9th Commandment

Bible Study Lesson 5.09



The 9th Commandment Bible Verses:
God spoke all these words, saying, "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." Exodus 20:1,16 NHEB. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator. Colossians 3:9-10 NHEB.

Previous Bible study lesson: 8th Commandment #5.08.

Preliminary Bible Study Questions:
1) Why does the Ninth Commandment exist?
2) Can one speak truth without being honest?
3) How do you obey this Commandment?

The 9th Commandment is about reality.

Reality is absolute truth, which is found, for us, only in knowing God and his Word.

Failure to know God and his Word indicates that a person exists in a deceived state, bound to the lies of Satan and the world's system.

This personal moral failure plays itself out in one's life through denying God's word, lying, deceiving, and treating others wrongfully.

God's Truth is objective, real, and there for you, if you so desire. If you're tired of being deceived and deceiving others; being slandered and slandering others; and being lied to and lying to others, then this lesson is for you.

Let's get started with a crash course in discovering reality.

The 9th Commandment

Personally, I'm thrilled that absolute truth exists. Truth's home is found in God's heaven. He is the source of all truth and He is ultimate reality. Thank you, Lord Jesus!

Our living God invites you, yes YOU! to enter his reality, which is perfect, undefiled TRUTH.

This personal invitation is remarkable and it should thrill your human spirit.

The following are some facts from God's book of truth, which is the Holy Bible. If you are indeed seeking the true God, you will embrace these truths from his Word. If these facts disgust you and you choose to disbelieve them, you've been duped by Satan and his worldly system.

The Ninth Commandment is gut-check time in your quest for discovering reality and knowing God, the Author of all goodness, truth, and beauty.

You were born into sin (Psalm 51:5), which means your heart is full of sin from birth. Your natural self desires to sin (Romans 7:18-19). This sinful nature you possess, coupled with your personal acts of sin, make you a natural enemy of God (Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 8:8).

While in this natural sinful state of existence, you believe lies, and in all honesty, you're living a lie. Satan has you firmly in his grasp (Romans 7:11). Deception is all around you, skewing your sense of reality and truth (2 Corinthians 4:4).

While living without God in this world of deception, you're a prisoner of sin, and guilty of breaking the 9th commandment (Romans 8:7).

You have to come to know God, through Jesus Christ, in order to begin thinking about being an honest, truthful person who loves God and other people (Romans 8:1-2; 8:9). You have to know Christ, in order to know his Word, which teaches you to love your neighbor as much as yourself (Luke 10:30-37). Knowing Truth is the foundation of being an honest individual towards others.

What Is Truth?

What is Truth? Great question, and already tackled at GraspingGod.com here and here. But, let's learn more about this critical topic in today's lesson.

Knowing truth will set you free from the power of deception and sin (John 8:31-32). Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6) and he brings with him many heavenly blessings that the natural person cannot attain.

Truth will restore your human dignity, forgiving your sins, so that your conscience can be clean (John 7:10-11). Truth will make you capable of seeing, knowing, and loving the one, true God (John 8:12).

Truth will open the door for you to better know your own soul. Truth will open your mind to the incredibly deep reservoir of the knowledge of God and the spiritual world (Ephesians 1:8). 

Knowing truth will remake your sinful heart into a warm, humble, forgiving, sweet, and gentle heart. Truth will forget the ugly past and give you a bright future, walking with Jesus Christ in personal discipleship.

Truth will inspire your study of the Bible, prayer, and good works for other people. Truth will give you the ability to see other people as God sees them - as beautiful works of creation. Truth removes prejudices against others (Acts 10:34-35).

Knowing truth will teach you how to treat other people, which ultimately glorifies God. Truth will make you lay down your life for your friends and family (John 15:13). If you truly love God, you will seek his forgiveness, so that you can reach other people for him.

Now that you've become a Christian, let's turn to the 9th Commandment for guidance on how to be real with other people.

Duties of the 9th Commandment

The ninth commandment states, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." Jesus' new commandment restatement says, "Do not lie to one another." Those are the simple, physical instructions for our general conduct and speech.

Our duties to love our neighbors, though, go far beyond simple choices of words in how we speak of them. By the way, our "neighbors," according to God's word, are fellow humans of every race, gender, and nationality. Each of us should seek to destroy our own biases against other races and nationalities.

