Hold to the Truth
Matthew 12:34-37, “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
February 6, 2011
Exodus 20:16, Matthew 12:34-37, Hold to the Truth
Douglas Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
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Jack had to go away on a business trip and asked his brother Joe to take care of his cat during his absence. Though he disliked cats, Joe agreed. Upon his return Jack called from the airport to check on his cat. “Your cat is dead,” Joe reported. Jack said: “There was no need for you to be so blunt,”
“What was I suppose to say?” asked Joe.
“You could have broken the news gradually,” explained Jack “You could have said, ‘The cat was playing on the roof.’ Then, later in the conversation, you could have said ‘He fell off.’ Then you could have said ‘He broke his leg.’ Then when I came to pick him up, you could have said ‘Your cat passed away during the night.’ You’ve got to learn to be more sensitive and tactful.”
“By the way, how’s Mom?” Joe paused and said, “She’s on the roof.”
Have you heard any of these sayings?
1. The check is in the mail.
2. I was just going to phone you?
3. Money cheerfully refunded.
4. One size fits all.
5. Your table will be ready in a minute
6. Open wide, this won’t hurt
Lies are common. Dr Leonard Keiller, who invented the lie detector, surveyed 25,000 people in devising the instrument. He concluded that people are basically dishonest.
‘I did not have a cookie’ says the toddler with a protest of innocence, despite the chocolate and crumbs smeared around their lips. We live in a society afflicted by truth-decay.
It is amazingly easy for us to slip into telling lies. A man, who spent a day fishing with no success, picked out three big fish at a market. “Before you wrap them,” he said to the sales person, “toss them to me one by one. That way I’ll be able to tell my wife I caught them and I’ll be telling the truth.”
‘Do you believe in life after death?’ The boss asked one of his employees.
‘Yes Sir’ the man replied “why do you ask?”
‘After you left early yesterday to go to your grandmother’s funeral, she popped in to see you.’
The Port Authority of New Jersey placed an advertisement for electricians with expertise at using Sontag connectors and received 179 responses – even though there is no such thing as a Sontag connector. A research organization ran the ad to find out how many applicants falsify their resumes.
Most lies are told to shift guilt, fault, or blame away from us. On a spring day, four students decided to go for a drive instead of showing up for a test at college. When they did arrive, the girls explained to the lecturer they had had a flat tire. The lecturer accepted the excuse, much to the girls’ relief. “Since you missed this morning’s test, you must take it now,” she said. ‘Please sit in the four corner seats in this room without talking.” When they were seated, the teacher said, ‘on your paper write the answer to one question: ‘Which tire was flat?’
James 3:5-6 writing 2,000 years ago, said that: the tongue, even though only a small part of the body, could do enormous damage. And for 2,000 years, millions of tongues have proved the truth of that statement.
The 9th Commandment says (Exodus 20:16): “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” When the Ten Commandments were given many of the legal judgments involved the death penalty that is why a false accusation was so serious. The basic message of the 9th Commandment is, tell the truth, and specifically relating to other people – don’t ruin someone else’s reputation. Unfortunately every week there are people or times when the truth is not told and rather than guarding someone’s reputation, we smear it with something false or unsubstantiated.
A positive way of stating the 9th commandment is: Hold to the Truth
The Bible warns against several types of false testimony.
Gossip – which is hearing something you like, about someone you don’t.
It isn’t the things that go in one ear and out the other that hurt as much as the things that go in one ear get all mixed up, and then come out the mouth. Today, gossip is the fuel that drives many T.V. and radio talk shows, newspapers and magazines. It’s amazing how a gossip can give you all the details, without knowing the facts. Gossip seems to travel fastest over grapevines that are slightly sour. We talk about hearing ‘juicy gossip.
When people say, ‘I probably shouldn’t tell you this…’
Our best reply is, “Then don’t.” Instead if we listen or receive it, we become complicit in the gossip.
Three friends went on a fishing trip. One of the three friends said, “Look we’re in the middle of nowhere, why don’t we share our deepest secrets about the things we struggle about most.”
The first one said, “My big problem is lust, I lust all the time.”
The second one said, “Mine’s money, I’m obsessed with money.”
The person who suggested it said, ‘Mine is gossip and I can’t wait to get back and tell everyone.’
Slander
The sight of a battered reputation doesn’t disturb some people, who would faint at the sight of blood. Slander is malicious untruth with the intention of doing harm. We slander someone when we’re trying to discredit him or her.
“I heard, someone told me, I can’t tell you who, several people feel…” these are the preface phrases of slander. We can ruin someone’s reputation with one word.
The word, “but”. “He’s great, but…”, “She’s popular, but…”
Unsubstantiated rumours should not be shared; they should be silenced and squashed. An opinion seeking to hide behind anonymity should not be listened to or respected unless the person is in threat of personal harm.
One common form of slander is Insinuation: “If you only knew what I know.” An insinuation is where you make a statement that leads people to think something that is not true. An insinuation intentionally encourages people to jump to the wrong conclusions. We provide the building blocks and let them construct the lie themselves. Insinuation is very common today. In fact it is one of the main tools used by the ‘spin doctors’ who are now such a part of politics. Insinuation is nothing new. Shakespeare’s play Othello, is about a jealous husband who listens to and believes slanderous rumours that his wife is having an affair. In his rage, he murders his wife, learning almost immediately afterwards that the rumours were all lies.
