Not too long ago I read about a minister who informed his congregation that the following Sunday he planned to preach on the sin of lying. And therefore, in order to help them to understand better his sermon, he wanted them to read during the week chapter 17 of the Gospel of Mark. Well, the following Sunday, as he prepared to deliver his message, the minister asked for a show of hands of how many had read Mark chapter 17. Every hand went up. And with that, the minister smiled and said, Mark has only 16 chapters. I will now proceed with my sermon on the sin of lying. Now, regardless of whether or not you would ever claim to have read Mark 17, all of us need to hear a sermon on the sin of lying, and that is because all of us, without any exceptions, are inclined to lie. The Apostle Paul characterized all humanity As liars, when he declared in Romans chapter 3, he said that there is none righteous, not even one. And then Paul went on to defend this charge by telling us and describing how we sin by our speech. He wrote, In chapter 3, verse 13, their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving. In other words, like a grave that houses a rotting, decaying body, so our words are foul and polluted in their deceitfulness. Now I realize that some people may not consider themselves guilty of lying. So if you are not presently convinced that you do lie, then I trust you will be by the end of this sermon. Because today being the first Sunday of the month, we will be observing the Lord's Supper and therefore continuing our study of the Ten Commandments with our focus this morning being on the ninth commandment which addresses specifically the issue of lying. Exodus 20 verse 16 saying you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Now, it's important to keep in mind that one of the purposes of the Ten Commandments is to teach believers how to love God and to love other people. That is one of the primary purposes of the Ten Commandments. This is why when Jesus was asked, what is the greatest commandment? He responded by saying that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And then he went on to say the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. And this is precisely the pattern that we have seen in our previous studies of the Ten Commandments. We have discovered that the first four commandments reveal how to demonstrate our love for God. First, by having no idols or anything that would rival Him in our lives. Second, by worshiping Him properly without any graven images. Third, by not taking His name in vain or in a loose manner. And fourth, by observing the Sabbath principle of resting one day out of the week. But starting with the Fifth Commandment, we're told how to specifically address love for others, how to express our love for others, by honoring our parents, by not murdering anyone, by not committing adultery, and by not stealing from anyone. And now this morning, in coming then to the Ninth Commandment, we are about to discover that if we really, really love others, then we won't bear false witness against them. So, what does that mean? What does it mean to bear false witness against a neighbor? Well, this ninth commandment is actually a prohibition against perjury. Perjury is lying under oath. This commandment then specifically forbids us from giving a false testimony in a court of law against anyone with the word neighbor referring to anyone who comes across your path, not simply those who live in your neighborhood. Now, it's important to keep in mind how significant this particular law was to the nation of Israel. See, unlike our legal system, in ancient Israel, courtroom justice was really quite uncomplicated. There were judges, but there were no prosecuting attorneys to prove someone's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Everything depended upon the honesty of its citizens. According to Deuteronomy 19.15, on the evidence of two or three witnesses, a matter shall be confirmed. In other words, if two or three witnesses gave testimony against someone, and their testimony was found to be credible by the judges, then the accused would be found guilty and punished in accordance with the demands of the law. This was just how justice was carried out. in Israel in Bible times. And based on this judicial system, you can see very clearly the damaging effects lying witnesses would have upon an accused individual. An innocent individual could be convicted of a crime he simply did not do. And even sentenced to death for a murder he never committed. And this is precisely what happens, you'll recall, in the Old Testament to a man by the name of Naboth under King Ahab. This is when two false witnesses testified that this man Naboth had lied and blasphemed God, specifically blasphemed God. And they lied. They lied about this. There were false witnesses. And why did they lie? Because Ahab wanted Naboth's land for a garden. So these men falsely accused Naboth of blasphemy, and he was put to death for a crime he never committed. False witnesses also played a role in the trial of our Lord. And I'm glad somebody at least agrees with me right here. I'm glad. That's like an amen. And here's what we read in Matthew chapter 26, starting at verse 59. Now the chief priests and the whole council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death. They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on, two came forward and said, this man stated, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days. And you'll recall that Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was accused by false witnesses of speaking against the Jewish temple and the law of Moses, and ultimately it led to him being stoned to death. So, according to the legal system established by God in Israel, witnesses in a formal court of law held the power of life and the power of death literally in their tongues. No wonder the ninth commandment forbids anyone from being a