不要論斷人
論第八誡：你不可作假见证陷害人
常見的瘟疫
我們常見邪惡的瘟疫是每個人喜歡聽到關於鄰捨的壞事，多過好事。我們雖然邪惡。但卻不能夠容忍別人對我說壞話。每一個人都喜歡全世界誇獎他，卻不能忍受誇獎別人的話。
禁止個人審判
為了避免這惡，我們應該注意：除非被賦予審判和責難的權柄，否則無人可以公開地論斷和責難他的鄰捨，即使看到某人犯罪也是不能。論斷罪惡和認識罪惡有很大的區別。你可以認識罪惡，但是卻不能論斷罪惡（太7:1-5）。我可能看見和聽到鄰捨犯罪。但卻無律法要求我向公眾揭露鄰捨的罪行。如果我魯莽論斷，審判他為罪，我就落入比他更大的罪中了。即使你知道某事，也不要做任何事情。把你的耳朵丟進墳墓里，然後埋葬它。直到你被任命為審判官，有權行審判和刑罰時，再做審判吧！
毀謗者的嘴臉
毀謗者就是不滿足於知道某事，而要爭先審判人的人。當他們聽到某人犯了小過，立刻把閒話傳遍每個角落。他們之所以開心，是因為挑起他人不開心，就如豬在泥中打滾，用大鼻子將泥土翻來翻去一樣。他們就像干涉上帝的審判和職責的人，用最嚴厲的判詞宣判、責難人。因為法官宣判時可以使用的最嚴厲的判詞，也不過就是宣告：某人是賊、兇手、叛徒，等等而已。所以，誰如果控告他的鄰捨有這些罪，實在就像他有與皇帝、和所有政府同等的權威一般。因你雖未用刀劍，卻要你惡毒的舌頭，羞辱傷害你的鄰居（詩140:3）。
因此上帝禁止這樣的行為，即使他人真有罪，也不准說那人的壞話。若是罪行並不確定，就更加禁止道聽途說了。——馬丁路德（《協同書》大問答，十誡，第八誡）
On 8th Commandment: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
For it is a common evil plague that everyone prefers hearing evil more than hearing good about his neighbor. We ourselves are so bad that we cannot allow anyone to say anything bad about us. Everyone would much prefer that all the world should speak of him in glowing terms. Yet we cannot bear that the best is spoken about others.
To avoid this vice we should note that no one is allowed publicly to judge and reprove his neighbor—even though he may see him sin—unless he has a command to judge and to reprove. 266 There is a great difference between these two things: judging sin and knowing about sin. You may indeed know about it, but you are not to judge it [Matthew 7:1–5]. I can indeed see and hear that my neighbor sins. But I have no command to report it to others. Now, if I rush in, judging and passing sentence, I fall into a sin that is greater than his. But if you know about it, do nothing other than turn your ears into a grave and cover it, until you are appointed to be judge and to punish by virtue of your office.
People are called slanderers who are not content with knowing a thing, but go on to assume jurisdiction. When they know about a slight offense committed by another person, they carry it into every corner. They are delighted and tickled that they can stir up another’s displeasure, just as swine delight to roll themselves in the dirt and root in it with the snout. 268 This is nothing other than meddling with God’s judgment and office and pronouncing sentence and punishment with the most severe verdict. For no judge can punish to a higher degree nor go farther than to say, “That person is a thief, a murderer, a traitor,” and so on. Therefore, whoever presumes to say the same things about his neighbor goes just as far as the emperor and all governments. For although you do not wield the sword, you use your poisonous tongue to shame and hurt your neighbor [Psalm 140:3].(Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions (p 389–390))
