Sligo Presbyterian Church: Our Congregation and Community
In this blog, we'll focus on the working being done at Sligo Presbyterian Church, Sligo, Pennsylvania. We'll also look at what's happening in Sligo, Rimersburg, Clarion, and all the other communities served by our congregation.
Jesus reframes the ten commandments from a list of external rules into matters of the heart. He taught that true righteousness is not merely about avoiding bad actions, but about harboring pure thoughts and actively demonstrating love for God and humanity. During the months of July, August and September, we’ll consider the Ten Commandments Through the Eyes of Jesus, focusing on the following topics:
On Sunday, September 13, we discussed the Ninth Commandment: Do not tell lies about others. [Exodus 20:16, CEV]Below is a video of the service, a presentation of the sermon, and the bulletin & program for the service. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.
Jesus reframes the ten commandments from a list of external rules into matters of the heart. He taught that true righteousness is not merely about avoiding bad actions, but about harboring pure thoughts and actively demonstrating love for God and humanity. During the months of July, August and September, we're considering the Ten Commandments Through the Eyes of Jesus, focusing on the following topics:
Well, this morning, you can take it to the bank, we’re one week away from finishing this series focusing on the Ten Commandments through the eyes of Jesus. And to this point, we’ve looked at four commandments dealing with our relationship with the Lord, you know, how we should have no other gods and how we shouldn’t worship idols and how we shouldn’t take God’s name in vain while also keeping the Sabbath. And over the last month or so, we’ve been talking about how we should relate to one another by honoring our fathers and mothers and by not committing murder or adultery and by not taking stuff that doesn’t belong to us; in other words, do not steal. Now that’s what we’ve covered. And this morning, we’re moving on to number nine:
Do not tell lies about others. [Exodus 20:16, CEV]
Of course, that’s what “bearing false witness is all about,” you know, telling lies. And even though, based on its original context in Exodus, it sounds like something you’d hear coming from a courtroom, its application expanded beyond the legal to cover things like slander and gossip, deception and fraud, and even choosing to remain silent when you know the truth. In a nutshell, God doesn’t want us to lie, something that Jesus endorsed when he said this to the young man who wanted to know how to receive eternal life: “Do not murder. Be faithful in marriage. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Do not cheat. Respect your father and mother.” [Mark 10:19, CEV] And he also included it in a list of things that ticks off God: But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God. Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. [Matthew 15:18–19, CEV] And so, for Jesus, telling lies ranked right up there with murder, adultery and stealing.
And you know, I think it’s interesting; for us, these “Do Not” Commandments also have something else in common that Jesus really didn’t talk about. You see, in my opinion, they all represent what I call “Loophole Commandments,” and I’m talking about rules that seem pretty obvious on the surface to which we nearly always attach a bunch of loopholes. And I’ll tell you, I think a sure sign of doing that kind of thing is when you start using the word “technically.” For example, one man kills another, but technically it wasn’t murder, because he was just defending himself. A woman develops a pretty passionate relationship online with a man who’s not her husband, but technically she hasn’t committed adultery, because they haven’t actually hooked up. And I’ve taken something that belongs to you, but technically that’s not stealing, because I intend to give it back sometime in the future, you know, before the trumpet sounds and the dead are raised. Do you see what I mean by loopholes? And I’ll tell you, we do the exact kind of thing with lying. It’s like that great line from Seinfeld when George told Jerry, “It’s not a lie if you believe it.” Now that’s what I call a loophole.
But of course, that’s not what we’re going to talk about this morning, finding technicalities in the commandment. No, instead of finding ways to justify breaking it, we’re going to focus on what Jesus had to say about how we might keep it. And you know, when you look at what he taught, I think he offered three things we must be willing to do if we’re serious about not telling lies. And all three involve our relationship with truth.
