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Discussion Forum : Scriptures and Doctrine : Is it ever okay to lie?

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inotof
Member



Joined: 2005/1/7
Posts: 267
Morehead, KY

 Is it ever okay to lie?

i got a question. Rahab. She lied about the spies yet she was preserved and her family as well. yet proverbs says that lying lips are an abomination. how do your reconcile the fact with out getting into relitivism? not looking to stir up strife, this was posed to me ans i couldn't answer it. is it kay to lie to preserve human life? (there are others as well)


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David

 2005/6/9 12:35Profile
dann
Member



Joined: 2005/2/16
Posts: 239
Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

 Re: Is it ever okay to lie?

Lying wasn't the only sin that Rahab committed. She was a prostitute after all.

The bible doesn't excuse her lying (or her prostitution for that matter). She wasn't saved because of her lying - nor were the men saved because of her lying. God would have saved those men even had she not lied. God wasn't blessing her because of her sin - rather he was blessing her (as he does each of us) --in spite of-- her sin.

Lying is never acceptable, nor is it ever blessed by God. God doesn't bless the 'sinless' or no one would be blessed. I hope that makes sense. Our sin may condemn us, but our obedience will never merit favor - like the servant in Christ's parable, even if we could be perfect in our obedience - sinless that is - we would have done nothing worthy of a blessing...

Food for thought.

Grace and peace.

Dan
/\/
\/\


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Daniel van de Laar

 2005/6/9 12:41Profile
5nva
Member



Joined: 2003/8/15
Posts: 179


 Re:

This is something I have thought about off on on for some time.

Was it a sin for Christians that helped hide Jews from Hitler when they lied about hiding them? I personnally don't think they were sinning. Or maybe it was still sin but God saw it diferently, I don't know.

That's just a thought.

Mike


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Mike

 2005/6/9 13:17Profile
RobertW
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Joined: 2004/2/12
Posts: 4636
St. Joseph, Missouri

 Re:

What is a lie?


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Robert Wurtz II

 2005/6/9 13:26Profile
5nva
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Joined: 2003/8/15
Posts: 179


 Re:

By definition a lie is a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth or saying something with the intention to deceive someone. Was it a lie? By that defination, yes. Was it wrong or sin, I still don't think so.

Mike


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Mike

 2005/6/9 13:31Profile
GaryE
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Joined: 2005/4/26
Posts: 376
Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania

 Re:


There are different places in the bible where people use deception that are usually thought of as being Godly people. When David left the spit go down on his beard while hiding from Saul in enemy territory, he was living a lie. It seems to me that a person does not always have to speak a lie for it to be a lie.

Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Thank God that the repentant believer has had the curse for these sins buried with Christ in the Red Sea of God's forgetfullness. Thank God the scape goat {Jesus} has carried our sins away. That God we have entered the city of refuge {Jesus} where our accusor can't get us as long as we stay in the border of that city. Thank God the blood that is carried into the Holliest seperates the presence of God over the Ark from the law that is against us that is in the Ark and that we can as priests enter the Throne of Grace with that blood to present our petitions and confess our sins. Thank God by faith in what Jesus has done the curse of our sins has been nailed to the cross. Gal 3:13, 2 Cor 5:21

In Christ,
GaryE


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Gary Eckenroth

 2005/6/9 15:32Profile
philologos
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Joined: 2003/7/18
Posts: 6566
Reading, UK

 Re: Is it ever okay to lie?

Quote:
i got a question. Rahab. She lied about the spies yet she was preserved and her family as well. yet proverbs says that lying lips are an abomination. how do your reconcile the fact with out getting into relitivism? not looking to stir up strife, this was posed to me ans i couldn't answer it. is it kay to lie to preserve human life? (there are others as well)


The Bible, unlike some of us preachers, doesn't try to do everything at once! It is quite happy, at times, simply to record events without passing a judgment. The dispute between Barnabas and Paul is a classic example. According to their temperaments Christians side with one or the other, but the Bible doesnn't. It simply records the facts. The book of Judges is apalling in some of the 'facts' it records.

Rahab is a good example. We have enough evidence to charge her with lying and treason, but the scripture sticks to its point and simply commends her faith. I mentioned this recently on another thread but it is amazing how many stories the Bible leaves 'unfinished'. I think we do well to be cautious in accusing those that the Bible does not accuse.

I have taken New Testaments and concordances through communist custom posts and when asked 'are you carrying Bibles I have said 'no'. My words were technically accurate. I had my own single Bible and more New Testaments and much more material that they were looking for, but my answer was technically accurate in that they asked a question about 'bibles' - plural which I answered accurately. But I did so with the intention to deceive, so was that a lie?

