In our earlier discussions of charges, perjury, etc. we showed that it is contrary to Scripture to allow slanderers and defamers a free hand. The Scriptures require us to sift and weigh evidence in order to avoid participating in the false accuser’s sin after the fact. A judiciary proceeding that does not require independent confirmation, does not require cross examination, does not hold false witnesses accountable, is a judiciary proceeding that has made itself, in principle, an instrument of injustice. It is the judiciary from hell.
This kind of carelessness is culpable. In other words, under these circumstances, it is a sin to be lied to. The sin of “being lied to” is clearly referred to in Scripture. “An evildoer gives heed to false lips; a liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue” (Prov. 17:4, NKJV). As with all proverbs, we have to remember that they do not communicate truth in an “all triangles have three sides” kind of way. Sometimes a bird in the hand is not worth two in the bush. This is the case with scriptural proverbs also. Sometimes lazy people win the lottery, and poverty does not come upon them like a bandit. The truth of the proverb remains for all that. This is to say that some people who believe a lie are victims. But this proverb tells us that there is one who is lied to who is not a victim at all.
This proverb refers to the sin of being lied to. An evildoer listens to false lips; and an evil man listens to liars. This means that the contrary option, the one followed by the righteous man, is to reject the liar, to refuse to give him the time of day. But when a spiteful tongue comes around a liar, he is operating in a seller’s market. The liar listens eagerly to words that are passed on by the spiteful tongue. The Bible is clear about this — those who believe false lips and spiteful tongues in this way are disobedient themselves.
As noted above, it is atrocious when a court or arbitrating body allows itself to be manipulated by this kind of person. And this is why the acceptance of anonymous testimony is wicked, to waive the requirement of independent confirmation is disobedient, and to hear one side of the story only is evil. This is because the adjudicatory inside is supposed to be a seawall against the tumult of the mob outside. Whem rumors fly through the streets, or around the internet, the story can gather quite a head of steam. And when it gathers this head of steam, it can all come together outside the place where justice is supposed to be administered and loudly demand somebody’s head. But in the scriptural world, it is far, far better to let ten guilty men go free than to convict one innocent man, whether or not the mob likes it.
I am a presbyterian. I believe in the system of representative government that presbyterianism exhibits. I believe that this form of government (in its essentials) is ancient, going back at least to the time of Moses. I believe that the government of the synagogue was essentially presbyterian. I believe that government by representative elders was not just local, but also including broader assemblies, like the Sanhedrin. If this is the case, and all presbyterians that I know of believe that it is, then we should take care to remember that it was a General Assembly, a presbyterian court, that convicted the Son of God, and demanded His execution. Having the right forms on paper is no protection at all. It is not enough to have righteous governmental blueprints; we must also have righteous men — men to love the truth because they love the Truth.