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Heidelberg Catechism, Question 112

Question 112

What is required in the ninth command?

That I bear false witness against no man, nor falsify any man’s words: that I be no backbiter, or slanderer: that I do not judge, or join in condemning any man rashly or unheard (Prov. 19;9): but that I avoid all sorts of lies, and deceit, as the proper works of the devil unless I would bring down upon me the heavy wrath of God (Rev. 21;8); likewise, that in judgment and all other dealings, I love the truth, speak it uprightly, and confess it (Eph. 4;15): also, that I defend and promote as much as I am able the honor and good character of my neighbour (1 Pet. 4;8).

Scripture references for paragraph 1

Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.

Proverbs 19:9

9A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.

Proverbs 4:24

24Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech.

Psalms 15:1

1O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain?

Psalms 15:3

3who has no slander on his tongue, who does no harm to his neighbor, who casts no scorn on his friend,

2 Corinthians 12:20

20For I am afraid that when I come, I may not find you as I wish, and you may not find me as you wish. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, rage, rivalry, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

Psalms 101:5

5Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure.

Matthew 7:1

1“Do not judge, or you will be judged.

James 4:11

11Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.

Leviticus 19:11

11You must not steal. You must not lie or deceive one another.

Ephesians 4:15

15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.

Zechariah 8:19

19“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore you are to love both truth and peace.”

Psalms 15:2

2He who walks with integrity and practices righteousness, who speaks the truth from his heart,

1 Peter 4:8

8Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 Samuel 16:18

18One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a mighty man of valor, a warrior, eloquent and handsome, and the LORD is with him.”

Revelation 21:8

8But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”

Source and edition

Heidelberg Catechism. RCA English, E. R. Good & Bro., Tiffin, 1879. RCA English, E. R. Good & Bro., Tiffin, 1879

Public Domain (historic text); CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikisource transcription). Source transcription.

Transcription licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.

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