Alright, we come back to our study on the Ten Commandments. By the way, this afternoon our Bible study will be on. There will be a table talk alright rather than the usual Bible study. Alright the Ten Commandments, today we are looking at the ninth commandment. The ninth commandment and that is I think we probably don’t have to refer to that text alright in Exodus 20:16 which simply says: “You shall not bear false witness” alright. You shall not bear false witness. 

Now perhaps we can thank President Donald Trump for popularising the phrase “fake news”. And ever since he became president, the whole world kind of is suddenly concerned about fake news. It’s now perhaps on almost every politician’s lips, and nations all over the world kind of have started to enact laws called “Fake News Law”. Some are very quick like Singapore and perhaps Malaysia and then we are thinking what to do with that. But that is a fact. Question is: Why is everyone suddenly concerned about fake news as if that God is not concerned?

In fact, Donald Trump is not the first alright who was concerned about that. As I say, God had already given us that law about fake news. So Fake News Law is not kind of a sudden invention. It is as old as we can find it in the Scripture. Question is: What is fake news? There’s a lot of debate on the subject as to what fake news is. And the huge debate now in Singapore (if you are following the news) because the law has already been applied, people had already been called up alright concerning spreading fake news. And so there is a lawsuit to kind of settle the issue as to what that law is about.

Alright so there’s a lawsuit to try to find out or settle what that law is about. But the question is: Is it too difficult to understand what fake news is? Well, I think as far as the Bible is concerned, it simply means this alright. It is lies. It is lies, and we know that lies include many things. And that’s the reason why we need to consider this law or this commandment carefully. In other words, if lies mean many things, that means it is widespread. It is a huge problem.

It is not a new problem. We should have detected that earlier on before Donald Trump, but it is a huge problem because lies include of course fake news. As you have seen from the visual here, it has this immediate concern about false reporting alright false news as in the media, whether it’s in the printed form, in the newspaper, or non-factual reporting in every other kind of media. 

Now that is fake news. Now that is lies. Lies include things like false information; when you pass false information to other people. Lies mean not only you pass false information to other people but when you fill in forms with false information like you fill in your tax form alright and you fill in with false information, that is what this commandment is about. You shall not alright fill up those forms with false information.

Of course lies also mean outright lies, simply saying untruth alright. Outright lies. All hiding truth, all speaking half-truth (what some people might call messaging the truth) alright. We thought we only have massage people, but people also massage the truth. What does that mean? Now that happens when you apply for a job and you have to send in your resume. And you know that a lot of people massage the truth alright when they send in their resume because they want to give a good impression to the interviewer. They want to create something alright. It’s truth but not really truth alright. So those are half-truth.

But we have many examples of this kind of falsehood, this kind of lying. Now for example when you post unverified messages in your Facebook or you forward unverified messages through your WhatsApp, now that is spreading fake news. That is also lying. That is not what we are supposed to do, and that’s what this commandment is about. Or as we read in Second Corinthians. Do you detect the warning here about fake news alright? Now in Second Corinthians chapter 12- Second Corinthians chapter 12, and there we read in verse 20.

Second Corinthians 12:20, now in the New King James Version it read: “For I fear lest, when I come (Paul says), I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, and jealousies, and outbursts of wrath, and selfish ambitions, and backbitings, whisperings, conceits, and tumults”. And you know that if you are using your ESV translation, the word ‘whispering’ is the word ‘gossip’.

Now, this law is against gossip, against whispering. Gossip is whispering into other people’s ears. Now, what is gossip? Gossip very often is about passing information that is actually misinformation. Why? Because you are passing hearsays, passing information based on rumours, based on hearsay. Now this law, this commandment is against that kind of passing information, whispering or gossiping, telling people things that might be juicy. Nice to pass around, but you have no way to verify those truths. It’s something that you heard from another person, and then you pass it on. 

We know that we sing a song “Pass It On”, but we pass on love alright. Don’t pass on rumours or hearsay. Now gossip is what this commandment is also about. But we have also other forms of spreading lies like flattery. Now, what is flattery? When you flatter somebody, now very often what happens is that we are saying something that is not really true. You just want to please another person. 

So when there is this temptation which is very much part of our human tendency to please other people, we tend to say things that are not really true and say: Jaime, where did you buy your dress? Uniqlo. So nice. Then you say: You look like Ah Ma, you know. Now that is spreading fake news alright lies. You’re not speaking the truth. You just want to say something to please another person like flattery. Or exaggerations. Now someone warns parents (mothers perhaps) about this. Now when you say something about your children, now be careful about exaggerating.

