Northing But The Truth Series

TRUTH ABOUT TRUTH #10

“Nothing But the Truth”

Exodus 20:16

* The “minister wound up the services one morning by saying, "Next Sunday I am going to preach on the subject of LIARS. And in this connection, I would like you all to read the 17th chapter of Mark." The next Sunday, the preacher rose to begin, and said, "Now, all of you who have done as I requested and read the 17th chapter of Mark, please raise your hands." Nearly every hand in the congregation went up. "Very good," said the preacher. "You are precisely the people I wish to speak to this morning. There IS no 17th chapter of Mark!"

* On the witness stand you are asked for “nothing but the truth”.

* Tonight, let’s visit the 9th Commandment. Read text.

* Of All Commands, this is routinely “winked” at, this one leads the list. Speaking of lists, I have a list of;

* Famous American Fibs

- The check is in the mail.

- I’ll start my diet tomorrow.

- We service what we sell.

- Give me your number & the dr will call you right back.

- Money cheerfully refunded.

- One size fits all.

- This offer limited to the first 100 people who call in.

- Your luggage isn’t lost, it’s only misplaced.

- Leave your resume and we’ll keep it on file.

- This hurts me more than it hurts you.

- I just need five minutes of your time.

- Your table will be ready in a few minutes.

- Open wide, it won’t hurt a bit.

- Let’s have lunch sometime.

- It’s not the money, it’s the principle.

* In 1999 Deb and I were on a Christian cruise. If you remember, this was right after the debacle in the White house. Dr. John McArthur preached a message about “lying leaders,” and named Bill Clinton specifically. It seems to me that it is no accident that following 8 years of a president who had great PR skills and little ethics that we suffered the humiliation of MCI & Enron. George Barna wrote the eye-opening report entitled “the day America told the truth.” According to surveys, 91% lie about “little” things while 36% lie about significant things. Lying is seemingly an epidemic.

* The Bible is clear, lying is a sin. Let’s divide our thinking in three thoughts & unpack this truth..

1) THE TEACHING ABOUT LYING

* We know that lying begins at birth as a part of our sin nature. (Ps 58:3) No matter how cute our children are, we know that they very quickly begin to lie and have to be taught to tell the truth. (Psa 51:5) In Rom 3:4, the Bible teaches us that every man is a liar & that God is truth. Lying does 3 things:

a) Breaks God’s Law – his is the 9th Commandment. The wording gives a picture of a Court Room setting. In a court proceeding you are sworn to give the “truth, the whole truth & nothing but the truth so help you God.” Have you ever wondered why this wording is used? Every society recognizes the need for truth, not partial truths, not half truths, not embellished truths, to understand any situation the truth must be complete. In court, the judge expects the truth and you’ll be charged with perjury if you give anything less or more than the truth.

* Every day you and I live in God’s court room and we live according to His law. He swears you in every morning and listens to us throughout the day.

* The interesting to me is that we consider seriously the breaking of man’s laws and then with little thought we break God’s laws. Here is what it seems; that the prevailing attitude is that God is loving, forgiving, & filled with mercy, so He’ll let us off the hook. I’ll offer Adam & Even as exhibit A.

b) Breaks God’s Word –

* Proverbs 19:9, “A false witness will not go unpunished, & he who pours out lies will perish.”

* Proverbs 16:13, “Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value a man who speaks the truth.”

* Never forget, God’s word is all about TRUTH.

* Isaiah 65:16, “Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.”

* God’s word, His character, His calling is to truth. He is not truthful, He IS truth. Don’t forget, “You shall know the truth….”

c) Breaks God’s Heart – This thought takes no thought

* Just like your child breaks your heart when they don’t follow your words, so it is true with God. Do you suppose that the reason for 9th Command is that God is already sick of lies? Think about it, the serpent, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Laban, Joseph’s Brothers, Potiphar’s wife, Judah, and this is just the one’s I can think of. It breaks God’s heart when His people, created in His image (of truth), His own crown creation, resort to deceit, deceitfulness, and dishonesty. By the way, there is not one example of any good coming from a lie. God desires that we tell the truth.