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Exodus 20:16
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
The internet in many ways has been a great blessing to society, allowing for greater ease of communication and even enabling Christian churches and ministries to take biblical teaching to people in places that would otherwise be closed to gospel outreach. But just as sinners can abuse every other thing in creation, the internet can also be misused. Social media and other online platforms can turn into rumor mills where accusations run wild and where false charges can be leveled.
Our online world would benefit from a renewed commitment to the ninth commandment, which is stated in today’s passage. When God gave the fundamental laws to regulate human behavior, He included one forbidding our rendering false witness against our neighbors (Ex. 20:16). Commonly, people think of this law as stating, “Thou shalt not lie,” and certainly a prohibition against lying falls within its scope. Yet we must note that in the first instance, the commandment itself addresses legal testimony. The basic idea is that one should not render false testimony in a judicial setting. Such testimony can cause harm to someone who does not deserve it, so it violates the principle that we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Lev. 19:18). Words and actions that can hurt another person unjustly, including lies, are forbidden in the ninth commandment.
A good reputation takes a lifetime to build, but it can be destroyed in an instant by a lying witness making a false accusation. Thus, Christians must take care not to make false charges, spread ill-founded rumors, or entertain gossip. John Calvin comments that “in whatever way, therefore, we injure our neighbors by unjustly defaming them, we are accounted false witnesses before God.” Yet merely to refrain from giving or spreading false testimony is not enough to be obedient to the ninth commandment. Since it prohibits unjust injury to our neighbors’ good names, it lays on us the opposite duty of promoting the good names of our neighbors. Calvin continues, “It will not be enough for us to restrain our tongues from speaking evil, unless we are also kind and equitable towards our neighbors, and candid interpreters of their acts and words, and do not suffer them, as far as in us lies, to be burdened with false reproaches.” As we are able, our duty toward our neighbors is to speak well of them and to build up their good names.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
In one sense, it is not too difficult to refrain from lying about our neighbor. More difficult is refraining from gossip or believing the worst about people before we hear the full story and see the evidence behind accusations. A false accusation can destroy a person's reputation in a moment, so let us take care not to lie about someone and not to entertain accusations for which there is no proof.
For Further Study
- Deuteronomy 19:15–21
- Proverbs 19:5
- Proverbs 22:1
- Ecclesiastes 7:1
- Mark 14:53–65