756 - The 10 Commandments-No False Witness

mNovember 2, 2008

Sermon 756

The 10 Commandments-No False Witness

Introduction:

I want you to understand that no one, I repeat, no one, has ever kept all of the 10 commandments. That is why we need God’s grace and mercy.

Matthew 19:16 - 22 (NKJV) ¹⁶Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” ¹⁷So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ¹⁹‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” ²⁰The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” ²¹Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²²But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

A. There is always one more thing!

Romans 3:19 - 31 (NKJV) ¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. ²⁰Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. ²¹But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²²even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, ²⁶to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. ²⁷Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. ²⁹Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, ³⁰since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

B. Therefore, it is always the 10 commandments – so that we will know that we need grace.

Exodus 20:16 (NKJV) ¹⁶“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

I. The Power of words

James 3:3 - 12 (NKJV) ³Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. ⁴Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. ⁵Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! ⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. ⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. ⁸But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. ¹¹Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? ¹²Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

II. Perjury-lying when one has accepted the sacred responsibility to tell the truth

A. Penalty against perjury

Deuteronomy 19:14 - 21 (NKJV) ¹⁴“You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess. ¹⁵“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. ¹⁶If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing, ¹⁷then both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. ¹⁸And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, ¹⁹then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you. ²⁰And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. ²¹Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Proverbs 14:5 (NKJV) ⁵A faithful witness does not lie, But a false witness will utter lies.

Proverbs 21:28 (NKJV) ²⁸A false witness shall perish, But the man who hears him will speak endlessly.

Proverbs 25:18 (NKJV) ¹⁸A man who bears false witness against his neighbor Is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow.

B. Perjury at the trial of Jesus

Mark 14:55 - 59 (NKJV) ⁵⁵Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. ⁵⁶For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree. ⁵⁷Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, ⁵⁸“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’” ⁵⁹But not even then did their testimony agree.

III. Violating National Treaties- is giving a false witness

2 Chronicles 16:1 - 4 (NKJV) ¹In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ²Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, ³“Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” ⁴So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel.

A. How the U.S. enters into treaties

Outline of the Treaty Making Process:

· Secretary of State authorizes negotiation

· U.S. representative negotiate

· Agree on terms, and upon authorization of Secretary of State, sign treaty

· President submits treaty to Senate

· Senate Foreign Relations Committee considers treaty and reports to Senate

· Senate considers and approves by 2/3 majority

· President proclaims entry into force

ILL: Violating a treaty approved by the senate and signed by the president makes the entire government guilty of false witness. Go to the internet and look up treaties with Indian Tribes, you will find there hundreds of treaties that were to last “as long as the sun shone and the grass was green” that this nation violated!

B. We have treaties with NATO and Israel that state that if they are attacked the U.S. will defend them. To decide not to keep our word would make the nation guilty of disobeying this commandment.

IV. Slander – A malicious, defamatory, statement or report to bring question about someone’s name or character.

A. Source

Luke 6:45 (NKJV) ⁴⁵A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Psalm 109:2 - 4 (NKJV) ²For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful Have opened against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. ³ They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause. ⁴ In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer.

B. Whom is slander used against?

· Political and civil leaders

Jude 1:8 (NKJV) ⁸Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries.

ILL: This has been a major problem in the national election by both sides. (I have never seen a national election campaign like this one with prominent character assassination.)

ILL: The media with stories from “anonymous sources” and distort the story for ratings.

Under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, as set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1964 Case, New York Times v Sullivan, where a public figure attempts to bring an action for defamation, the public figure must prove an additional element: That the statement was made with "actual malice". In translation, that means that the person making the statement knew the statement to be false, or issued the statement with reckless disregard as to its truth. For example, Ariel Sharon sued Time Magazine over allegations of his conduct relating to the massacres at refugee camps. Although the jury concluded that the Time story included false allegations, they found that Time had not acted with "actual malice" and did not award any damages.

· Ministers of the Gospel

Romans 3:7 - 8 (NKJV) ⁷For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? ⁸And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.

2 Corinthians 6:3 - 10 (NKJV) ³We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. ⁴But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, ⁵in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; ⁶by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, ⁷by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, ⁸by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; ⁹as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; ¹⁰as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

ILL: A member of a congregation of which I was a pastor, before I accepted that position, called for a public vote on the previous pastor’s wife. It was her way of trying to remove the pastor against which she had a grievance. She got a group of her friends together and she accused the wife of the pastor of committing adultery. She lined up her witnesses. One swore that she was listening in on a party phone line and heard the pastor’s wife call a man, “honey.” Another stated that a delivery­man had stayed at the pastor’s house for nearly an hour. And so the “witnesses” went. After considerable discussion, a close majority found the pastor’s wife not guilty. The pastor promptly resigned. This couple, who were slated for the missionary field found their carrier and calling, destroyed. The same woman accused me of having a sexual relationship with a new member in my office during the Sunday school. I threatened a lawsuit for deformation of character and she dropped her accusations.