lying witness. In fact, bearing false witness was such a serious sin that if a witness was found to have lied during a formal hearing, then the false witness was to receive the exact, note this, the exact same punishment that the accused would have received. This is what we read in Deuteronomy 19, starting in verse 15. A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed. On the evidence of two or three witnesses, a matter shall be confirmed. If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the Lord, before the priests, and the judges who will be in office in those days. The judges shall investigate thoroughly and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him just as he has intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. The rest will hear and be afraid and will never again do such an evil thing amongst you. Thus you shall not show pity, life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. In other words, perjury, folks, was such a significant crime that no mercy was to be shown to a false witness. The false witness received the appropriate punishment designed for the alleged crime, even if it was death for a capital crime. Now I hope that this background helps you to see how important the ninth commandment really is. The entire legal system of God's people depended upon obedience to this particular commandment. But the challenge for us, and it is a challenge, the challenge for us in studying this commandment is to understand how it applies to us. After all, most of us would never think of lying under oath in a court of law. In fact, the majority of us will probably never even find ourselves having to take the witness stand in a court of law. So what relevance does this Ninth Commandment about perjury, what relevance does it have in our lives? Well, the Ninth Commandment, like all the other commandments, is exceedingly broad. It isn't limited to formal courtroom settings. In principle, this commandment addresses, note this, every kind of false report, every lie, evil speech against someone else. Not simply those given while under oath. You've got to think bigger than that. You see, the ninth commandment is God's way of confronting us with the way we talk about other people. One Bible teacher explained the spirit of this commandment this way. He said, this commandment tackles us in the ebb and flow of life at home, in the community, and at church. It is here that we come face to face with our proneness to engage in false judgments and unfair criticism, to use flattery, and to join the harmful whisper society that trades in juicy rumors. In other words, you and I are guilty of violating the Ninth Commandment every time we speak against someone, regardless of whether or not we are speaking under oath. And in even a broader sense, the Ninth Commandment addresses the all-encompassing issues of integrity, and truthfulness. See, the ninth commandment calls us to be truthful in all areas of life, but especially in dealing with people and their reputations. So this is a very, very significant commandment. It's a painful commandment. It's a convicting commandment because it deals with something we all struggle with and that struggle is the sins of the tongue, the sins of our speech, our verbal communication. James tells us that no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil and it is full of deadly poison. But regardless of how painful it is to be confronted and convicted by the truth, we need to hear what God says, we need to be reproved by His Word, we need to repent of our sin, and then we need to make the necessary changes in order to obey Him. Therefore, just as we found it helpful to ask questions in relation to each of the previous Commandments we've studied so today. I offer two questions to help us to understand this ninth commandment with the first question being this In what ways are we guilty of speaking against others? In what ways are we guilty of speaking against others now right at the start of getting into our text? It is important to understand that the heart is The goal, the main objective of the Ninth Commandment is to prevent destroying or damaging someone's reputation. That is the very soul and core of this commandment, to prevent us from damaging or destroying someone else's reputation. Although this commandment, obviously it involves the issue of lying, but the primary concern of the Ninth Commandment is that we are not to tear down our neighbor's reputation. You see, to bear false witness against a neighbor in a court of law was to diminish that individual's standing in the community. It was to lie about them with the intent of bringing harm to them by destroying their good name. But as I mentioned to you earlier, this commandment isn't limited to a court of law. It deals with the wider principle of attacking and defaming someone's character by speaking falsely and negatively against them in any context of life. We can do this in a number of ways. However, before we look at the ways our speech can damage others, we need to first understand the depth, the seriousness, the gravity of this type of sin. It is not a matter to be taken lightly. In John chapter 8 verse 44 we read that Jesus, in confronting those who opposed him, explained why they did not understand his word. Here's what he said, you are of your father the devil and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Now, I want you to notice that Jesus called Satan both a murderer and a liar. He specifically linked the devil's murders with his lies. Why? Because murder and lying go hand in hand. You see, the moral evil of murder is really no different from the moral evil of lying. They both have the same goal. That goal is to destroy someone. When you murder someone, you destroy their physical life. But when you lie about someone, you assassinate their character. Now listen very closely. The sin of bearing false witness against someone is a satanic sin. And