TU‘APULELULU MA‘ASI 6, 2025

TELL THE TRUTH

TALA ‘A E MO‘ONI

EXODUS 20:16

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." 

‘EKISOTO 20:16

‘Oua na‘a ke tu‘u ko e fakamo‘oni loi ki ho kaungā‘api.

Every command of Scripture serves not only as an instruction for our lives but also as a reflection of who God is. The command against adultery is rooted in His faithfulness. The forbidding of murder flows from the life-giving Lord. So it is with the ninth commandment against bearing false witness, which comes from the promise-keeping God of all truth, who does not and cannot lie (Numbers 23:19).

What does the Lord have in view when He instructs us not to bear false witness? It is surely safe to assume that this commandment concerns any form of speech that is less than truthful. There are many ways we fall short. We do it by outright deceit, when we provide false information or withhold the truth in some way. We do it when we participate in rumors, spreading gossip about others. We do it by slandering and flattering others. We do it when we exaggerate the truth, give false impressions, and are careless with the facts. All of this falls short of the divine standard.

A vital component of fighting against the temptation to lie is to understand why we lie in the first place. The source of lies is none other than Satan himself, about whom Jesus says, "When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the Father of lies" (John 8:44). Deceit was his strategy in the Garden of Eden, when he approached Eve with a lying tongue. Tragically, we are often driven by the same motives as the Evil One when we lie: pride, hatred, and fear. We lie out of pride when we want others to think highly of us. We deceive out of hatred because we want to tear down someone else. We speak untruth out of a fear of the consequences that we think would result from the truth being known. In all of this, we lie because in those moments we love ourselves more than we love God and our neighbors.

The reality is that God hates deception (Proverbs 6:16-19). In order for us to walk in the truth, we must crucify our pride and be more concerned with what God thinks of us than with what someone else thinks of us. We must put away malice and pursue love for others, committing to never speaking slanderously or spreading gossip. And we must fight an ungodly fear of man, replacing it with the fear of God, who came in flesh and declared Himself to be "the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).

The Lord Jesus has given His people His Spirit of truth (John 15:26), who empowers us to walk in the truth and put away falsehood. Only by His power are we increasingly conformed into the image of Christ and ever more reflecting the character of the God who gave the ninth commandment. Consider now in which situations and in what ways you are most often tempted to bear false witness. How will the truth about Jesus, His saving gospel, and His indwelling Spirit motivate you to speak differently from now on-to speak the truth, as a follower of the truth?

PROVERBS 6:16-19

Bible Through The Year: Job 3-4; 1 Corinthians 2

 PULELULU MA‘ASI 5, 2025

GUILTY THIEVES

HALAIA KOTOA ‘I HE KAIHA‘A

 EXODUS 20:15

"You shall not steal." 

‘EKISOTO 20:15

‘Oua na‘a ke kaiha‘a.

This eighth commandment is, on its face, a simple instruction. But like all of Scripture, the commandments reward prayerful reflection. And when we approach this command carefully, we find that it reaches further into our lives than we first imagined.

To understand the true offense of stealing, we need to see the two biblical principles that undergird the eighth commandment. One is the right to private property; the other is the sovereign ownership of God over all He has made. In other words, God owns all things, and He grants temporary stewardship to us. So to steal something from someone is an offense against God as the ultimate owner against the person who is stewarding it.

We will not, however, fully understand this commandment until we grasp the various ways it extends into our lives. Stealing can take many forms. There are the more obvious

ones:

• blatant theft

• borrowing something we fail to return

• keeping dishonest records

• misusing our employer's time

• paying unjust wages

But there are other, less obvious ways to steal, which this commandment also speaks to:

• slandering others, thereby stealing their reputation

• sinning sexually with another, thereby stealing their moral purity

• plagiarizing, thereby stealing someone else's work

• cheating in the classroom

• failing to give God what we owe Him (Malachi 3:8)

The eighth commandment leaves no stone of our lives unturned, and, if we are honest, we all find ourselves guilty of breaking it in one way or another. Yet in His grace and wisdom God not only tells us what not to do; He also tells us what to pursue. "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need" (Ephesians 4:28). The right response to the eighth commandment is not merely not to steal but to commit ourselves to lives of honesty, integrity, hard work, and generosity.

