This morning we consider the Catechism's teaching of the Ninth Commandment. As we do so, we read together James 3. James chapter 3. James 3. Hear God's Word. Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire. A world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven, but is earthly, unspiritual of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, Then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace, raise a harvest of righteousness. And if you would turn with me to page 55 in the back of the Psalter hymnal. Page 55, Lord's Day 43, question and answer 112. The ninth commandment, you shall not bear false witness or testimony against your neighbor. Page 55, Lord's Day 43, as we confess together what we believe with regard to the Ninth Commandment. Question 112 asks, what is God's will for us in the Ninth Commandment? God's will is that I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one's words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone without a hearing or without a just cause. Rather, in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind. These are devices the devil himself uses. And they would call down on me God's intense anger. I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor's good name. Congregation, beloved of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we are instructed this morning about the ninth commandment, we notice that it does not deal first of all with the protection of the life, the wife, or the property of our neighbor as the previous commandments did, But it deals with the protection of our neighbor's name, his reputation. We might say his very being. It deals with that which can be damaged by the spoken word, namely, the lie. And it's no secret to any one of us, I trust, that the lie is present everywhere because we often find ourselves asking, is that really true? Sometimes to our children, more often than not, is that really true? Are you sure? Are you telling me the truth? You see, beloved, we are surrounded by so many doubts because of the lie. And of course, doubts and the lie were cunningly introduced by Satan already in the Garden of Eden when he introduced mankind to the question of doubt. Now, did God really say, Eve, are you sure? Only then to introduce the lie against the ultimate truth of God. The ninth commandment condemns the whole spectrum of the sins of the tongue. Gossip, slander, false testimony, deceitful flattery, hateful speaking. Any speaking that's not true. As well, it includes any type or mode of communication. The spoken word, the printed page, the airwaves, email, even gestures. Any mode of communication. The antithesis between the truth and the lie is so important that along with countless scriptural references about true and false speech, many of them in the Proverbs, James devotes almost an entire chapter to this, chapter 3, which we read. Beloved, as God's people, we are called to reflect the character of Him who has redeemed us. What is that character? What did Jesus say? He said, I am the way and the truth. and the life. And therefore, I preach to you this Word of God, grateful living by the truth, which includes very simply resisting the lie and promoting the truth. We might say very simply that the Ninth Commandment deals with your Word and how good your Word is. That's a question that each of us should ask ourselves. How good is my Word? This morning, Jim and Michelle, like many of us sitting here, have done many times made promises again today to God with regard to our children. Some of, probably one of the most, one of the most important promises we as parents make as we're dealing with souls. And the question Jim and Michelle must consider is how good will your word be? Indeed, will you teach your children of the mighty deeds that God performed of old? And that's a question for all of us. How good is my word? Well, first of all, beloved, we are called to resist that which is natural to us apart from God. We are called to resist the lie. But now we cannot even consider this apart from, first of all, understanding the power of the tongue. And James clearly tells us just how powerful the tongue is when he says in verse 2, We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man able to keep his whole body in check. The tongue is a barometer, if you will, of one's life. Boys and girls, a barometer is a weather instrument used to forecast weather, to point to what's coming. The tongue is a barometer. It forecasts, it points to what the rest of the body, the life, is like. The Bible says, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And if the tongue isn't bridled and under control, neither is the rest of one's life. James compares the tongue to the bit in the horse's mouth and the small rudder on a ship. Really amazing comparisons when you think about it. The bit and the rudder command or direct the horse, even a large horse, And a giant ship, these things are tiny and unseen, yet so powerful, so important. In the same way, the tongue is powerful. James says it is a fire. That's quite an illustration of fire. We know that fire is powerful. Fire can destroy. It can alter life. It can be dangerous. But that's exactly James' point here. The tongue in service to the lie destroys, it alters life, it is dangerous. Verse 6 again