Truth Only – The Ninth Commandment

Truth Only

The Ninth Commandment

Exodus 23:2, 3

“You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.”

Leviticus 19:15, 16

“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.”

It violates the ninth commandment to conspire falsely, give false witness in a lawsuit, or to practice favoritism in any matter. Partiality in transactions is as heinous to God as lying and deceit.

All men stand on equal ground before the Law of God. The “majority” cannot change the truth of God. A man’s standing as somehow deprived or underprivileged, or, on the other hand, as of a higher social standing, does not change the truth. The Law of God is not subject to social conventions or changes in the temper of the times. The Law is truth (John 17:17), and men and societies can only know the blessing of God as they abide within the terms of truth as He defines it.

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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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.