TEN COMMANDMENTS
THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS
DR. JIM DIXON
MAY 31, 1992
EXODUS 20:1-20
Two weeks ago, Walt Disney Productions announced that they would release, once again, their classic animated feature movie called “Pinocchio.” It is said that if you want to see “Pinocchio” again on the big screen, you’d better see it this time because it may not hit the big screen again. In fact, after this theatrical release, it is said that Disney will market “Pinocchio” on home video.
Of course, Walt Disney did not write the story of “Pinocchio.” It was written by Carlo Collodi, whose real name was Carlo Lorenzini. Lorenzini lived and died in the 19th century. The story of “Pinocchio” is the story of a wooden puppet created by a kindly old man whose name was Geppetto. Pinocchio came to life, but he couldn’t become a flesh and blood little boy unless he attained certain virtues, one of which was honesty. The problem with Pinocchio was that he was not particularly honest. In fact, he told a lot of lies. They were not malicious lies, but they were lies nonetheless. He had this curious feature about him that whenever he told a lie, his nose grew. Whenever he told a lie, his nose lengthened so that everybody knew he was telling a lie. It occurs to me that this would be a better world—and, certainly, a funnier one—if every time we told a lie our nose would grow. It would become a very nasal world.
Of course, the truth is that we all lie. We distort. We exaggerate. We lie. The Bible says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” This morning, I want to explore some of the reasons that we lie.
First of all, I think we lie to impress. Oftentimes, people tell lies simply because they want to impress. In the year 1898, a man named Louis de Rougemont wrote a book. The book was called “Thirty Years Among the Cannibals of Australia.” In the book, Louis de Rougemont told the story of how he was shipwrecked off the coast of Australia. He described how he had joined in cannibal feasts, how he had built a house made out of pearl shells, how he had trained a flock of pelicans as messengers, and how he would send those pelicans forth with messages in six different languages. He described how he had ridden on the backs of 700-pound turtles and how he had cured himself of fever by sleeping in the body of a dead buffalo.
He became a very popular speaker, and he lectured at scientific societies on two continents. He was interviewed by international magazines and publications, and he even had a wax model of himself made. It was placed in Madame Tussaud’s in London, England.
Ultimately, it was all proven to be fake. Ultimately, it was proven that it was all a lie. He had never been shipwrecked off the coast of Australia, and he’d never joined in any cannibal feast. He had never made a house out of pearl shells, never slept in a body of a dead buffalo, never trained pelicans as messenger birds to communicate in six languages. He had never done anything. In fact, he had never been to Australia. It was all a lie.
It was a lie that he hoped would impress people. In this crazy world of so many people, where you’re just a little spec in the midst of the mass of humanity, he just wanted a little attention. He wanted to be special. He wanted to stand out. He wanted to have some claim to fame. He wanted some recognition. So, he just lied. And sometimes, that’s why people lie. They lie to impress. Ultimately, Louis de Rougemont was called the greatest liar on earth. But that, too, was probably a lie because there are a lot of big liars in this world.
The truth is that all of us are sometimes tempted to maybe distort things just a little bit for the sake of impression. I know when I was in college, or after college, I used to tell people I played basketball for my freshman year in college. That was kind of true. I mean, I went out for basketball in my freshman year in college, but I didn’t make the team. I was the last guy cut. I think I would tell people I played basketball in my freshman year because I thought maybe that would impress people. There is a tendency to want to do that, to impress people by telling a lie or at least a distortion or an exaggeration.
In the year AD 40, there was a great movement of the Holy Spirit in the city of Jerusalem. The people in the church at Jerusalem were deeply convicted, and they began to be very committed and consecrated anew to Christ and to the work of His kingdom. Many of the people in the church who owned land or property sold their land and property and gave the proceeds to the church. They did this because they so wanted to serve the kingdom of Christ.
Well, Ananias and Sapphira were two members of that Jerusalem church. If you read Acts 5, or even if you have listened to some past sermons, you know their story. One day, they came to sell a piece of property. They kept part of the money for themselves, and they decided to give part of the money to the church. All that was okay. They had the right to keep all the money for themselves if they wanted to, or, they could give it all away. It was their choice, and it was whatever they chose. But the problem was this: they lied. They came to the church leaders, to Peter, and they lied. They said that they were giving all the proceeds from the sale of the property to the church. They were giving it all to the church. It was a lie. They had kept part of it for themselves.
