A Lineage of a Lack of Lies Lovingly AND Legally Exodus 20:16

Alright, we're going to have a little activity.

This is based on our spiritual discipline focus.

I'm going to begin to read from the Word of God.

Now, everyone's participating. Are you all awake?

Is everyone awake? This is participatory. So

here's what's going to happen. As I begin to

read, if you know the book of the Bible that

I'm reading from, you will raise your hand and

keep it up. I will continue to read until every

hand is raised. Again, that's all the rules.

There are no other rules. Okay? Here we go. Everyone

ready? People are like, I'm not going to recognize

this. That might be a problem, but there's nothing

in the rules that says that you can't get help,

that you can't get your phone, that you can't

ask somebody, whatever. Here we go. In the beginning

was the Word, and the Word was with God, and

the Word was God. He was in the beginning with

God. He was in the beginning with God. All things

came into being by him. And apart from him, nothing

came into being that has come into being. In

him was light. And the light was the light of

men. I've got about half the hands up right now.

And as the light shines in the darkness and the

darkness did not comprehend it. Keep your hands

up. There came a man sent from God whose name

was John. He came for a witness that he might

bear witness to the light. That all might believe

through him. He was not the light, but candidly

might bear witness of the light. Everybody keep

their hands up. Do his hands get tired yet? Keep

your hands up. You know the answer. I still see

many hands that are not up. Don't be cheating

like putting your hand on your lap, your hands

up in the air. Be strong. There was the true

light which coming in the end enlightens every

man. He was in the world and the world was made

through him and the world did not know him. He

came on his own. We're getting close. See some

teenagers that don't have their hands up yet.

Hopefully we have a youth leader. But as many

as received him, because you haven't told him

yet, but as many as received him, to them he

gave the right to become children of God, even

to those who believe in his name, who were born

not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor

of the will of the man, but of God. We're really

close. I'll be looking, checking, checking, checking.

I know Tony's hand was up. Okay, it's got to

be up now. That doesn't count. Is her hand up?

Put your hands up. Your hand up. Your hand up.

Okay, all right. Put your hands down. All right.

Now, this was an object lesson as much as it

was a reading from God's Word. All right? So,

RJ, tell them about the book of the Bible. It

was the book of John. Okay? And we knew it was

the book of John. Ultimately, eventually, we

all knew it was the book of John. Those who knew

it was the book of John first put their hands

up. Did anyone's arms start to get tired? Yeah.

Yeah. Everyone went out early, right? Their arms

started to get tired. And then we saw that there

were people who did not know it was the book

of John. My arms are starting to get tired. What

am I going to do about that? There's these people.

They're not getting it. We're in the second paragraph

already. They're still not getting it. What am

I going to do about that? What am I going to

do about the fact that I know what the word of

God says in the book of John, the first chapter,

and that person does not? What could I ever do

about that? No, tell them. Tell them. That's

the key. The truth is, I'm just going to be very

blunt for a second, if I may. If you know the

word God and someone else does not, and you don't

tell them, then the reality is probably you don't

actually know it. What you know is writing on

a page. You know words. You like the poetic language.

You're memorizing it for the health to your mind,

memorizing the Bible does help clear up our minds,

things like that. But if you really know the

word of God, then you really know that God wants

everybody to know the word of God, not just the

word of God as written, but also the word of

God who is Jesus Christ, which is largely what

that passage of scripture is about. And God wants

us to know the word of the living word, which

is Jesus. And he wants us to know the written

word as well, which has great benefits and also

teaches us how better to know him and to know

God. So when somebody else doesn't know and they

could not raise their hands, there's a sort of

a really easy one or two or three -step process

that you can go through. You start with mentioning

something of the Word of God. So you talk with

somebody at the store, talk with somebody at

the restaurant, or you mention something that

comes from the Word of God. There are key phrases,

right? Like, Arden, if you were going to use

a key phrase from the Bible that anybody might

notice, what might you say? Anybody might notice

or might recognize? Might recognize. In the beginning.

Okay. So you say, well, in the beginning, right?

And if that doesn't trigger something for that

other person, then there's a chance that they

don't realize that in the beginning is huge,

right? John wrote that when he, when John says

in the beginning was the word, he was able to

write that to everybody that knew that in the

beginning. God created, right? And so this is

a recognition that there were people who existed

who knew that phrase, and in hearing that phrase,

they would relate it to this. And so if you would

say something about in the beginning, and there's

no recollection, there's no understanding, there's

no connection in the person you're talking to,

then you can kind of just kind of chuckle a little

bit or whatever, or you can make a little comment,

you know, that makes me think of, or something,

and engage them in a conversation. And say, you

know, every time I hear the phrase in the beginning,

I think of Genesis, where God created everything.

And then in John, where John used that phrase

that harkened back to Genesis, where God created

everything, talking about Jesus. Make you think

of that? They're like, no, I don't. Well, can

I ask you a question? Would you call yourself

a Christian? Or do you have any spiritual beliefs?

And they say, no, I don't have any spiritual

beliefs. Or yes, I do. It's this. Everybody is

God. Or a stick is God. Whatever. Traditions

and rules will get you to heaven. Or I'll be

there because I'm better than I am with bad.

You know, whatever they believe, right? Their

beliefs are. And then, do you know what the Bible

says about that? And you're back to talking about

the word of God again. It's not about you. Whether

or not they get saved doesn't matter how you

look. It doesn't matter how you talk. It doesn't

matter whether you get it all right or not. It's

about whether it's time. Whether God has said

this is the time in which a person can get saved.

So there is evangelism. So the first thing he

did was he just mentioned a key phrase, right?

