Ten Words to Live By: Do not Lie
Exodus 20: 16
Patter Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
9-28-2025
Emmett Till
In 1955, Emmett Till’s mother sent him by train from Chicago to Money, Mississippi to visit family for the summer. He was 14 years old.
Emmett and his cousins went to Bryant’s Grocery Store and Meat Market to get food where he was accused of whistling at a white woman, Carolyn Bryant.
Carolyn’s husband and half-brother kidnapped Emmitt. They beat him, tortured him, shot him in the head, and dumped him in a local river.
Emmett’s mother chose to have an open casket to show the world what happened to her son. Jet Magazine published photos of Emmett, sparking outrage across the nation.
Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam were brought to trial, but an all-white, all-male jury acquitted them of murder in just over an hour.
Later, protected by double jeopardy laws, they confessed to the murder in a magazine interview.
Carolyn Bryant Donham, the woman whose accusations led to the murder of Emmett Till in 1955, admitted in a 2008 interview with a historian that she fabricated key parts of her testimony and added, "Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him".
Review
We continue our series called, “Ten Words to Live By.” We know them as the “The Ten Commandments” although that name is never used in the Bible.
In Hebrew, this top ten list is known as the “Ten Words,” or Decalogue, and we find them in Exodus 20.
Pastor John Miller reminds us of three reasons the ten words were given:
* God is holy
* Man is sinful and we need a Savior
* Shows us how to live
They are less rules about what to do and tell us more about who God is to us:
1. One God - God is God.
2. No idols - God is Creator.
3. Revere His Name - God is holy
4. Remember to Rest - God is Rest
5. Honor Parents - God is Father
6. No murder - God is Life
7. No adultery - God is Faithful
8. No stealing - God is a Provider
9. No lying - God is Truth
10. No coveting - God is Sufficient
The ten words are divided into two groups. The first four cover our relationship with God. The last six detail our relationship with others.
Jesus was asked by a teacher of the Law what the greatest commandment was and He responded:
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
The four commandments are how we love God with all that we are.
The second six commandments are how we love our neighbor.
This morning, we come to the ninth commandment - “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”
Notice that it comes at the end of the Ten Words. That’s because whenever we break the other commandments we always lie.
Please, turn with me to Exodus 20:16.
Prayer
Do you Swear to Tell the Whole Truth?
Many of you learned this commandment as “Do not lie.” This commandment does cover that. But it is explicitly concerned with the courtroom.
I have testified in court several times and they always started by asking me to raise my right hand - “”Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”
If you refuse to comply or choose to lie, you can be held in contempt of court.
The ninth commandment states -“do not give false testimony against your neighbor.”
Today, we have cameras and DNA. People charged with a crime had little protection and were assumed guilty until proven innocent.
In that culture, all they had were eyewitnesses.
But one witness wouldn’t be enough:
“One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Deuteronomy 19:15)
And noone could be put to death on the testimony of a single witness, according to Deuteronomy 35:30.
The death sentence was to be carried out by the accuser.
And as a safeguard/warning against false testimony
“The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you. The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you.” (Deuteronomy 19:18-20)
As the prophet Zechariah wrote:
“These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord.” (Zechariah 8:16)
Solomon wrote:
A corrupt witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.” (Proverbs 19:28)
Moses expands the ninth commandment:
“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.” (Exodus 23:1)
Kevin Deyoung writes:
“When a witness gives false testimony, justice is impossible.”
In March 2006, an exotic dancer named Crystal Mangum, who was hired for a Duke lacrosse team party, alleged that she had been sexually assaulted and raped by three members of the team.
The university canceled the remainder of the lacrosse team's season, and the head coach was forced to resign.
In April 2007, after an investigation by the North Carolina Attorney General's office, all charges against the players were dropped, and they were declared innocent.
In a December 2024 podcast interview, Crystal Mangum admitted she had lied about the rape. She stated, "I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn't, and that was wrong”.
These lies ruined three young men’s lives.
Solomon wrote to his sons:
“Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor.” (Proverbs 25:18)
Albert Mohler writes,
“In an honor culture, where reputation meant everything and life and death could hang in the balance, false witnesses could kill…truth must always be spoken about one’s neighbor, for even one incident of false accusation could unravel the social fabric of an entire community.”
