Introduction: Let's review what we covered in the past eight studies. The keeping of the law has never saved anyone.
- "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." (Galatians 2:16)
The truth is, salvation has never been by the keeping of the law. It was not that way in the Old Testament, it is not that way now, and it will not be that way in the future or during the Millennium. This is why Hebrews tells us that salvation has always been through Jesus, "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." (Hebrews 4:2)
The purpose for the law was never to save but to show us our need of salvation. It is compared to three things in the Scriptures:
- A schoolmaster; Galatians 3:24-25, The schoolmaster was not the teacher, but brought the student to the teacher.
- A plumbline; Amos 7:7-8, The plumbline did not straighten a wall, but showed its need of straightening.
- A mirror; James 1:23-25, A mirror does not clean a man's face, but shows the need for washing the face.
The Ten Commandments can easily be divided into two groups of five:
- Commandments 1-5 have to do with our relationship to the LORD. The phrase "the LORD thy God" is found in each one. They have to do with piety.
- Commandments 6-10 have to do with our relationship to one another. The word "thou" is found in each one. They have to do with probity.
In the original language of the Old Testament, these 10 commandments were neither numbered nor divided. The Roman Catholic Church has traditionally divided them into two groups, the first of which consists of the first four commandments while the second is made up of the last six. However, the Jews have, from their earliest records, divided them into the two groups of five I mentioned above.
There is another interesting fact concerning these Ten Commandments. All of them deal with three areas; thought, word, and deed.
- Commandments 1-2 = thought; verses 2-6
- Commandment 3 = word; verses 7
- Commandments 4-5 = deed; verses 8-12
- Commandments 6-8 = deed; verses 13-15
- Commandment 9 = word; verse 16
- Commandment 10 = thought; verse 17
** The first commandment is found in Exodus 20:1-3, "And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me." We found that idolatry is a grievous sin and God puts it first on His list of ten commandments. Why first? If our foundation is wrong, our structure will be shaky.
** The second commandment is found in Exodus 20:4-6. The second commandment is not a restating of the first, but rather the stating of another commandment. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." Not only is it forbidden to have other gods before God, it is equally forbidden to make and have other gods in your possession.
** The third commandment is found in Exodus 20:7, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." The third commandment goes much further than the mere mispronunciation of His name. Taking His name in vain also included how we use His name and how we live as Christians.
** The fourth commandment is found in Exodus 20:8-11, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." The Sabbath Day of the Old Testament was given as a sign for the people of Israel and was to be observed until was fulfilled in Jesus. There is no Christian Sabbath; never has been and never will be. Today but there is the principle of rest and the example set by the early New Testament believers to meet for worship on the first day of the week. We do not have a Christian Sabbath to observe but we do have a command to not forsake the assembling ourselves together as the manner of some is.
** The fifth commandment is found in Exodus 20:12, "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." This commandment completes the first grouping of five commandments. As I mentioned earlier, the first five commandments deal with our relationship to God and piety toward Him. What is piety? Piety is the state or quality of being pious, especially concerning devotion and reverence to the Lord. It also means a devotion and reverence to parents and family. (American Heritage Dictionary)
The remaining five commandments do not deal with piety but probity. Again, what is probity? It is uprightness and honesty, and, as stated earlier, these commandments deal with our relationship to one another.
** The sixth commandment is found in Exodus 20:13, "Thou shalt not kill." Is this kind of killing simply the taking of a human life? Does it include the taking of human life no matter what the reason? There are 10 words in the Old Testament used for the word kill. Exodus 20:13 uses the ninth meaning, which means, to break or dash in pieces; to kill, to slay, in a violent, unjust manner. It means to murder.
Continuing now in the last division of five commandments, we come to the seventh commandment, again dealing with another aspect of probity, that is, our honesty and uprightness with others.
** The seventh commandment is found in Exodus 20:14, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." There is probably not a clearer commandment among the ten. This verses means exactly what it says but has more than one application. "Preacher, what does this verse mean?" It means that you do not have God's permission to commit adultery, whether spiritual or physical, period, and that it is sin to do so.
- - Adultery means voluntary sexual relations between a married person and a partner other than the lawful spouse. (American Heritage Dictionary)
- - An adulterer is one who commits adultery. (American Heritage Dictionary)
- - Adulterate is another form of the word and it means to make impure by adding extraneous, improper, or inferior ingredients. (American Heritage Dictionary)
Continuing now in the last division of five commandments, we come to the eighth commandment, again dealing with another aspect of probity, that is, our honesty and uprightness with others.
