To Whom Do We Owe the Truth?
From sermon video “Do We Owe the Truth to Everyone?”
Pastor David Whitney, Pastor of
Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church
in Pasadena, Maryland

Notes by Stephen M. Golden
Copyright © 2015-04-04, 2024-07-03

Table of Contents




I. No Compulsion to tell all the truth


In Matthew 12:38,39

[38] Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” [39] But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; Jesus felt no compulsion to tell everything to anyone.  Likewise, we are not obligated to give all the information someone is demanding or in the manner that they are demanding it.


We are not obligated to answer in a way that will not further the mission God has given us here on earth.  In fact we are obligated to answer in a way that will not derail the mission God has given us here on earth.


There is a false priority given to us by Satan that we are supposed to be nice to everyone.  Jesus was not nice to the servants of Satan, he rebuked them. We should do the same.


Don't let questions of the evil one become our priority. Jesus said do not cast your pearls before swine.


We are to understand there are those in this world whose goal it is to defeat the work of Christ in this world.




II. No compulsion to answer at all


Matthew 15:1-9

[1] Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, [2] “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” [3] And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? [4] “For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’ [5] “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God, ” [6] he is not to honor his father or his mother .’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. [7] “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:
[8] ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
[9] ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”


Jesus discerns their intention and responds with a question.  He points out their violation of God’s law.


If the questioner’s intent is to undermine the work I the Bible, we are not obligated to answer them at all. 

Mark 11:27-33

[27] They came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him, [28] and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” [29] And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. [30] “Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” [31] They began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ [32] “But shall we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. [33] Answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”


First answer my question and then I'll answer your question.


You have the right to remain silent


Matthew 26:62-63

[62] The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” [63] But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus remained silent.


Everything you say will be used against you


Matthew 27:11-14

[11] Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And Jesus said to him, “ It is as you say.” [12] And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer. [13] Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” [14] And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed.


This is the origin of our God-given right against self-incrimination.


You are not safe talking to the police. 


Don’t Talk to the Police/Cops -James Duane


Any time you talk to the police, it will be used against you.  The police can use what you say against you.  The court considers it evidence.  However, the court does not recognize anything you say that could help you as admissible.  The court considers anything you say that might help you “hearsay.” 


Lawlessness in Law Enforcement


There is lawlessness in our law enforcement community. They are walking in disobedience to the oath they have taken.


DUI checkpoints are a violation of the 4th Amendment as well as violation of state laws in most jurisdictions.  They are “general warrants.”  Everyone is targeted.  General warrants are illegal.  They are unconstitutional.


We have a duty to protect ourselves from unlawful actions on the part of civil government.  The civil government does not have our best interests at heart. We should be on our guard against them.  The militarization of local police forces declares that the citizens are the enemy.   


There is lawbreaking going on throughout our government from the top down. The America we have today is not the America our founders established.  We need to discern the deceptions, evil intentions, and lawlessness so we are not part of thwarting the true law of God.




III. We Don’t Owe the Truth to Everyone


Sometimes, God blesses a lie.


Egyptian midwives: 

Exodus 1:15-21

[15] Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah; [16] and he said, “When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birthstool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” [17] But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live. [18] So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and let the boys live?” [19] The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.” [20] So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. [21] Because the midwives feared God, He established households for them.


The women lied and God blessed them for it.

[19] The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them.”


Rahab in Jericho:


Rahab said she didn’t know where the visitors were from.

Joshua 2:4

[4] But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.


Rebekah

Rebekah, Jacob's mother, deceived Isaac, who was blind at that time, by placing goat skins on Jacob’s hands and neck.


Genesis 27:16; 22-23[01]

[16] And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.
. . .
[22] So Jacob came close to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” [23] He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.




How to stand up to a tyrant


Pharaoh was viewed as God living among the people.  The two women feared the one true God who created the universe.   Because they feared the true God, they refused to commit the wicked sin of murder.


How to speak to a tyrant


The Godly do not fear the tyrant, and the Godly are willing to disobey the tyrant whenever what the tyrant commands is in violation of God’s law.


The two Egyptian women communicated that they did not owe the tyrant anything, even the truth.  Most commentators commend the women for obeying God but criticize them for lying to Pharaoh.  However, notice in the text that God did not rebuke them at all!  God rewarded them! 


When human civil government goes rogue, instead of doing what He designed civil government to do, instead of protecting and defending our God-given right to life …the saints owe nothing to that government because that government has declared itself an illegitimate government.  Those women essentially said, “we do not owe obedience to that government, and we do not owe the truth as well.”


When civil government goes rogue, and begins a campaign of murder, are the saints any longer obligated to that organization?  Are they obligated to obey that organization with its murderous campaign?  Are they any longer obligated to speak the truth when that truth is demanded of them?


Consider America today, if you would.  While Pharaoh probably never even killed one million babies, consider what our Federal and State governments have done since 1973: sixty million babies murdered in their mothers’ wombs.  That's just the tip of the iceberg when you consider the money our government has sent to other countries to have them murder their babies.  Some estimate the number to be over one billion babies.


What do we owe to that criminal, murderous regime in Washington D.C.?  We do not owe them obedience, nor do we owe them the truth.


For another example, turn to Joshua, chapter 2.  Rahab the harlot helped the two spies, Joshua and Caleb by giving them aid and hiding them and told the authorities that the two men left, and she did not know where they were.


Joshua 2:4

[4] But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.


The king of Jericho recognized the “Castle Doctrine” and did not break down her door to search for the men.  The king of Jericho was more righteous than our civil government.


God justified and blessed Rahab (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25).  She completely undermined the security of the city of Jericho.  God commends this as an act of faith!  God blessed Rahab so greatly that she became one of the ancestors of our LORD, Jesus Christ.  In a time of war, we do not owe the truth to God’s enemy.


Our Federal and State Governments are rejecting God’s Law wholesale. They are redefining God’s institution of marriage.  They are saying, “Law is whatever we say it is.” 


God describes a government as this in Daniel, chapter 7, starting at verse 7.  It is a bloodthirsty insatiable monster.  Instead of being a minister of God as Romans 13:4 indicates civil government is supposed to be, it has become minister of Satan, doing Satan’s work.  They have become empires of evil. They are building a one-world beast system.


What are Christians to do?  We do not owe answers to everyone who asks us.  We should know our mission here on Earth and not let the questioner derail is from what God has called us to do.  We must fear God above all else.  We must have a commitment to follow Jesus Christ no matter what come.


We must learn to discern the difference between legitimate civil government from illegitimate civil government.  We have no reason to put participate in illegitimate civil government, and we owe no obedience nor truth to such a government.



Endnotes