If you said, when something's rough and they're

in a tough spot, and you said, for God to love

the world. Anybody recognize that? For God to

love the world? That's like the most known Bible

verse possibly in the beginning, right? So those

two things. So if people totally don't recognize

for God to love the world from John 3, 16, right?

Then that's a bridge to the topic of conversation.

So one, you can just mention it to them. And

then for two, you can kind of probe it. a little

bit and see if they make that same connection,

right? And you will find brothers and sisters

in Christ. And I forget, one of the coolest experiences

I had, I was going into Walmart and this person

greeted me in Walmart and I said just something

like I was blessed, praising God for the day

or something like that. And then she's like,

oh, that's awesome. And she started talking about

it. And I stopped and I shared the gospel with

her. She professed to already be saved. And we're

standing there praising Jesus in the foyer at

Walmart. And I'll probably never see her again

this side of heaven, but I told her I would meet

her at the tree, which is where we will all worship

if we're saved. And so we'll be there together

again. And I was in the foyer at Walmart, and

all I did was just, because I said I'm blessed,

rather than just saying, oh, okay, or yeah, I'm

good, how are you? You know, whatever, como estas?

Whatever, like, everybody says, I said something

a little different. I went to a cashier this

week, and I did the same thing, and the lady

was like, You know, I'm so blessed. I'm so grateful

when somebody says something like that rather

than just have a nice day or work like that.

And I said, would you call yourself a Christian?

She said, I would. She said, you've accepted

Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

And she said, I have. Right? And I didn't have,

there was people waiting behind me in line, so

I didn't have the time to get into any more details

to go, because I would almost always go to born

again when somebody says that they have done

that. I'll go, there was a moment in time in

which you had a fresh start in Jesus. And if

they have never had that, then they're not truly

saved. Right? And so I almost always did that,

but I didn't get to do that at that time. And

so my point is, if they don't know the word,

that is a better opening for you to bring the

word. If they know the word, then you can unite

with them, and that's cool. Right? So the second

thing would be then, the second action step would

be, once you know whether they know it or not,

either bring it or talk about it and fellowship

over it and be excited, right? And then the third

step would be, if they don't know it and you're

bringing it, would be to just simply invite them

to know him personally. And here's a passage

of scripture where you can say, well, you may

know what's written, but you know the living

word of God. And they're like, what do you mean

the living word of God? Well, Jesus was that.

So here it is. In the beginning was the word.

The word was with God. And he. And all. And you.

And they say, yeah. Or they say, no. Either way.

And it's not about you. It's not whether you

look good, whether you talk good, whether your

timing is perfect. None of that even matters.

No one comes unto the Father lest he be called.

But we are commanded to share. So we share. If

they're called, they'll get saved. The weirdest

way sometimes people will do it. Right? But sometimes

they're ready and sometimes they're not. You

do your part. So thank you to those of you who

knew. Thank you to those of you who caught on

and shared with your neighbors. Thank you to

those of you who held your hand up tired. But

if you held your hand up tired with somebody

sitting next to you who didn't know the answer,

remember, you were never told not to share. And

God has never told us to be quiet and not to

share. We find plenty of time to share everything

else. You can find time to share the word of

God. All right, so we're going to pray in this

time with tithes and offerings as part of our

worship. And I'm going to ask... Deacon Tommy,

I see you. Alright, pray with us or lead us as

we close time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

So it won't be very many other places that you

would go that the pastor would start a sermon

series without telling you that a sermon series

had started and then would give you clues, very

simple, not very detailed clues each week to

the nature of that sermon series. And that's

what's happening. So we're on five out of seven,

part five out of seven for the sermon series

that we have been working our way through. And

you are supposed to be figuring out the text.

That's the goal. That's the game. If you can

figure out the text before we get there, you

text it to me, and that will be quite the achievement.

So this is part five of seven. So we're wrapping

up. So you only got two weeks left. And if you

don't get it by then, I'll have to give it to

you because we'll bring it all together after

that. The title for today is A Lineage with a

Lack of Lies Lovingly and Legally. And it's and,

A -N -D, capital A -N -D, and. So last week we

talked about how we are meant to be a people

with truth in our mouths. In fact, we even talked

about how God despises or finds as an abomination

lying lips. And so in theory, we are a people

that should only speak the truth. I find that

a person can only speak the truth and act the

truth when they have integrity through and through.

Integrity is when your whole self is based on

something that will hold. And you find people

whose whole self is based on family. Or their

whole self is based on income. Or maybe their

whole self is based on being honest. And that's

what, they pick one thing and they say, I'm even

defiantly honest. So I'll go around telling people

things that they don't want to hear when they

don't need to hear it. Right? That kind of thing.

So people base their integrity on a lot of things.

Christians base their integrity on Christ. You

are whole if you have been born again in Christ

and Jesus is at your center and he's in charge

of all things. That's what makes you a Christian.

And we talked about last week about how then

out of that should flow only the truth. But even

with that, scripture tells us that you shall

not bear false witness against your neighbor.

And so the question is, if we are a people who

only speak the truth, why would we need to go

so far out of our way to be very clear about

not bearing false witness? If you have a Bible

that translates Exodus 2016 to say, thou shalt

not lie, you understand that is not actually

accurate. The words in the Hebrew there literally

say false witness. This command has a very specific

nature to it outside of not lying. You shouldn't

be lying, but actually what's interesting is

in the Ten Commandments, you will not find thou

shalt not lie in there. You will find thou shalt

not bear false witness. That's what's there.

It's the only thing that's there. But we did

look very heartily last week in the New Testament

about how Jesus was very clear that we are a

people of the truth and lying has no place in

us. So the question is, if lying has no place

in us, then why does thou shalt not bear false

witness speak so many volumes to Christian people?

