Overview

The ninth commandment guards truth and our neighbor’s good name. This section (Q76–78) gives the command, what it requires (maintaining and promoting truth, and our own and our neighbor’s reputation), and what it forbids (whatever is prejudicial to truth or injurious to good name).

The Questions & Answers

Q76. Which is the ninth commandment? A. The ninth commandment is, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Exod. 20:16, ESV)

Q77. What is required in the ninth commandment? A. The ninth commandment requireth the maintaining and promoting of truth between man and man, and of our own and our neighbour’s good name, especially in witness-bearing.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” (Eph. 4:25, ESV)

Further proofs: Zech. 8:16; Prov. 14:5, 25; 3 John 12; 1 Pet. 3:16.

Q78. What is forbidden in the ninth commandment? A. The ninth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever is prejudicial to truth, or injurious to our own or our neighbour’s good name.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people.” (Lev. 19:16, ESV)

“…a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” (Prov. 6:19, ESV)

Further proofs: Ps. 15:3; Prov. 10:18; 1 Sam. 17:28; Col. 3:9; James 4:11.

Exposition: Though its original setting is the law court (“witness-bearing,” Q77), the ninth commandment reaches into all of life wherever truth and reputation are at stake. Q77 frames it positively: we are to maintain and promote truth — and not only truth in the abstract but our neighbor’s “good name,” speaking well and truly of others, defending the absent, believing the best. Q78 forbids the whole range of sins against truth and reputation: lying, slander, gossip, backbiting, flattery, false rumor, exaggeration, breaking confidence, two-faced speech, and even silence when truth should be spoken. Tellingly, the commandment is positive about our neighbor’s name: we are not only to refrain from harming reputations but to guard and promote them. The God of truth (Titus 1:2) calls His people to be people of their word.

Connections

• WLC Q143–145 — the ninth commandment; the duties required (truth-telling, charitable judgment, defending the innocent, guarding good names); the many sins forbidden (false witness, slander, gossip, flattery, rash judgment, and more).
• WCF 22 (Of Lawful Oaths and Vows — truthfulness in solemn speech).
• Loci: The ninth commandment; truthfulness; the sins of the tongue (James 3); love that “believes all things” (1 Cor. 13:7).

Pastoral & Practical Significance

Of all the commandments, this one may be broken most often and noticed least, for the tongue is “a restless evil” (James 3:8) and gossip wears the disguise of conversation, even of prayer requests. The ninth commandment calls the Christian to a radical truthfulness and a protective love for others’ reputations. Negatively, it forbids the gossip we relish, the slant we put on a story to look better, the silence that lets a falsehood stand, the careless sharing that damages an absent person. Positively — and this is its glory — it calls us to promote our neighbor’s good name: to speak well of others, to interpret their actions charitably (1 Cor. 13:7), to defend them when they are maligned, to keep confidences, and above all to be people whose word can be trusted. This flows from the gospel: our God is the God of truth who keeps every promise, and His Son is “the truth” (John 14:6); His people, indwelt by “the Spirit of truth” (John 16:13), are to put away all falsehood (Eph. 4:25). Before you speak of another, ask: is it true, is it kind, is it necessary — and would I say it to their face?

For Memory & Reflection

• Memorize Q77 and Q78; anchor verse: Ephesians 4:25. Note the positive duty to promote others’ good name, not merely avoid harming it.
• Where does gossip, slander, or “shading the truth” creep into my speech — even under respectable cover?
• Am I as eager to defend an absent person’s reputation as I am tempted to diminish it?