For centuries, theologians have debated, “Why did they lie? Why did they tell this lie to the church leadership?” Some have suggested that they did it out of greed. Certainly, they may have had motives of greed; but if greed were their primary motive, they would have just kept all the money. They would not have given any of it away. It seems to me, at least, that certainly part of the reason they told a lie was that they wanted to impress. They wanted the church and the church leadership to say, “Wow!” They wanted the church to say, “Look at the commitment of Ananias and Sapphira. Look at the sacrifice they are willing to make. Look at the gift they’re willing to give.”
They just told a little lie trying to impress. The Bible tells us, “The judgement of God fell upon them.” They serve as an eternal example to the people of Jesus Christ not to lie. If you want to make an impression, do it with a Christlike life, not through lying.
There is a second reason that people lie. I think some people lie in order to hurt. Some people actually tell lies because they want to hurt somebody. You have heard of white lies. White lies are the lies that we tell because we don’t want to hurt somebody. Someone comes up to us and says, “What do you think of my hair?” If it looks like they just came out of a wind tunnel, but you know they’re very sensitive . . . you might say, “It’s great,” when you don’t really think it’s great. So, you tell that white lie because you don’t want to hurt them.
Now, I’m not saying that white lies are fine. But I must say this: whatever sin is involved in the telling of a white lie pales when compared to the sin of telling a lie in order to hurt somebody. You understand that Satan himself is a liar. The Bible says that he is the “father of lies.” When he tells a lie, it’s always to hurt somebody. That is why he lies. The devil lies in order to hurt humanity. He is not trying to impress. He is trying to destroy. That’s why he came to Eden, the garden of God. That is why he lied to Adam and Eve. He wanted to destroy them. He is not willing or wishing that any should be blessed. He is not willing or wishing that any should be saved. He is willing and wishing that all should perish, and that is why he lies. He has lied to the world. He has sold a false philosophy to the world.
Two weeks ago, our daughter Heather wrote a report for her religion and philosophy class at Littleton High School. She did the report on satanism. She had a number of books that were written from a Christian perspective regarding what is wrong with satanism. She also got a copy of “The Satanic Bible” by Anton LaVey. I was amazed as I began to read part of “The Satanic Bible.” I thought it would be filled with gross language and obvious, blatantly gross thought. But that’s not true. Most of what’s written there is written very well, and, to the secular mind, would be very appealing.
The philosophy that is espoused in “The Satanic Bible” is one of unrestricted pursuit of materialism and hedonism and ascensionism. It is a philosophy of self, the serving of self, and a focus on self. It is a philosophy which says, “Whatever you do, do not turn the other cheek.” It is a philosophy that is antithetical to the teachings of Jesus Christ. But what I marveled at as I read it was this: you felt like you were actually reading the philosophy of this world. As I read that, I was stunned to see that Satan has won.
Now, he will not win in the ultimate. He will not win in the end. Jesus Christ will come again in power and great glory, and every knee will bow. But at this point in time, Satan has won; and the world has bought a lie, the lie of Satan. And it’s all for the purpose of destruction, that he might lead people to ruin.
You might say, “Well, I would never lie in order to lead somebody to ruin or destruction.” But if you ever slander, then really that’s what you do. Slander is a lie. It’s distortion that’s designed to put somebody in a bad light. It’s a distortion that’s designed to hurt another person. Satan is a slanderer.
I honestly believe that probably the most slandered man in the world today is Dan Quayle. I mean, he has been absolutely slandered. It really does not matter whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat. It does not matter whether you think Dan Quayle is brilliant or a buffoon. If you’re objective, you’ve got to look at the facts and say, “This poor man hasn’t been given a chance since he first appeared on the scene.”
Recently, he has made statements regarding his concern about the erosion of morals and ethics in the United States of America. He has said that he feels Hollywood needs to take some of the blame for this. He has also used the example of the “Murphy Brown Show.” He has said that he thinks it is wrong to glorify pregnancy out of wedlock. He said that he thinks it is unfortunate that a television show would present single parenthood as simply another lifestyle choice. Now, he’s been careful to praise the courageous the world over who are seeking to rear children on their own. But he said he thinks that the message that needs to go out is the message that children need both moms and dads. I mean, what is so controversial about those statements? A few years ago, they would have been universally accepted and applauded.
