We live in a day and age when lying has become the norm rather than the exception. It is used to be said that a man’s word was his bond. You could rely upon people’s word. Not today. If someone tells you something, it may or may not take place. We have become jaded. We simply do not trust other people’s words. They tell us one thing and do another. This has serious consequences. I remember hearing a man at work say, something he thought was clever, "That contracts were made to be broken." What was he really saying? All men are liars. They will not abide by their word, if they think that they can get an advantage. This attitude is all to common in the sports world where athletes will break contracts and hold out for more money. They are simply liars.
Application
To properly understand the Bible, we need to use what is known as applied theology.
The ninth commandment in Exodus 20:16 reads, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." This is a negative commandment. The positive side would entail telling the truth regarding our neighbors. Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary renders "false" as, "Not true; not conformable to fact; expressing what is contrary to that which exists, is done, said or thought. A false accusation imputes to a person what he has not done or said. A false witness testifies what is not true. A false opinion is not according to truth or fact. The word is applicable to any subject physical or moral." In the same dictionary, "witness" is "1. Testimony; attestation of a fact or event. 2. That which furnishes evidence or proof. 3. A person who knows or sees any thing; one personally present; as, he was witness; he was an eye-witness. 4. One who sees the execution of an instrument, and subscribes it for the purpose of confirming its authenticity by his testimony. 5. One who gives testimony; as, the witnesses in court agreed in all essential facts." So a false witness would be some one who says that they saw, heard, was present etc., when in fact, such was not the case. A false witness is essentially a liar.
Where does lying come from? John 8:44 answers this question, as follows: "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." The devil is father of lies. The devil did not abide in truth, therefore by definition, he abides in falsehood and he is the first false witness. His testimony cannot be trusted because it is not and cannot be truth. He is synonymous with all that is untrue. The word "devil" means slanderer.
Webster’s Dictionary defines a "liar" as, "1. A person who knowingly utters falsehood; one who declares to another as a fact what he knows to be not true, and with an intention to deceive him. The uttering of falsehood by mistake, and without an intention to deceive, does not constitute one a liar. 2. One who denies Christ." Notice the elements which establish lying. First, there is a knowing what is being spoken or represented is false. The liar knows it is untrue. Secondly, it is done with the intent to deceive by false report spoken or written to another person. Revelation 21:8 says, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." This verse should make it apparent that all liars eternal state is one of eternal punishment. They have given false witness against their neighbor in the same that their father the devil does. Therefore, it is not surprising that they will spend eternity with those that they are like. The law is likes beget likes. Liars beget liars.
In contrast, Jesus said in John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." As the devil is a liar and the father of all lies, the Lord Jesus Christ is the truth. If we are a Christian, then we must walk in the truth. The Lord Jesus said of the Holy Ghost in John 16:13, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come." He is the Spirit of truth and by definition can only speak truth. Therefore, since a Christian has the Spirit of truth in their hearts, they will bear true witness. Their word can be relied on.
Conclusion
Since there is no neutrality, we will be either true witnesses or false. The ninth commandment was given to us to encourage to speak the truth in love as Ephesians 4:5 enjoins, "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." Finally, 1 John 2:4 reads, "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." In other words, those who claim to be Christians but do not obey His commandments, John the apostle says plainly that they are liars. They are liars because they do not have the Spirit of truth in their hearts. They are hypocrites and false witnesses and break the ninth commandment.
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