Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the ninth commandment covers a lot of territory relating to our own and our neighbor's good name, especially in witness-bearing. Literally translated, it says "You shall not answer against your neighbor as a false witness." But though the commandment contains many directions in which we could go, and says much about the right way to speak and forbids wrong ways of speaking, I want to narrow the focus this morning and speak specifically of one major sin: Lying. The tongue can no man tame, but if we start to understand what lying is and why it's always wrong, we have a better chance. Through the power of the Holy Spirit of truth, you and I can be people of truth who put away lying. So let's trace some major aspects of the lie this morning with the goal of rooting them out of our lives and repenting of them. The ninth commandment forbids lying because Jesus loves truth — and if we love Him, we will love the truth too.