A Note from Michael Gossett | January 16, 2026
A Better Word
Exodus 20:16 says, “Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.”
The concept of truth has been dying a slow death for many years now, and that death has become more noticeable in the past decade or so. In the early 2000s, comedian Stephen Colbert picked up on this cultural phenomenon by coining the term “truthiness,” which went on to become Merriam-Webster’s word of the year in 2006. A decade later, in the wake of our presidential election and accusations across the political spectrum about “fake news,” Oxford Dictionaries named “post-truth” its word of the year. Shortly after that, we heard phrases like “alternative facts” enter our vocabulary. Time magazine ran a cover asking, “Is Truth Dead?” And in 2018, during a nationally televised interview, we heard the remarkable claim that “truth isn’t truth.”
George Orwell once wrote, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” If that is true, then we are living in revolutionary times. And in such times, we desperately need to hear what the Lord has to say about truth.
More Than “Do Not Lie”
We often reduce this commandment to the simplest phrase, “Do not lie.” That is certainly part of what God requires here, but there is more going on beneath the surface. The word “testimony” or “witness” in this commandment points us to a courtroom setting. In ancient Israel, a false witness in a legal proceeding could destroy an innocent person’s life, livelihood, or reputation. The stakes were incredibly high.
But as we have seen throughout our journey in the Ten Commandments, there is always more than what appears on the surface. Jesus Himself, in Matthew 5, takes this commandment beyond the oaths of the courtroom and applies it to all manner of falsehood in our lives. The Ninth Commandment does not merely prohibit perjury, but governs the way we speak about one another in every setting, whether in a courtroom, a living room, a break room, or a group text.
David wrote in Psalm 116:11, “I said in my alarm, ‘All mankind are liars.’” That is a terrible and sweeping indictment against everyone who ever lived and is living today. It means none of us can dismiss this commandment as irrelevant to our lives. We are all implicated here. Every single one of us.
So what does it look like to bear false witness? And what does it look like to be a true witness instead?
What a False Witness Allows
The second half of the Ten Commandments addresses the ethical responsibilities that govern our relationships with others, often described as our horizontal relationships. The first four commandments establish our fundamental obligations toward God; from this theological foundation flows a rightly ordered love for our neighbor. Though this section begins with the Fifth Commandment, it is not until the Ninth Commandment that the word “neighbor” is explicitly mentioned. This is significant. It suggests that one of the truest tests of whether we actually love our neighbor is found in how we speak about them. When we become false witnesses, we endorse four destructive practices: slander, gossip, betrayal, and deception.
Slander
Slander is the open, intentional sharing of damaging information about another person. As one pastor has put it, slander is the triple play of sinful talk because it harms the speaker, the hearer, and the one being spoken about. Three victims with one swing of the tongue.
It is no coincidence that the Greek word for Satan literally means “slanderer.” When we slander others, we are doing the devil’s work with our mouths. The Puritan theologian Thomas Watson put it bluntly: “To pretend to be a friend to someone, and then to slander him, is most abhorrent.”
The prophet Jeremiah experienced this firsthand. His enemies said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah… let us strike him with the tongue” (Jeremiah 18:18). The tongue is a weapon, and slander wields it with deadly intent.
James warns us that “no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). Augustine went so far as to say, “The tongue inflicts greater wounds than the sword.” This is why Paul commands the church at Ephesus to let “all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31). Unrepentant slander is one of the surest ways to cause division in your relationships and within the church.
Gossip
Slander has a close relative, and her name is gossip. Paul warned Timothy about those who “learn to be idle, going from house to house; they are not only idle, but are also gossips and busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t say” (1 Timothy 5:13). Some today would try to justify gossip, suggesting that talking behind people’s backs can actually promote cooperation and self-improvement. This is a tragic misunderstanding. Here is the difference between slander and gossip. Slander is passing along information that is not true. Gossip is passing along information that may or may not be true but is certainly not edifying. The information might be accurate, but that does not make it helpful to you, to the person hearing it, or to the person you are talking about.
