The whole truth?
Acts 5:1-11; Exodus 20:16; Matthew 5:33-37

Near the beginning of the book of Acts, in Acts ch. 4, we are given a wonderful picture of how the early Christians cared for each other in material ways. They were one in heart and mind. They shared all their material goods with one another. There was no one needy among them, because whenever a need arose someone in the church would sell a house or a piece of property and bring the money to the Apostles. And the Apostles would give the money to those who had needs. It is a wonderful picture of Christian community at its best.

Then we come to Acts 5. The story of Ananias and Sapphira still has the power to seize us with fear. It is a frightening story.

What was the terrible sin of Annanias and Sapphira?

(1) First let's be clear on what it was not. Peter makes it perfectly clear that it was not the money they kept. The property was theirs -- they had no obligation to sell it. And once they sold it, they had no obligation to give the money to the church. Their sin has nothing to do with the money. Breathe easy -- you will probably not be struck dead for failing to empty your bank account into the offering plate.

(2) What was this terrible sin that merited the immediate death penalty with no opportunity for appeal? We would call it a white lie. In fact we probably wouldn't even call it a lie at all. It's not clear that Ananias ever actually said anything about the money. He sold property, he held some money back -- a perfectly reasonable and prudent thing to do -- and he brought the rest to the Apostles. Then just for allowing a false impression to stand he dies.

Why? What is so terrible about a little white lie? His lie didn't hurt anyone. There was nothing malicious about it. He didn't steal from the offering plate. He didn't slander anyone. Yet God strikes him dead.

It's hard to fit this story togeher with our usual way of thinking about lies. We generally divide lies according to seriousness. And lies that don't matter much we call white lies. Someone phones for you. You're not up to talking. You yell down the stairs "Tell them I'm not in." White lie. After church someone bares his soul to you. Your tired. You want to end the conversation so you say, "Thanks for sharing that with me. I'll pray for you this week." White lie. My neighbor was looking for a job. A few weeks ago she came up to me beaming. Thanks so much, she said, for putting in a word for me. She thought I had gotten her an interview. I never put in a word for her. I have no influence. But I let it pass. What was the point of making a big deal of it? White lie.

We usually think of lying as wrong in proportion to the damage it does. Lying that really hurts someone else -- that's a serious sin. But small lies can be innocent and excusable -- even necessary. So we set up a hierarchy of lies. There are bad lies and not so bad lies. Some people would even claim there are good and loving lies. Not all lies are equal.

When we read the 9th commandment, it reinforces this impression. The 9th commandment does not say "Do not lie." God could have said that. But He doesn't. Exodus 20:16 says, "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." This is not a blanket rule prohibition of lying. This is about perjury -- lying under oath in a court case.

So let's narrow our focus and just talk about perjury. Unlike casual lying, perjury is universally agreed to be bad. So why do people do it? Why is it an issue?

Imagine yourself a defendant in court. Let's make it a minor violation. You were caught speeding. I'll be the judge. You are the defendant. So I call you up. Your charged with going 50 in a 25 mph zone. Your ticket amount? $250. What do you have to say for yourself? "Your honor, I didn't see any 25 mph speed limit sign. Maybe I was a bit over he limit. But I am sure I looked at my speedometer and I was going exactly 37 mph. There must have been something wrong with the radar."

Why do you lie? Two ingredients go into it:

(1) The truth would hurt. It would just not do for the judge to know that you were actually going 65, that you travel that route every day. The truth is not your friend. The truth is your enemy. It will shame you, it will condemn you and it will cost you $250. So you lie.

First reason for perjury: the truth costs. So we try to manipulate or evade it by lying. There's another ingredient to perjury:

(2) We think we can get away with it. The judge was not in the car when you were speeding -- and he cannot read your mind. He has limited information. And the officer who stopped you might have made a mistake, or he may not remember clearly, or best of all, he might not show for the hearing.

The incentives for perjury are rather strong. So our legal system takes great pains to try to combat perjury by persuading us (1) that we will not get away with it and (2) that the cost of perjury will be higher than the cost of telling the truth. And the tool we use to do that is oaths. When someone gives testimony we force them to make a solemn oath: I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God. And we have people place their hand on a Bible, to emphasize that this is a sacred oath before God.