We are not to let our lips to be used for lying.

This is an abomination to God. Because we are

made new and by truth, we should speak truth.

But here, separately in this command and in other

places, it's very clear. It's part of a set of

things, this Ten Commandments, which would make

God's people different in that day and age in

which they were living. So in other words, it

was common practice to bear false witness. And

you could get ahead pretty easily that way or

avoid getting behind anyway. And so they were

supposed to look different because they would

not. Why would we lie then if we are a people

of truth? Why might a people who have become

a people of truth still find place to bear false

witness specifically? In other words, why would

we lie in a court of law or to a government official?

Why would we lie to a police officer, to an authority

figure, or a parent, or a teacher? Why would

we find a place to do that when we say we are

a people of truth and truth is all that is in

us? The answer to these questions are many. I've

chosen five. The first one is, it may be that

the cost of telling the truth in legal situations

or situations like that is very high. So in other

words, your parent asks you, did you do this?

And the temptation to lie is great because the

consequences for telling the truth is large.

You go to court and they say, did you harbor

this known fugitive? And the temptation is to

say no. You go to court and they say, plead guilty,

not guilty. And you would want to plead not guilty

because the penalty is high. And it's very easy

for us to see that penalty looming and say, I

don't want to tell the truth in this particular

situation. Also, it can be to protect others

or ourselves from injustice. One lie. can help

to avoid punishment when avoiding punishment

looks like injustice. So in other words, if somebody

says to you, did you go to church on that day?

And you know that persecution would ensue. You

could be arrested. You could be in trouble, right?

39 states put power abusive regulations on going

to church during COVID pandemic. Not Ohio, thankfully,

but 39 states. There were only 11 that did not.

So only in only 11 states could you gather freely

to worship without additional restrictions legally

placed on you during the COVID pandemic. So it's

true in our day. And so then if they caught you

right after church, like you're at lunch and

you're all dressed up and they're like, did you

go to church today? It would be very easy to

lie and say, oh no, we're just, we're going somewhere

after, or we just came from somewhere else. If

you know that there are legal ramifications,

you could be arrested, you could be fined or

whatever. It becomes easy because it's an injustice

to be punished under that circumstance. You shouldn't

be punished for going to church. You shouldn't

be punished for being a Christian. And so it

becomes easy to lie and try to get out of that

spot. Or one lie could help you achieve justice

where justice would otherwise be lacking. In

other words, you can lie and say that you saw

somebody commit a crime. And people do that,

bear false witness towards somebody else, because

you know that person is a criminal, a murderer,

a rapist, whatever. And you want to see them

get justice, even though you did not see them

commit the crime. So you could lie to further

justice. And government, the prosecutor, whatever,

might even kind of subtly hit. If you didn't

really see clearly, but you could go ahead and

say you did, and they'll get what they deserve.

Also, We could lie because the reward for an

untruth in these situations can be especially

enticing, right? To see that you could get ahead,

to see that you could be promoted, to see that

you could not get a ticket, right? If you get

stopped by a police officer and he says, do you

know what speed you were going? And you say,

no, I really don't know. Even though you know

you were in 68 and a 55, but you say, I really

don't know. That's a lie. And how easy is it

in that moment to lie because there's a chance

you might just get a warning because you didn't

actually know or you might get a lesser offense.

Or you might go the other way and help you achieve

justice towards somebody else where justice is

lacking. Because we think, you know, it doesn't

really matter in the grand scheme of things.

I'm saved anyway. I'm going to heaven anyway.

So here's a situation where it's just going to

get real complicated if I tell the truth. And

I don't want it to get real complicated. I don't

want to deal with a month or a year of trouble

or struggle. I don't want to go. So I'll just

tell them I didn't see anything, even though

there was a crime committed that I did see. I'll

say I didn't see anything. No one should be a

rat. No one should be a tattletale. So I'll just

say I didn't see anything, and then I don't have

to go to court. I don't have to testify or whatever.

There are lots of cases in which we think that

it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme

of things because we're going to heaven anyway.

There could be other reasons, but we can see

there's a prevailing theme in all of these reasons.

It is the difference between God's government

and a government that God allows. That's where

the rubber meets the road. That's where we start

thinking, okay, maybe we could lie because this

is a government that God allows. But it's not

a government that God governs. Ultimately, government

cannot be saved. Government cannot be saved.

In that sense, if government were an entity of

being, let's say, government's on the way to

hell and it's like a demon. No amount of witnessing

is going to get you there. No amount of hearing

the word is going to save government. Government

cannot be saved. Courts cannot be saved. So in

that sense, if courts were a person, they would

be on the way to hell and they can never be saved.

There's nothing to be saved about them. Both

of those things might be redeemed in our lifetime

and their redemption might come and go, but ultimately

they cannot be saved. Laws of men cannot be saved.

Traditions, laws, rules, all of it cannot be

saved. None of it can be saved. Realize without

the fall of men, these systems would be completely

unnecessary. You wouldn't need rules about...

what men and women can do when they're not married

or about bearing false witness or about stealing

things that don't belong to you if there had

not been an original sin. So all of these rules

arise out of essentially the curse that God gave

us, which was that there would be a struggle

between men and men, a struggle between men and

women, a struggle between men and God, and government

sits in that seat. Without the fall of man, all

of these systems would be completely unnecessary.

Without sinful enticements and selfish nature,

there would be no need for a temporal system

to protect men from each other. We just wouldn't

need government at all. Moreover, in heaven,

there will be no need for such systems. I submit

that when the Bible says we are not of this world,

it is reminding us, among other things, that

the government is not eternal. The government

is part of the world system. But the fall has

happened. And for these days, God gives us government

to deal justice. But government is operated by

humans and therefore influenced by the sinful

nature of all of those who hold sway over government.

