A False Witness who Pours out Lies

“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” (Proverbs 6:16-19)

Whereas we experience an absolute separation of religion and judicial authority, the Israelite legal system was far less separate. Truthfulness before the court was equated with truthfulness before God – to speak dishonestly in court was to speak dishonestly before God. “Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord”. (Leviticus 19:11–12) Scripture is full of chastisement against bearing false witness and truthful witness is consistently encouraged. “A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Deuteronomy 19:15); testimony always had to be corroborated by multiple witnesses.

The ideal was that one’s speech would be as truthful each day in general conversation, as it was on specific occasion in court or under oath. Though this was the ideal, it’s really important for us to know that reality didn’t quite line up so nicely. The teaching of the Pharisees at Jesus’ time led people to believe that only a vow or oath made in the name of God held weight. The OT law – do not lie - had been interpreted in such a way that it actually allowed for sanctioned lying.

As long as they didn’t swear on the Lord’s name – anything else was fair game though – they could lie as much as they wanted to. The truthfulness of their witness was inconsequential to them. They had developed a crafty little way to make their witness seem truthful: to make their promises sound solid, they would choose important things to swear on to make their promises sound secure, even though they had no intention of following through on them.

“ … you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:33-37) Christ simply commands plain forthrightness and truthfulness in our speech and witness … period.

A STRANGE QUESTION Why is our truthfulness of witness to one another such a big deal to God? Is it simply because God doesn’t like lying or is there a more foundational reason that God is so emphatic that we “put off falsehood and speak truthfully” (Ephesians 4:25)? One of our prime duties as Christians is to bear truthful witness to who God is and what He has done in and through us.

“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.” (Isaiah 43:10-12) The nation of Israel was to act as a witness of the Lord, declaring Him to be God.

Central to our identity as Christ’s followers is that we are His witnesses in the world. The church is to act as a witness of Jesus, declaring Him to be God. God chose us in our weakness and our general dysfunction that we might not boast in ourselves, but bear boastful witness to the incredible power of Jesus Christ. What an incredible mission to be a part of – to carry with us that message that God can take the broken, discarded and despised things and make them into instruments that declare His glory to the world is an amazing thing.

Our witness can be made even more powerful by the way we live our lives. Unless we seriously consider the way we live our lives as followers of Jesus, we can easily become a false witness who pours out lies. “We know that we have come to know [Jesus] if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”  (1 John 2:3-6)

When we claim to know Jesus, yet live unlike He did, we provide false witness to the reality of Jesus Christ. When we fail to follow His commands, we essentially pour out lies by our witness. If our lives communicate to those around us that Jesus is powerless and weak – inconsequential - because we have failed to experience the transformation He offers, than our witness is a lie, because the fact remains that all glory, honour and power belongs to Jesus Christ. Does my life and my living bear witness to the active power of Jesus Christ?

We are all “broken”, “discarded” and “despised” in one way or another and, at the same time, if we’ve committed to following Jesus we are also “being transformed”. Will we show ourselves to be people who are consistently experiencing the power of God at work in our lives as we aim for obedience, practice repentance, and trust in Christ for forgiveness? Or will we show ourselves to be like the Pharisees, people who live lives that deny the power of Jesus, though our mouths might claim the opposite?

Let us continually bear witness to Jesus Christ, encouraging those around us to come and see what God has done in our lives and our world.