** The eighth commandment is found in Exodus 20:15, "Thou shalt not steal." It is interesting to note that this does not just deal with theft but with other things as well. This is seen in the Hebrew meaning of the word steal.
** The ninth commandment is found in Exodus 20:16, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." Perhaps this commandment is not as plain as it may appear. Bearing false witness involves more than simply lying. Lying is definitely a part of it, but there is more here than simply not telling the truth. To bear false witness, means to testify against another person falsely. It means to be deceitful in your dealings with others, and God says that bearing false witness against anyone is sin.
The false witness is mentioned numerous places in Scripture.
- Exodus 20:16, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."
- Deuteronomy 5:20, "Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour."
- Deuteronomy 19:16, "If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong."
- Deuteronomy 19:18, "And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother."
- Proverbs 6:19, "A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."
- Proverbs 12:17, "He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit."
- Proverbs 14:5, "A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies."
- Proverbs 19:5, "A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape."
- Proverbs 19:9, "A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish."
- Proverbs 21:28, "A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth speaketh constantly."
- Proverbs 25:18, "A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow."
- Matthew 15:19, "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies."
- Matthew 19:18, "He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness."
- Matthew 26:59, "Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death."
- Mark 10:19, "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother."
- Mark 14:56, "For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together."
- Mark 14:57, "And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying."
- Luke 18:20, "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother."
- Romans 13:9, "For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
The false witness is quite a common character throughout all the Bible. Is it possible today for a child of God to be a false witness? As we have found in studying these ten commandments, it is very possible for even the child of God to be guilty of such sin.
1. We bear false witness when we do not tell the truth. - 1 Timothy 4:1-2
"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron."
- What does it mean to tell a lie? It means that you are not telling the truth.
- Lying is one of the most grievous sins committed by Christians today. We have gone so far as to classify lies into two categories: white lies, and black lies.
- The truth is, a lie is a lie no matter how you cut it.
- We started out young when we were lied to about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. However, these three lies were classified as white lies.
- Is not this bearing false witness plain and simple?
- Perhaps because we have lied to our children through these years, it has become a common practice for us to lie to everyone else.
- Lying is sin. As one man said in our church told his boss who had asked him to lie for him about a particular job, "If I'll lie for you, I will lie to you." (A word fitly spoken.)
- Why will people lie to one another? The Bible tells us the exact reason. Proverbs 26:28 says, "A lying tongue HATETH those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin." The word hate here means to hold in a less degree of respect. Plain and simple, we lie to people, not because we love them as we have said, but because we disrespect them and hate them as the Bible says.
- If you are going to respect your children, don't lie to them about anything. All truth does not need to be told, but a lie should never be told. In other words, a child does not need to hear something just because it's true, but he should never be lied to. If you lie to a child today, he will lie to you tomorrow.
2. We are false witnesses when we are hypocrites. - Matthew 23:28
"Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."
- Hypocrisy is when you act like something you are not. However, there is a worse form of hypocrisy, and that is not to act like what you really are.
- Hypocrisy is a sin that God hates. Of course, it disappoints God when His children try to imitate the world, but my personal estimation is that it is far worse not to behave as a child of God.
- This is a form of bearing false witness that brings shame to the name and testimony of Christ. When Peter denied that he knew Christ, that he did not know the disciples, and then cursed and swore, it was not nearly as big a tragedy as his not behaving as a disciple should behave.
- The day that you were saved, the Bible says you were "born again." John 3:7 says, "...Ye must be born again." When you became born again, you became a member of God's family. You became a child of the King. You are actually classified as a "son of God." John 1:12, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."
- If you're a child of God, act like a child of God instead of acting like a child of the Devil.
- On the day that you got saved, you were given a brand new life in Christ. Why in the world would you even desire to go back to the old life that Jesus delivered you out of?
- One might say that acting like the world instead of acting like a Christian is more fun. That is simply NOT TRUE! It is true that there are some fun things offered in the world, but none of them compare to the joy that comes in Christ.
- Is your life bearing a false testimony? If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
- We must remember that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. A Christian is a imitator of Christ. When someone sees you, do they think of Jesus or the world?
Conclusion: Bearing false witness is more than the telling of a lie. Bearing false witness includes lying but also includes the false witness of a hypocritical life. I would like to ask you first of all if you are telling lies with your tongue. If you are, then you need to repent and get right with God at an old-fashioned altar for bearing false witness with your tongue. Secondly, are you bearing false witness with your life? It is bad to act like what you are not, but it is even worse not to act like what you really are, that is, a child of God. If you are bearing false witness with your life, then you need to repent and get right with God at this old-fashioned altar. Do it today!