If you elect an official, now they hold sway.

Their sinful nature is still with them, even

if they were a saved Christian. It's still with

them, nagging at them, distracting them, tempting

them. The enemy is still after them and so on.

And one might even argue that the enemy is after

elected officials more than he is after the common

man. Because they can do more hurt to the kingdom

of God or give more blessing, potentially. And

so their evil nature, their sinful nature is

going to influence government because they are

part of government. Basically, I'm saying that

government is for a season. It's a long season

spanning many lifetimes of men until such time

as Jesus comes again and then government will

be upon his shoulders, says scripture. But also,

he will put all things under his feet. In the

meantime, government is a thing somehow larger

than the sum of all of its parts. The church

is like that. We are larger than the sum of all

of our parts. And so in a sense, government mocks

the church. In a sense, government represents

the church. Those who started the United States

of America made government the way they thought

God would want it to be done. A democracy, right?

In fact, when a person votes, and it's really

a democratic republic or whatever, it's not technically

democracy, but they did a lot of voting by democracy.

And they set it up the best they could. Following

God's idea, they thought. The people who signed

the Declaration of Independence were Christian

men, deacons and pastors, except for one. And

so they set it up that way in honor of a doctrine

called the priesthood of the believer. Because

you are listening to Jesus. Because you are daily

hearing from the Holy Spirit. You can vote. Now

that creates a problem in today's society, doesn't

it? Because we've got a lot of people. Who don't

have the priesthood of the believer because they're

not listening to God. Right? They have nothing

to do with God except that they know that they

hate God or they disbelieve God or whatever.

That's about as far as it goes. And then there

are those who don't believe that God exists and

they still hate him. So that's interesting, isn't

it? The point is, it was designed to work well

because Jesus essentially would be at the center

of each person who was the voting body. Accordingly,

men may be pressed to participate in an ungodly

way. They may be licensed to participate in an

ungodly way, even coerced to participate in an

ungodly way. At times, the one evil will seem

to be guiding government, and the mighty wheels

of government will become as grinders chewing

up and spitting out faithful Christians who do

not fit the vision of the machine. That's probably

worth saying again. At times, this is what will

happen. The one evil will seem to be guiding

government and its mighty wheels will become

as grinders chewing up and spitting out faithful

Christians who do not fit the vision of the machine.

Check the book of Revelation. A group of governments

arise and then they submit all of their power

to a single government who really is Satan. At

times that evil will seem to be guiding our government

and at times we will be getting chewed up and

spit out When this happens, and it has happened

in our lifetime, and it may again, we must go

to the grave and suffer our persecutions with

truth alone in our mouths. Now, we already said

we're a truth -only people. So it really doesn't

change much, except the circumstance, the special

time, if you will, under which you have to speak

the truth. And when government becomes a tool

to destroy Christianity, and it has the world

over, is even right now in other places. And

arguably could be in America in some ways. When

that's happening, we must endure our persecutions

with truth alone in our mouths. Because while

government cannot be saved, And courts cannot

be saved. And laws of men cannot be saved. Governors,

soldiers, judges, government employees, police

officers, parents, and especially those witnessing

our choices are all people with souls, and they

may be saved. So while the governor's office

can't be saved, and the efforts of the governor's

office can't be saved, and the executive orders

can't be saved, and the rules of protocol can't

be saved, and the signed bills can't be saved,

and the judges in the courthouse can't be saved.

Wait, what just happened there? We crossed a

line to start to think that the people can't

be saved because they're in that position, and

that's not true. There are judges and soldiers

and men in all of those positions who have been

saved time and again by somebody who refused

to back down and would only speak the truth under

such circumstances as we are describing. Jesus

said it this way at least once. This comes from

Matthew chapter 10. If you're following along

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

in your Bible, you can flip there. Matthew chapter

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

10. Matthew chapter 10 beginning in verse 17.

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

I'll read 16 just so you understand exactly how

important he said this was. He said, Behold,

I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.

Therefore be shrewd as serpents and innocent

as doves. Verse 17. For it is not you who speak,

but it is the spirit of your father who speaks

in you. And brother will deliver up brother to

death. And a father, his child and children will

rise up against parents and cause them to be

put to death. And you'll be hated by all on account

of my name. But it is the one who has endured

to the end who will be saved. But whenever they

persecute you in this city, Fleet to the next.

But truly I say to you, you shall not finish

going through the cities of Israel until the

Son of Man comes. Look at verse 26 for a second.

Therefore, do not fear them. A little bit further

down the page. Therefore, do not fear them. For

there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed

or hidden that will not be known. What I tell

you in the darkness, speak in the light. And

what you hear whispered in your ear, Proclaim

upon the housetops. Do not fear those who kill

the body but are unable to kill the soul, but

rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul

and body in hell. We cannot allow the circumstances

of our life to dictate our voice or our words.

If somebody tells you to shut up when God has

something for you to say, you ignore them. I'm

not saying strike out at them. I'm not saying

hurt them. I'm saying if they tell you to shut

up, when God is telling you to speak, you do

what God says. If the government tells you don't

go to church when God says and he does regularly.

Now, this is ironic, right? Right now, it's free

for everybody to go to church. And some will

go and some will not. And there are Christians

who will allege that they don't have to go to

church to be a Christian. I beg to differ. The

entire New Testament was written by the church,

to the church, in the church. You say you're

following the book that the New Testament church

wrote, but you don't go to church. I disagree.

The bottom line is this. They can go freely.