And then we have that tendency you know kind of to make an impression or to make it more dramatic. Now there is this great tendency to exaggerate. Yeah, something that is true, but not that true. Not that true. And that is lie alright- that is a lie. And for that reason, I find it sometimes very kind of put off very often by watching cooking shows alright. 

And the reason is because when the time you know they prepare what you call the ingredients, and then they will put them all together, and then they will put inside the oven. And then the time comes, they open the oven and take out that food alright, and then what they would do is that they will cut those food into pieces, and then they’ll put one little piece into the mouth alright. 

And then you see the expression: Awesome alright. Now you look at every show, it’s the same alright. It’s delicious, mmm. I mean we don’t even know what they really taste like that alright. Or now we’re filled with dangerous about these lies. So many kinds of situations. Or in a wedding (ah, we have a wedding coming alright)- in a wedding. Now here’s the danger. 

And that’s the reason why when I solemnise a wedding, I normally don’t ask the groom or the bride at the time when they are making the vow or saying their vow to each other: Repeat after me. It’s almost like as if I’m telling them to be a parrot alright. The reason is because I want them to know the vow that they are saying to each other. Do not just repeat after somebody like a parrot without knowing what you are saying to each other. Now that is a great danger for people to say something at the occasion, in such a serious occasion like this without meaning it. Now that is lying. That is lying to the other person when you say something without meaning it. 

Or in the case of what we read in Acts chapter 5 alright- Acts chapter 5. Now detect what is the problem there as far as this commandment is concerned in Acts 5 when Peter was saying to the couple, Ananias and Sapphira. Listen to what he says in verse 3: “And Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to” what? “To lie”. What did Ananias and Sapphira do? They were coming to the church as it were and they were giving their offerings. But Peter says your sin is lying. You’re coming here to give your offering, but your sin is lying. He said: “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit to keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?”. 

In other words, what Peter is saying that when you are pretending or when you are a hypocrite, now that’s what pretending means. That’s what hypocrite means. Now they were hypocrites. They want to give an impression to the people that everybody was selling their possessions and they were giving everything to the church as it were and share with the people of God. But this couple wants to give an impression that they too were very generous. They also want to give like the others. But actually, they were not. They were keeping part of the price of the land back for themselves and they were lying.

Or as we find the condemnation that Jesus made in Matthew chapter 15. Matthew 15:7-8. Verses 7 and 8, now this is the condemnation. Jesus says in verse 7 of Matthew 15: “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people (draw Me or) draw near to Me with their mouth, and honour Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.”. 

When you come and worship God, now what Jesus is saying that when you honour God with your lips, lips paying, lip service, when you are saying “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” but you’re not really praising Him; when you are singing your hymns without meaning it, now Jesus says these hypocrites. Now that is a sin against this commandment. Now that is also what a lie is. 

Now therefore you see that when we speak of this subject of lies or fake things, fake information, you see there are so many kinds of lies and there are so many ways we can actually sin against this commandment. And therefore, we need to come and study it. There’s a reason for it. It’s a common thing, we don’t think a lot about it, but we know that we sin it so often, in so many ways. Perhaps every day perhaps we are sinning against this commandment in one way or another, either by pretence or by spreading false information, unverified information, and so on. So there are many kinds of lies. But what is the worse? What is the chief lie?

Now that is our next point here. I’d like to stress, I like to point out that according to this commandment that the most blatant violation of this commandment is when you bear false witness against your neighbour. And so the ninth commandment is not really about “you shall not bear fake news”. The complete alright commandment is this that you shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

Now let us recall. Let us try to remember about how the commandments work. Remember in one of the commandments I explained that how the commandments work that each law, each commandment covers a family of sins. So although there’s only one particular sin mentioned, but it represents a family of sin. And therefore and also what they forbid is the most extreme form of that particular sin.

For example in the fifth commandment, disobeying parents is the worst form of rebellion. If you can disobey or rebel against your parents, you can rebel against any authority. Now that’s the worst form of rebellion. The sixth commandment, murder, is the worst form of hatred. Although hatred is part of the family of sin, but when you actually murder somebody, kills somebody, take somebody else’s life, that is the worst form of hatred. 

Now the seventh commandment, although looking and lusting upon a woman is part of the family sin of adultery, but when you actually commit adultery, that is the most destructive sexual sin. Now similarly, when it comes to the ninth commandment, the deadliest lie in a sense is when you bear false witness against your neighbour. Now let us think about this by asking: In what sense? Why is that so? Why is bearing false witness against your neighbour is the deadliest lie?

