Status: Active
PC-180
PC-180
"If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you." ~ Deut. 19:16-19
This commandment requires the court to punish a false witness according to the punishment affixed to the crime he falsely accused his brother of. If the testimony of the false witness would have resulted in the defendant loosing money, the court would take that money from the false witness. If the testimony of a false witness would have resulted in lashing the defendant, the court would lash the false witness. If the testimony of a false witness would have punished the defendant with execution, then the false witness would be executed by the court.
This strict punishment for perjury is a protection for the falsely accused, and a restriction placed upon the power of secular government. Rushdoony explains:
"Pagan cultures basically expected false testimony and relied on torture to extract the desired statements, whether true or false. Because Biblical law does not permit torture, nor does it permit testimony beyond certain limits, it requires the strictest honesty within those limits or else justice is thwarted. Because the Bible respects the person, it requires much of the person and therefore punishes the person who fails to maintain the God-ordained standard."[1]
This aspect of Biblical law was once a part of American law in many states. The validity of this commandment has been reaffirmed in the New Testament (see Rom. 13:9).
This commandment is a restriction on the power of secular government and a protection for defendants against false accusation. This commandment has not been repealed, and is part of the definition of righteous judgement commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to petition our leaders, or enact when possible, the same restrictions upon the governments in which we reside. Governments who do not punish perjury place the innocent at risk.
[1] Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law, p. 612.
This strict punishment for perjury is a protection for the falsely accused, and a restriction placed upon the power of secular government. Rushdoony explains:
"Pagan cultures basically expected false testimony and relied on torture to extract the desired statements, whether true or false. Because Biblical law does not permit torture, nor does it permit testimony beyond certain limits, it requires the strictest honesty within those limits or else justice is thwarted. Because the Bible respects the person, it requires much of the person and therefore punishes the person who fails to maintain the God-ordained standard."[1]
This aspect of Biblical law was once a part of American law in many states. The validity of this commandment has been reaffirmed in the New Testament (see Rom. 13:9).
This commandment is a restriction on the power of secular government and a protection for defendants against false accusation. This commandment has not been repealed, and is part of the definition of righteous judgement commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to petition our leaders, or enact when possible, the same restrictions upon the governments in which we reside. Governments who do not punish perjury place the innocent at risk.
[1] Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law, p. 612.
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