Bearing false witness

1. A few days ago I saw a picture of an automobile with a large solar panel on its roof.

2. Before reading the article, I wondered if someone was trying to make a solar powered car.

3. The article said panel was only designed to give the car a little help; maybe save a bit on gas mileage.

4. A car does not have enough space to support a solar panel big enough to provide all its power.

5. Seeing this idea brought to mind the fact that man has made some major accomplishments.

6. We have learned how to harness wind, solar and atomic power.

7. We have been able to create devices that make life easier and we can travel great distances very quickly.

IN SPITE OF ALL THE ADVANCEMENTS OUR WORLD HAS EXPERIENCED, WHAT A NEW TESTAMENT AUTHOR SAID IN JAMES 3:7-8 IS STILL TRUE: “NO MAN CAN TAME THE TONGUE.”

a) James said man is able to can control horses and ships.

b) We can control all types of beasts, birds and creeping things; the tongue “can no man tame.”

2) God has always known that man’s tongue is a potential weapon.

3) He knows it can be a “deadly poison” just like James described.

4) God is so well aware of this that we find this point in the Ten Commandments.

a) We are not under the Old Testament law; the Old Testament was for the nation of Israel.

b) Paul said we can “learn” from this law (Rom.1 5:4).

c) In looking at part of this law (the Ten Commandments), we find a statement about being a “witness.”

d) God said a person could be a false witness and this was wrong -– Ex. 20:16 – READ

5) I suppose a person could be a false witness by “nodding their head” at a court proceeding.

6) In most cases false testimony is usually given orally (people used their mouths).

7) Some have lied in legal proceeding in the past.

8) We find example of people lying in legal proceedings at the present time.

9) We expect this will continue to be a problem until the end of time (i.e. the future).

a) When we look at the things God hates in Prov. 6, we find something similar to Ex. 20:16.

b) Prov. 6:18, a “false witness who utters lies” is on God’s “things I hate list.”

c) In Ex. 20 We are told that bearing false witness against a neighbor is wrong.

10) In previous studies of this material in the things God hates we have considered Prov. 6:17.

11) There the writer said God “hates a lying tongue.”

12) Two of the things mentioned in the list of things that really irk God in Prov. 6 are joined with lying.

a) This morning we want to consider how someone can be a “witness” to or for something.

b) Rather than be a truthful witness, God sways we can be a “false witness” (we can lie).

13) There are several different ways to apply this information.

14) One of the first things that might spring to mind is what was just mentioned—some type of legal proceeding.

15) This is the basic line of thought we want to pursue today.

a) We often see people in our world lying when it comes to some type of official activity.

b) People lie in court cases. They also lie when dealing with various government officials.

c) A person is pulled over by a police officer and the vehicle’s license plate comes up stolen.

d) When the police ask where the person got the vehicle, they may hear things like:

e) “This car was given to me. The owner needed some quick cash and sold it to me for $200.”

f) People lie to police offers. Children lie to school officials. Employees lie to their employers.

g) In many situations those who are asked to be a “witness” or simply tell the truth tell a lie.

h) Lying witnesses may fail to tell the truth about what they heard, saw, said, or experienced.

16) We have seen various politicians play word games when it came to telling the truth.

17) Most of us will be a witness at one time or another and God says we are to be truthful people.

18) When God gave the Ten Commandments to Israel, He did something interesting.

19) A little while ago we read Ex. 20:16; a second account of the Ten Commandments can be found in Deut. 5:20.

a) If you compare these two passages in an English Bible, they look virtually identical.

b) If we were to look at the Hebrew text, we would find that everything is not the same.

c) God used two different Hebrew words when giving this commandment to Israel.

d) The wording in Ex. 20 describes “lying” or saying something that is untrue.

e) The wording in Deut. 5 has the sense of insincere, empty, frivolous.

f) Maybe there is not a very big difference between the different wording.

g) Others think the Exodus account concentrates on the “nature of the evidence in a case.”

h) What is said in Deuteronomy focuses on the “spirit in which the evidence is given.”

20) Perhaps by using two different words God did not want to give His people any wiggle room.

21) When people were called to serve as a witness, they were to tell the truth no matter what.

22) They tell the truth and even the spirit in which their testimony is given is to be in harmony with the facts.

23) This reminds us of what Jesus once said: “Let your yea be yea and your nay be nay.”

24) On more than one occasion I have said we need to be very careful when using paraphrases of the Bible.

25) A paraphrase is designed to give the “gist of the thought” and often that “gist” is not what God intended.

26) One place where a paraphrase does happen to be helpful in the Old Testament is Lev. 5:1.

a) The New Living Translation breaks this verse down into four separate thoughts.

b) The first thought in Lev. 5:1 is this: “If you are called to testify about something.”

27) As already noted, this experience will probably happen to most of us at one time or another.

28) We may not be called to serve as a witness in a criminal case; the matter might be something far less serious.

29) We might be called to serve as a witness to something that happened at work or school.