Truthniness
Jesus was brought before Pilate who was very interested in His claim to be a King.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37)
Pilate responded with these now-famous words:
“What is truth?” (John 18:38)
It was the philosopher Immanuel Kant who taught that there was no objective truth and all truth is relative.
We live in a postmodern world where we are told daily that truth is relative. I have my truth and you have your truth and both are equally valid.
But that’s not how truth works. Webster's definition of truth is
“the absolute standard by which reality is measured.” 1 + 1 = 2. That is true.
But in this post-truth culture, truth has become a little squishy.
“I want the truth! ” Tom Cruise yelled at Jack Nicholson in a “Few Good Men.” Jack’s famous response? “You can’t handle the truth!”
It seems most people today have a hard time “handling the truth.”
George Santos was a representative from New York, became the poster child for our truthiness.
He claimed his grandparents fled the Holocaust - they didn’t.
He claimed his mother was killed in the 9-11 attack. She didn’t.
He claimed he graduated from Baruch College with degrees in economics and finance. He attended the school at all.
On top of that, he told the story, multiple times, that he led the Baruch College volleyball team to a league championship. This isn’t true either.
He claimed on his resume that he worked for Goldman Sachs and Citi-Group. He never worked at either of these companies.
He claimed to have lost four employees in the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando. Not true either.
He even claimed to be Jewish but later admitted that he’s “Jew-ish.”
When asked why he lied so much, he responded with a smile, “Everyone embellishes their resumes a little bit.”
By the way, in a survey of over three million job applicants, nearly 50% of American resumes contain one or more falsehoods.
He was expelled by congress and is serving a seven-year federal prison sentence for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and other charges.
God is Truth
God the Father is Truth
“He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” (Duet 32:4)
Jesus is the Truth
“We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” (I John 5:20)
The Holy Spirit is Truth
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” (John 16:12)
The Word of God is the Truth
All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. (Psalm 119:160)
God the Father and the Son will be with us in truth and love.
Tim Keller wrote these words:
“In this age of moral relativism, when people all around us talk about their truth and our truth, we need to know the truth of the Gospel, we need to love the truth of the Gospel, and we need to live out the truth of the Gospel.”
The Devil is a Liar
John describes Satan as “a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (I Corinthians 11:14)
It was satan, through the snake, who told the first lie:
“He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” “The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-4)
Satan tells lies because he hates God and God’s people and wants to steal, kill, and destroy.
The mind is a battlefield that satan wants to make his playground. This is why we must renew our minds:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom 12:2)
Satan lies to us and whispers - “You’ve messed up too badly. You can’t be saved.”
Or “You’re a good person. You don’t need to be saved.”
Or you will never be good enough. God knows the real you. He knows those thoughts. He knows how many times you mess up. How crazy of you to think that God loves such a loser like you!”
When he hits you over the head with these frying pan accusations, lob a Scripture grenade his way!
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” (Rom 8:1-2)
Liar, Lair
A columnist for Time Magazine wrote:
“ The injunction against bearing false witness, branded in stone and brought down by Moses from the mountaintop, has always provoked…conflicting emotions. On the one hand, nearly everyone condemns lying. On the other hand, nearly everyone does it every day.”
Philip Rykin writes:
“Dishonestly comes in all different sizes. There are the big lies - the whoppers and the grand deceptions. There are the little lies we tell - the half truths, the flattery, the fibs.
What we say may be true, as far as it goes, but we leave out the details that might put us at a disadvantage…
We overstate our accomplishments, putting ourselves in the best possible light. At the same time, we exaggerate other people’s failings, thinking and saying the worst about others.
We mislead, misquote, misinterpret. We twist people’s words, taking things out of context.”
Why do we lie?
* Fear of consequences
A mom called me the morning after we took a bunch of high school students bowling. She was so excited that her daughter went because she had been worried about the friends she was choosing.
I hesitated and she said, “She wasn’t there last night with you, was she?” I said, “No, she wasn’t.” I could hear the steam coming out of her ears through the phone!
To make ourselves look good
Ananias and Sapphira sold a plot of land and decided to give some of the proceeds to the apostles, pretending it was the full amount. They were not obligated to donate any of the money and were free to give as much or as little as they wanted. Their sin was the hypocrisy of pretending to give everything for the sake of public praise.