For example, based on what he taught, if we really want to obey the ninth commandment, I think we must value the truth. In other words, we really need to believe that our parents were right when they taught us that “honesty is the best policy.” And although he didn’t saying in those exact words, in my opinion, that’s what Jesus was getting at when he said this to his disciples:
Anyone who can be trusted in little matters can also be trusted in important matters. But anyone who is dishonest in little matters will be dishonest in important matters. If you cannot be trusted with this wicked wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? And if you cannot be trusted with what belongs to someone else, who will give you something that will be your own? [Luke 16:10-12, CEV]
You see, according to Jesus, telling the truth and being honest just made sense. And why wouldn’t it? I mean, I think we all know that, on a very practical level, the writer of the Proverbs was spot on when he wrote, “Truth will last forever; lies are soon found out.” [Proverbs 12:19, CEV] And it’s not exactly rocket science that lies and dishonesty result in chaos and divisions in communities and within relationships, maybe even huge fines and long sentences. I mean, we live in a world where libel and slander and perjury are illegal, right? And let me ask you, when was the last time you heard that spreading a whole bunch of gossip made a marriage or a family or a congregation stronger? You know, I think Jesus knew what he was talking about when he told the people, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” [John 8:32, CEV] I’m telling you, valuing the truth just makes sense.
And for Christians, I think this actually gets easier for us to believe, when we remember that God’s very nature is grounded in truth. I mean, didn’t the writer of the Proverbs also say, “The Lord hates every liar, but he is the friend of all who can be trusted”? [Proverbs 12:22, CEV] And didn’t Jesus Christ himself say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life! ...Without me, no one can go to the Father”? [John 14:6, CEV] You see, I think we’ll put a higher value on honesty and truthfulness when we, as followers of Jesus Christ, accept and celebrate that this kind of thing is rooted directly in the very nature of God, the one who scripture declares cannot lie. I’m telling you, for us, honesty is more than just a social value, because it’s a genuine spiritual discipline, a reflection of Christ’s character and a core element of Christian integrity. You see, if we’re serious about obeying the Ninth Commandment, first, we really need to value the truth.
But I’ll tell you, that’s not all, because, second, I think we also must live the truth. You see, I believe it’s crucially important for us to integrate this clear and straight-forward principle that we value into our lives so that it’s reflected in the words we speak and the lives we live. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s what Jesus challenged his disciples to do when he said this:
You know our ancestors were told, “Don’t use the Lord’s name to make a promise unless you are going to keep it.” But I tell you not to swear by anything when you make a promise! Heaven is God’s throne, so don’t swear by heaven. The earth is God’s footstool, so don’t swear by the earth. Jerusalem is the city of the great king, so don’t swear by it. Don’t swear by your own head. You cannot make one hair white or black. When you make a promise, say only “Yes” or “No.” Anything else comes from the devil. [Matthew 5:33-37, CEV]
You see, for Jesus that’s all you need to say: just “YES” or “NO.” Man, you don’t need to say anything else, because the people around you will know that you’re going to do what you said, because you said it. And let’s face it, fancy words and spiritual oaths don’t mean a thing, if you’re not going to keep your promises. I mean, for a dishonest person, it’s easy to swear to or swear on anything you want. And let’s get real, it doesn’t matter how many Bibles they hold, a liar is going to lie. You see, honest people don’t need all this fluff to be honest. Instead, what they say is true, because they’ve simply decided to put away the lies so that they can speak honestly with one another. And what they do has integrity, because they’ve decided that honesty is a whole lot more than just not telling lies. It means being open and transparent and consistent in what they say and do. And if they follow Christ, how they live reflects both love and humility, because everything they say and do is motivated by the desire to build others up and not to get ahead or to avoid consequences. You see, to me, that’s what it means to live the truth.
And I’ll tell you, that’s something I think we can also do, when we decide to ground our identity in the gospel and not our own reputation. You see, I believe folks generally lie and exaggerate and omit important details either to protect themselves or to appear important in the eyes of others. And I think that’s why Paul wrote this to the Colossians: And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits. Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better. [Colossians 3:9-10, CEV] You see, when we claim this newness and when we believe we’re becoming more like our creator and when we better understand who we are in his sight, I believe two things are going to happen. For one, we’ll be able to be more honest, first with God and then with one another. I mean, give me a break, when we realize that God already knows our heart, lying just doesn’t make sense. Now that’s one. And two, I think we’ll become more transparent, because spiritual-sounding words are just a waste of breath and deceptive play-acting is just a waste of time. God already knows. Now we can be simply honest, because we’ve decided to live the truth. And that’s the second thing we can do.
But again, in my opinion, that’s not all, because if we’re serious about the Ninth Commandment, I believe it demands more than just valuing and living. Third, I think we must also demand the truth. And I’ll tell you, for me, that’s exactly what Jesus was demanding of the people in this encounter from the Gospel of John:
The people said to Jesus, “Abraham is our father!”