that's because you and I are never more like the devil than when we bring false accusations and speak evil of others. Because like the devil, we have murderous intent in our hearts. Revelation 12 refers to Satan as the accuser of the brethren. Why? Because he accuses us before God with all kinds of charges of evil and wickedness. And whenever we falsely accuse others of sin or character flaws, we become instruments in the hands of Satan. In fact, the New Testament writer James, he describes the uncontrolled tongue as, James 3.6, having a direct pipeline to hell. Here's what James 3.6 says, the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity. A tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body and sets on fire the course of our life and is set on fire by hell. In other words, the tongue can be fueled by hell's destructive powers. So speaking evil of someone, it is a grave sin, it is a serious sin, it is a devilish sin that needs to be exposed and then repented of. Therefore, it is important for us to know the specific ways that we are guilty of bearing false witness against others. There are two of them, two ways that stand out. The most obvious way that we speak against others is when we slander someone. So what does it mean to slander an individual? It simply means to lie about someone's character or conduct. The Puritan Thomas Watson wrote, the scorpion carries his poison in his tail. The slander carries his in his tongue. And it's because of the severe damage that can come from a slanderous tongue that God tells us that He absolutely hates it. Proverbs chapter 6, starting in verse 16, tells us this. We read this, There are six things which the Lord hates, yet seven which are abomination to Him, haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, and false witness, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife amongst brothers. And listen, no one is immune from being slandered, regardless of how godly your character might be. And that's because Satan's goal is to destroy you. Satan's goal is to destroy your good name. Satan's goal is to destroy your good name, and he uses the slander of others to try to do this. Both Jesus and that great man of God, John the Baptist, suffered slander against their character. Jesus said this in Matthew chapter 11, starting in verse 16. But to what shall I compare this generation? It's like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to the other children and say, we played the flute for you, and you didn't dance. We sang a dirge, and you didn't mourn. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say he has a demon. The son of man is referring to himself. The son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners, yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. So what the Lord is saying is that these people, this generation he's referring to, were so determined to defame his character and John the Baptist's character that they actually slandered them, but for opposite reasons. Nothing satisfied them. John was falsely accused of being demonic. Why? Because he abstained from certain foods and alcohol. While Jesus was falsely accused of being gluttonous and a drunkard. Why? Because he ate everything permissible under the law and he drank wine. In addition, The Apostle Paul, that godly man, the Apostle Paul, he experienced slander throughout his ministry. In fact, in his letter to the Corinthians, the second letter, he reveals the many slanderous accusations that were made against him by false teachers. Listen to what they said about Paul, the great Paul. They accused him of being immoral, a liar, a false apostle, a crook, and a deceiver. In Romans 3, 8, Paul said that some even slandered him by misrepresenting his teaching. He wrote, and why not say, as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say, let us do evil that good may come, their condemnation is just. But listen, even though slander is so devilish and so evil, it's something that happens, note this, far too often amongst Christians. At times, we are very quick to accuse people of sinful behavior without ever personally talking to them in order to verify if our accusations are even true. Over the years, I have seen overly critical church members accuse their spiritual leaders of all kinds of sins that just were not valid. And I've observed others who sinfully judge people's motives and, as a result, impugn their character. But more often than overt slander, Christians tend to be extremely subtle, not very obvious in the way we slander others. So that, as I said, our slander is not that evident, not that obvious. We do this when we make insinuations against others in the form of questions. We're just asking questions. Is he really that spiritual that he qualifies for this position in the church? Why would she do something that foolish? Wasn't he unfriendly and aloof by not greeting me? Once again, when you slander with insinuating questions, you are acting just like Satan. Because this is exactly how he acts. This was his precise method with Job, the Old Testament character Job. He asked God, does Job fear God for nothing? Job 1 chapter 9. Now this is an insinuating, well-crafted slander. And it was a slander not only against Job, but a slander against God, as the context shows. You see, what Satan did by asking the question, does Job fear God for nothing? He was suggesting that Job's faithfulness and devotion to God was only because God prospered and blessed Job. So what he was really saying was if If God were to remove his blessings from Job, then Job would curse God to his face. In fact, that's what he did say in chapter 1 verse 11. In other words, what he was telling God was that Job only loves you for what you give him, for what he can get out of you. You aren't worthy of his love and devotion just for who you are. You have to bribe him with your blessings. That's who you are. Now, this is how serious slander is, because