We may struggle to figure out how much of what we hear is really true. AI can summarize the truth or speak something other than the truth. Regardless of AI and the practice of the world around you, God calls you in Ephesians 4:25–32 to speak the truth.
Do not lie. Put off falsehood. Clear communication is crucial in the military, in business, in marriage, in the family — and in the church. Those who are united to Christ must put off lying, which is a natural response of fallen, sinful mankind. Paul is restating the truth of the Ninth Commandment. God’s law outlines basic principles of justice: judges and public trials were established, Deuteronomy 16:18. Justice was not to be swayed by outside considerations, Exodus 23:1–9. The duty of witnesses was important. There were to be a plurality of witnesses, Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15, and they were to be participants in the judgment, Deuteronomy 17:7. Maliciously false witnesses were to be punished, Deuteronomy 19:16–21. True witness is impossible without the fear of God. Nothing but the truth must be spoken in testimony. Justice needs God’s law, 2 Chronicles 19:6, 7. In an age when the name of God has become an expletive, is it any wonder that the truthfulness, even of sworn testimony, is often in doubt? We are also called to protect one another’s reputations.
“Scarcely one in a hundred will be found who will be as kind in sparing the character of others, as he himself desires to be pardoned for manifest vices; nay, slander is often praised under the pretext of zeal and conscientiousness. Hence it happens that this vice insinuates itself even among the saints, creeping in under the name of virtue.”
John Calvin, Commentary on the Pentateuch, at Exodus 20:16
Love God’s truth in all your life. Paul not only tells you not to lie, he summons you to speak truthfully to one another. You get rid of the bad by replacing it with something good. As God’s people, speak the truth, Ephesians 4:15. Reflect his truthfulness. A Christian’s “yes” should really mean that! Truth-speaking is crucial to growing up into Christ. A functioning society is impossible without truth. Call those around you to the truth. God requires truth in all your relationships. Gossip is forbidden, as is slander, Leviticus 19:16; Proverbs 11:13; Romans 1:29. Go to your brother, instead of speaking to others, Matthew 18:15–17; 5:23, 24. God takes lying seriously, Revelation 22:15. Included are “little white lies.” Children, what do you do when you’ve done something wrong and you mother asks you, “Did you do that?” or “Did you break this?” Instead of lying, remember that God expects you to speak the truth. Adults, examine what comes out of your mouth. Ask yourself, before you speak, whether what you are about to say will build up or tear down, Ephesians 4:29. Notice how the warning against grieving the Spirit is bracketed by admonitions about the tongue. One of the easiest ways to grieve the Holy Spirit is b the misuse of our tongues. False prophecy is an especially serious violation, punishable by death in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 18:20. Many churches today are guilty of this sin–false teaching, denial of the resurrection, etc.
“It is in this sense that we are to understand our Lord when he said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’ He is enunciating the astounding fact that he belongs to the ultimate, the eternal, the absolute, the underived, the complete…. He is distinguished from God and yet identified with him. He is all that God is and yet he is not the only one who is God.”
John Murray, Principles of Conduct, page 124
Be a true witness. Your Lord and the Spirit are witnesses. Jesus is full of grace and truth, John 1:14. He is the fullness of the Old Testament shadows. He is the truth, John 14:6, the only way to God. The truth is identified with Jesus Christ. Christ is the Savior in his prophetic office, not only as priest. He is the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18:18. Peter identifies Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of this prophecy, Acts 3:22, 23. John calls Jesus “the Word,” John 1:1. The author of Hebrews reminds you that God has spoken, finally and definitively, in his Son, Hebrews 1:1,2. He is the faithful and true witness, Revelation 3:14 (and 1:5). You cannot come to the Father without listening to Jesus Christ, without receiving him as the full revelation of God. Christ’s mission was one of truth, John 18:37, 38. His Spirit of truth is in you, his people. The function of the promised Spirit was that of a witness, John 16:7–15. It is explicitly the coming of the Spirit that equips the disciples to be witnesses, Acts 1:8, unfolded throughout the book of Acts. The same Spirit inspired the Scriptures, which serve as a witness to God, Acts 10:42–43.
“Justification, which has its origin in eternity, is realized in the resurrection of Christ and the calling of believers, and is only fully completed when God in the last judgment repeats his sentence of acquittal in the hearing of the whole world and every tongue will have to confess that Christ Lord, to the glory of God the Father…. By the Spirit as pledge and guarantee, they are sealed for the day of their redemption (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13–14; 4:30) and kept for their heavenly inheritance as this is kept for them (1 Pet. 1:4–5).”
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 4, page 227
Be the witness that you are. Telling the truth is not just a matter of guarding your tongue. It involves trust in the one who is the Truth. It involves being filled by the Spirit who enables you to be a witness. You see that in Acts, as the Spirit-filled church continues to do the work of the risen, exalted, ascended Lord. That work certainly included “witnessing” in the way that the term is used in religious circles. But it was broader. It included a life, a way of living that drew questions, that pointed people to the Savior. They, and you, are called to live as transformed people. Be ready to speak. But do more than just talk about yourself and what you have experienced. Our culture is quite ready to grant that people have interesting and unusual experiences–and so what? Use the witness of Scripture as you speak. Depend on the Spirit, who promised to enable you to speak. That Spirit is the one with whom you are sealed for the day of redemption. Witness is something corporate as well. The church gathered in worship, is a witness to the world, 1 Corinthians 14:24–25. That means that how you worship is important. Being present in worship is part of the testimony of Christ to the perishing world. How do you respond when someone has spoken evil against you? Where do you find the grace to forgive? Paul points you to the Lord who has forgiven you.
By nature we used to belong to the one who is the father of lies. But, thank God, his Son has come as the Truth, not only calling you to speak truthfully, but paying for your lying by his suffering and death, and working in you a love for the truth. Speak the truth in love this week!