So both in the Old Testament and in our experience we have this distinction between speaking "under oath" and normal speech. And this corresponds nicely to our casual idea that not all lies are equal -- there are serious lies and not so serious lies. Lying under oath is serious. Other lies are not quite so serious. We saw this distinction come into play with the accusations against the President. The issue was not that the President was accused of lying. The issue was lying under oath .

Now if we turn to the New Testament, it turns out that Jesus has something to say on this subject of oaths. Matthew 5:33-37:

Again,you have heard that it was said to the people long go, "Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord." But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the ciy of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your "Yes" be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

(James echoes Jesus with almost identical words. James 5:12: Above all, my brothers, do not swear -- not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.)

Jesus gives two instructions here about oaths. The first is negative, "do not swear at all." The second is the positive alternative, "Simply let your 'yes' be 'yes' an your 'no', 'no.'"

What does Jesus mean? Some Christians have taken Jesus command to mean that Christians should never take the witness stand -- that we aren't suppose to testify under oath at all. In fact, he's saying just about the opposite -- we are to act as though we are never off the witness stand. This is not a lowering the significance of oaths -- it's an elevation of the significance of every day words. Jesus abolishes the distinction between testifying under oath and normal speech. From now on, he says, every word you speak should be as if you were under oath. From now on when you say to your wife, "I'll be home at 5, honey" you make a promise that is every bit as real as your wedding vows. Let your yes be yes and your no, no. And from now on when you call in sick when you are not sick, it's no different than lying under oath. Let your yes be yes, and your no, no. And from now on when you you tell your professor that the computer crashed in the middle of printing your term paper, you are testifying under oath and in danger of perjuring yourself. Let your yes be yes, and your no, no.

By these words Jesus puts us permanently under oath and on the witness stand. And when a witness takes the stand every word matters. A couple of chapters farther along, Jesus says exactly this: Matthew 12: 36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned.

There are no unimportant words. Every word we say is either good or evil, true or false. We are answerable before God for every casual comment, every clever barb, every subtle deception, every implied promise.

When we look at it through the teaching of Jesus, the 9th commandment requires absolute honesty & integrity. The whole truth and nothing but the truth all the time. He leaves us no wiggle room. There are no white lies. There are no unimportant promises.

How can we possibly live up to this standard?

Matthew 12:33-35 Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and he evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. If we want to address the problem of lying, we have to start with heart issues. Our words reveal our hearts. Our tongues lift the blinds on what is going on on the inside. So we need to attack at the sin of lying at the root.
Carol and I have a terrible weed in our yard that we have struggled to control. It keeps on popping up and spreading. The problem? The roots are deep and we can't seem to get at them. We can control it for a few weeks just by hacking away at it -- but it pops right back.

How do we get at the roots of lying? Think back to the court room. You are on the witness stand. What were the ingredients of perjury -- what will tempt you to lie? Two things: (1) Fear of the truth. The truth will cost -- I don't want to pay the cost, so I lie; (2) The expectation that I can get away with it. These are roots of all lying, and the way to address the problem of lying is to get at these roots.

What can free you from fear of testifying truthfully? Only one thing: immunity from prosecution. If you are promised a complete pardon, there is no longer any reason to hide the truth. This is the secret to South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. And that is the secret of Christian honesty: Those who belong to Jesus have been pardoned. We need not fear the truth. The truth can no longer hurt us because we are forgiven, pardoned, accepted, freed from guilt. I can freely and openly admit my sins, my failures, and my weaknesses and my struggles because I am secure in Jesus. The truth is no longer my enemy.

And what would be a sure antidote for the belief that you can get away with lying? A judge who sees and knows everything and can read your thoughts. Imagine testifying before a judge who could read your mind, who was omniscient. Perjury would be unthinkable and futile. There is nothing that God does not see. The idea that we can get away with lying to God is ridiculous.

I suggest to you two disciplines to help you in fulfill the 9th commandment:

(1) Accept God's pardon through confession of sin. Honest confession is the opposite of perjury. When we confess before God we practice truthfulness in our hearts -- and that truthfulness will find its way to our tongues. But we can only confess freely when we are assured of complete pardon.

(2) Meditate on God's omniscience. He sees everything. Don't play hide and seek with him -- it's not a fair match up.