Now at least two reasons for that. Number one, because bearing false witness against your neighbour is a lie that condemns an innocent man for a crime that he did not commit. It is a lie that condemns an innocent person for a crime he did not commit. Now, remember that the ninth commandment, the immediate context is the justice systems of the Old Testament or the ancient time. And so to help us understand something about this commandment, it helps to understand something about the justice system of the ancient world. 

Now in the justice system then, almost everything depended on witnesses. They didn’t have what we have today and what is called today the forensic alright evidence where we use some scientific method alright to kind of prove something. But in those days, everything depended on witnesses. And usually, it came down to one person’s word against another because it’s about words. You just have to get witness and listen to them and see what they say. And then very often is your word versus my word. And therefore the word of a false witness could be fatal.

So because everything depends on people’s words, depended upon witnesses, and so words become so very crucial, so very important especially in those days. I think today’s still but we have other ways of trying to establish the truth. And therefore the need for safeguards in the Old Testament, in the ancient world alright. They needed some safeguards so that we don’t come to a situation where an innocent life is being taken because someone frames him or someone bore false witness against a person.

So what are some of the safeguards? They have for example in Numbers chapter 35. Numbers chapter 35, and we look at verses 29 and 30. Numbers 35, in verse 29 it says: “And these things shall be a statute of judgment to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”. Verse 30: “Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses”.

So there’s a system based on witnesses. “But one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty”. So it depended on witnesses. It depended on the words of people. But to have safeguard, don’t just listen to one person. We need more than one person’s testimony. So that is a safeguard. At least two. So they needed at least two witnesses. So that’s the reason for that.

Another safeguard, we find in Deuteronomy alright- Deuteronomy chapter 19. Deuteronomy 19:18-19. Now verses 18 and 19, and here we read: “And the judges (in verse 18) shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified against his brother, then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you put away the evil from among you.”. 

And so if someone is found to be false witness, there is a great penalty. You do to the person what it’s supposed to be done to the other person and so that people don’t simply say. So that is to deter people from giving false witness, saying false things about another person. So that is a safeguard. If you do that, if you’re caught, then you will suffer. 

Now there is a third safeguard that’s mentioned in Deuteronomy chapter 17 alright- Deuteronomy 17:6-7. Deuteronomy 17:6-7. Verse 6: “Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. The hands (verse 7) of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.”. 

Now, what is this safeguard? The safeguard is this because according to verse 7 is that based on the testimony of not just one but two or three witnesses and this person is found guilty, those who come forward to give testimony or to bear witness, they will be the first people to kill this person, to punish this person. And that is a way of deterrence because is one thing to bear false witness alright and put this person in a trouble, but another thing for you to actually administer the punishment alright. 

So you don’t want to kill the person. You want the person, you only wished him dead alright. When I say wished him dead, you kill him yourself. So that is another form of deterrence. And so you see that that is the legal or the justice system of the ancient world and because of everything dependent on witnesses though they had to have some safeguard, not just one witness, at least two or three and so on and so forth. 

And we actually have an example of this, now the danger of this false witness alright and how deadly it is in First Kings chapter 21, the passage that was read to you earlier on. Now let us go back to that passage again in First Kings chapter 21. First Kings chapter 21, we have the story of Ahab and Naboth. And we are told in verse 1 that “it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.”. 

So the unfortunate thing for him is that his garden is just next to Ahab’s palace alright, and Ahab looked over every day and saw that beautiful piece of land, and he wanted it. And so in verse 2: “So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, and next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it.”. 

I’m not sure why he wants to give a better one alright. That itself is also a lie alright. I’ll give you a better one; I take the not so good one. Well, sometimes you eat food. Ah, this is the better one, you eat. The not so good one I eat alright. Well, sometimes we say this alright in the home. A mother will say you know you all just eat you know. We boil soup you know and we double boiled the soup and we have all the meat inside. And we say you eat all the meat, I’ll drink all the soup, the not so good one. But actually, the better one is the soup. 

Well, that’s what Ahab is saying. I’ll give you a better one, he said. “Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”. You know, I just want a piece of land. What do you want? I’ll give you whatever you want. Verse 3: “But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!” So Naboth says: No, no, no! I cannot give. This is precious, my wedding ring alright. I cannot give away alright inheritance from my father, it’s all filled with memories. And so he didn’t want to give it away.

Verse 4, so what did Ahab do? We are told in verse 4 that “Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word of which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And so he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and ate no food.”. And so he was very depressed alright very distressed, very sad. Not happy. At least just probably say he’s not happy about it. 

Now then came his wife in verse 5: “But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?”. Ahab of course explained and just the wife says: No problem, leave it to me alright- leave it to me. Verse 7: “Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.””. So don’t worry alright, I’ll handle it for you.