How do we hold to the Truth?
We need to examine our own Heart
“The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it?
I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10
Jesus said (Matthew 12:34), “Whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” Have you ever said, “I am so surprised, I said that – it’s not like me?”
Yes, it is – who else could it be? Our words, especially our unguarded words, reveal who we really are
What motivates us to lie?
One of the reasons is because we don’t want to take responsibility for the things we do. We are afraid of what might happen if we tell the truth. The disease of B.S.E. is widespread. B.S.E. – Blame Someone Else. It began in the Garden of Eden and has affected and Infected every descendent of Adam and Eve since. Adam blamed “the woman you gave me.” Eve blamed the snake and we’ve been blaming “the snake” ever since.
The main reason we lie is because we want to put our own interests above everything else, including truth.
If we’re going to hold to the truth we need to examine our own heart and accept responsibility for what we say and do.
Secondly, Refuse to gossip.
If we listened to ourselves more often, we would talk less.
When we are tempted to pass on a rumour, we ought to stop and ask ourselves, “Am I willing to sponsor this story by signing my name to it and having it published on the front page of the newspaper or the home page of a website?
Would I be willing to say it to the congregation from the pulpit in a worship service?” If we are not willing to put our name to it ‑ we shouldn’t say it, because when we do, we are sponsoring it. It’s amazing how many people back off when asked for verification for a rumour.
Have you checked that out with the source?
Someone might say, “There’s been some talk”
“Who said it?” ‑ because we can’t evaluate a statement, if we don’t know where it came from.
Honesty means, that everything we say must be true,
Not that everything that is true must be said.
The 9th Commandment is not about censorship, but rather about how to build a sense of community that includes honesty, discretion, respect and mutual caring. In any community of people, there are bound to be situations in which it is right to speak up with certain facts and information. If we are giving a job reference we need to be honest with what we know. The key is: “Hold to the truth in love.” Ephesians 4:15.
Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don’t say it mean.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:33-37, “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”
We need to “THINK” before we speak.
T is it True? H is it Helpful? I is it Inspiring? N is it Necessary? K is it Kind?
The fabric of all healthy relationships is woven with truth.
Lying tears this fabric apart and destroys confidence and trust in one another
The reason that truth is so important to God is because truthfulness is part of His nature.
Get connected with the truth. In Titus 1:1-2, Paul tells us that “God…never lies.” God never lies and Jesus is truth. Jesus’ words are true. Jesus was truth and spoke the truth: about ourselves, our world and about God.
It is interesting what Jesus had to say about the Adversary (John 8:44):
“He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Jesus makes the point that the devil not only speaks lies, but spreads lies.
But God’s Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. We decide whom we align ourselves with the devil and lies or God and truth. Jesus (John 8:31b-32), “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
We think the truth is going to confuse things if it comes out. But Truth is actually liberating.
Towards the end of His life, Jesus became a victim of those who broke the 9th Commandment literally. In the court “Many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree.” Mark 14:56
‘”Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.’ Mark 15:4-5 The lies they told about Jesus, eventually took His Life,
but no amount of false witness could smother the truth of His words.
Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” John 18:37
On the Cross Jesus paid the price for our lies and untruth.
Jesus took responsibility for the sins which humanity refused to take responsibility. And because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are offered a new start, forgiveness, transformation and the power to live a different life.
What does it mean to be a Christian?
A Christian is not someone who just tries to live a better life.
A Christian is someone who has said:
- I have examined my heart and it is deceitful
- I need Spiritual Heart Surgery
- I believe Jesus is the Truth
- I invite Jesus into my life by His Holy Spirit to forgive me and transform me.
All of us need to become Christians. That is the truth.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
I invite you to Face the Truth – Jesus Christ.
Some of us are living and believing lies about ourselves and that have bound us- we need to be set free.
Some of us have been perpetuating lies – we need to repent and change.
The beginning of honesty is the confession of dishonesty.
A store manager overheard an assistant saying to a customer, “No, we haven’t had any for some weeks, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll be getting any soon.” Alarmed by what was being said, the manager rushed over to the customer who was walking out the door and said, “That isn’t true. Of course, we’ll have some soon. In fact, we placed an order for it a couple of weeks ago.”
Then the manager drew the assistant aside and growled, “Never, never, never say we don’t have something. If we don’t have it, say we ordered it and it’s on its way. Now, what was it she wanted?”
“Rain.”
Response
- Do you need to meet the Truth – Jesus Christ?
- Do you need to come to Jesus for cleansing from gossip, slander and flattery?
- Do you have a ‘loose tongue’?
- Do you need to be set free from lies?
- Do you need healing from words spoken to you and about you?
Prayer
Jesus I acknowledge You as the Truth.
Forgive me for the times I have deceived or spoken untrue words.
How foolish it is to think I could ever hide anything from you.
Jesus, I want to be a person who builds people up, who seeks to strengthen and encourage them.
When I am tempted to speak ill of someone, remind me what terrible damage a false word can bring. Jesus, may people around me, feel they’re in a ‘safe place’ because I speak only the truth. I ask, that You heal me and help me.
Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Help me to follow ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life’. Amen.
Blessing: “Speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. 25 Stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.”
A few more quotes:
“To watch over mouth and tongue is to keep out of trouble.” Proverbs 21:23
“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain… and most do.” Dale Carnegie
“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against one another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy.
So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?” James 4:11-12