Peter confronted them, accused them of lying to the Holy Spirit and both were struck dead. (See Acts 5)
To spare others feelings.
Sometimes this is more than the question, “Does this dress make me look fat?”
At the end of seminary, when we were all putting out resumes, I got a call from a psychiatrist in Tupelo. One of my classmates had used me as a reference.
As the doctor asked me questions, I didn’t lie but I didn’t tell the whole truth. There were some pretty big red flags that this guy needed to know about my classmate but I didn’t want to make him look bad and not get the job.
After I hung up the phone, I immediately felt guilty. As it came time for bed, I couldn’t let it be. I did a deep search for this psychiatrist and found his home number. I called, apologizing for calling him at home so late, but I had to tell him the whole story.
He was very impressed and thankful that I came clean. They did make the choice to hire my classmate. At the end of his 90 day probationary period, they let him go. They had seen the red flags that I had warned them about.
He called me back to thank me again and then offered me the job!
Pastor J.D. Greear states that lying grows out of a deep insecurity in our lives.
How do we break this commandment? Obviously, through perjury in a court of law. Watch story . But there are many others ways.
Lying
A pastor stood up and announced that he would be preaching on Matthew 29 that night. He asked how many had read Matthew 29 and more than half of the congregation raised their hands. He said, “There is no Matthew 29. Tonight, I will be preaching on “Do not lie!”
God is very clear about how he feels about His people being truthful:
“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” (Proverbs 6:16-19)
David writes in Psalm 5:
“You hate all who do wrong you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, Lord, detest.” (Psalm 5:6)
For years, Lance Armstrong was accused of using performance enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France. And for years, he vehemently denied it, going so far as suing reporters that wrote about this story.
In a tell-all interview in 2013 with Oprah, Lance admitted to doping and lying about it for years, attributing his lies to a “ruthless desire to win.”
Armstrong said that at no time did he feel his actions were wrong, but acknowledged that he would be spending the rest of his life "apologizing to people," including those whom he sued for alleging — correctly, as it turned out — that he was cheating on the Tour.
President Nixon, in an interview about Watergate,
“I was not lying. I said things that later on seemed to be untrue.”
Saturday Night Live character Tommy Flanagan is proud to be the president, (yeah, that’s the ticket) of the Pathological Liars Club.
Every year, in Cumbria, England, the World’s Biggest Liar competition is held. Competitors from around the world have five minutes to tell the biggest and most convincing lie they can.
* Gossip and Slander
I was eating lunch with a new friend I met in my Sunday school class and started the conversation talking about a situation at church.
He interrupted me, saying, “If you plan to gossip during lunch, I would rather eat alone.”
I was shocked and angry…for a minute. Then I was convicted and thankful he did the right thing. I thanked him for his boldness.
It reminded me of the Elenor Roosevelt quote,
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”
The word translated “slander” is a combination of two Greek words that means to “talk down to.”
This is translated as criticize, malign, or disparage. It is any speech that runs down another person.
John Calvin said,
“No greater injury can be inflicted upon a man than to ruin their reputation.”
“With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape.” (Proverbs 11:9)
“The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts.” (Prov 18:8)
Pastor Scott Sauls writes:
"Gossip in pornography of the mouth. A cheap thrill that offers zero commitment to the person being objectified.”
We can share something that is true but doesn’t need sharing.
“Well, I’m not supposed to share this but I’ll share it as a prayer request.”
The word slander means to spy things out or spread things around. It can be translated as backbiting. The devil is called a “slanderer.” Don’t join his team!
Pastor James Montgomery Boice wrote this concerning slander and gossip:
“I think more damage has been done to the church by gossip, criticism, and slander than by any other sin. So I say don’t do it. Bite your tongue before you criticize another Christian.”
In the movie, “Doubt,” Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character preaches a sermon in which he tells a story about a woman who was convicted about her tendency to gossip. She is told to go up on her roof with a pillow and take a knife to slice it open.
She is asked what happened. She replied, “Feathers, feathers went everywhere.” He then told her to go and gather up the feathers. She said, “I can’t. The wind carried them away.”
“And that is gossip!” He forcefully ends his sermon.
Flattery
Flattery is a form of lying.
David’s son Absolom used flattery to steal the people’s hearts from his father the king.
In a church that I served in, there was a man who was very powerful in the church and community.