it is an attack against someone's character. And in this case, it was Job's character, as well as an attack against God's character. So, if you are guilty of slandering others by saying evil things against them that simply are not true, then you just need to stop it immediately. Now. And repent of this. and ask the forgiveness of those you have slandered, as well as the forgiveness of the Lord, and begin to change the way you think and speak about others. We'll talk about this in just a few minutes. Be careful about being overly critical of others and drawing conclusions about people when you don't have all the facts and all the information. And we all tend to do this. We're very quick to be critical. In addition to slander, another way that we speak against others is by the sin of gossip. The Apostle Paul spoke against those who, he said in 1 Timothy 5.13, those who go from house to house, gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to even mention. And when Paul describes In Romans chapter 1, he describes the wicked sins of the ancient pagan world that rejected God, though they knew about him. He lumps the sin of gossip with such wickedness as greed, envy, strife, deceit, malice, slanders, arrogance, disobedience to parents. So God very clearly condemns gossip. The question is, what exactly is gossip? What is it? Why is it so wrong? Why is gossip so wrong? See, slander, let's back up, slander involves telling lies about someone. We know that's clearly wrong because it's a lie. But gossip has to do with spreading negative information about someone that may or may not be true. In other words, even if what you have to say about someone is true, if you pass that information on to others, note this, with the intention of being harmful, hurtful, rather than helpful, rather than beneficial, you are guilty of the sin of gossip. There is probably no sin that is more common amongst Christians than the sin of gossip. And yet rarely is this sin confronted in churches. But scripture often meets gossip head-on, and it does confront it as sin. And we'll confront it this morning. For example, we read in Proverbs 20, verse 19, He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with the gossip. Again, in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 20, Paul tells the Corinthians that he is concerned that when he arrives at Corinth, he might have to exercise church discipline if they are guilty of the following sins, strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, and disturbances. And one of the qualifications for being a deaconess in a local church is that she must not be a malicious gossip. In 2 Timothy 3, Paul characterizes the last days, he said, as a world filled with malicious gossips. Now, it might help you to get a handle on what gossip actually is if you knew that one of the Greek words that's translated gossip means whisperer. Whisperer, someone who whispers a bit of juicy information about someone to another person. Did you know this about this person? Now, I don't want you telling anybody else about this, but I just heard. I don't believe it's true, but I heard this. Or the more spiritual sounding form of gossip, I'm only telling you this so you can pray about it. Listen, if you hear something negative about someone and pass it on unnecessarily, to others, then you have sinned against that person by destroying their reputation, which is the very spirit of the ninth commandment. And by unnecessarily, let me explain, I mean that the other person isn't part of the problem or the solution. Now, a helpful biblical guideline in determining what we should or shouldn't say about others, it's found in James chapter 4, verse 11, where we read, Do not speak against one another, brethren. That's rather blunt and clear. Do not speak against one another, brethren. Now, James, listen, James isn't saying that we shouldn't confront others about sin in their lives or that there's no place to say anything negative about someone if, for example, you are evaluating them for a ministry position, as elders often have to do, or discussing with someone how to help someone who's in sin, you have to talk about that. And certainly there are times when it is appropriate to expose someone's sin to keep others from being hurt by this person. But what James is forbidding, note this, is running down someone else with careless, derogatory, and critical comments that have no beneficial effect on anyone. They're just unnecessary. You don't have to say it. In fact, this verse in the original Greek literally says, do not speak down on one another, brothers. In other words, don't verbally run someone down. Don't put someone down, regardless of whether it's true or not. Kent Hughes commenting on James 411, he wrote this. He said, certainly no Christian should ever be a party to slander making false charges against another's reputation, yet some do. But even more penetrating is the challenge to refrain from any speech that intends to run down someone else, even if it is totally true. Personally, I can think of few commands that go against commonly accepted conventions more than this. For most people, think it's OK to convey negative information if it's true. We understand that lying is immoral, but is passing along damaging truth immoral? It seems almost a moral responsibility. By such reasoning, criticism behind another's back is the thought to be alright as long as it is based on fact. Likewise, Denigrating gossip is seen as okay if the information is true. Thus, many believers use truth as a license to righteously diminish others' reputations. I couldn't say it any better. Now, I find this terribly convicting because in my flesh, I naturally enjoy finding fault with others and talking negatively about them. And I'm sure that I'm not the only one. If I am, I'm in big trouble. I don't think I'm the only one. In fact, if you're honest, you'd have to admit to yourself that you secretly delight