With that important starting point, let's learn some of our duties in fulfilling the 9th commandment.

First, Christians are to learn, preserve, and promote God's truth in all our words and actions to other people (Zechariah 8:16). That's a big first step, isn't it?! That duty will keep us busy for the rest of our lives!

Next, we are to preserve and protect the good name of all people, including our own (3 John 1:12). You are God's work, so protect God's work, even if you don't think highly of yourself (1 Samuel 15:17).

Christians must rise up to the challenges against God's truth and righteousness (Proverbs 31:8). Our heart is naturally dark and deceived, but we must shine the light of God's word within our heart, thereby pushing out the darkness. Our hearts must change from cold and dark to warm and light (Psalm 15:2). Our hearts should love God's truth (Psalm 119:65-67), because the heart is what He judges (1 Samuel 16:7).

We should speak ONLY truth in matters of judgment and justice (Proverbs 14:5; 14:25). The truth of God must be in us, and we must constantly walk in that truth (3 John 1:3-4).

Time and space limit what we can include here, so let's wrap up this partial list of duties to the 9th Commandment. We should freely forgive others their transgressions against us (Matthew 6:14), no matter the magnitude (Proverbs 17:9). This is a great act of love towards our neighbors (1 Peter 4:8). We should also thank God for the faith and spiritual gifts of our brothers and sisters in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:4-7).

What's the bottom line? Clean out the sin from your heart, so that you begin thinking and speaking highly of God and other people (Philippians 4:8). Promote good will and show great love for the sake of your neighbors, for God's glory.

It's time to look at some distinct ninth commandment sins that we can eliminate from our hearts, mouths, and day-to-day activities.

List of 9th Commandment Sins

Here is a partial list of 9th commandment sins that we can specifically target for removal from our hearts and lives. Do you want to know how to behave towards others? This is a great list to learn and practice.

  • Prejudicing the truth against our neighbors or even our own selves (2 Samuel 1:9-10; 1:15-16). This especially holds true in the public forum (Leviticus 19:15); and of creating false evidence (Proverbs 19:5; 6:16; 6:19); and of parading false witnesses (Acts 6:13).
  • Knowingly appearing and pleading for a wicked cause (Jeremiah 9:3; Acts 24:2).
  • Passing an unjust sentence (Proverbs 17:15; 1 Kings 21:9-14).
  • Calling good evil, and evil good (Isaiah 5:23).
  • Forgery (Psalm 119:69; Luke 19:8).
  • Concealing the truth and undue silence in a just cause (Leviticus 5:1; Deuteronomy 13:8; Acts 5:3; 5:8-9; 2 Timothy 4:6).
  • Rush to speak truth (Proverbs 29:11).
  • Using truth maliciously to a wrong end (1 Samuel 22:9-10 compared to Psalm 52:1-5).
  • Perverting truth (Psalm 56:5; John 2:19 compared to Matthew 26:60).
  • Speaking untruths (Isaiah 59:13).
  • Lying (Leviticus 19:11; Colossians 3:9).
  • Slandering (Psalm 50:20).
  • Backbiting (Psalm 15:3).
  • Detracting (James 4:11).
  • Tale-bearing (Leviticus 19:16).
  • Whispering (Romans 1:29-30).
  • Scoffing (Galatians 4:29).
  • Reviling (1 Corinthians 6:10).
  • Rash judgment (Matthew 7:1).
  • Harsh judgment (Acts 28:4).
  • Incomplete or hypocritical judgment (Romans 2:1).
  • Misconstructing people's intent, words, and actions (Romans 3:8).
  • Flattering (Psalm 12:2-3).
  • Vain boasting (2 Timothy 3:2).
  • Thinking or speaking to highly or lowly of oneself or others (Luke 18:9-11; Romans 12:16).
  • Denying the gifts and graces from God (Job 27:5-6; 4:6).
  • Aggravating and judging smaller faults (Matthew 7:3-5).
  • Hiding, excusing, or extenuating sins (must confess and forsake sin) (Proverbs 28:13; Proverbs 30:20).
  • Unnecessary discovery of moral weaknesses (Genesis 9:22; Proverbs 25:9-10).
  • Creating false rumors (Exodus 23:1).
  • Closing ears to just words (Acts 7:56-57).
  • Evil suspicions (1 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Timothy 6:4).
  • Envying or grieving other's deserved credits (Numbers 11:29; Matthew 21:15).
  • Scornful contempt (Matthew 27:28-29).
  • Fond admiration of people (Jude 1:16; Acts 12:22).
  • Breach of lawful promises (Romans 1:31; 2 Timothy 3:3).