This is what we see in the life of Zacchaeus. He was a tax collector and guilty of stealing, yet when he encountered the Lord Jesus, he repented of his sin and restored what he had stolen, committing himself to making things right (Luke 19:7-8). This is what repentance and obedience look like when it comes to this command. So consider first: How have I been guilty of stealing? Of what am I being called to repent? And then ask yourself. How will I now commit myself to giving and sharing where once I was stealing?

2 THESSALONIANS 3:6-13

Bible Through The Year: Job 1-2; 1 Corinthians 1

 TUSITE MA‘ASI 4, 2025

THE FREEDOM OF PURITY

TAU‘ATAINA ‘O E MO‘UI MA‘A

EXODUS 20:14

"You shall not commit adultery." 

EXODUS 20:14

‘Oua na‘a ke tono ‘unoho.

Of all the lies proclaimed in the world around us, one of the most widely believed is that any limits imposed on personal freedom amount to oppression. This is perhaps most clear in the realm of sexual morality, where the only thing off limits seems to be the setting of limits itself. The tragic irony is that this so-called freedom is in truth bondage to sinful desires, and it results not in wholeness but in broken bodies and broken hearts.

What God's word tells us when it comes to sexual morality is straightforward: we are to practice chastity outside marriage and fidelity within it. This is the path not to oppression but to true liberty and blessing (James 1:25). That is why the seventh commandment is what it is: "You shall not commit adultery." In marriage, two people enter into a covenant, becoming one. And this comprehensive union, in which husband and wife become interwoven emotionally, physically, spiritually, and in every other dimension, serves as a parable of the relationship between Christ and His bride, the church (Ephesians 5:22-33). The sacred union is not, then, to be intruded upon or broken (Matthew 19:6).

When a husband or wife commits adultery, it sets off a chain reaction of tragedies: there is sin against God, against the body, against the spouse, against the partner in adultery, and against the partner's spouse. In other words, disaster ensues. Sex is intended for the marriage bond alone, so when you remove it from that context, it becomes monstrous, consuming, and devastating.

Yet we ought not to think that adultery is limited to just the physical act. We learn from the Lord Jesus that adultery starts internally: "I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28). We know, of course, that the consequences of physical adultery far outpace those of lust, but the deserved judgment and our guilt before God are equal no matter the sin.

What can Christian men and women do to guard themselves and one another against adulterous acts and thoughts? For starters, we can practice the presence of God, communing with Him and remembering that we have no secrets before Him. We can memorize the word of God, filling our hearts with it that we might not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11). And we can stick with the people of God, pursuing fellowship in worship and accountability, all to the end of being stirred up to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Nevertheless, we all stand guilty before the seventh commandment. We are in no position to look down on others or see ourselves as spotless. Our lives, our hands, and our thoughts do not pass the test of purity. And yet you are never out of the reach of God's grace in Christ, no matter how much baggage you carry. If you truly and earnestly repent of your sins, if you truly and earnestly cast yourself upon God's mercy and grace, you will be forgiven, pardoned, cleansed, and set free - free for the Spirit of God to work in your life, enabling you to think and live in a way that pleases Him.

1 THESSALONIANS 4:1-8

Bible Through The Year: Exodus 39-40; James 5

 MONITE MA‘ASI 3, 2025

LIFE IS SACRED

KO E MO‘UI, KO E ME‘A TOPUTAPU

EXODUS 20:13

"You shall not murder." 

‘EKISOTO 20:13

‘Oua na‘a ke fakapō.

If you want to cut to the chase in learning how someone views the world, ask him or her why it's wrong to murder. The question gets at the issue of human life and its value - which is the issue addressed in the sixth commandment. It also gets past political differences and reveals what people think about life's meaning, purpose, and origin.