I found myself complimenting the dishes that he would bring to potlucks, even though they weren’t that good.
A friend confronted me and said that the only reason I made such a big deal out of his food is because I was scared of him. My friend was right.
Kent Hughes, “Gossip involves saying behind a person’s back what you would never say to his or her face. Flattery means saying to a person’s face what you would never say behind his or her back.”
“A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.” (Proverbs 26:28)
False Teaching
Paul wrote this to his son in the faith Timothy:
“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Tim 4:2-4)
South African Pastor Joshua Mhlakela claims he saw Jesus in a divine vision returning to Earth this past week, Tuesday September 23 or Wednesday September 24.
This is in spite of the fact that Jesus makes it clear in His word that no one knows the hour of His return.
People gave away their possessions, quit their jobs, postponed surgeries, and gave away pets. There were Instagram influencers posting videos of the best outfits to wear during the rapture.
Millions of people were sucked into this lie and were disappointed when the rapture did not occur.
I saw a post online from a neighbor of a Christian. He said she came over and said that the rapture was happening today, would he watch her cat after she was gone. He said, “Obviously, I wasn’t invited to the party.”
[FB Reel of Mike Winger on #RaptureTok.]
In the Old Testament, Pastor Joshua would have been taken outside the camp and stoned to death as a false prophet.
He should not be stoned but his church should fire him immediately because his lie went viral and international.
How do we put the commandment positively?
Tell the truth
When I was a teenager, I was a liar. It’s not that I lied, I was a liar. I lied to my parents, to girlfriends, to employers, and to friends. I lied to get out of trouble, to make myself look good and others look bad, and sometimes for no reason at all.
When I became a Christian, I decided that I would not lie anymore, even if it hurt to tell the truth. The problem was that I had lied so much, that it took years for people to start trusting me again.
The Heidelberg Catechism states that the aim of the ninth commandment is:
That I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one’s words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone rashly or without a hearing.
Rather, in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are the very devices the devil uses,?and they would call down on me God’s intense wrath.
I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it.
And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor’s good name.
Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus:
“Therefore having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” (Ephesians 5:25)
Steve Cole writes:
“To be like Jesus, we must be people who speak the truth and do not bear false witness. This doesn’t mean that we are required to tell everything we know about a situation. And, sometimes to be brutally honest is not the loving thing to do. We are to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). Love seeks the highest good of the other person. To bear false witness undermines your integrity, undermines relationships, and damages or destroys the other person.”
As a way to filter your words, use the acronym THINK, and ask these 5 questions before you speak:
T - Is it True?
H - Is it Helpful?
I - Is it Inspiring?
N - Is it Necessary?
K - Is it Kind?
Telling the truth is actually easier than telling a lie. Have you ever watched a teenager squirm as they are caught in a lie and then they have to try to remember all the parts of the lie?
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, challenges us to be known as people whose yes is yes and no is no:
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:33-37)
Be Witnesses to the Truth
Going back to the ninth word, we are called to be truthful witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus.
Right before Jesus ascended back to heaven, he told His disciples:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8)
We have been called to be God’s truthful witnesses to the hope we have:
Peter wrote:
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (I Peter 3:15)
I got to do this in the hot tub in the hotel we were staying at with a young man named Justin.
Paul challenges us:
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6)
Paul gave the Ephesian believers a grid that they could look to concerning their words:
?“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Eph 4:29)
David writes that truth is essential if we are going to have a relationship with God:
“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind…” (Psalm 15:1-4)
Jesus the Faithful Witness
The Apostle John wrote in his prologue to the book of Revelation:
“Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 1:4-5)
And to the church at Laodicea, he writes:
“These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.” (Revelation 3:14)
Jesus is faithful and true. And we are not.
“He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:6-8)
Jesus is the only hero of the Bible. Adam and Eve lied. Cain lied, Abraham lied, David lied. And you and I lie.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” (I John 1:8-10)
Albert Mohler writes:
“God’s people are a people of the truth. We are to honor and tell the truth, to defend the truth and discern the truth, to love the Bible as the Word of God that is truth without any mixture of error, and to stand for the truth. We are to uphold the truth, even if the whole world disbelieves, hates, and subverts the truth. We are the people of the truth for one single and irreducible reason – our God is true!”
Ending Video: Voddie Baucham FB clip
Ending Song: Turn Your Eyes
