As we have been exploring the ethical issue of lying I have tried to cover the subject from a biblical perspective which states that God first and foremost hates lying. Why? Because at its core lying is about deception and harm. In part four I started to unpack different people from scripture that lied, and it would seem did not suffer for it. In fact they seemed to profit from it, like Abraham. I in no way am advocating lying as a practice or habit, but there seem to be cases in scripture, as well as real life, where lying is rewarded because of the reason and motive behind it. If you haven’t read the first four articles on this subject it is imperative you do so now to get a whole perspective that I have laid out.
Remember the apostle Paul’s declaration that “The letter kills but the Spirit gives life” in 2 Corinthians 3:6. Paul was talking about being a minister of the new covenant which was after the heart of man not just the outward obedience. In looking at a topic like lying we need to be careful that we don’t just judge by what we might have been taught as believers on lying but at what the scripture is after with regards to our conduct and motives. That being said, let’s look at a few more examples of people who lied and how God reacted to their behavior.
First is the woman Rahab who lived in the city of Jericho. She hid the spy’s from Israel and lied to the city’s king about their whereabouts. Clearly she lied and in fact the book of Hebrews in the New Testament said she was obedient in doing so.
Joshua 2:2-4
The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.” But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from.
Hebrews 11:31
By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
Rahab is listed in Hebrews 11, which is often called the “Hall of Faith,” listing people we should admire for their acts of faith in trying times. No matter how you cut it, she was praised for hiding the spies and at the cost of her own life. Did she lie? You would have to say yes.
Second is Jacob, Isaac’s son. He seemed to have a habit of lying and even his name meant “Deceiver.” Not until he was running for his life did he embrace God as his God. Pain and fear have a way of sobering us up to who we are and who we are not.
Genesis 27:18-20
He (Jacob) went to his father and said, “My father.” “Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.” Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”“The LORD your God gave me success,” he replied.
Jacob was convinced by his mother to deceive his father because he wanted his father’s blessing, which was promised to Essau. Even though Jacob was a liar at heart God pursued him, even when he was running from Esau who was hunting him down to kill him because Jacob stole his birthright. Even though he lied to his father before he died, God pursued Jacob to bless him. In Genesis 28 Jacob had a supernatural encounter while running away: God spoke to him about watching over him and his decedents. God doesn’t rebuke him, but blesses him even though he lied to his father in such a grievous. Is it any wonder why God gave him a new name of Israel after he embraced the Lord as his own God? He needed a new identity to grow into.
Then there is David who is running for his life from the murderous King Saul. David goes to the priest who had consecrated bread that only the priest could eat and David asked for it and Goliath’s sword. David lied about the “Mission” he was on and because he lied the priest was later killed by Saul. Often our lies wound others even though we didn’t intend them harm.
1 Samuel 21:1-2
David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place.”
Lastly, I want to bring up a New Testament story that was not blessed by God. It is the story of Ananias and Sapphira who lied to Peter when bringing the proceeds from selling some property. It seems pretty innocent by appearances, but remember God looks at the motives of the heart.
Acts 5:1-5
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.
What is clear about these two people is they lied to gain a dishonest reputation for being godly, and generous. There seems to be a very different motive in this lie compared to the ones I have written about previously. Let me tie this subject up.
1) Lying, as the scripture presents it, is a sin that needs to be repented of.
2) God hates lying.
3) It appears that people who have lied in some cases were not punished but rather blessed because of the circumstance. God is always after the motives of our heart and deals with us accordingly.
4) The letter of the law (God’s Word) kills if not guided by the Holy Spirit. An example is Jesus healing on the Sabbath.
If we look through the eye of reality and not through a narrow view of life we see that there are always exceptions to most rules and I believe that included lying as we have investigated. If a person is an undercover cop and must lie to hide his identity, If one person is trying to protect another person from the evil intent of others and lies. If a person is at war and must lie to protect others or himself after being captured and lies. All these and many more could be exceptions and have to be looked at on an individual basis. When person is caught doing something against the law they try to determine intent. I believe god does the same thing.
Closing statements about lying:
- We should never confuse lying as being an action that we should use to better our lives.
- There are times when lying is justified when when harm will come to ourselves or others but not for the sake of advantage for gain or profit.
- There are times when a person forfeits their right to know the truth. Only a person who has the moral or legal right to know the truth.
- Regardless of the reason for lying, in my book it is best to confess and repent as God is the one who will ultimately judge our conduct.
Questions:
1) Have you realized you intentionally or non-intentionally lie? Confess and ask God’s forgiveness – 1 John 1:9
2) Has lying become a familiar friend or habit? Seek a trust person to hold you accountable and break the habit – James 5:16
May God help us to change to be like Jesus
Pastor Dale
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