Ten: Week Nine
The Ninth Commandment – Honesty
God gave us the Ten Commandments to teach us about relationships, relationships with Him and with other people. We’ll study this ninth commandment by examining:
- What the Ninth Commandment is and the Principle of Honesty.
- Three simple ways to develop honesty in you life.
- Four transformational truths.
- In the Ninth Commandment, God tells us that “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor,” which brings us to the Principle of Honesty.
In Exodus 20:16, God warns us not to lie, but there are a few things we need to understand about this commandment.
1st – When the Bible talks about your neighbor, it’s not talking about the person living beside you. Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan and explains that your neighbor is anyone you come in contact with. (Luke 10:27, 29)
2nd – God gave these commandments to help the Israelites understand what a civilized society looked like. This is a society governed by moral laws, and morality is not subjective.
3rd – The Ninth Commandment is actually a legal commandment, “Don’t perjure yourself.”
The principle behind this commandment is the Principle of Honesty.
- There are three simple ways to develop honesty in your life.
1. Learn to be honest with yourself.
– Dishonest people are dishonest.
– In John 8:32-33, Jesus explains that the truth will set you free.
– God cannot help you if you can’t be honest about yourself.
2. Learn to be honest with others.
– In James 5:16, God takes the idea of honesty beyond just Him to include confessing to others. There’s a humility and accountability that comes along with confession.
– Confession forces us to bring what we’re dealing with out of the darkness into the light.
– There are two types of people in life: Those who are wise and those who are foolish. A wise person takes correction. A foolish person makes excuses. (Proverbs 9:8)
– Start being honest with people.
3. Learn to be honest with God.
– In Psalm 32:1-5, David says, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven…” He explains how sin weighed him down, but forgiveness is freeing.
– When you’re dishonest, there’s deceit in your spirit. (Psalm 32:2)
– When you lie, you link or align yourself with Satan. (John 8:44) But in John 16:13, Jesus tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit will guide them into all truth.
- Here are four transformational truths that can set your life free.
In John 8:32, Jesus says, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
- We are all sinners.
- One day our sins will be uncovered.
- We will all face a forever. (heaven or hell)
- It’s a personal decision.
It’s between you and God. It’s your choice to confess and believe that Jesus died for you to save you from your sins and to give you eternal life. (Romans 10:9, John 3:16)