So what did she do? Verse 8: “She wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who are dwelling in the city with Naboth.”. And this is what she wrote. She said: “Proclaim a fast, seat Naboth with high honour among the people; and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, “You have blasphemed God and the king.” Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die.”.

That is a very easy job. Now it’s a very easy job. All we need is to get two false witnesses. And we know that she was probably not the first who did that and she was not the last who did that. We know that that is a very common tactic- false witnesses. That’s what she says is the strategy. 

And the end result is verse 13 because in verse 13 it says here: “And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” Then they took him outside the city, stoned him with stones, so that he died.”. So they just stoned him to death. That’s what it means here in verse 13.

And so we see that it is deadliest because it condemns an innocent person for a crime he did not commit. It’s all false because these were false witnesses. These were scoundrels. But in those days alright they depended on two. So they needed two. So they got two false witnesses who came together and conspired and to have this man killed so that they can take this man’s property. It’s wicked alright- it’s wicked, and that’s why we say it is deadliest because it condemns an innocent man.

But secondly, it is why it is so deadly? Why bearing false witness alright is deadly? Because it is destructive to the life of a community. It is destructive to the life of a community or a society. Why? Because this commandment in a sense is about justice. There was no justice here in First Kings 21. When you condemn an innocent man to death, there is no justice. It’s not fair. When there is no justice in the society, that society cannot survive. 

And that’s why in Deuteronomy chapter 16- Deuteronomy chapter 16, we read this. Deuteronomy 16:19-20. Verse 19, there is this clear instruction as Israel were preparing to move into the Promised Land. Now God established them in this new land, a new society as it were, a new home, a new country. But for the survival of this new society as it were new home, this is a precondition. So verse 19: “So you shall not pervert justice; you shall show no partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.”.

Verse 20: “You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the LORD your God is giving you.”. So for you to survive and prosper as a nation, as a society, as a community, this is vital. There must be justice. When you do not alright have true witnesses as it were, when you bear false witness, when you condemn innocent people, that is not going to work. 

And notice in the ninth commandment, it includes for the first time that phrase “against your neighbour”. Why? Now because disobedience of this alright has a decidedly negative effect on the life of a community. You see, when you murder somebody, you can be punished because you are caught and you can be punished. If you steal other people’s property, you can be caught and you can be punished. If you commit adultery, you can be caught and be punished. 

But when you take away justice, there’s no more hope for the nation. Nobody can be caught. You can do all kinds of evil you like, but there is no justice. That’s why the legal system is very important. Rule of law. When there is no rule of law, when there is no justice alright, that means when evil will not be punished. When people can see that in this country evil will not be punished, people can get away with it. There will be chaos alright- there’ll be chaos. And so in that sense, this in the sense alright is the deadliest of all in this family of sin alright of lies. 

And yet the most blatant violation- the most blatant violation of this commandment is when we dare lie against God and bear false witness against the Son of God. Now in the Bible, the truth about Jesus Christ is firmly established. When He appeared on Earth you see, He makes many claims. Jesus made many claims about Himself that He is God, He is the Son of God, He is the Messiah prophesised by the prophet. But the claims that Jesus made was very well established in the Bible.

In fact, very often people were challenged. Prove to me that Jesus is really God. And very often we think that they have kind of floored us alright. We are in trouble. How to prove? How to explain? How to establish that truth of the deity of Jesus Christ? Actually, it’s not very difficult, but that is for another time alright. But when we read the Bible, and that is exactly what Jesus is trying to tell the people. They simply will not accept His claims.

Listen for example in John chapter 8. John 8:13-18. John 8:13- “Then the Pharisees therefore said to Jesus, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.”” means You’re making claims about yourself but Your claim is not true. We won’t accept that. Verse 14: “Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My (claim or My) witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; but I judge no one.

And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.””. So you want witnesses, so here’s one witness. But your law says you must have at least two witnesses. Verse 18: “I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.”.

So I have two witnesses. I’m one witness, and the Father is the other witness. But you just refuse to accept. Of course, you can think about the whole intricacy, what that whole argument is about alright is deeper than that. But the point here you see, Jesus says, there are witnesses to prove My claims.

John chapter 5. John chapter 5, beginning in verse 31. Verse 31 of John 5, Jesus said: “If I bear witness of Myself, you said My witness is not true. But there is another”. Verse 32: “There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You have sent”. Verse 33: “You has sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.”. So Jesus is saying that you say My witness not true, but then there is one who bears witness, then his witness must be true.

Verse 36: “But I have a greater witness than John’s”. So you listen to John. What about John? John’s witness of Me. You listen to him, but I have a greater witness than John. Verse 36: “for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.”.