Also, Bibles are $1 .25 at the Dollar Tree, but

who's reading them? Now, let's be careful, because

when you've got something else going on, you

may find that you don't feel you have to go to

church either. When you find you have something

else going on, you may find that you don't have

to read your Bible either. But neither one of

those things are true. The word indwelt in us

is a thing. The Holy Spirit is looking for you

to fill yourself up with the word of God. The

Holy Spirit is looking for you to be in the church,

to be the church, to participate in the church,

in community. Yes, it's a little more difficult

than just living by your own, worshiping at your

own little candle thing in the house or whatever.

It's a little more difficult than that because

God has to show up and make it work. And if you

can do anything without God, it's nothing of

God. And the truth is, you can really do nothing

that God doesn't empower, including breathing

for the breath of life that you're borrowing

from the Lord will be returned ultimately. We

cannot allow circumstances to dictate our voice

or our words. But rather Jesus who is in us.

What did he say? He said, you don't have to worry

about what you're going to say. You're going

to be given exactly what to say in that moment.

By who? By who? By me? Will I be there? Will

I have you on a walkie -talkie? By your Sunday

school teacher? By your parents? By your brother

or your friend? No, by the Holy Spirit who is

indwelling you. He will give you what you must

say in response to these. Challenges that we're

talking about. We're talking about a special

moment in time at which you have to be prepared

to speak the truth. And it would be easy for

circumstances to dictate our words or our truth

in that moment. Or at least for us to think that's

the way it works. But it isn't. Because if your

truth in that moment does not align perfectly

with what God is doing in you, then maybe God

isn't doing anything in you at all. That's very

scary. Why do you think that all of those Christians

faced with government to persecute them unto

death refuse to renounce the name of Christ?

It's just words. I'm saved anyway. I can lie.

Why can't I just lie under these circumstances

so that I won't be burnt at the stake or drawn

and quartered or filleted? Right? Why can't I

just lie and say I'm not a Christian for today?

Right? We're sneaking around. We're still worshiping

God. We're still doing things. We're still telling

people about Jesus. If I die today, oh my gosh,

if I die today, I'll never be able to tell anybody

about Jesus again. And I'm commanded to tell

people about Jesus. I can't risk dying today.

But the Bible says, thou shalt not bear false

witness. And so under that very circumstance,

under that very special condition, that time

at which you might logic or reason, that you

can just say, It's okay, I don't have to speak

up. It's okay, I don't have to say the truth.

I can even tell a lie. We are reminded by his

word that we cannot allow our circumstances to

dictate our voice or our words. Jesus who is

in us, and let me say it simply, Jesus does not

lie. And if you are standing there in that moment

facing the worst moment in your lifetime or possibly

the greatest reward and you lie to get where

you're trying to get to, you lie to get out of

trouble with a parent, a police officer, a judge,

you lie to get somebody else into trouble because

they deserve it, whatever. You lie to avoid a

consequence or you lie to get a benefit. Either

way, you can be sure that that's not what Jesus

was telling you to do. And if it's not what Jesus

was telling you to do, what is a Lord after all?

A Lord is someone who tells you what to do, and

you do it. So you call him Lord, or if you're

saved, you do. That's how you get saved. You

call him Lord, and you continue to call him Lord.

And that's why Jesus can say, not everyone who

says unto me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom

of heaven. Because some will say, Lord, Lord,

but not do what it is that they're called to

do. And so here is a special circumstance under

which it would be easy for us to allow our circumstances

to dictate our words, our voice, and know. Jesus

does that. And you better believe that under

those circumstances, under those special circumstances

in which we might do that, that he is going to

be telling us not to lie. Over in John, the book

of John, chapter 18. If you're following along,

John 18 · chapter mention

you can go there with me. Chapter 18, book of

John. John 18, 36. John 18, 36. and following

a little bit. John 18, 36 says, Jesus answered,

My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom

were of this world, then my servants would be

fighting that I might not be delivered up to

the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not of

this realm. Pilate, therefore, said to him, this

is when Jesus is being questioned by Pilate,

So you are a king? Jesus answered, You say correctly

that I am a king. For this I have been born,

and for this I have come into the world, to bear

witness to the truth. Let me get this straight.

Jesus gave the purpose for which he came into

the world as to bear witness to the truth. Now

your opportunity to denounce Christ, to get ahead,

to avoid difficulty, and in your one moment of

possible triumph, and the greatest triumph you

might ever possibly have to suffer for the name

of Jesus, to be honest and pay the price, You're

going to bear false witness when his purpose

that he gave for coming into the world was to

bear witness to the truth? He goes on. Everyone,

everyone who is of the truth, here's my voice.

Everyone who is of the truth, here's my voice.

Pilate said to him, what is truth? And when he

had said this, he went out again. That's his

kind of like parting greeting from Jesus as well.

What is truth anyway? And when he had said this,

he went out again to the Jews and said to them,

I find no guilt in him. And he went on to try

to release Jesus as the one person he could release

during the festival, and they chose Barabbas

instead, and they crucified Jesus. Jesus said,

I have come to bear witness to the truth. Pilate

said, I find no guilt in him. This brings us

to our conclusion already. We started by asking,

why might a people who have become a people of

the truth still find place for bearing false

witness? That was our question. If we have become

a people of the truth and the truth is in us,

why would we ever find a circumstance under which

we would bear false witness? Why do we need to

be reminded as God's people? By the way, the

command really doesn't help anybody else, right?

