Read My Lips
Ten Commandments
September 15, 2024
Rev. Dr. Gabe Sylvia
The sermon teaches that the Ninth Commandment and Ephesians 4 call Christians to reject lies and speak truthfully—because truthful speech, practiced with charity, candor, openness and constancy, both protects and builds up the body of Christ—while the Lord's Supper strengthens the saved in that life together.
Summary
The message argues that lying is destructive to relationships and the church, so Scripture (the Ninth Commandment and Paul in Ephesians 4) requires purposeful truth-telling: it protects the church by forming habits of honesty among members and prospers the church by building up others. 'Rotten talk' corrupts, whereas speech that fits the occasion and aims to edify should be the norm. Christians are urged to practice four qualities in truth-telling—charity, candor, openness (including willingness to receive truth), and constancy—and to be transparent and gracious in speech. Finally, the Lord's Supper is affirmed as a means to strengthen those already saved, while salvation itself remains by grace through faith.
Key Points
- The Lord hates a lying tongue; unrepentant liars face judgment.
- Truth-telling is essential for coexistence and healthy relationships.
- Biblical basis: the Ninth Commandment forbids bearing false witness; Ephesians 4 explains living as the new self in Christ.
- Lying is a deliberate statement of falsehood; it threatens the church because we are members of one another.
- Truth protects the church by forming personal habits of honesty and prevents corrupting 'rotten talk.'
- Truth prospers the church by building up others with speech that fits the occasion and edifies.
- Four C's of truthful speech: Charity, Candor, Openness/willingness to receive truth, and Constancy in upholding truth.
- Christians must be transparent and gracious in speech, holding to truth even at cost.
- The Lord's Supper strengthens the saved in their life together, but salvation is by grace through faith alone.
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