3rd December 2025

3rd December 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Exodus 20:16)


Message (Alan Burke)


The Boy Who Cried Wolf’ is one of Aesop's Fables is about a shepherd boy who repeatedly tricks villagers into believing a wolf is attacking his sheep. When a real wolf eventually appears and he cries for help, the villagers do not believe him, leading to the loss of his flock. No one believed him because he lied, his words could not be trusted, even when he spoke the truth no one believed him. It’s a fable that packs a punch and warns of the dangers of lying. Here as we return to the ninth commandment about bearing false witness, bearing false testimony we have established that it goes beyond the courtroom setting of giving witness to lying in all regards, the LORD is forbidding lying, he hates lies (Prov 6:16-19). In effect the Lord is forbidding all falsehood and the reason why that truth matters to the LORD our God is primarily because of who he is. The LORD God that we come before is truth (Is 65:16, Jn 17:7). 


The Devil though is the father of lies. Jesus in John 8 there is no truth in him. When the Devil lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (Jn 8:44). The Devil is seeking to destroy the truth, he does all that he can to undermine it. Which is seen most clearly in how Jesus the way the truth and the life, the only way to the Father (Jn 14:6) even though He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. False witness was made against him, he suffered and entrusted himself to him who judges justly, he bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (see 1 Pe 2:22–25).


When we do not tell the truth we are doing the Devil’s work, we are following the ruler of this world. But the children of God are not to live as those of this world, we are to live as his children. In the book of Ephesians, we are told… put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another (4:24-25).


As the followers of Jesus, as his disciples our words should be honest. It shouldn’t matter the situation our testimony of the truth, we should be those whose words match with our actions, with our lives, our words matter because truth matters to God. This manifests the reality of the truth within us for Jesus is the way the truth and the life, if we have come to know him then we will live righteously in this world, we will be people who are known that when we say yes it is yes, when we say no it is no, there will be a consistency that matches the truth within us. 


This is especially important today since we live in an age when people are taken in by all kinds of fake news, where there are many people who don’t keep their promises, people who make money out of falsehood. We as believers should be those who are known for the truth and it shows the one within us. Our words matter, our speech matters, we should be those who are truthful, honest, who keep our word. When we do not tell the truth, then we are doing the bidding of the evil one. We though are the children of God, we are to be those who do God’s will and not the devils. If our hearts are right with the Lord then our speech will be consistent with that, we will not bear false witness. 


The Lord forbids bearing false of any kind, of using our words that are to truthful at all times. He calls us to love the truth, the church is to be a buttress of truth (1 Tim 3:15). We are to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). The problem is that because of the wickedness of the human heart people suppress the truth, they exchange the truth about God for a life, (Rom 1:18,25). 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q35 What is sanctification?
A. Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.
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