Exodus 20:16 – “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
The ninth commandment deals specifically with lying. Lying, as defined by Noah Webster, is, “to tell a falsehood.” A lie is defined as, “A falsehood uttered or acted for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth; an untruth spoken with the intention to deceive.”
God sees lying as a serious offense. In fact, it carries the same punishment as murder, idolatry, and unbelief. This is noted in Revelation 21:8, which says, “But the fearful, unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, lewd men, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” That said lake is also known as hell.
That sounds like a harsh punishment for what might seem to be a mere lie, but God’s holy law was designed to be perfect so that, “…every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Now, the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient—liars included. It breaks and humbles a high, proud, callous, or hardened heart to receive the gospel of Christ.
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being testified by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ to all, and upon all those who believe; for there is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare at this time his righteousness, so that he may be just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus.
References and related scriptures: Deuteronomy 5:20; Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11, 18:14; Romans 3:19, 3:21-26; 1st Timothy 1:9-10; Revelation 21:8.
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