God’s Image • Commandment 9: Do Not Bear False WitnessBefore repeating an accusation or declaring that someone speaks against God, we must examine the basis of that judgment.
Have we established what is true—or have we accepted what agrees with us?
Test the Claimed Source
John instructs believers:
“test the spirits to see whether they are from God”
— 1 John 4:1, LSB, excerpt
He immediately connects this instruction with the presence of false prophets. A claim to speak for God requires examination.
The surrounding verses give substance to that examination. John addresses the confession that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, distinguishes speech originating from the world, and identifies hearing the apostolic witness as a distinction between truth and error. Read 1 John 4:1–6.
The question concerns where the message comes from and what it testifies about Jesus, rather than whether its speaker sounds convincing.
Applied to our examination, this raises a question: Do we test familiar teaching as carefully as teaching that challenges us?
Receiving and Examining Together
In Berea, people receive the word eagerly while examining the Scriptures daily to determine whether the things proclaimed are so. Their willingness to listen accompanies their investigation. Read Acts 17:10–12.
Notice what they examine: whether the teaching agrees with the Scriptures.
Their examination is described favorably. Asking whether a teaching is supported does not itself establish hostility toward God. Here, searching accompanies an eager reception of the word.
This matters when someone raises a question within an assembly. Before treating the question as rebellion, have we listened carefully enough to understand what is being asked?
Examination Has an Outcome
Paul writes:
“but examine all things; hold fast to that which is good”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:21, LSB
The surrounding instructions belong together: do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophecies, examine, retain what is good, and abstain from evil. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:19–22.
Examination calls for discernment. It allows us to receive what is good while refusing what is evil. Neither automatic acceptance nor automatic dismissal fulfills the whole instruction.
Testing Without Bearing False Witness
For this commandment, the practical question is how we describe someone whose teaching we dispute.
Can we identify the words spoken, preserve their context, and explain the disagreement through Scripture? Or have we moved from disagreement to an accusation about the person’s relationship with God without establishing that accusation?
John also examines the relationship between a claim and conduct: someone who claims to love God while hating his brother speaks falsely. Our treatment of others must therefore remain part of the examination. Read 1 John 4:20–21.
Questions Worth Asking
Would I examine this claim differently if it came from someone outside my group?
Can I explain its scriptural basis without relying on a teacher’s reputation?
Have I treated a request for evidence as evidence of rebellion?
Am I willing to correct an accusation when examination shows it was wrong?
Threads to Follow
Truthful correction: Keep 2 Timothy 2:24–26 beside every disagreement.
Our own examination: Consider Matthew 7:1–5 before addressing another’s fault.
Speech and responsibility: Return to Ephesians 4:25 when considering what we owe one another.
The books were opened…
🌿Studies by Maria Emilia ~ 🗺️Continue exploring: Visit Bible Books to find studies organized by book of the Bible, along with related studies and links.
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