But the reaction has been absolutely amazing, particularly from the media and the Hollywood community. When you attack Hollywood today, you are attacking the holy of holies in this nation. There have been some alarming responses that are slanderous. A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood has said, “Well, we always knew that Dan Quayle didn’t believe that women should have the right to choose an abortion. Now, it appears that Dan Quayle does not even want women to have the right to choose to have a baby. He just does not want women to be able to choose anything.” That is distortion. That’s not what Dan Quayle said. It’s distortion, and it’s designed to put him in a bad light.
Hillary Clinton, the wife of the Democratic presidential candidate, said, “I think it amazing that Dan Quayle would blame this nation’s problems on a single television show.” Well, that would be amazing if he had blamed the nation’s problems on a single television show, but he didn’t do it. Hillary Clinton is a very intelligent woman. Surely, she knows that’s not what Dan Quayle said. It’s a distortion. It is slander. It is a lie that’s designed to put somebody in a negative light.
But the issue here is not really Dan Quayle. The issue is you. Do we take something that someone has said or done and just distort it a little bit? . . . Exaggerate maybe just to paint them in a bad light? If we do that, it is sin, and it’s lying—it’s lying-in order to hurt, lying to destroy. I tell you, it is satanic. Christ warns His people. This commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor,” relates specifically to the lie of slander.
A third reason that people lie, certainly, is for financial gain. Donner Pass cuts through the Sierra Nevada Mountains in eastern California. Today, Donner Pass is a resort, a winter resort and Summer resort. It is a ski area in the winter. It has also been made into a national monument because one of the greatest tragedies in the history of our nation occurred at Donner Pass. It was in the winter of 1846 and into 1847 when this tragedy happened.
There were 82 settlers from Illinois traveling west being led by George and Jacob Donner. They wanted to settle in California west of the Sierra Nevada. They were caught on top of Donner Pass in the midst of a winter blizzard. They were trapped there. They were desperate. They tried to make simple shelters of log and rock and animal hide. They were not very effective. They had very little to eat. They ate twigs. They ate mice. They actually ate their shoes. Then when things got really desperate and people began to die, they ate the dead. By the time rescuers came, they had eaten 33 of their dead.
This is the most infamous case of cannibalism in the history of this country. But how could it have happened? I mean what were they doing on top of a mountain pass in the dead of winter? What were they doing on top of Donner Pass in the wintertime? Well, they were there because of a lie. They were there because of a lie told by Jim Bridger. Jim Bridger was a famous frontiersman, and he was the first white man to see the Great Salt Lake. He was, perhaps, the first white man to see that beautiful area that is now called Yellowstone National Park. He was the man who helped to design and plan the Oregon Trail.
Jim Bridger owned the supply store, a trading post, on the Hastings cutoff. The Hastings cutoff was the trail that led to Donner Pass. His supply store, his trading post, was not doing very good business. He wasn’t making money, so he decided he’d tell the Donner party a lie. He told them to take the Hastings cutoff. He said, “It’s smooth and it’s flat. You’ll get to the Sierra Nevada and Donner Pass.” (Of course, it was not then called Donner Pass.) “You’ll get there long before winter. Take the Hastings cutoff.” He said that because he wanted business at his store.
They believed him because he was a famous frontiersman. They took that road which was the worst of all roads. It was bumpy; it was not smooth, and it was not flat. They arrived in the mountains a month and a half late all because of a lie for financial gain.
I don’t know how many of you can relate to lying for financial gain. I am sure most of us feel like we would never do that. Of course, we all would acknowledge that there’s a little bit of this in advertising. If you watch television, I think you would agree that there’s a little distortion there for the sake of profit. Truth in advertising is fairly elusive. Certainly, there are people in the advertising business who have tremendous integrity, I’m not saying they don’t; but there’s also a lot of lying there, a lot of distortion. Light beer commercials seem to be saying—not explicitly, but implicitly—that if you drink light beer, you’ll be really good looking and really attractive to the opposite sex. Of course, that is not true. (I suppose, if you drink enough light beer, you might think you are really good looking . . .) But you see, it’s really lying for profit.
We saw last week how if you cheat on your income tax return or if you don’t fully disclose all of your income for the year to state and federal government . . . if you do that, you steal, you violate the eighth commandment. But God wants us to understand that we also lie and violate the ninth commandment if we lie for financial gain. We also saw last week how if you kind of pad your expense account, you steal from your company—a violation of the eighth commandment, and also a violation of the ninth commandment because that’s lying for financial gain. The point is that God doesn’t want us to lie for any reason. Certainly, He doesn’t want us to lie for financial gain.