A linked question is 'does one lie make a liar?'. If I have driven a bus, does that make me a bus-driver? Liar, as with the other descriptions in the Revelation list, seems to be indicating a fixed pattern of life. In the comfort of our homes it is easy to be absolute in our convictions, but when the situation faces us where our word may mean life or death for someone else we will need that grace which comes 'in the nick of time' to know how we should behave.


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Ron Bailey

 2005/6/10 2:08Profile
no_stamp
Member



Joined: 2004/12/19
Posts: 19
Australia, Queensland, Brisbane

 Re: Is it ever okay to lie?

I was asked this same question by somebody who I was evangelising too. I wasn't to sure how to answer it so I said to them I'm not sure about that and it may be different in that aspect. Anyway I wrote to Ray Comfort regarding it and he replied with the following -

This is from [i]How to Bring Your Children to Christ[/i]

[b]A Question of Yes or No[/b]
Here now is a very interesting question that may come up. Should Christians always tell the truth? Before you say a quick "Yes," I have a scenario for you. The reason for me doing this is because you may be asked the question by your child, or by some cynic:

Your wife and kids are hiding behind a false wall upstairs in a house in Nazi Germany. She is Jewish; you are German. Your kids are considered to be Jewish (the lineage is through the mother). The Nazis come to your door and say, "Are there any Jews hiding in this house. Yes or No?"
You are aware that if you say "No," they will quickly move on to the next house. If you say, "Yes," your beloved wife will be immediately arrested, raped (many times) by German soldiers, humiliated, and then be put to death in a concentration camp. Your children will be separated from their mother and become State-owned. They will be put to death if they are weak. If they are strong they will be renamed, adopted, brainwashed, and then raised as Nazi youth.
Not wanting to lie, you say a simple "Yes." The soldiers ransack the house and find your wife and your terrified kids. As the excited soldiers bring your beloved wife passed you, you look her in the eye and say, "I'm sorry about that Honey. I was thinking of me, not you. I didn't want to transgress my conscience."

I'm not saying that Christians should lie. But I will say that Rahab the Harlot lied to the King about hiding Hebrew spies, and there is no condemnation pronouced against her (see Joshua 2:1-6, Hebrews 11:31).
Be careful with this scenario; it's a church-splitter. I would simply say to those who press for an answer, "I will cross that bridge when I come to it...when Nazis come to my door."

I avoide the "Yes I have a told a lie but what about the Nazis..." by just saying "I know what you are saying-there's a difference between discretion and a bold-faced lie. Have you ever told a bold-faced lie?"


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Peter

 2005/6/10 2:42Profile
RobertW
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Joined: 2004/2/12
Posts: 4636
St. Joseph, Missouri

 Re:

Quote:
A linked question is 'does one lie make a liar?'. If I have driven a bus, does that make me a bus-driver? Liar, as with the other descriptions in the Revelation list, seems to be indicating a fixed pattern of life. In the comfort of our homes it is easy to be absolute in our convictions, but when the situation faces us where our word may mean life or death for someone else we will need that grace which comes 'in the nick of time' to know how we should behave.



I have thought about this question often and found that the word for 'liar' is used in one form or another about 13 times in the NT and 9 of them are in John's writings. Looking at all he said about the topic it seems to me that the lying he is referring to has to do with the Kingdom as opposed to simple everyday life. a person who says that they know God and do not keep His commandments or a person who does not believe on Christ, etc. The lies seemed to be directly connected to Kingdom issues. Lying against the Truth or making a pretense to misrepresent the Truth. When I say the "[u]T[/u]ruth" I am referring to the Truth of God's word. I am wondering if a distinction should be made between "Bearing false witness against againt "thy neighbor" or "God" or "Christ" or the "Truth of the Gospel" and simply making a statement to the spys such as Rehab did.


God Bless,

-Robert


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Robert Wurtz II

 2005/6/10 10:14Profile
preacher_ish
Member



Joined: 2005/6/9
Posts: 22
Atmore, AL

 Re: philologos' Response

Nice post philologos...

"I have taken New Testaments and concordances through communist custom posts and when asked 'are you carrying Bibles I have said 'no'. My words were technically accurate. I had my own single Bible and more New Testaments and much more material that they were looking for, but my answer was technically accurate in that they asked a question about 'bibles' - plural which I answered accurately. But I did so with the intention to deceive, so was that a lie?"

It is kind of like Corrie Tin Boom and her involvement in preserving a people under persecution... she oft times lived a lie, but how she trusted in her Lord.

preacher_ish


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Brother Dennis

 2005/6/12 22:09Profile





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