Struggling With Honesty And The Ninth Commandment
The Ninth Commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor," extends beyond mere perjury to encompass all violations of truthfulness and honesty [2]. This commandment is not merely about avoiding false testimony in a legal setting, but about upholding veracity in all aspects of life [2].
The Heidelberg Catechism articulates the aim of the Ninth Commandment as prohibiting false testimony, twisting others' words, gossip, slander, and rash condemnation without a hearing [5]. It calls for avoiding lying and deceit, which are seen as tools of the devil that incur God's wrath [5]. Instead, individuals should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it, while also working to protect and advance their neighbor's good name and reputation [5].
Charles Hodge emphasizes that the command to keep truth inviolate is fundamental [2]. one tradition argues that the obligation to truth is deeply sacred, as the very certainty of knowledge and security in the future depend on God's truthfulness [4]. If God were not true, there could be no confidence in anything, no assurance that good would triumph over evil [4].
The scope of the Ninth Commandment, according to Hodge, is broad, forbidding all offenses against veracity [2]. Just as the command "You shall not murder" includes all malicious feelings, so too does the Ninth Commandment encompass every offense of a similar character to bearing false witness [2, 3]. This includes not only outward acts but also the inward disposition that leads to such acts [8]. The law of God considers the thoughts and intentions of the heart, condemning the disposition that produces speaking ill of one's neighbor [8]. This means condemning a suspicious temper, a tendency to impute bad motives, and an unwillingness to believe in the sincerity and honesty of others [8]. This perspective contrasts with the charity that "thinketh no evil" and "believeth all things, hopeth all things" [8].
The concept of honesty is also connected to spiritual beauty in scholastic thought. Thomas Aquinas, for instance, links beauty or comeliness to the concurrence of clarity and due proportion [7]. While he applies this to physical beauty, he also extends it to spiritual beauty, suggesting an inherent order and truthfulness that contributes to what is considered "honest" [7].
The importance of a "pure conscience" in holding the mystery of the faith is highlighted in scripture (1 Timothy 3:9) [1]. This suggests that an honest and truthful disposition is integral to one's spiritual life and understanding of faith. The struggle for honesty can be a profound one, as individuals may find their faith tested by difficulties, leading to moments where "all truth seems ready to depart" [6]. In such times, a clear and firm grasp of truth is essential [6].
The emphasis on truthfulness and avoiding deceit is a consistent theme across various theological traditions. The Heidelberg Catechism, a Reformed confession, clearly outlines the practical implications of the Ninth Commandment for daily life and interactions [5]. This reflects a broader understanding that the divine law governs not only overt actions but also the underlying attitudes and intentions of the heart [8].
Sources
- I Timothy “I Timothy 3:9 (Webster) — Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 51: § 13. The Ninth Commandment. This commandment forbids all violations of the obligations of veracity. The most aggravated of this class of offences is bearing false wituess against our neighbour. But this includes every offence of the same general character; as the command thou shalt uot kill, forbids all indulgence or manifestation of malice. The command to keep truth inviolate belongs to a different class from those relating to the Sabbath, to marriage, or to property. These are founded on the permanent relations of men in the present st”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 45: swearing, which is the 306 greatest indignity which can be offered to God. And as the command, “Thou shalt do no murder,” includes all indulgence of malicious feelings; so the command, “Thou shalt not forswear thy self,” includes all lesser forms of irreverence in the use of the name of God. It is urged, as an objection to the second interpretation given above, that perjury is an offence against our neighbour, and therefore belongs to the second table of the Law; and that it is in fact included in the ninth commandment, “Thou shalt not be”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 51: knowledge. How do we know that our senses do not deceive us; that consciousness is not mendacious? that the laws of belief which by the constitution of our nature we are forced to obey, are not false guides? Unless God be true there can be no certainty in anything; much less can there be any security; we can have no confidence in the future: no assurance that evil will not ultimately triumph over good, darkness over light, and confusion and misery over order and happiness. There is, therefore, something awfully sacred in the obligations o”
- Heidelberg Catechism (Reformed) “Heidelberg Catechism (Reformed, 1563), Q. What is the aim of the ninth commandment?: Q. What is the aim of the ninth commandment? A. That I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one’s words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone rashly or without a hearing.1 Rather, in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are the very devices the devil uses, and they would call down on me God’s intense wrath.2 I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it.3 And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor”
- John (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on John 6:69: And we believe,--(See on Mat 16:16). Peter seems to have added this not merely--probably not so much--as an assurance to his Lord of his heart's belief in Him, as for the purpose of fortifying himself and his faithful brethren against that recoil from his Lord's harsh statements which he was probably struggling against with difficulty at that moment. Note.--There are seasons when one's faith is tried to the utmost, particularly by speculative difficulties; the spiritual eye then swims, and all truth seems ready to depart from us. At such seasons, a clear”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part (Secunda Secundae), Of Honesty, Art. 2: Article: Whether the honest is the same as the beautiful? I answer that, As may be gathered from the words of Dionysius (Div. Nom. iv), beauty or comeliness results from the concurrence of clarity and due proportion. For he states that God is said to be beautiful, as being "the cause of the harmony and clarity of the universe." Hence the beauty of the body consists in a man having his bodily limbs well proportioned, together with a certain clarity of color. In like manner spiritual beauty consist”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 51: of mind, and comes under the same condemnation. As the law of God takes cognizance of the thoughts and intents of the heart, in condemning an external act it condemns the disposition which tends to produce it. In condemning all speaking ill of our neighbour, the Scriptures condemn a suspicious temper, a disposition to impute bad motives, and an unwillingness to believe that men are sincere and honest in the avowal of their principles and aims. This is the opposite of that charity which “thinketh no evil,” “believeth all things, hopeth all”