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God’s People Live the Truth

Proverbs 14:5 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
⁵A faithful witness does not lie,
but a false witness utters lies.

A faithful witness does not lie: A faithful (אֵמוּן emun or אֵמֻן emun) witness is one that is worthy of our trust and can always be believed, as he will be truthful in all things.

but a false witness utters lies: The false (שֶׁקֶר sheqer) witness utters lies is a person that lies as easily as he takes a breath and has no pause in bearing false witness under oath or in life. The one who sends out discord between brothers belongs to a person that takes pleasure in causing trouble with his family and friends. This person causes havoc on society from the friend to the family, to the community, as well as the court of law.

The lies of a false witness undoubtedly can do much harm; with every uttered falsehood and deception, we end up disappointed. Think of Naboth the Jezreelite, who was stoned to death because two “worthless men” [Literally “sons of wickedness”] falsely testified against him. (1 Kings 21:7-13) Then, consider the false witnesses who came forward against Jesus, resulting in his being falsely charged, convicted, and executed. (Matthew 26:59-61) False witnesses also uttered lies against Stephen, who was the first disciple of Jesus to be martyred [murdered] because of his faith. – Acts 6:10-11.

A person may be able to have a measure of success in this age of Satan ruling the world from behind the scenes. However, the false witness has his day coming, for God hates “a lying tongue” and “a false witness who breathes out lies.” (Proverbs 6:16-19) John tells us what the future will hold for him in Revelation 21:8, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

The faithful witness does not seek to deceive others by uttering one falsehood after another, causing all in his path nothing but disappointment. However, even the faithful witness, while he does not lie, he also is under no obligation to give all details to anyone who might be seeking to hurt God’s people. Both Abraham and Isaac refused to give all the facts to some who did not worship the God of Israel. – Genesis 12:10-19; 20:1-18; 26:1-10.

Rahab of Jericho misinformed the king’s men, causing them to go in the wrong direction, for which she was praised. (Joshua 2:1-7) Even Jesus Christ held back some information when giving all the information would have caused unnecessary harm. (John 7:1-10) He said: “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” (Matthew 7:6) Jesus also kept silent when he was before Pilate. He refused to answer even though he was well aware of Pilate’s power. – John 19:8-11.

In living our lives as God’s people, we will follow his counsel to be “as shrewd [or wise] as serpents and as innocent as doves” in the midst of wolves. We will honestly and truthfully be true to God’s will and purposes. We will be true to God’s Word. We will never test the Spirit of God with hypocritical conduct; instead, we will be true to the Spirit as we obey the Spirit-inspired Word of God. We will always speak the truth, for the glory of God is our life. As sheep in this satanic world of wolves, we will carry out God’s will and purpose until Jesus’ return.