Exodus 20:16 “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”
God hates lies. He is the truth and will always be the truth. A false witness against a neighbor means to lie about them in some way. According to Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan, everyone is our neighbor.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 6:19 that “A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren,” are two of the seven things that God hates. Anytime you say anything that casts a shadow on another person’s character that is not true is a lie.
The same principle is stated in Leviticus 19:16: “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.”
Being a talebearer or lying about someone can easily be done among friends about someone else or even someone in your group. It is easy to bear false witness about someone in person, on the phone, or on the Internet. Lately, more cases of this are even occurring in the courtroom. Christians need to be careful about this sin because it can cause you to lose your testimony – and your blessing.
May God help our speech to be a blessing and for His glory. Learn to have “Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you” (Titus 2:8).