Proverbs 18:8 says, “A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being.” This is what makes gossip so dangerous. It tastes good going down. It feels satisfying in the moment. But make no mistake: it is poison for your soul. Before you share or receive information about another person, ask yourself three questions. First, is it true? If you do not know whether the information is accurate, stop right there. Second, is it necessary? Does this person actually need to know this? Third, is it edifying? Will this conversation build up or tear down? If you cannot answer yes to all three questions, the information does not need to be shared.
Betrayal
When you think about slander and gossip, it is easy to connect them to betrayal. But betrayal goes a step further. Betrayal is intentionally using information that has been given to you in confidence for the purpose of self-advancement or another person’s harm. Slander and gossip usually involve taking information for your own benefit. Betrayal takes information for someone else’s destruction. It breaks confidence. It weaponizes trust.
And we must understand that when we lie, slander, gossip, or betray, we are not only sinning against other people. We are sinning against God Himself. When Ananias and Sapphira lied to the early church about their offering, Peter confronted them directly: “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?” (Acts 5:3). Their betrayal was not merely horizontal. It was an offense against the Spirit of God.
Deception
Deception is the common denominator of all false testimony. It is the thread that runs through slander, gossip, and betrayal alike. And deception always causes harm, no matter how small it may seem. Not one lie, no matter its size, can stand in isolation. If there is one lie, there must be others to sustain it. Lies breed more lies.
Philip Ryken captures our situation well: “We all know that lying is wrong; yet we are so used to massaging the truth for personal advantage that we have trouble holding the line against falsehood.” The first act of deception in Scripture comes from the serpent in the garden. “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). Satan twisted God’s words for the purpose of deceiving Eve. How often are we guilty of the same thing? We twist stories and words for our own benefit. We exaggerate our accomplishments. We one-up the stories of others. We make ourselves look better than we really are. All of it is deception, and all of it separates us from the God who is truth.
The Heidelberg Catechism, written in 1563, asks in Question 112, “What is the aim of the ninth commandment?” The answer is profound: “That I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one’s words, nor gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone rashly or without a hearing. Rather, in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are the very devices the devil uses, and they would call down on me God’s intense wrath. I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor’s good name.”
That is what it looks like to move from false witness to true witness.
What a True Witness Encourages
If a false witness endorses slander, gossip, betrayal, and deception, what does a true witness encourage? Three things: authenticity, community, and salvation.
Authenticity
We are called to live our lives in such a way that genuineness is apparent to everyone around us. Authenticity requires us to lay down slander, gossip, betrayal, deception, exaggeration, and every form of false or corrupt speech.
In the Old Testament, a covenant would often be authenticated by setting up a pillar of stones. These served as boundary markers and as a testimony to the truth of what had been agreed upon. People could point to the pillar and say, “This is the truth of our covenant.”
But what authenticates our testimony today? We do not set up piles of stones anymore. The witness we have is authenticated by the Word of God and by the Spirit of God. Jesus said, “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true” (John 5:31). Our lives must be validated by something greater than ourselves.
Here is the caution for us. If we are living as false witnesses, we are not simply diminishing truth from our lives. We are separating ourselves from the Lord. When your life is entrenched in lies, you will be miserable because the Spirit of God cannot flourish in a heart that is devoted to deception. Unrepentant lies and deception will only lead you to greater despair.
Some of you reading this right now are living a life of lies. Your family does not know. Your coworkers do not know. Your church does not know. But the One who truly matters knows everything. And He is calling you to repentance today. Remember, lies cannot exist in isolation, but they also do not infect in isolation. The damage will always extend beyond yourself.
Community
Paul writes, “Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another” (Ephesians 4:25). Notice the reason Paul gives. We are to speak truth to one another because we are members of one another. We belong to each other. We are bound together by the Spirit of God.
If deception diminishes the work of the Spirit in the individual, then it will surely diminish the connection between believers. The only binding agent that holds us together as a church is the Spirit of God. The only reason we can live in genuine community with one another is because of His work among us. And as soon as we participate in slander, gossip, betrayal, or deception of any kind, we invite division to enter.