A vast number of people functionally think that life has no inherent value beyond someone's usefulness. So long as an individual contributes to society, his or her value remains intact. But this means that some deaths - abortion and euthanasia, for example - are deemed less tragic and perhaps even "good" because that person is unwanted or perceived as a drain on society and therefore, in the final analysis, of inferior worth.

This is not the way the Bible speaks. Scripture could not be clearer about the fact that men and women are valuable because they are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 8:5-6). Such value does not move along a spectrum but is fixed and immovable. Only when we see human life in this way, as God does, do we understand all that is implied in the simple command "You shall not murder."

Here are three ways, unfortunately common ways, we might violate the vision of life in the sixth commandment. First is homicide. God is the Giver of life, and He alone has the authority to take it. To wrongfully take someone's life is to make an assault on the divine image (Genesis 9:5-6). Second is suicide, the act of willfully causing one's own death. God says, "All souls are mine" (Ezekiel 18:4); we do not have the right to take our own life (though that is not to say that this cannot be forgiven). A third is abortion. From the moment of conception, the fetus in the womb is a human being (Psalm 139:13). The fact that for several months that child cannot survive outside the womb does not affect his or her right to the same protection given to other human beings (though again, there is forgiveness available for violating the sixth commandment in this way).

Perhaps you've made it this far and think you're doing fine. Not so fast! Jesus does not let us off that easily, for He says that the judgment the murderer deserves is also deserved by the one with unchecked anger (Matthew 5:21-22). All of us, if we're honest, have known murder in our hearts. We've harbored thoughts of contemptuous anger and its ugly bedfellows - animosity, malice, hostility, and gossip - whereby we kill people in our hearts all the time. Perhaps we are doing so right now. And so we stand condemned.

But here is the encouragement: if you are feeling the weight of guilt as you grasp the scope and gravity of this commandment, that is precisely the point! You will never conform perfectly to the perfect law of God - but He has still offered forgiveness that will wash away your sin and  your guilt. Beyond that, He offers transformation - the kind that can take angry, murderous hearts and transform them into hearts of love and grace. Of what do you need to repent? For what do you need to be forgiven? In what way do you need the Spirit to change you?

MATTHEW 5:21-26

Bible Through The Year: Exodus 36-38; James 4

 SAPATE MA‘ASI 2, 2025

HONORING PARENTS, HONORING GOD

FAKA‘APA‘APA‘I ‘A E MATU‘A, FAKA‘APA‘APA‘I ‘A E ‘OTUA

EXODUS 20:12

"Honor your father and your mother." 

‘EKISOTO 20:12

Faka‘apa‘apa ki ho‘o tamai mo ho‘o fa‘ē; koe‘uhi ke lahi ho ngaahi ‘aho ‘i he kelekele, ‘a ia ‘e foaki kiate koe ‘e Sihova ko ho ‘Otua.

The fifth commandment is simultaneously a simple instruction and an indispensable element of the well-being of entire societies. When the Lord gives the command "Honor your father and mother," He is laying down the blueprint for maintaining the stability of families, communities, and nations.

What does it mean to honor your parents? The word for "honor" carries the notion of weight and heaviness; children ought to feel the weight of respect for their parents. Parents are owed such regard because God has placed them in their roles, and the stewardship of such a role is worth its weight in honor. While children are in view here, the Bible also has much to say about parenting that honors God (see Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21).

How does a child display this honor? In several ways. For one, a child ought to show practical respect to his or her parents. This can be as simple as speaking well of our parents, showing them courtesy, looking them in the eye, and addressing them with a due sense of deference. Second, it involves genuine love; there should be heartfelt expressions of affection between parents and their children. Third, unless it would involve disobeying God, a child ought to obey what his or her mom and dad say. I This expectation is found all over Proverbs: for example, "Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching" (Proverbs 1:8). Fourth, a child should submit to their parents' discipline. All good parents discipline their children (though it must not be done in anger nor vindictively or disproportionately), and children ought to trust that such discipline is for their good (Hebrews 12:5-11).