So if not God's people, why do you care? If it

says thou shalt not bear false witness and you're

not a follower of the Lord or seeking to be a

follower of the Lord, why do you really care

what it says? So the command is speaking most.

urgently to people who care what God says. That

would be us. And so why would we possibly find

a place for bearing false witness? The passages

that we have looked at lead us to some possible

conclusions, and they should be enough to solve

our dilemma. The first one is this. It could

be that a man is lying to himself, and only once

put under these circumstances does it become

clear that he is not what he thinks he is. So

you say you're a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ,

that you're walking with Christ, that you love

the Lord. But only under these circumstances,

that special moment in time where you're given

the opportunity to bear witness to the truth

and write off all the possible great outcomes

and avoid all the good justice that you could

deal or avoid all the punishment that might be

dealt to you. That one special moment at which

you could do that. And when that moment comes,

it may be determined in the man's heart that

he is not what he thinks he is. Here's our opportunity

to repent then and turn to the Lord, to be saved

in earnest through Jesus Christ our Lord. Our

time of opportunity to bear false witness will

come. If you live long enough, you will get an

opportunity to lie to parents, lie to police,

lie to a judge, lie to a police officer on the

side of the road, lie to your spouse, that's

an authority figure in your life, lie to any

aspect of government. The rules will come against

you and you'll have the opportunity to lie. And

if you can lie in that moment, if you can bear

false witness in that moment, you need to repent

now. I understand that's backwards. You say,

because it might be a year, 10 years, or 50 that

I would get there. But if right now you're sitting

here and you go, well, I would lie to a police

officer if he got a speeding ticket. I would

lie to a judge and not have to pay hundreds of

thousands of millions of dollars. If that's you,

then you are smack in contrast to what Christ

came to the earth for. And you need to repent

and say, even in that special circumstance, no,

especially in that special circumstance where

I could reap some benefit by dealing with that,

I will speak only the truth. arm yourself now

with the resolve to speak the truth. In fact,

allow the truth to inhabit your life who is the

person, Jesus Christ. Secondly, we may come to

our opportunity to bear false witness, not having

lived a life attuned to the Holy Spirit's presence

in us. In other words, it's possible for you

to go on day in, day out, doing what you think

God would want you to do, following the word,

but not really paying any attention to the teachings

and convictions of the Holy Spirit. If you can

go to your closet and pray, Lord, which shirt

should I wear today? And God does not answer,

then it's probable that either he doesn't have

an opinion or you just aren't able to hear it.

One of those two things is true. Now you say,

well, if God would say, lie to me, I would know

that's not God because God says don't lie. So

I got that. If God would say, go ahead and steal

that. It's for you. It's free. It's right there.

No one will know that you took it. You say, well,

I know that's not God because that's not the

character of God. You may know the character

of God. That's not what I'm talking about. What

I'm talking about is having an interpersonal

relationship, having God on speed dial through

his Holy Spirit where he's with you all the while,

all the while speaking in your heart. And you're

going left when you should go right. And he says,

go right. And you're like, okay, go right. And

for all you know, he just saved your life or

opened up a door to ministry or whatever. So

daily seek him. daily practice spiritual disciplines

and get used to always asking God, what would

you have me to do? Because there may come a time

where, a special time like this, where all reason,

all logic, all your perceptions of justice say

you should lie or you should just be quiet, which

is a liable mission, right? And when you know

what he would have you to do, you will be able

to respond differently in that moment. Ask the

Holy Spirit, what would you have me to be? How

are you changing me? Shouldn't it be easier when

we're grocery shopping or working on a project

to allow him to work through us and speak through

us than it is to say when we are under the threat

of our lives or our welfare? So when being truthful

about Christ, Could cost you everything. It's

going to be easier in that moment to be truthful

than it is when you're in the grocery store or

shopping or working or whatever. No, it's easier

to do it on a regular basis. And then it becomes

a habit. And then faced with that special moment

in time where everything seems to be at stake,

you can still be truthful because the Spirit

is giving you the words to speak. If your life

is running smoothly at this time, use it to get

used to hearing what the Holy Spirit says and

doing and speaking according to how he leads.

If you're not daily desiring the presence of

the Holy Spirit, you're maybe still reaching

for other sources. You're looking for other ways.

You're trying to grow intellectually, trying

to become strong physically. You're trying to

eat right and sleep right. Now I'll take care

of everything. All of those things are good things.

But if you're not seeking out his leadership,

then at best, you may find yourself groping around

for it. when you are called into these situations.

How much you worked out, how well you ate, whether

you slept or not, how much money's in your bank

account or your retirement, how much education

you have, none of that is going to help you.

In fact, it's all going to work against you because

it's all cares of the world, right? It's all

going to work against you because right now,

if I am truthful, I could lose my life. If I

am truthful, I could go to jail for a while.

If I am truthful, this murderer that I know is

a murderer but I can't prove it will get off,

right? If I am truthful, I will get a ticket.

And if I get a ticket, I'll have to pay $180.

I don't have $180. I could lose my car. I could

have to stop driving. I might not be able to

get where I want. All of the ramifications start

to heap up on you. And if you're not used to

hearing the Holy Spirit daily, then when you're

called into one of those situations, what are

you going to do? Suddenly go, oh, it's okay.

I know Jesus 911, right? I have a couple of verses.

I'll just quote those verses real quick. Pray

and repent. And then at that moment, God and

his Holy Spirit will show up and I will say and

do the right thing and I'll never lie. I'll never

bear false witness. Really? I submit to you under

those circumstances, you will have already borne

false witness before you ever think about repenting.

Before you ever remember me saying those times

are coming. When they put the sword to your neck,

which could very realistically happen, instead

of that. Instead of you going, okay, I'm going

to tell the truth. I'm going to be honest here

about Jesus. I'm going to speak up for Jesus.

You'll say anything that they will have you say

just so you can live long enough to see your

kids graduate from school or get married or your

grandkids be born, right? If we're motivated

by the things of this life, then bearing false

witness is easy. And it's so easy, it'll happen

before you ever know it. Or you could work to

get used to listening to God's Holy Spirit today.