People sometimes blame music or preferences or programs for division in the church. But let me remind you: it is the way we talk about these things to one another that causes division. It is the way we speak about God’s church and God’s people that tears apart what the Spirit is trying to build. This is what Paul warns us about. This is what Jesus warns us about. And so it is our obligation to participate in the protection of the bride of Christ by speaking truth with and about one another.
Lewis Smedes said it well: “Truthfulness is an invisible fiber that holds people together in humane community.”
Salvation
Every follower of Jesus has been given a command. In Matthew 28, Jesus tells His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that He has commanded. We are called to obey and proclaim all truth.
The world will see Christ when you and I are living the truth of the gospel out in our daily lives. Jesus said to His disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The result of being a witness of truth is that we will point people to the One who can save them, the One who is Himself the Truth.
Our words must reflect Christ. A false witness works on behalf of Satan. A true witness works on behalf of Jesus. When people see the truth of Jesus in your life and hear it on your lips, it opens the door for them to know Him as Lord and Savior.
Paul writes in Romans 10:14-15, “How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”
Here is the question that should really challenge us: Why would the world trust us to speak truthfully about matters of life and death if we cannot even handle being a true witness in the smaller things? Protect your words. Protect your witness. Protect the gospel. Live in the Spirit and tell others the good news of Christ.
A Prayer for Today
Father in Heaven,
We confess that we have not always guarded our tongues. We have spoken carelessly about others. We have passed along information we should have kept to ourselves. We have exaggerated, twisted the truth, and made ourselves look better than we really are. Forgive us, Lord.
Help us to see the weight of our words. Remind us that our speech has the power to build up or tear down, to heal or to wound, to point people toward You or to push them away. Make us people of truth in a world drowning in deception.
Thank You that Jesus is the Truth, and that in Him we find forgiveness for every lie we have ever told. Thank You that Your Spirit dwells in us and empowers us to live differently. Give us the courage to speak honestly, even when it costs us. Give us the humility to guard the reputation of others as carefully as we guard our own.
Bind us together as a church through truthful, loving speech. Protect us from the division that gossip and slander bring. And use our witness, flawed as it is, to point a lost world to the Savior who never spoke a false word.
In the name of Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, we pray. Amen.
We would love for you to join us this Wednesday evening from 6-7pm for our weekly prayer gathering. We will spend time seeking the Lord together, lifting up one another, praying for our community, and asking God to move in and through our church for His glory.
If you have never come to a prayer gathering before, this is a wonderful time to start. There is no pressure to pray out loud if it feels uncomfortable. You are welcome to simply come, listen, and agree in your heart with the prayers being offered. What matters is that we are together, united before the throne of grace.
Come as you are. Bring your tired heart, your anxious thoughts, your grateful spirit, or all of the above. We will meet you there, and more importantly, the Lord will meet us there.
This Sunday we continue our journey through the Gospel of Luke with a message called “A Foretaste of Glory” from Luke 9:28-36. Lanny Bridges will be preaching at the Tyler Campus this Sunday and will be simulcast to Flint for both services.
I will not be with you this Sunday, but I want to share with you why. This week I am traveling to Southeast Asia to spend time training and encouraging around 250 pastors at a Pastor’s Training Conference. These are faithful men who are laboring for the gospel in hard places, and it is a profound privilege to come alongside them.
During our time together, I will be teaching on the following topics: 1.) What is the Gospel?, 2.) Why Church Membership is Important and Necessary, 3.) How to Practice the Ordinances Faithfully, 4.) Discipleship in the Local Church, 5.) A Pastor’s Prayer Life, and 6.) Pastoral Leadership. We will also be conducting door-to-door evangelism and hosting nights of prayer for the communities.
Would you pray for these pastors and for our time together? Pray that the Lord would strengthen and encourage them in their ministries. Pray that the training would be clear, biblical, and immediately useful in their contexts. Pray for safe travel and for open hearts to receive the Word. And pray that the gospel would continue to advance through their faithful witness in Southeast Asia.
I am grateful for a church that not only sends but also supports and prays. Thank you for being that kind of church. I look forward to being back with you next week as I preach from Luke 9:37-43.
You are loved and prayed for!
Michael Gossett