says, The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. He says the lying tongue is a world of evil, which means that there is no evil conceivable which cannot be committed by the tongue. The tongue is the vehicle, as it were, of a complete world of evil. How? Well, it tells lies, it slanders someone's name, it kindles hate, it creates discord, it hurts feelings, it provokes lust, and really, if you think about it, it gives flame to numerous sins. If you really give thought to this, the lie lives behind murder, committing adultery, stealing, and coveting. The tongue is involved in virtually all, if not all, the sins that man commits. The tongue defiles or stains the body and sets the whole course of life on fire. The tongue is evidence of whether one's life is following the narrow path that leads to eternal life or whether it's following the broad path to eternal death. And this then, of course, depends upon the source of the tongue's fire. What is it that is fueling that fire? By nature, Satan and hell are the source of the tongue's fire. Again, James says, the tongue is a fire and is set on fire by hell. The Catechism says that all lying and deceit of every kind are the devices of the devil. Of course, we know that the tongue was not created as an evil instrument. It too was a part of man made in the image of God in true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. In the beginning, Adam's tongue was employed in the service of God. He was a prophet of God who spoke the truth in love. But then the father of lies, as Jesus says the devil is, came on the scene wagging his serpent tongue, and man embraced the lie of the devil and rejected the truth of God and became a liar by nature whose tongue is lit from hell and has become a world of evil. And therefore, the natural man's tongue gives expression to his sinful and his depraved heart. A heart that hates God and his neighbor. A heart that is selfish and desires that his neighbor suffer evil in order that he might gain by it. With the fire of hell, natural man lives by the lie and not the truth. What is a lie? We can define it this way. A lie is a statement that is intentionally false and is a willful misrepresentation of the truth. It is hiding the truth on purpose. And the goal of the lie is to deceive the hearer, but also to gain some sort of advantage for, or even protection for the liar. Boys and girls, have you ever found yourself lying because you thought that the truth would get you into trouble? It was easier to lie. You were in a pretty good situation, and therefore maybe nobody would find out. So go ahead and lie because the truth is going to hurt. But then you found out that one lie needs a second lie and it needs a third lie. And pretty soon, like David, you're caught in a whole circle of lies. As a young boy, I found out the hard way that the truth always came out eventually. It's as if it was written on my forehead. Mom could read it. I couldn't see it. Then, of course, I found out that I got into more trouble because I lied about it. Beloved, what is God's perspective on lying and deception? What is He saying? Listen to His Word. Psalm 101, verse 7 says, He who works deceit shall not dwell within My house. He who tells lies shall not continue in My presence. Proverbs 12, verse 22, Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight. Proverbs 19, verse 5, A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies will not escape. And then Revelation 21, verse 8. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. God hates lying. Because in Him there's no deceit. There's only truth. He is truth. And those who live by the lie live apart from Him and apart from repentance and faith. As the catechism says, lying and deceit call down on me God's intense anger. Maybe that's what we need to think about the next time we are tempted to lie or gossip or slander. That calls down on me God's intense anger. Instead of loving the lie and living according to the lie, we are called to hate the lie. And how is that possible? Well, the world would say through education, or social reform, or even therapy. But see, none of that gets at the root cause. The connection with the source of sinful fire must be cut off. A new heart is needed. The old heart that enjoys communion with the devil must be cast off, and a new heart in communion with God must come alive. Jesus Christ cut the connection with the devil by paying the redemption price for his people, And He has delivered His Christians by the power of His grace. And He establishes a new connection with the source of truth. And a new fire burns within God's people. The fire of the Holy Spirit. Those who are truly converted enjoy conversion of the whole person. Not just part. And therefore, my feet are converted to walk along a different path. The narrow way. And my eyes are converted to see things differently. to see things according to the light in the light of the truth. And my mouth is converted to speak differently, to speak the truth in love. James says in verses 10-12 again, out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. Therefore, the converted Christian can no more be a slanderer or liar than a fig tree can bring forth grapes or olives or a fountain sends forth both fresh and salt water. And evidence of this conversion