Spending time in his word, in prayer, meditation,

in the church, under preaching, under teaching,

in Bible study. Does the list go on? By serving,

by giving, by exercising your Holy Spirit. The

list goes on. All these things that God has given

us to do. By church membership, being part. You

have to submit to other people and they have

to submit to you. You're breaking each other's

limbs off, but you're living closer and closer

daily to Christ. And that's... That's how you

make sure that when you come time to bear false

witness, you would not. Next, we may simply be

forgetting that God's plan is bigger than the

impending outcome of our lives. In the grand

scheme of things, as God is building a place

for all Christians, in the grand scheme of things,

as God is taking everyone who faithfully follows

him to heaven when they die, In the grand scheme

of things where God is forgiving all sins through

his son Jesus, whether you get it, own it, polish

it, eat it, whatever you do, it doesn't mean

squat. Does anybody know what Martin Luther had

for dinner on Wednesday, the 13th week of the

30th year he was alive? No one cares! No one

cares what Martin Luther ate. Did he eat right?

Did he drink right? Did he live right? Only maybe

historians who are studying minutiae, and none

of us are that important probably, right? So

no one's going to care what I ate when I was

32 versus what I ate when I was 37. No one cares.

No one cares what you wore on Wednesday. You

don't even remember what you wore on Wednesday,

but now it's suddenly a big deal. I've got to

be able to dress tomorrow. I've got to be able

to go to work. I've got to be able to pay my

bills. I'm going to be able to do all these things,

and now they're all on the line in this moment.

And suddenly I'm going to become an honest person

because I recognize how important it is. Many

Christians have gone before and been persecuted

even unto death. It is enough that we become

like our masters speaking truth in the presence

of all witnesses. Even if it costs us or even

if it seems like the most logical outcome of

the truth is a lack of justice in this particular

situation. Satan is the great deceiver. And if

we allow him, he will affect our minds such that

bearing false witness seems perfectly reasonable.

For this reason alone, we cannot decide to bear

false witness no matter what we reason. Jesus'

ministry was to speak the truth. And we have

no ministry outside of Jesus. Last, though probably

not actually last, because you could probably

do this for a while if you wanted to. If we endure

to the end, then we'll be saved. That's what

he said. You understand that means if you endure

the persecutions, if you endure the government

punishment, which could come, if you lose a job,

we're speaking truth, the truth of Christ. If

we endure to the end, then we'll be saved. That's

what he said. That is to say, if we are living

a lie, then when faced with persecutions and

the seeming unyielding law of governmental authority,

we will bear false witness and thereby actually

be telling the truth about who we are. Did you

catch that? So you'll go into that special moment

at which you could speak the truth about Jesus

and you'll not speak the truth about Jesus because

the ramifications seem too large. There's too

much there. And you will actually be speaking

the truth about Jesus, which is that he is not

your Lord. You do not love him with all your

life and all yourself. You do not submit all

things that you are unto him. But rather in that

special moment, in that opportunity, he's just

another name, just another idol, just another

God. Like anybody else. And there are no other

gods. And to say that Jesus is just another god

like everybody else is to say that Jesus essentially

does not exist. And you will have unraveled every

last aspect of what it meant to you to be a Christian.

By simply bearing false witness in that circumstance.

That's why they won't do it. That's why Christians

who know the Lord will not denounce Christ even

under threat of murder. With a gun to their head

or an axe at their throat. It's been going on

this way since Jesus was crucified. When they

came home after they were persecuted, after the

beautiful gate incident, they praised God that

they were allowed to suffer like Jesus. It's

been going on. You need this special moment in

time. Listen, I'm 100 % sure I'm saved. God has

worked in me, Holy Spirit, whatever. But you

don't know that about me. And no one else does.

I'm the only one, not even my wife, who knows

me better than anybody. sees my personal struggles,

etc. She doesn't know that about me for sure.

And only you can truly know it about you other

than God. But I'll tell you what, in this moment,

in this special circumstance where you could

bear false witness for any logical reason whatsoever,

even if it's just fear or could be jealousy or

envy or whatever, if you can find a way to bear

false witness in that circumstance, Faced with

the great grinding wheels of governmental authority

that had previously persecuted Christians unto

death and will do so again. And if you can bear

false witness in that circumstance, then you

are not a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I can't say who will or who won't because

I don't know who's saved and who won't. But I

will tell you that the unsaved will not. They

will bear a false witness. They will not speak

the truth. And the saved will speak the truth.

They will not bear false witness. We will actually

be telling the truth about who we are if we are

willing to bear false witness in that moment.

We might even conclude that each man's trials

and tribulation have this grand purpose to prove

to whom we belong. The worst thing that you're

going through is in your life right now to prove

to whom you belong. You face the difficulties,

you overcome, you endure, even if it means you

die and go to heaven. And you spend eternity

with God to whom you claim you belong. Or you

refuse to face the difficulties. Or you refuse

to speak up. You hold your tongue. You do not

bear witness to the truth. And then you get to

the other side and he reminds you that he warned

you that not everybody who said Lord, Lord would

enter the kingdom of heaven. Whose side are you

on? And who's speaking through you? I have a

few illustrations and then we'll be through.

These are illustrations of people who found themselves

in the circumstances of which I am describing.

In February of 2015, there were 21 Christian

men. 21. Most of them were Coptic Christians

from that sect of the faith out of Egypt. They

were kidnapped by ISIS in Libya. Soon made the

world news. The terrorists gave them a choice.

Renounce Christ. Just say you're not a Christian.

Renounce Christ and live. Or, I'm sorry, and

in renouncing Christ, they would have to convert

to Islam or die. Right? So that was their option.

