HIGHLAND

Sorry, Sound is not acceptable

SERMON         "The Truth the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth"

Exod. 20;1-17; Eph. 4:17-32.

My friends, an old well told story tells of a minister who preached a sermon on the Ten Commandments.  He had not been speaking very long before his eloquence moved a lady to whisper to her neighbor, "that's great preaching!"

As the minister proceeded to defend the values of the Lord's Day; the honor due to parents, she found herself again moved to share, "that is what I call preaching!"
Encouraged by the vocal support, in righteous thunder the pastor struck out at murder, adultery and theft.  His enthusiastic listener could be heard three pews away in her approving comment, "Wow, that's powerful preaching!"

However, her mood and response underwent radical change when he began to talk about the ninth commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
He was on a roll and he laid it on the line as he vogorously denounced those who slander, defame and yes, gossip!
Her praise changed to angry criticism, "Now," she declared vehemently, "Now he's gone to meddling!"
This morning it is my intention to follow the example set by the minister in that story and like him as always my intention is to preach the Gospel, not to meddle.

Firstly, the ninth commandment is unquestionably relevant.
Its observance is urgently needed.  Historically, this commandment applied to law courts.
It still does.  Indeed, this commandment with its prohibition of bearing false testimony is the basis of all libel law.  From the OT it is evident that untruthfulness was a besetting sin of our spiritual ancestors.  From Jacob onward, ancient Hebrews and their non-Semitic neighbors libeled and slandered people they wished to defraud or destroy.

There is a story of King Ahab and his desire to obtain Naboth's vineyard.  When Naboth declined Ahab's offer to purchase, Ahab's foreign born wife Jezebel moved in.  Her God was not the God of the Hebrews, not Yahweh or Jehovah the Eternal, but Baal, a pagan deity.  She had not been admonished by her God as to the necessity of the truth and so she quickly presented false charges against the luckless Naboth.  With the ruthlessness of a modern day gangster she hired false witnesses and then had Naboth murdered to enable her husband to confiscate the dead man's property.  Even today calling someone a Jezebel might provide someone with grounds to sue for slander.

"Have you ever seen a lie detector?" one man asked another.  "Seen one, I'm married to one!"
Martin Luther in his small catechism asked,
"We should so fear and love God, as not to belie, betray, slander, nor raise injurious reports against our neighbor, but apologize for him, speak well of him, and put the most charitable constructions on all his actions."
So secondly, what price honesty?

Do any of us remember the story of D. B. Cooper who hi-jacked an airliner in 1972.  He parachuted from the plane together with the ransom of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Somehow as he descended to earth he got separated from the money, and a few days later someone found the stolen money and returned it to the authorities.  He claimed that the amount of the reward was an insult and complained that surely his honesty was worth far more than the $10,000 he had been given.  After all he could have quite easily concealed his discovery and lied about the origin of his newly found wealth.

My friends, is there no virtue today in being honest for its own sake?
Is it possible to be moral, to be a Christian and be honest?
Is it possible in our relationship with wife or husband, friend, business associate, neighbor, competitor, to be honest?
Is lying not permissible in our 'ordinary' relationships?

The Bible and the way of living that we have been called to, declare that there is something in the very nature of reality which says that we can only live decently and justly as we operate in terms of honesty, integrity and justice.

"God hates lying," someone said, "because it destroys human society.  Right relationships are possible only where there is agreement between language and reality, between words and facts."

God's will for his children is stated quite clearly by the writer to the Ephesians 4:25, "Throw off all falsehood; speak the truth to each other, for all of us are the parts of the one body."

In our day we have learned the power of a lie.  Power mad leaders have been able to repeat a lie often and cleverly enough that thousands, millions have come to accept it as the truth.  But the Psalmist tells us: "that God requires truth in the inward being." (Ps. 51:6).

When men and nations deny or ignore this fact, terror and tragedy ultimately follow.
Mighty structures built on lies and falsehoods will topple.  History tells us that those who rely on lies and deceit will eventually fade away and that only those who rely on the good and the true will endure.  The tyrants of this world are finally overthrown, but it is Jesus who says, "I am the truth; you will know the truth and the truth will make you free."
Thirdly, however, false witnessing includes more than libel.

We may not restrict giving false evidence to law-courts and law suits.
We bear false witness when we speak unfairly of anyone.
"He's a good guy, but!  Or she's a good woman, but!"
And snip, snip goes the scissors of rumor and gossip which so easily cut a person's reputation to tiny pieces.  No one can fully understand the damage done to people by this kind of false witnessing unless they themselves have experienced its pain.
Do we say that there really is no harm in a wee bit of idle gossip?  Isn't there?  Is any gossip idle?
We sometimes tend to be like the man who said to a friend,
"I won't say anything about that person that isn't good, AND BOY IS THIS GOOD!"

My friends, gossip is rejoicing in someone's weakness, or iniquity or folly.  It may seem like fun, but it is definitely no fun for its target.
My friends, when it is our character or reputation which is maligned we then realize just how serious false witnessing, lying is.

Gossip will deeply hurt the person maligned; Jesus spoke out very strongly when he said:
"There is not a thoughtless word that comes from men's lips but that they will have to account for it, for out of your own mouth you may be acquitted and out of your own mouth you will be condemned."
I suppose the admonition is to be careful in the way we talk of others.

Because finally this morning let us always remember the words of the Apostle Paul.  "Speak the truth in love."
I have found that it is useful for me to ask three questions before opening my mouth to speak of another.
Is it true, is it necessary, and is it kind?

To bear the true witness to be honest in our judgments and in our dealings it may be helpful this morning to hear these words of Frederick W. Robertson:

"From the trial hour of Christ, from the cross of the Son of God there arises a principle to which his life bore witness that the first lesson of the Christian life is this, be true!  And the second this, be true!  And the third, this, be true!"

AND TO GOD BE THE GLORY.                               AMEN.

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