In ancient Israel, respect for parents was valued so highly that those who disregarded it flagrantly or persistently faced the death penalty (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). Why such a significant consequence? Because the home provides a vital training ground, the success of which affects how the child will relate to authorities of all kinds. We never outrun authority in our lives. There are political authorities we are called to obey (Romans 13:1-7), spiritual authorities we are to respect (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12), and those of advanced years we are commanded to honor (Leviticus 19:32). Most significantly, when children learn to honor their parents, even despite their parents' many imperfections, they learn what it means to honor our perfect heavenly Father. Reverence for parents is an integral part of reverence for God. Because their authority is God-given, to honor them is to honor God Himself.

So if you are a parent with children at home, it is not loving (though it may be easier) to fail to insist that your children honor you. And if you are an adult with parents still living, it is a matter of obedience to God that you show them the honor they are due, not according to how well (or otherwise) you feel they raised you but according to the position the Lord gave them. As you honor them, you will be pleasing Him and showing those around you that God-given authority, when exercised in a godly way, is a blessing to all.

EPHESIANS 6:1-4

Bible Through The Year: Exodus 34-35; James 3

 TOKONAKI MA ‘ASI 1, 2025

KEEP THE SABBATH, PART TWO

KO E TAUHI ‘O E SAPATE (Konga hono 2)

EXODUS 20:9-10

"Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God." 

‘EKISOTO 20:9-10

9 Ko e ‘aho ‘e ono te ke ngāue, ‘o fai ai ho ngaahi nafa kehekehe; 10 ka ko hono ‘aho fitu ko e Sāpate ia ‘a Sihova ko ho ‘Otua: tapu ho‘o fai ai ha momo‘i ngāue, ‘a koe mo ho‘o fānau tangata pe fānau fefine, ko ho‘o tamaio‘eiki, pe ko ho‘o kaunanga, pe ko ho‘o fanga manu, pe ko ha ‘āunofo ‘oku ‘i ho kolo.

Having established that the fourth commandment remains what it has always been - a commandment of the Lord - and as such is relevant to our lives, we can now think profitably about how to keep it. But we must be careful as we get specific about honoring the Sabbath. The Lord Jesus, after all, had some very strong words for the Pharisees regarding the way their moral specificity had become a means not of obedience but of self-righteousness (Mark 2:23 - 3:6).

With trembling and humility, then, let's consider how are we to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. How do we prevent worldly concerns - those of leisure, recreation, and work - from infringing on our enjoyment and worship of God?

Let's think first of public worship. What kinds of conversations do you typically have prior to the worship service? Are they concerned at any point with the things of God, or only ever with sports, family, and every other thing? It takes an act of the will to give eternal matters priority in our minds and mouths. If you were to determine that in your preparation for worship you would set aside every priority which looms so large on other days, I guarantee your time at church would be changed.

The same goes for after the service. When the last song has been sung and the service is over, how long does it take for your mind and conversation to return to worldly matters? If we were instead to commit to spending time after the service speaking to one another about the greatness of God, the truth of His word, and the wonder of His dealings with us, and praying with one another about the week ahead and the trials we face, then we would begin to understand better the "one another" passages in the New Testament about encouraging one another (Hebrews 10:25), speaking the truth to one another (Ephesians 4:25), and building one another up (1 Thessalonians 5:11)—for we would be living them out.

Similarly, in our private affairs on the Lord's Day, spiritual improvement should still take priority. That may mean family worship, reading edifying books, prayer, discussion of what was preached that morning, and more - but whatever it means, we should make it our aim not to let the cares of the other six days push into our spiritual enjoyment of the first day of the week.

If you want to profit from keeping the Sabbath, and if you want to take the fourth commandment seriously, then your conviction must fuel your action, and aspiration must turn into practice. Avoid making rules that only foster self-righteousness, but consider whether anything needs to change. How will you keep the Sabbath holy the next time Sunday comes round?

ISAIAH 58:13-59:2

Bible Through The Year: Exodus 31-33; James 2