They could renounce Christ, convert to Islam,

and live or die. Each man refused to deny Jesus.

And they were beheaded on a beach in a video

titled, A Message Signed with Blood to the Nation

of the Cross. which for quite a while, I don't

know if it's still there anymore, you could watch

on YouTube. Is that not nasty? One of them, a

man named Matthew Iurega, was reportedly not

previously a Christian. But when he saw all of

those men refusing to denounce your faith, guess

what he did? They put the sword to his throat,

and he responded, Their God is my God. And he

died as well. Now, I don't know if any of those

ISIS members ever got saved or whatever, but

I know that as those Christians rose up into

heaven, there was great cheering. Their faith

and courage became a global testimony and the

Coptic church canonized them as martyrs. Their

last words were reported to be, Ya Rabbi Yasu,

which is, Oh my Lord Jesus. Go back a long time

back. Before the Bible was fully written as we

have it, it was in the churches, but it hadn't

been canonized into the New Testament yet. The

Old Testament, of course, was already there.

There's a man named Polycarp of Smyrna. Polycarp

was a disciple of the Apostle John. He refused

to renounce Christ when pressured by Roman authorities.

When ordered to swear allegiance to Caesar and

deny Christ, he famously declared, 86 years have

I served him, and he has done me no wrong. How

can I blaspheme my king who saved me? He was

burned at the stake, or at least they tried.

The flames refused to consume his body. So they

killed him with the sword. Be aware that when

you refuse to bear false witness under those

circumstances, you will probably still die. God

does not strike down every evildoer or erase

the muscles in a person's arm just because we

are in difficulty. I know that he has done that

and he may well do that again. But if it's your

time to go to heaven, which by the way, not such

a bad time really. We're all worried about death

and whatever, but not such a bad time really

to go to heaven. Thou shalt not bear false witness.

William Tyndale lived from 1494 to 1536. Tyndale

translated the Bible into English, defying the

Catholic Church's control over Scripture. They

ordered him not to do it, and he did it anyway.

They declared him a heretic against the Church.

He was strangled and burned at the stake. His

last words were, Lord, open the King of England's

eyes. His work influenced later translations,

including the King James Bible, allowing the

common people to read God's word. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

might have heard of him, 1906 to 1945. He was

a German pastor and theologian. Bonhoeffer opposed

Adolf Hitler. Most of them didn't, but he did.

And the Nazi regime, denouncing their persecution

of the Jews and their distortion of Christianity.

Did you know that Hitler ruled Germany in part

by a distortion of Christianity? Be careful about

distortions of Christianity. Bonhoeffer was arrested

for his role in a plot to overthrow Hitler. He

was executed by hanging just weeks before the

end of World War II. Less than a month before

they would sign the treaty and Hitler would surrender,

well, Hitler's men would surrender without exception.

Because Hitler was theoretically, had committed

suicide in his bunker by then. And just a few

weeks before the war was over, They killed him.

His writings, including a writing called The

Cost of Discipleship, continue to inspire Christians

to stand for truth and justice. Let's put it

a little more close to home in a context and

an illustration that probably never actually

happened. Brother Jed, in a Southern Baptist

country church, in the middle of the COVID pandemic,

told, you gotta stop preaching. The governor

says, if you go, we're gonna arrest you. And

you know what he did? He preached the word of

God to them. And they said, well, it's clear

that you're not going to listen. And he said,

no. Until the one who wrote this book tells me

to stop preaching this book, I'll be preaching

this book unless somebody takes me out of this

world. I'm not daring anybody to kill me. Don't

do that. That's just foolishness. We've got a

lot of work to do here. But what I am saying

to you is there's going to come. A special moment

in time at which it makes perfect sense in every

conceivable way to deny the truth. You're going

to need to be quiet amongst your friends, amongst

police officers or judges, gang members, whatever.

You're going to need to not push the truth in

order to avoid trouble, in order to avoid certain

results that you don't like. It could be your

family, the family unit. Is a type of government.

And Jesus even said there will be mothers and

fathers that surrender their children. And children

that surrender their parents. Brothers that surrender

their sisters. And sisters that surrender their

brothers. And so on. All of that will happen.

Because it makes perfect sense. By every reasonable

assertion. To just bear a little false witness.

It will take care of everything. But if you do.

you will be standing in direct opposition for

why Jesus said he came to the earth to bear witness

to the truth. If he had made a defense of some

kind when they arrested him, if he had pushed

hard not to be crucified, he might have pulled

it off because the whole thing is a travesty

of justice. It's all illegal. The court was never

to meet after dark. Not all the members were

present. He never actually did anything wrong.

And what they crucified him for was claiming

to be God. Which was true. He shouldn't have

been crucified. But the wheels of government

became gears and they chewed him up. And we should

not seek to be better than our master. If we

should face a circumstance like that, where we

might be chewed up, we must not bear false witness.

I ask the praise team to come forward at this

time. To lead us in our final hymn. You're thinking

in your mind and in your heart and you're analyzing

things. Could I stand true? Would I speak the

truth? Will I stand up for Jesus under those

worst circumstances? Will I be entreated when

it really might be worth my while to lie a little?

Can I be faithful to the truth? Can I speak instead

of the words that Jesus gives me? You can't even

say, I'll just be silent. Because silence can

be a lie. It's a lie of the world. But can you

say in your heart that you follow Jesus and Jesus

will be your words and you trust him and you'll

speak up? Because if that's not true, then I'm

asking you today to repent and say, I'm turning

myself over to the Lord of the universe. We believe

that he saves us from sin. that Jesus is real.

We believe in the truth he reveals. We believe

that he saves us from sin.