Truth Or Consequences Series

Dakota Community Church

August 31, 2014

Truth or Consequences

Summer Series at Dakota: The 10 Commandments

Exodus 20:16

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbour, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.

Martin Luther {Small Catechism}

John 8:44-45

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

Proverbs 19:9

A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.

Revelation 21:5-8

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And 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 from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur , which is the second death.”

Has anyone else taken note; as we work our way through the ten commandments, that God seems to take sin much more seriously as a problem than we do?

In all my research for this message I could find no biblical reference for pretty little liars, for fibbing, or for little white lies!

Just the one horrible offence; punishable by “the lake that burns with fire and sulfur…”

Is it ever the right thing to tell a lie?

I think this issue is similar in nature to the just war theory.

Given the choice between telling the truth resulting in harm to another or lying to protect them, the lesser of the two wrongs is to tell the lie.

Exodus 1:16-20

“When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birth stool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong.

Joshua 2:3-6

Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.

Hebrews 11:31

By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Notice that Rahab is not directly commended for lying.

From these two instances it seems possible to be a person who fears the Lord (like the Hebrew midwives) and acts in faith (like Rahab) and yet is constrained in extreme, life-threatening situations to oppose evil by lying.

1. We bend the truth for personal gain

A.) To gain or keep social status or security

Matthew 21:23-27

And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.