Do Not Lie – The Ninth Commandment

Do Not Lie

The Ninth Commandment

We must at all times be truthful with our neighbors.

Leviticus 19:11

“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.”

Colossians 3:9

In this statute we can see the interconnectedness of the Law of God, and why, if we break one of God’s Laws, we break them all. Stealing and lying are transgressions of righteousness on the same spectrum. Break the one and you break the other, and them all (Jas. 2:10).

The Law turns now to being truthful with our neighbors. Stealing and lying are in the same category of transgression; each is a form of not being truthful. If we steal from our neighbors we lie by saying that what we possess is ours and not theirs. If we lie to our neighbors we steal from them the truth God intends them to know.

Any lying to our neighbors of any kind is unacceptable to the Lord, a violation of trust and an assault against God Himself, Who is the truth. This includes everything from exaggerating the truth to misreporting our taxes and giving false information on a loan application.

We are now accepting registrations for the course, Spiritual Maturity 1: Revival. This free, seven-session course by T. M. Moore allows you to study by yourself or with a mentor, and includes free resources from Patrick, Columbanus, Luther, and Edwards, among others. Visit The Ailbe Seminary for more information on this training opportunity.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.