The 9th commandment calls for living an honest, thoughtful life which desires the BEST for other people - ALL people (James 2:1). Do NOT hurt others with your thoughts, words, or actions. Jesus' new commandments forbid it.

Obedience to the 9th Commandment

The key to being real, honest, and truthful is to know God and his word. A person must be founded and grounded in the Scriptures, building him or herself a biblical worldview. Or, (s)he remains living within a make-believe world that Satan has constructed (James 3:15-16). A world where right is wrong and wrong is right. A world where evil is good and good is evil (2 Corinthians 4:4).

James instructs us, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not boast and do not lie against the truth" (James 3:13-14).

We have the highest obligation, a calling, if you will, to KNOW TRUTH. Truth sets us free from the lies of the satanic world system that blinds us, using us as ignorant pawns in a dark world where we cannot see and know God. Seek God with all your power, will, and resources (Jeremiah 29:13) and you will find Him.

Fruit of the Spirit Response to the 9th Commandment.

You can respond to the 9th Commandment through faith by accepting the person, life, work, and words of Jesus (Philippians 3:8-9). Christ and his word will open your eyes (Luke 24:45) and heart (Acts 16:14).

You have no chance of perfectly obeying the ninth commandment; however, Jesus did obey it perfectly, fully, and permanently. You can receive his obedience by trusting in him for eternal life. God will place Jesus' obedience upon your account, and you will not be guilty of this commandment, or any commandment.

After God grants your true desire to receive Jesus' life and forgiveness, you will turn to him and his word. You will love God's law and desire to read and live the law with your entire life.

He calls us to love God with all of our heart, and love others as much as we love ourselves. Doing those two things as best we can possibly do will produce unbelievable fruits that bring glory to God (John 15:8).

9th Commandment - Grasp This!

People, yes, even us Christians, get so caught up in the day-to-day worries and business of the world (Philippians 2:21). God calls us out, instructing us to live our calling as Christians who are focused on spiritual matters.

Paul states, "Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Good News of Christ, that, whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your state, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the Good News" Philippians 1:27 NHEB.

Christians must fully grasp onto reality and truth. We can start by ditching Hollywood and television, fantasy sports, and other worthless time-burning pursuits. The world wants to devour your precious soul, so, don't let them sink their claws into your heart. God can and will help you.

We must learn God's word so we can make decisions by wisdom, fully preparing ourselves and our loved ones for eternity. The world is temporary and nothing but a mirage of reality; but, life with God is permanent and real. We have to know truth, speak truth, and live truth. Do you have it in you?!

You can decide today on which side you'll place your life. The foolish remain fooled, but those seeking righteousness will give up foolishness and choose the Lord (Joshua 24:21-24). Grasp This: Sinners Prayer.

Next Bible study lesson: 10th Commandment #5.10.

Ninth Commandment Bible Study Questions:
1) What does knowing God and reality have to do with being honest in our words and deeds?
2) Why is our active defense of the wrongfully accused important within the 9th commandment?
3) Is it possible to get to the heart and mindset where we want the absolute best for ALL people? What actions could we do towards others to promote such a noble cause?

More 9th Commandment Bible Verses:
You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father. John 8:44.

But you did not learn Christ that way; if indeed you heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus. Ephesians 4:20-21.

That you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit; and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another. Ephesians 4:22-25.

Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we do not faint. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 2 Corinthians 4:1-2.

The 9th Commandment Prayer:
I bow before you, my Father. I admire you today as the Source of Truth. Thank you so much for being true, speaking true, and holding fast to your truth. Your Spirit, Lord, helps me know and live truth, and for that I am eternally grateful. I bend the knee at your Son's Throne of Truth. Thank you, Jesus, for being truth in human form. Thank you for living truth your entire lifetime here on earth. Thank you for dying for the sake of truth. You are truly our Savior - the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I repent of my propensity to believe and promote deceit, Lord. I vow to better learn and live your words of truth, found ONLY in my Bible. Open the world's eyes to you, O Jesus. Amen.

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