Sermon Tone Analysis

*Thomas** S. Myers*

 

*The Ninth Commandment*

*Exodus 20:16** *

*16** **"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

(NIV)*

 

            The 10 commandments cover every law that needs to be made.

You can not come up with an 11th commandment that is not some how already related to the 10 commandments.

Did you know that every one to God's 10 commandments are given to protect something that is very precious to you?  Whether it is your family, your property, your worship of God or your relationship with others, it is already covered by the 10 commandments.

Take a good look at the 9th commandment.

* *

*Exodus 20:16** *

*16** **"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

(NIV)*

   

            I want to introduce you to the 9th commandment that tells us we are not to lie, by first of all sharing with you the origin of all lies.

*FIRST -- THE FATHER OF ALL LIES.** * 

 

            Jesus Christ was in a discussion with the Pharisees.

And the Pharisees were giving false testimony against Jesus.

Jesus looked directly at the Pharisees and told them who is the originator of all lies.

If you want to see who is the father of all lies look at John 8:44:

*John** 8:44** *

*44 **You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire.

He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.

When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

(NIV)*

            The devil is the originator of all lies.

And when you lie you are acting just like the devil.

You are never more like the devil when you are telling a lie.

And you are never more unlike Jesus Christ, the faithful and true witness when you are bearing false witness.

Think about this for a minute.

What is the very first thing that you see the devil doing in the Bible?

In Genesis 3:1 the very first act that the devil is seen doing is slandering the truth of God.

Take a good look at it in Genesis 3:1 and notice what the devil does.

*Genesis 3:1** *

*1 **Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.

He said to the woman, "Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" (NIV)*

     

*A.

THE DEVIL SLANDERS THE CHARACTER OF GOD.*

The devil is saying, "You have to be kidding, did God really say you can not eat from that tree over there?"

Do you see what the devil is doing?

He is putting a question mark after the Word of God.

He is trying to get Eve to doubt the Word of God.

Do you know why the devil is doing that?

You see, the devil does not want you to necessarily deny God.

But the devil does want you to think negatively about God.

So the devil will slander the truthfulness of God.

But that is not all that the architect of lies does.

*B.

THE DEVIL ALSO SLANDERS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD.*

Notice in Genesis 3:4 and see what the devil says.

* *

*Genesis 3:4** *

*4** **"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.

(NIV)*

 

            The devil was saying that God is soft on sin and He will not judge sin.

There are 2 sides of God.

God is love, but God is perfect holiness.

When a guilty man is acquitted, the judge is condemned.

If God knowingly, willingly, deliberately lest sin go unpunished, God becomes a sinner.

But the architect of all lies doesn't want you to believe that God judges sin.

So he lies to Eve saying, * **"**You will not surely die."*

Today, it's unchristian even to think about a God of judgment.

I have a suspicion that if the Supreme Court of the United States could vote on hell, hey would outlaw hell  as cruel and unusual punishment.

They would vote hell out of existence.

I'm glad that they can't vote on it.

They did not vote God in and they can't vote God out.

But God does judge sin.

There is another thing that the devil does.

*C.

THE DEVIL SLANDERS THE GOODNESS OF GOD.*

* *

*  GeNESis 3:5 *

*5** **"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

(NIV)*

* *

            Do you see what the father of all lies is doing?

The devil is implying that God was not letting Adam and Eve have all the good things in life.

The devil was saying to Eve, "Eve, when you eat of the forbidden fruit, you will be like God.  God does not want you to be like Him."  What a liar the devil is.

And the devil is still in the business of slandering God.

The name devil means slanderer.

Did you know that the devil even used lies to get Jesus crucified.

Look at Matthew 26:59 and notice what the religious crowd did to get Jesus Crucified.

*Matthew** 26:59** *

*59 **The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death.

(NIV)*

  

            The religious rulers began to encourage others to lie.

The devil even entered into Judas Iscariot moving Judas to betray Jesus Christ.

*Luke** 22:3-4** *

*3 **Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.

**4 **And** Judas went to the chief priests **and** the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus.

(NIV)*

 

*                *And Jesus very clearly tell us that same religious crowd that was moved and motivated by the devil himself.

* *

*John** 8:44** *

*44 **You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire.

He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.

When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

(NIV)*

 

            When you bear false witness you put yourself into some pretty bad company.

Jesus said, the devil is the father of all lies.

*SECOND -- THE FAMILY OF FALSE WITNESS.*

Who is in this family of false witnesses?

*A.

THE PURGER.*

*            *The purgerer  is a person who DEF

 

*Exodus 23:1-2** *