Mandate 3

Again he said to me, “Love truth, and let all truth come from your mouth, so that the spirit God caused to dwell in this flesh may be found truthful before all people. In this way the Lord who dwells in you will be glorified, because the Lord is true in every word, and there is no falsehood in Him. Those who lie, therefore, reject the Lord and become defrauders of the Lord, because they do not return to Him the deposit they received. For they received from Him a spirit free from falsehood. If they return it as a lying spirit, they have defiled the Lord’s commandment and have become defrauders.” When I heard this, I wept bitterly. Seeing me weep, he said, “Why are you weeping?” “Because, Sir,” I said, “I do not know whether I can be saved.” “Why?” he said. “Because, Sir,” I said, “I have never yet spoken a true word in my life. Instead, I have always spoken craftily with everyone and presented my falsehood as truth before all people. No one ever contradicted me, but my word was believed. How then, Sir, can I live after doing these things?” “Your thinking,” he said, “is good and true. For as a servant of God you ought to have walked in truth, and an evil conscience should not dwell with the spirit of truth or bring grief to the spirit that is venerable and true.” “Never, Sir,” I said, “have I heard such words explained so precisely.” “Now, then,” he said, “you hear them. Keep them, so that even the former falsehoods you spoke in your business dealings may become credible when these present words are found true; for even those can become trustworthy. If you keep these things and from now on speak all truth, you will be able to secure life for yourself. And whoever hears this commandment and keeps away from falsehood, that most wicked thing, will live to God.”