sermon material J John & Philo Trust 2009 used with permission as part of Just10 in 2010 5