Look at the things that I have done, and we know that in the record of the gospel there were many things that point to the deity of Jesus Christ. The miracles that He performed and the many things there. That’s what it refers to, the works that I do. Time and time again you were amazed by what I did, but you refuse to accept that those things point to the reality of My divinity alright. That’s what He says there.

And verse 39. Verse 39: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”. What about your Bible? Now you accept the Scriptures, the Old Testament Scriptures. You read them, and they testify of Me. They’re pointed to Me. So in other words, Jesus is saying that you wanna talk about My claims, there are plenty of proof. My words, My teaching. Very often when Jesus taught them, they listened to Jesus’ teaching and they realise that this is no ordinary person. They didn’t teach like just the people. He teaches with His own authority.

So everything- His words, His works, and all the testimonies and the Scripture all testified to the deity of Jesus Christ. Now despite the abundance of witnesses to the truth about Jesus Christ, what did the people do? They have seen with their own eyes His work. They have heard with their own ears His teaching and so on. But what did they do with Jesus Christ? Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26, this is what they did after all those years of following Jesus, observing Him and listening to Him, and watching Him. After all those years, what did they do with Jesus Christ?

Matthew chapter 26, beginning in verse 59. Verse 59, it says here: “Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death”. We have a repeat of the Ahab and Naboth story. So let’s get rid of Him. So let’s get rid of Him. The only way to get rid of Him is to get false witnesses. Verse 60. Verse 60: “but they found none”. They couldn’t even find one terrible witness against Jesus Christ.

“Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none” because as you read the other gospel account, these witnesses came together, their testimony was so incoherent alright. They cannot even agree with one another. They could not found a credible witness against the Lord Jesus Christ. “But at last two false witnesses came forward and they said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’”.

Oh, we heard Him say that. Remember what Jesus said in John chapter 2? Now we heard Him say that. We can use that as a charge against Him. “And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” And Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.””

He’s basically repeating His claim. I am what I claimed to be. I am what I claimed to be. And you see the reaction alright- the reaction of the high priest in verse 65: “The high priest tore his clothes, saying this person alright, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses?”. No more witnesses needed. Now, these two were good enough. Verse 66: “What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.””.

Verse 67: “Then they spat on His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with palms of their hands”. You see, they were about to crucify Him and that went on alright- that went on. Now the most blatant violation of this commandment is when we dare to lie against God or to bear false witness against the Son of God. And we see these people doing. Question is: What about the disciples? 

Now we know that these were the enemies of Jesus Christ. We can understand. They wanted to get rid of Him, to remove Him. They will do anything, even to bring on false witnesses. What about the disciples? Well, we read about them. The same chapter- same chapter, verse 69: “Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” in verse 70.

“Then when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know this Man!” And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know this Man!””.

You see, Peter was given the opportunity again and again and again. One girl, another girl, and another person saying you know this man. You should speak the truth about this man. Everybody else is saying something about this person that is false, but you know the truth. You should know about Him. You were with Him. Please tell us the truth about this man. I do not know Him, he said. At the time when Jesus was falsely accused and framed and misrepresented, Peter, His disciples did not come to His defence.

Now you see, false witness is wrong. But not to speak up when you know the truth is also wrong. Remember the negative and positive aspects of each of the commandments? Thou shalt not murder also include, also means you must love your enemy and pray for them. You must not speak lies also mean you must speak the truth that you know. Peter knows the truth. He knows the truth about Jesus Christ. When given the opportunity to bear witness to the truth, he did not. 

Now may I ask you this morning: What about you? What about us? What about us? Do we speak up when we should, or are we like Peter every day in our lives? We hear the blasphemy, we hear the falsehood that people spread about Jesus Christ. They say He is not God, He’s just a great teacher. He’s this, He’s that. All those things are not the truth.

The truth is He is indeed the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, that if we repent of our sin and come to Him, believing in Him, we shall be saved because He can save us. We know the truth and we have opportunity every day with people all around us to speak the truth concerning the Son of God. But do we or are we like Peter saying: “I do not know Him, I do not know Jesus.”? Do you? Let us pray.

“Our Father in heaven, again we thank You for another opportunity even in a time where the world is in chaos we can still gather and worship and hear Your truth. And we pray once again that You may speak to our heart. And help us to see how easy it is for us to sin against this commandment, not simply to not just to speak lies and pass and spread false information but also to neglect the duty to speak the truth when we know. 

And so we pray that You’ll help us that we’ll not be like Peter, that every day in our lives, we know that You have given us opportunity. Grant us the courage to speak the truth, and we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.