30) We might witness an accident or something unusual and be asked to tell about it.

31) Point 2 in Lev. 5 is: “Something you have seen or know about.”

a) Some try to serve as a witness when they have no knowledge of an incident.

b) God said witnesses were to be people who really had witnessed something.

c) This principle is still valid for today.

d) Christians will not try to serve as a witness unless they actually witnessed something.

e) God’s people do not make up facts or claim more than we know.

32) Point three in Lev. 5:1 is a “refusal to testify.”

a) In other words, here is a person who has seen something; he is a potential witness.

b) Not only is this man a potential witness, he has been called to tell others what he saw.

c) Lev. 5 pictures a situation where this man refuses to testify.

d) Maybe he refuses because he wants something from someone – perhaps payment for his testimony.

e) Maybe he refuses to testify because he is trying to hide something.

33) God said refusing to testify when such was possible was wrong—very wrong.

34) At the end of Lev. 5:1 God said refusing to testify was a “sin” and the potential witness was to be punished.

35) Someone who could have testified and refused to be a witness was guilty of sin.

36) Just as being a false witness is a sin, so was the refusal to testify when someone’s testimony was needed.

a) In our culture we have some rights built into our system of government.

b) A person is not forced to testify against himself and thereby incriminate himself.

c) Lev. 5:1 does not deal with the kind of arrangement in America

d) The writer described situations like the ones previously mentioned.

37) There is a need for testimony in a case, we are asked to provide it, and we have that information.

38) God told His people, “in these types of cases speak and be sure to tell the truth.”

39) Our world is often very careless about the truth and sometimes does not care about it.

40) This is not the way God wants His people to live. There is a different standard for Christians.

41) In our culture people often tell lies and then go their own way.

42) This was not the way things worked in Jewish life.

43) Those who were key witness against someone are said to have had an extra responsibility.

44) When a person was convinced of a capital crime and the penalty was death by stoning,

45) The person who gave that key testimony took part in the defendant’s death.

46) It is said that witnesses pushed the person he testified against off a cliff and rolled a stone upon him.

47) This is what we find in Jewish sources and this is what is indicated in 2 New Testament passages.

a) People did not like what Jesus said so they took him to an area with some type of cliff, Lk. 4:29.

b) People witnessed what the Lord said and thought He needed to be killed.

c) These “witnesses” led Jesus to an area where there was a cliff.

d) Stephen was treated in a similar manner – there were witnesses to what he said.

e) People from the group took him outside the city and stoned him (Acts 7:58-59).

f) The Old Testament paid attention to witnesses and the need for them to be truthful.

48) In fact, there is a specific provision in the Old Testament law that applied to witnesses.

49) In just a moment we will be reading from Deut. 19.

a) As we turn to this passage, remember that in today’s world there are many times when witnesses lie.

b) Perhaps because people fear to be prosecuted or they fear losing a job, they bear false witness.

c) In Deut. 19:15 God said, “do not depend upon the testimony of one witness.”

d) This was the standard used in prosecuting someone.

50) This is a good principle for us to follow today.

51) If we are investigating a matter, we should seek at least two witnesses.

52) Two people who are both telling the truth should be able to settle just about any type of situation.

53) God knew sometimes witnesses may be telling an outright lie.

54) Verse 16 refers to an “unrighteous witness.” A witnesses could have been unrighteous for many reasons.

a) Perhaps he was someone who wanted to be malicious. Maybe he has been “paid off” by someone.

b) For one reason or another, God described a witness who was not telling the truth.

c) This man “testified” that the one on trial was guilty” but this testimony was is false.

55) Verse 18 is where we want to start reading – READ

56) The judges were to make a “diligent inquiry” about the matter.

a) One man might accuse another and his accusations would be lies.

b) God had a method for determining whether or not this testimony was false – launch an investigation.

c) If the investigation revealed the witness was not telling the truth, there was a consequence.

57) The man who gave false testimony was not sharply rebuked.

58) God did not say to him, “You were bad, but I am letting you off this time. Do not do it again.”

59) There was punishment – verse 19 – READ

a) The punishment that would have gone to the man charged with a crime went to the false witness.

b) The accuser got the punishment intended for the accused.

60) Does God hate false witnesses that utter lies? Yes!

a) The Old Testament said false witnesses should receive the punishment they wanted others to get.

b) God said this law involving false witnesses would remove “evil” from among His people.

c) God knew that lying is contagious and gave strict legislation about telling the truth.

d) When people think they can lie and get away with it, others often want to do it.

e) Punishing witnesses who lied was a deterrent to sin – verse 20 – READ

61) People may say a lot of things about Christians and what they say might not always be nice.

62) One thing that people should say about us (even if they do not agree with the life we live) is this:

63) He (or she) is someone who tells the truth.

64) “When I hear him talk, I know that what he has told me is true.”

65) Is this how people think about us and speak about us?

66) It should be if we have become a Christian.

67) If this is not the way people view us, that can be changed.