As we approach the end of this message, I think there is another reason people lie. People lie to impress. They lie to hurt, to slander. They lie for financial gain. People also lie in order to escape. I think it is true that oftentimes when we tell a lie, we are trying to escape—trying to escape embarrassment, trying to escape punishment. That is why sometimes people lie in the courtroom.
Last year in October, Barb and I were on vacation. We were with my brother, Greg, and his wife, Barb. We were also with John and Ann Benson from the church. We were driving through Virginia. Virginia is beautiful country, and there are a lot of historic places. As we were driving along, there were stretches where there was not a whole lot to do. So, we entertained ourselves by turning on the radio and listening to the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill trial or investigation.
I remember how startled we were and stunned. You did not know whether to laugh or cry at some of the stories that were told and some of the dialogue that took place. You knew, of course, that somebody was lying. I mean, either Anita Hill was lying or Clarence Thomas was lying. I mean, their testimonies were diametrically opposed to each other. People thought, “If Anita Hill is lying, why would she lie? What was her motive?”
It was suggested that maybe her motive was political. Perhaps she didn’t like the political position of Clarence Thomas in that he was more conservative. It was suggested that perhaps she was self-deceived and given to distortion of facts. People were not sure why Anita Hill would lie, but everybody knew why Clarence Thomas would lie. I am not saying he did lie. I am just saying that if he did lie, it is very obvious why he did. He would have lied to escape punishment, to escape embarrassment.
Of course, people do that all the time. They lie to escape. Children lie to their parents when they are afraid of being punished. Teenagers sometimes lie to their parents about why they came home late. I think men and women lie to the police when they’re pulled over. They say things like, “I didn’t know how fast I was going” or “I didn’t know what the speed limit was” or “I was in a real hurry to get to an important appointment.” I mean, people just kind of distort facts in order to escape. I think this is often why people lie.
Sometimes, when people say, “Why didn’t you come to my party?” it is an embarrassing moment. Sometimes it’s convenient to just kind of tell a little lie—you couldn’t’ be there when, in truth, you could have been. It is a lie in order to escape. We don’t really have time to pursue this further, but the point is this: don’t lie whether it’s to impress or to slander. Don’t lie for financial gain or simply to escape. Don’t lie.
God doesn’t want us, as believers in Jesus Christ, to bear false witness. He wants us to be people of integrity. If you really have a problem with distortion and exaggeration, if you have any tendency to lie, if it is somewhat chronic or habitual for you, and if you really want to overcome it, you can make a decision today. You can make a decision today that you’re going to be a person of honesty and integrity before Christ. You can make a decision that you’re going to repent, that you’re going to confess and receive the healing and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
But if you really want to be healed, you’re going to have to go a step further. The Bible says in James 5, “Confess your sins to one another in order that you might be healed.” If you really want to be healed of that tendency to exaggerate or distort or even to blatantly lie, then you need to make this commitment today: that from this day forth, if ever you lie, you’re going to go and confess that lie to the person you lied to.
Perhaps it would be beneficial to confess some past lies. But if you make that decision today . . . that from this day forth, you’re going to try not to lie, not to distort, not to exaggerate; and if ever you do, you will go to the person and confess it . . . if you make that decision, I promise you, it won’t be long before you won’t lie anymore. It is embarrassing to have to go to someone . . . it is humiliating, humbling to have to go to somebody and say, “Hey. I didn’t tell you the truth.” But if you mean business about your Christian walk, in faith, let’s make that commitment today.
As we conclude this message, I just want to say with respect to lying that the problem in this world isn’t simply the telling of lies, but also the believing of lies. There’s a lot of people in the world today who do believe a lie. Perhaps they believe that there is no God. Or perhaps they believe there’s no such thing as sin and we’re not really culpable or responsible. Or perhaps they believe there is no hell. The Bible tells us, “Jesus Christ is the truth.”
As we close this message today, I want to make sure that you’ve heard the truth and you do not believe a lie. The truth is this: we are all sinners. One day, we will stand before God. Unless we find forgiveness and atonement, we will be eternally excluded from His divine presence. But if we confess our sin, if we repent and we believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior . . . if we do that, His grace and mercy will be poured out toward us. We will have forgiveness of sin and eternal life. That is the truth. Do not believe a lie. Let us close today with a word of prayer.