in the sins of others. As someone put it, there's something perverse in fallen human nature that makes us delight in talking about or hearing about other people's sins. He's right. In fact, scripture actually tells us that we delight in this kind of stuff. It isn't just me, it's all of us. Proverbs 18.8, the words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels. They go down into the innermost parts of the body. We enjoy this. So this is true of you. If you're guilty of a critical tongue that enjoys negative talk about others, then you need to see it as the devilish sin that it really is and then change. But before you can change, you need to understand the real reasons behind slanderous, gossipy, negative talk so that you can attack it at its root and not just its symptoms. So, why do we say things, why do we say negative things to damage other people's reputation? Well, for a number of reasons. Sometimes we're motivated by revenge. It's just a desire to strike back at someone who hurt us, so we say negative things about them to others. Sometimes we run others down in our speech in order to exalt ourselves, to feel good about ourselves because we didn't do that. The Bible refers to this as self-righteous pride, thinking that we're better than others, like the Pharisee who thanked God that he wasn't like, you know, other people, the riffraff of society. Sometimes we end up talking negatively about others because we're simply jealous of their successes and we want to bring them down a notch. Whatever your motivation might be for slander, gossip, or just negative talk about others, you need to recognize it as sin and repent of it at its root level. And the Bible addresses all of these issues. For example, if you struggle with speaking out of revenge, then Romans chapter 12 has the answer for you. The answer is that let God deal with that person. Vengeance belongs to Him, not us. If you struggle with exalting yourself, then work on being a servant and putting others ahead of yourself and praying for them. If it's jealousy that you battle with and recognize that God's sovereign purposes in your life are different than His sovereign purpose in this other individual's life, then start thanking Him for what He has given you, not for what He hasn't. Listen, every struggle you have when it comes to why you would speak out against someone, it is addressed by the Word of God. The Scripture is sufficient to deal with this, and you need to implement these truths and apply them to your life. So, the first question that helps us to understand the spirit and intent and soul and core and objective of the ninth commandment is in what ways are we guilty of speaking against others? The answer? by slander and gossip and negative talk that runs down others with our speech. So let me reiterate, according to scripture, no believer is to unnecessarily, and that's the key, unnecessarily talk negatively about an individual to someone else. If they're not part of the problem or the solution, you don't need to speak to them about this person. If you have a personal problem with the individual, then go to that person and communicate your problem and resolve the issue. You are not to spread negative talk about another person. And if someone comes to you with negative talk about someone else, then you are to stop them and not pass it on. Stop them. It's not appropriate. I don't want to hear this. If you don't do this, then you are behaving like Satan and you are guilty of character assassination. Now, I said there were two questions. The second question, which helps us to understand the ninth commandment, is what is the positive virtue we need to cultivate in order to obey this commandment? What's the positive virtue of this commandment? The positive virtue that we need to obey and cultivate. Though like many of the Ten Commandments, the ninth one is presented in a negative form, you shall not bear false witness, it also has an important positive message. So if the essence If the intent of this commandment is that we are not to damage anyone's reputation, then the positive virtue that we need to cultivate in this regard is that we are to do everything we can to protect and even enhance the reputation of others. In other words, it's not enough that we refrain from lying about our neighbor or passing on truthful but unnecessary damaging information about them to others. The real issue is what can we do to guard their names from being damaged? And the Bible gives several tangible ways to guard the reputation of others. First of all, you need to be an individual who is committed to speaking the truth as a way of life. There ought to be no question in your mind when faced with issues of what you're going to say, because you're going to speak truth. Paul wrote in Ephesians 4.25, Therefore, laying aside falsehood, the apostle said, speak truth one with another, each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Now, according to Paul, Now that you are a Christian, if indeed you know Christ as your Savior and Lord, you are to lay aside your old sinful behavior of speaking falsehood. That's how you used to live. And that certainly would include lying, but also deceitfulness, even exaggerating comes under this, this category of falsehood. Instead, you are always to speak the truth. Speak the truth when you communicate with others. You speak in all walks of life, every walk of life, in a court of law, in your business practice, at home, at school, at church, everywhere. There is never any justification for lying for a believer. We don't lie. Lying is always morally wrong. Why? Because lying is contrary to God's moral character. Titus chapter 1 verse 2 describes God as a God who cannot lie. And people say, is there anything God can't do? Yes, He cannot lie. He can't sin. Hebrews 6, 18 says, it is impossible for God to lie. And I remind you, Jesus said He was the truth. He also said that God's word is truth. So