The argument is one of the greater to the lesser: If bearing false witness against our neighbor is forbidden—which could lead to his death (the greater)—then certainly all other forms of falsehood are likewise forbidden (the lesser). In his commentary on the Larger Catechism, Johannes Vos explains, “The general scope of the ninth commandment is the sanctity of truth and honesty in human society, and the duty of maintaining our own and our neighbor’s good name.” Because truth is an attribute of God, and because we are created in His image, we are to support, defend, and uphold the truth in our lives, our homes, our churches, and our society.
In high school, a group of friends of mine decided to go camping on top of Lookout Mountain, Ga. These friends, about ten of them, included a mixed group of guys and girls. I knew my parents wouldn’t allow me to go camping in such a mixed company, so I “neglected” to tell them about the presence of the female companions. We had a great time—no foul play—but when I returned home, my parents confronted me, and when I tried to wiggle my way out of it by distorting the truth further, they grounded me. Rightfully so.
Little “white lies” like this seem rather harmless, but how often do we skirt the truth, hide the truth, or neglect to tell the truth? The reality is that God loves the truth, delights in the truth, and upholds the truth because He is the God of truth. As the sovereign Creator of all things, He established truth and has revealed His truth generally in creation and specifically in His Word (Ps. 19).
The Apostle John writes, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). This “light” of God conveys the moral qualities of truth, integrity, and righteousness. Not only is God the true and living God—as opposed to all the false gods of this world—He also knows all things as they truly are. In other words, He is not misguided or confused but rather has an accurate and complete knowledge of all things.
This God of truth calls us to love the truth, delight in the truth, speak the truth, and walk in the truth. If the church is to be “a pillar and buttress of truth” (1 Tim. 3:15), we need to know the truth and cultivate the moral fortitude of upholding the truth in a world of lies.
Our first parents were tempted through the lie of Satan, the “father of lies” (John 8:44). It is no wonder that God would establish His concern for truth in His Word. In his well-known hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” Martin Luther wrote:
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
While Satan attempts to destroy God’s truth and the world seeks to undermine it, the wrath of our sovereign and holy God has been revealed against the unrighteousness of men, “who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” and have “exchanged the truth about God for a lie” (Rom. 1:18, 25). But God’s truth will abide; His kingdom is forever.
The Ninth Commandment
The Ten Commandments convey how we are to love God (1–4) and neighbor (5–10). Along with the manna and Aaron’s staff, the Ten Commandments were placed inside the ark of the covenant—revealing their significance to the life and identity of Israel—and they also became the foundation of all the other laws and commands of God. They provide a portrait of the life that is pleasing to Him.
The ninth commandment instructs us about the importance of truth: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex. 20:16). The legal trial forms the background of this commandment in which a false witness could lead to severe punishment for one’s neighbor. Witnesses were very important in the ancient world. Deuteronomy 17:6 states, “On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.” A false witness, therefore, had the potential of causing great injustice to an innocent party. But the ninth commandment conveys much more than this specific application.
Duties Required and Sins Forbidden
The Westminster Larger Catechism devotes three questions to the ninth commandment (143–45), providing the content of the commandment as well as the “duties required” (the positive) and “sins forbidden” (the negative) by it.
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