I cannot tell you how many times I have been slandered. I even had one write the I.R.S. that I owned the church and was stealing from it. The I.R.S. made a full investigation and, of course, found that neither was true.

ILL: In March 1995 The Pentecostal Church of East Wenatchee Washington was raided by the police, the Pastor, Roby Robeson was arrested, and handcuffed on the grounds of “child molestation. His four year old daughter was taken into state custody and forced to undergo “memory recovery therapy.” Sixteen church members were arrested. The only evidence was the bruises on the daughter (a member of the congregation) of a police detective.. In the trial it was discovered that the bruises were caused by the detective himself. It took a year for the pastor and the members to be declared, “not guilty.”

ILL: Several years ago our day care director found that a child and a worker were missing. We have a video security system and within minutes they were discovered in an adult rest room and the child was undressed. The parents of the child were notified, the department of social services and the worker dismissed. I signed the dismissal as being one for taking the child out of the day care property. The next morning three lawyers showed up to sue me for dismissing the worker on the grounds of sexual abuse. I showed them the dismissal letter and reason, which was witnessed by our day care supervisor. No suit was filed against the church.

Deuteronomy 19:14 - 15 (NKJV) ¹⁴“You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess. ¹⁵“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

· Church members

Matthew 5:11 - 12 (NKJV) ¹¹“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹²Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

ILL: It was reported, in the church where I first attended as a Christian, that a deacon and on of the women of the church had been caught having sex in the choir room. It spread all over the small town. The pastor was preaching, as I am, a serious on the 10 commandments. The next message was to be on adultery. For the first time the church was packed. The pastor, however, changed his text to, “thou shalt not bear false witness.” He never mentioned the report or named the people but he said that the person or persons who had witnessed the thing that was being talked about should stand up and publicly give their witness. When no person did – he told the congregation to get on their knees and repent for their great sin of slander-those who heard it and those who repeated it. Every person in that congregation had to get on their knees!

V. Gossip- carrying tales without intent to harm

Leviticus 19:16 (NKJV) ¹⁶You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

Proverbs 11:13 (NKJV) ¹³A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.

Psalm 41:6 - 9 (NKJV) ⁶And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it. ⁷All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they devise my hurt. ⁸“An evil disease,” they say, “clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.” ⁹Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.

ILL: We had a woman in this church who was the worst gossip I have ever met. I don’t know how she got her stories or how she spread them so quickly. On evening, I answered the phone. “Is Jane there and how is she?” the voice said. Now I have to explain that my wife’s full name is Mary Jane and that before I met her all of her family called her by her second name, “Jane.” I assumed that the voice on the phone was one of her sisters or sister-in-laws. We have always been a very close family. Mary and I had recently installed a hot tub on the patio behind the house. “She is fine” I answered. “I cannot call her to the phone as she is outside in the hot tub waiting for me to join her.” There was hesitation on the phone and then, “Well! I never!” and the phone went dead. The next day I had a call informing me that one of my elders, whose wife, Jane, was very ill was being mistreated. The poor sick thing was being forced to entertain her husband by getting into a hot tub on the porch without any clothing on - and in her condition. It was then that I realized that the person on the phone was not one of Mary’s family but the “church gossip”

VI. Flattery

A. The false witness of friends

Job 17:1 - 6 (NKJV) ¹“My spirit is broken, My days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me. ²Are not mockers with me? And does not my eye dwell on their provocation? ³“Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself. Who is he who will shake hands with me? ⁴For You have hidden their heart from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them. ⁵He who speaks flattery to his friends, Even the eyes of his children will fail. ⁶“But He has made me a byword of the people, And I have become one in whose face men spit.

Proverbs 20:19 (NKJV) ¹⁹He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.

B. The way of the antichrist

Daniel 11:32 - 33 (NKJV) ³²Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. ³³And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.

Conclusion: Hear the false witness against Jesus!

Matthew 11:18 - 19 (NKJV) ¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”

Mark 14:61 - 64 (NKJV) ⁶¹But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” ⁶²Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” ⁶³Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? ⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.

John 8:48 (NKJV) ⁴⁸Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

ILL: There is the story of the woman who went to her Rabbi and told him, “I have sinned against my neighbor by telling tails. The Rabbi told her, “Go to the market and purchase a chicken. Then bring it to me and pluck out all of its feathers as you come.” She did as the Rabbi told her but felt no better. “Now” said the Rabbi” go pick up all of the feathers and bring them to me.” When she came back, she only had a few feathers. “I could not get them back,” she told him. “Such is the false witness,” he said, “once spoken it cannot be gathered again!”

No false witness- always the 10 commandments