we must be committed as his followers to always speak truth about anyone or anything. Secondly, guard your neighbor's reputation by personally confronting them when you see sin in their life. I know it's awkward to do, but it is what we're supposed to do. You need to privately confront them before it spreads, before their sin expands and others know about it. This is precisely what Jesus said in Matthew 18, 15. If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private. If he listens to you, meaning if he repents, then you've won your brother. So according to Jesus, the goal of this Confrontation is to restore someone to fellowship by their repentance. In other words, if you really want to help someone's reputation, then address their sin to them privately. Do it out of love so that they will repent and not damage their name before others. Do it before it spreads. Third way to guard your neighbor's name is by refusing to speak about their sin to others. Proverbs 17.9 says, He who conceals a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends. In other words, if you love that person, then you won't tell others about their sin. Instead, you will conceal it and you will protect their reputation. Folks, do you love people enough to protect their reputation? I hope so. Is their reputation safe with you? We all know about people who have done things that are just wrong or they're thoughtless, they're insensitive, they've hurt us. You don't need to tell others about that. Love them enough to keep it to yourself. Many of us have had over the years the painful experience of what we call in our culture being knifed in the back by people we trusted with personal information about ourselves. People who we thought were our friends and we shared stuff with them. but they really were not our friends, and they did not love us like we thought. Be careful. This is why 1 Peter 4, 8 says, above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. We demonstrate our love for others by putting a blanket, that's the thought here, cover it up, put a blanket over their sin, not exposing it so that others can see it. Just cover it up. So if you know something negative about someone, then out of love, keep it to yourself. If it's a serious thing, then go to them and confront them. But so many of these things are kind of piddly stuff that bothers us. It's not church-disciplined stuff. Just cover it. Just cover it. The fourth way to protect someone's reputation is to refuse to listen to those who come to you with negative talk about someone else. That means that if someone comes to you with gossipy stuff about someone, then you just have to stop them in their tracks and remind them that it isn't appropriate. Do you realize how easy it is to destroy someone's entire reputation by receiving this kind of stuff? By listening to other people. All it takes is for one person to tell you something bad about someone else and for the rest of your life, their character is tainted in your mind. Because you heard this. This negative thing about them. So, stop people from gossiping to you before they destroy someone's character in the way you think. about them. Folks, the ninth commandment is such an important one to understand because it is just so easy for us to break without even realizing it. It is like the pastime of Christians to be negative about others. The world can do that. We should not. The way to make sure that you obey this commandment is by loving others enough to not damage them. When you love others, you will speak well of them. The Bible says, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Let that sink in. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So whatever is in your heart, whatever is in your mind, it's going to come out of your mouth. The problem is that all of us have evil in our hearts. Therefore, at times we can easily hate others. And therefore we speak ill of them. The only way we can ever overcome this hatred is by coming to Christ for salvation. And in saving us, here's what He does. He not only forgives your sin, He transforms your heart. And He gives you the capacity to love others. You see, we were all born with sinful natures, and therefore we have all committed slander and gossip, which means we have all broken the ninth commandment. The good news, though, is that when Jesus died, he paid the legal guilt of the sinner's slander and gossip. And when we repent of our sin, And when we turn to Christ for salvation, as I said, He not only forgives our sins, He not only transforms our character, but He also puts on our account, He reckons to us, He imputes to us, He credits us with His legal righteousness, His perfect obedience. So if you have never placed your faith in Christ and received his forgiveness and his righteousness, then I urge you to do so right now, right where you are. Otherwise, you will continue to be condemned before a holy God. And if you die in that state, you will be punished forever and ever in hell. But for those of you who have placed your faith in Christ, And you know the wonders of His grace in forgiving you for all the times you have lied, all the times you have slandered others, all the times you have gossiped about others. You need to thank Him and praise Him because He has forgiven you for all of those sins. On the cross, Christ died for our slanderous, gossipy mouths. Let's stand for closing prayer. Father, we thank you. Thank you for what we've heard today, painful, convicting, reproving, but also helpful. Lord, may we be those who confess and repent of our sin and not cover them up. May we change our habits so that we speak words that are delightful, words that are edifying, words that are wholesome, words that please you and enhance people's character, reputation. I pray, Lord, for anyone here who has never trusted Christ. May the Spirit of God convict them and bring them to salvation. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.