Why This Teaching Matters Now: Stop False Witness

You Cannot Love Jesus and Slander Catholics and Jews!

SERIES INTRODUCTORY BLOG POST

Why This Teaching Matters Now: Stop False Witness

Series: You Cannot Love Jesus and Slander Catholics and Jews!
Author: Dr. Shawn M. Greener, Follower of the Way
Platform: True Word, Faith for LIFE!

There is a reason this series must exist now.

Not because disagreement is new.
Not because theological differences suddenly appeared.
But because something has gone deeply wrong in how many Christians speak, share, accuse, and wound in the name of “truth.”

We are living in a moment where Christianity has become loud, certain, and brittle.
Confident, but not careful.
Bold, but not faithful.

And in that climate, people are being injured in the name of God.

This series exists because silence is no longer an option.

You can disagree with Catholic doctrine.
You can disagree with Jewish theology.
You can debate history.
You can argue Bible interpretation with precision.

But you cannot love Jesus and spread lies about Catholics and Jews.

You cannot claim to follow the Truth while carrying false witness like a badge of courage.
You cannot worship the God of Israel and hate image bearers made in His likeness.

And if that feels confrontational, it should.

Because the modern church has been quietly discipled by outrage instead of Scripture.
By algorithms instead of covenant ethics.
By memes instead of moral formation.

What many call discernment today is often little more than suspicion baptized in Bible language.
What many call courage is often cruelty without accountability.
And what many call “spiritual warfare” is frequently intentional sin.

Slander is not spiritual warfare.
It is a violation of covenant loyalty.
And Jesus never cosigns it.

This series is not about Catholics.
It is not about Jews.
It is not about Mary.

It is about Christians.

It is about how we speak.
What we repeat.
What we verify.
What we weaponize.
And whether we will obey King Jesus with our mouths, or disobey Him with our thumbs.

In the Ancient Near Eastern world, words were not harmless.
False testimony could destroy inheritance, reputation, marriage, legal standing, and life itself.
That is why the commandment against false witness sits at the moral center of the covenant.

The New Covenant does not relax that standard.
It raises it.

If you claim allegiance to Jesus, your speech is no longer your own.
Your platform is no longer yours.
Your certainty does not give you permission to wound.

Truth never authorizes cruelty.
Conviction never licenses contempt.
And discernment never excuses dehumanization.

This series is a call to repentance in the digital age.
A call to verify before sharing.
To contextualize before accusing.
To repair when harm has been done.
And to let King Jesus govern our speech again.

Because this is living REAL Life, in the REAL world, with REAL Faith in full understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Scroll down.
Engage honestly.
Examine your assumptions.
And walk this journey with courage, humility, and covenant faithfulness.

Shalom b’Shem Yeshua
© 2026 Dr. Shawn M. Greener. All Rights Reserved.
True Word, Faith for LIFE!

PART II

INTENSIVE ACADEMIC STUDY GUIDE

You Cannot Love Jesus and Slander Catholics and Jews!

Episode 1 Study Guide

Why This Teaching Matters Now: Stop False Witness

I. STUDY SUMMARY

This study addresses one of the most neglected yet destructive sins normalized in modern Christian discourse: false witness. Specifically, false witness directed toward Catholics and Jews under the banner of “discernment,” “truth telling,” or “spiritual warfare.”

Rooted in the Hebraic worldview, Ancient Near Eastern covenant ethics, and the moral demands of both the Torah and the New Covenant, this guide demonstrates that slander is not a secondary issue. It is a covenant violation.

The study challenges believers to submit their speech, platforms, and online behavior to the authority of King Jesus, rejecting caricature, rumor, exaggeration, and contempt as incompatible with discipleship.

II. CORE THEOLOGICAL CLAIM

Theology that lacks love always produces damage, and loyalty to King Jesus never permits false witness.

This claim is not sentimental. It is covenantal.

III. KEY HEBRAIC AND GREEK TERMS

False Witness (Hebrew: sheqer)
Refers to deception, distortion, or testimony that misrepresents reality. In ANE legal culture, false testimony could result in severe penalties because of its power to destroy lives.

Lashon Hara (Hebrew: “evil tongue”)
A rabbinic ethical category encompassing slander, gossip, and even true statements used to cause harm, humiliation, or social destruction. Lashon hara focuses not only on accuracy, but intent and consequence.

Truth (Greek: aletheia)
In Pauline usage, truth is not merely factual correctness, but relational faithfulness that builds unity within the body of Messiah.

IV. PRIMARY BIBLICAL TEXTS WITH CONTEXT

Exodus 20:16

LEB:
“You shall not testify against your neighbor as a witness of deceit.”

CJSB:
“Do not give false evidence against your neighbor.”

Context:
Spoken by Moses to Israel at Sinai following deliverance from Egypt. This commandment establishes covenant ethics for community life, not merely courtroom procedure. In the ANE, words had legal and social force. False testimony threatened the stability of the covenant community.

 

Leviticus 19:16

LEB:
“You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand against the blood of your neighbor; I am Yahweh.”

CJSB:
“Do not go around spreading slander among your people, but also don’t stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake; I am ADONAI.”

Context:
God explicitly links slander with bloodshed. Speech can create social permission for harm. This command embeds moral responsibility into everyday communication.

 

Ephesians 4:25

LEB:
“Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor, because we are members of one another.”

CJSB:
“Therefore, strip off falsehood and speak truth each one to his neighbor, because we are intimately related to each other as parts of a body.”

Context:
Paul writes to believers being formed into a new humanity in Messiah. Falsehood fractures the body. Truth is a covenant obligation grounded in unity, not tribal loyalty.

 

Romans 2:1

LEB:
“Therefore you are without excuse, O man, everyone who judges.”

CJSB:
“You have no excuse, whoever you are, passing judgment.”

Context:
Paul dismantles self righteousness and exposes humanity’s addiction to condemnation. The cross indicts all and invites all. Scripture cannot be used to excuse contempt.

V. HISTORICAL AND SOCIO CULTURAL APPLICATION

Historically, accusations such as “Jews killed Jesus” and “Catholics are pagan” have resulted in real violence, persecution, and death. These claims ignore historical complexity, Roman responsibility, and God’s redemptive sovereignty.

In digital culture, false witness spreads faster and wider than ever. Screenshots, memes, and clipped quotes now function as testimony. Covenant ethics must govern digital speech as seriously as ancient courtrooms.

VI. THE RECEIPTS STANDARD

Before sharing any claim, believers must answer:

1. Who said it?
2. What is the primary source?
3. What is the full context?
4. What fruit does it produce?

Suspicion is not discernment. Outrage is not holiness.

VII. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Where have you seen slander justified as discernment in Christian spaces?
2. How does the concept of lashon hara challenge modern content creation?
3. What responsibility do Christians have to correct false claims they previously shared?
4. How does covenant loyalty reshape online behavior?

VIII. PRACTICAL APPLICATION

For seven days, refrain from sharing any claim about Catholics or Jews without primary source verification and context. If falsehood is discovered, delete it, correct it publicly, and repent.

This is not optional righteousness. It is covenant obedience.

IX. FINAL EXHORTATION

Truth without love becomes cruelty.
Conviction without integrity becomes hypocrisy.

Lay down the stones.
Pick up your cross.
Follow the King.
Let your mouth become clean again.

Shalom b’Shem Yeshua
© 2026 Dr. Shawn M. Greener. All Rights Reserved.
True Word, Faith for LIFE!