Jesus replied, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did. Instead, you want to kill me for telling you the truth that God gave me. Abraham never did anything like that. But you are doing exactly what your father does.”
“Don’t accuse us of having someone else as our father!” they said. “We just have one father, and he is God.”
Jesus answered:
If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and now I am here. He sent me. I did not come on my own. Why can’t you understand what I am talking about? Can’t you stand to hear what I am saying? Your father is the devil, and you do exactly what he wants. He has always been a murderer and a liar. There is nothing truthful about him. He speaks on his own, and everything he says is a lie. Not only is he a liar himself, but he is also the father of all lies.
Everything I have told you is true, and you still refuse to have faith in me. Can any of you accuse me of sin? If you cannot, why won’t you have faith in me? After all, I am telling you the truth. Anyone who belongs to God will listen to his message. But you refuse to listen, because you don’t belong to God. [John 8:39-47, CEV]
Now that’s what Jesus said. Man, he confronted those people, didn’t he? And I think that’s something we really need to hear, because sadly, we seem to have reached a point in our culture when, for whatever reason, a lot of folks have decided to condone dishonesty and to allow folks to play fast and loose with the truth. Man, those folks know their hearing lies, but they say nothing. Well, I’ll tell you something, when confronted with lies, Jesus didn’t, did he? I mean, when he was talking with people who claimed to love the Father but who rejected the Son, Jesus didn’t hesitate calling them liars. And when he saw the Pharisees impose all kinds of laws on others while slipping through the loopholes themselves, Jesus didn’t hesitate calling them hypocrites. As a matter of fact, when he was teaching his disciples about how they should address a situation where another Christian sins against them, Jesus didn’t hesitate telling them to “go and point out what was wrong.” [Matthew 18:15b, CEV] No wonder, in his first letter, John wrote, “If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and his message isn’t in our hearts.” [1 John 1:10, CEV] I’ll tell you, just like that lawyer in A Few Good Men, as Christians, it’s up to us to demand the truth, because if we don’t, who will.
But when we do it, well, I think it’s important to remember a few things. I mean, before we cross the line between being aggressive and being obnoxious, I believe we need to remember that Paul told Timothy to be kind and to be patient and to “be humble when you correct people who oppose you.” [2 Timothy 2:25a, CEV] And when Jesus told his disciples to “go and point out what was wrong,” [Matthew 18:15b, CEV] he also told them to “do it in private, just between the two of you” [Matthew 18:15c, CEV], because the goal is to solve the problem and to restore the relationship. And although we might be ready to put liars in their place, I think it’s important to remember that Jesus said to his disciples: You can see the speck in your friend’s eye, but you don’t notice the log in your own eye. How can you say, “My friend, let me take the speck out of your eye,” when you don’t see the log in your own eye? You’re nothing but show-offs! First, take the log out of your own eye; then you can see how to take the speck out of your friend’s eye." [Matthew 7:3-5, CEV] You see, even though I think we must demand the truth, according to Scripture, we must do it with love. And that’s the third thing we can do.
Of course, having said all that, when it comes to the Ninth Commandment, looking for loopholes will always be a temptation. Personally, it’s really easy to say, “Technically, I never said I’d be back at eight. And technically, saying I’d go by Walmart on my way home was right. As a matter of fact, technically, not a single word out of mouth was a lie, because I sincerely believed they were all true. Technically” Being completely honest, especially when we know it’ll get us into trouble, man, I think that will always be difficult.
But notice I said “difficult,” not “impossible,” because I honestly believe this is something we can do. You see, I think we’re able to stop telling lies about others and I’ll tell you, so did Jesus. But according to what he taught, to actually pull that off, we must value the truth. And we must live the truth. And we must demand the truth. Now, for me, that’s how we can obey the Ninth Commandment.
And of course, you know what that means. Next week, we’ll finish up this series with commandment number ten:
Do not desire to possess anything that belongs to another person—not a house, a wife, a husband, a slave, an ox, a donkey, or anything else. [Exodus 20:17, CEV]
Bible Readings for September 13, 2026: Let's read the Bible together in the next year. Today, our passages are Isaiah 12:1–14:32; 2 Corinthians 13:1-14; Psalm 57:1-11; and ...
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
