False Reports--False reports can take various forms.

The ninth commandment

Exodus 23.1

“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.”

False reports can take various forms. Gossip – unsubstantiated reports about others, or reports scattered in order to impugn or defame – is perhaps the most familiar form. Slander, libel, and equivocation also qualify. It is wicked to distort the truth for one’s advantage or titillation, and it is wicked to join with those who do.

False reports might also include plagiarism or, in publishing, claiming something published under one’s name to be his own work. Perjury and false witness in a court of law are also forms of a false report. Any false witness deprives a community of truth, and God desires for us to know and live in truth. All false witness, therefore, countermands the divine order and flouts His Law. To God, it is abomination.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.

Cross-dressing--In those days the only purpose for “cross-dressing” would have been to deceive

The ninth commandment

Deuteronomy 22.5

“‘A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.’”

In those days the only purpose for “cross-dressing” would have been to deceive – either to conceal one’s true identity or to gain some advantage by being regarded as of a different sex. God made the sexes distinct, each with its own identity and function, as well as its own place in the divine economy. To dress as a member of the opposite sex would have been seen as questioning divine wisdom and seeking, for whatever reason, to circumvent or subvert the divine order.

When people cross-dress today deceit may not be the only motive, but it seems to be involved nonetheless. Anything which challenges or confuses the divine order and plan is to be avoided.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.

Honesty in Marriage--Dishonesty and deceit in marriage are particularly to be avoided.

The ninth commandment

Deuteronomy 22.13-21

“‘If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then hates her and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, “I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,” then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her; and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, ‘I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.’ And yet this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity.” And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city. Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip him, and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife. He may not divorce her all his days. But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman, then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father's house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.’”

Dishonesty and deceit in marriage are particularly to be avoided. Either way this case is read, some dishonesty is involved, and self-interest is at the root of that. The man may have deceitfully accused his bride, simply because she didn’t turn out to be all he expected. Or the woman may have deceived her husband going into the marriage. In either case, punishment is due, although, consistent with what we’ve seen before, the crime for adultery is more severely judged than that of deceit.

If the man is dishonest in seeking to divorce his wife, he is to be fined and is bound to the woman all his days. He will have to work hard from this point forward to make his marriage work. The effect of this statute would have been both to encourage honesty and purity and to preserve the sanctity of marriage within the covenant community.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.

Called as Witnesses--Anyone who witnesses a transgression has a duty to come forward to testify when a public call for witnesses is issued.

The ninth commandment

Leviticus 5.1

“If anyone sins in that he hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity…”

Anyone who witnesses a transgression has a duty to come forward to testify when a public call for witnesses is issued. This can be by subpoena or simply by a general appeal through the media, as when a crime has occurred and the local police ask for any who may have seen something to come forward.

Justice requires multiple witnesses, as we have seen, and those who are witnesses must be prepared to testify, even though doing so may be inconvenient.

Christians have been summoned to bear witness to Jesus Christ. We are guilty of sin if we fail to speak the truth as we know it concerning our Savior and King.

Acts 1.8

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.

We've never seen Jesus, and yet we know Him.

It is not too late to begin praying for Egypt.

Let us keep watch over our souls, to guard them against sin.

We are one another's keepers in the Lord.

There is some good news to report from the arena of public education.

We do not walk the life of faith alone.

Christianity is not a "niche" religion.

Readers of this column will recall that, back in mid-November, we lamented the sorry state of reading among the followers of Christ and opined that something like a Christian Literacy Campaign would seem to be in order.

I'm pleased to announce that this project is now under way. And not a moment too soon, I might add.

If Dr. Mark Edmundson is right, even the habits of those who do read need some serious revision. Writing in the January 30, 2011, issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education, Dr. Edmundson complained that people who read today, in the main, do not read to be influenced, changed, or improved in any way ("Narcissus Regards a Book") They read to be entertained. Reading is for pleasure only, not for enrichment. And there is no shortage of things to read which are designed primarily to make us feel good. "Reading," Dr. Edmundson insists, "where it exists at all, has largely become an unprofitable wing of the diversion industry."

As one who has written more than twenty books, trying to influence and improve the lives of others, and not a single book meant to make people feel good about themselves, Dr. Edmundson's thesis answers some questions that have perplexed me. Such as, why is it that these books of mine do not seem to find their way to very many readers?

"Reading in pursuit of influence," Dr. Edmundson continues, "that, I think, is the desired thing." This is precisely the sort of person we're trying to call into being through our Christian Literacy Campaign. You are doubtless one such person, since you are reading this column, which has no intention of diverting, entertaining, or pleasing you, except insofar as growing in understanding of the world and gaining a larger vision of what your life can become pleases you.

I feel quite certain that we all know people who would like to see their lives improved. That is, they are willing to be influenced and hoping to be shaped in ways that are more satisfying and fulfilling than what they presently know. Dr. Edmundson believes this to be the case, and so do I. Our task, then, is to seek out such people and to help them to understand how weaning from the entertainment teat onto the more solid food of serious reading can, in fact, change their lives.

To that end, we present this month's free download, a brochure entitled, "Christian Literacy Campaign," chocked full with excellent suggestions, from you, our readers, as to how we might improve the reading habits - and, consequently, lives - of our fellow believers. Get your copy today. Make a dozen copies by printing it off front-to-back and folding it into three panels. And don't come home until you've given all twelve copies to some friends.

Then do the same tomorrow.

We're not trying to sell anything here. We simply believe that if more Christians became serious readers, they would become more serious Christians. And serious Christians seeking the Kingdom of God, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God, living as witnesses for Christ, and transforming everyone and everything they touch - serious Christians like this is what the world needs now more than anything else.

Perhaps you will be willing to help recruit some?

Additional related texts: 2 Timothy 2.2; Matthew 28.18-20; 2 Timothy 2.15

A conversation starter: (Assumes you are handing a copy of Christian Literacy Campaign to a friend.) "Hey, check this out. I'd like to talk with you about this, and about how you and I can begin to become more serious Christians. Are you willing?"

T. M. Moore