Just as you dislike when someone lies to you, so does the Lord. In fact, He is incapable of lying — “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18).
The Book of John explains the history of lying. “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do…he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).
Lying without repentance and forgiveness leads to “the second death” described in Revelation, which says, “all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).
Be faithful to the Bible’s teachings and if you have lied, seek forgiveness from those to whom you have lied, and obey the Gospel, for “He is faithful and forgiving us our sins to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9; Matthew 5:23-25).
Even lying in life-or-death situations is opposed, as the Book of Matthew says, “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Your soul and salvation matter more than your body for you, and should not be traded for anything in this physical life (Matthew 16:26).
What does the Bible say about lying?
“Have you ever told a lie?” Many would probably have toanswer “yes” to that question at least once, maybe even manytimes. Lying is a subject that is almost universal in nature. Andwe have a tendency to classify lies. Some lies we think of as biglies, while we deem other lies as insignificant. In the first partof this topic, we will start with examining the question, “Whatdoes God really think about lying?”Is being truthful a daily challenge? Certainly we facechallenges in our lives, but not always daily ones.
Some years ago there was a study indicating that the average person liestwenty-five times a day. How can this be?Think about the many situations in which people lie. Maybea father comes home after a long day at work, and as the familyis sitting down to relax and eat dinner, the telephone rings.Another family member answers, and finds the call is for thefather…and it’s a telemarketer. It is so easy to say, “Tell themI’m not here!” Sometimes one might say it before they evenstop to think about it. If you start adding up incidents like that,then yes, perhaps the average person does lie twenty-five timesa day. Hopefully Christians do not, butthe average person does.
According to one poll, the majorityof people interviewed said they have liedand would do so again, either to protectthemselves or to keep from hurtingsomeone else’s feelings. But wouldn’t it hurt to know you hadbeen lied to? This poll tells us that most people do not have aproblem with lying. Or maybe we should say most people dohave a problem with lying!People say they lie to protect themselves, to keep fromhurting others and also to get out of trouble. This last one seemsto be a common reason to lie. One writer has defined a lie as“a coward’s way of getting out of trouble.” This is a fittingdefinition because sometimes it takes some real courage andmoral fiber to tell the truth.
Here’s a good question to consider: “At what age does lyingbecome a problem for people?” This question was once asked ofa group of people whose response was, “As soon as they learnto talk.” That seems quite accurate. Maybe even one of the firstsins that young people commit in life is telling a lie, becauseit is so easy to do. They get caught doing something wrongand lie to avoid getting in trouble. And it certainly doesn’tstop with children. Probably all of us can call to mind imagesof government officials lying and committing perjury to keepthemselves out of trouble.
Sadly, lying is one of those sins that people tend to think ofas not a big deal. We think, “Ah, what’s it going to hurt?” Withthat thought in mind, let’s look at Proverbs 6:16-19: “These sixthings the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: Aproud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, aheart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running toevil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discordamong brethren.” Notice that in this short list of seven thingsGod hates, two of the things mentioned are “a lying tongue” and“a false witness that speaks lies.” Two of the seven things Goddespises involve lying. On our human scale, lying doesn’t rankhigh up there, but what about God’s scale? On the Sin-O-Meter(if there were such a thing), God is saying, “Here are seventhings I despise, that are an abomination, that are particularlyrepulsive in my sight, and lying is one of them.” In fact, wemight say that lying is two of them.
With that being the case, ifwe are going to be right, we need to change our perspective onhow we look at things. We need to start looking at lying the wayGod looks at it.Let’s define “lying.” Webster’s Dictionary defines lying thisway, “to utter falsehood with an intention to deceive…to causean incorrect impression; to present a misleading appearance…”In light of this definition, think aboutthis question, “Can a person lie withoutactually saying the words?” Sometimespeople will bend over backwards to lead someone to believe something that is nottrue, but they will not actually say thewords. Afterwards they will say, “Well,I didn’t lie.” Sometimes in court peopleplay these little games. This is why people have to meet withtheir lawyers before they go to court to testify so they will knowhow to give a false impression without perjuring themselves.
Even though they may not state the lie outright, it is stilla lie. Essentially, we mean this: causing someone to believesomething that is not true, and doing it intentionally is lying. Wearen’t talking about a mistake or a miscommunication which isbeyond our control. What we’re discussing here is intentionallydeceiving someone.As we think about this topic of lying, we need to considerthe subject of God and Lying. The first point to notice is thatGod cannot lie. It is impossible for Him to do it. Titus 1:2 saysof the Christian’s eternal life, “…God, that cannot lie, promisedbefore the world began.” Now what does that mean? WhenGod says something, we can absolutely count on it, becauseHe will not and cannot lie.
When God promises eternal life tothe faithful, we can believe it is going to happen. 2 Peter 3:8says, “…beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with theLord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years asone day.” In the context of 2 Peter 3 it is prophesied that in the latter days some people would deny that there is going tobe a Judgment Day. Their reasoning is, “It’s been thousands ofyears, and nothing has happened. It’s not going to happen.” Butthen as the text says, with the Lord “one day is as a thousandyears, and a thousand years as one day.” The point is that God’s promises are true whether He made them yesterday or thousandsof years ago. How can we know for sure? Because God cannotlie. Every promise in the Bible will come to pass. When Hepromises eternal life to the faithful, it will come to pass. WhenHe promises eternal punishment to the wicked, it too will cometo pass.
Some might surmise that if an individual is simply a “goodperson” then maybe God will save them anyway, but thatcannot happen. It is impossible, because God cannot lie, and 2Thessalonians 1:8 says that on the Day of Judgment Christ willcome in flaming fire “taking vengeance on those who do notknow God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our LordJesus Christ.” If a person has not obeyed the gospel, he will notbe saved. If he is saved, then God is a liar, but our first point hasalready been established that God cannot lie.Secondly, God hates lying. Not only can He not lie, Hehates it. Proverbs 6:17 says lying is an abomination to the Lord.Proverbs 12:22 tells us, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord; but they that deal truly are His delight.” So it is clear howGod feels about lying. He hates it. Thirdly, lying is contrary to the nature of God. Now what isthe nature of God? The Bible says that God is truth.
When Christwalked upon this earth, He said, “I amthe way, the truth, and the life; no mancomes to the Father, but by me (John14:6).” In addition, His word is truth.The Psalmist wrote, “For the Lord is right; and all His works are done intruth” (Psalm 33:4). John wrote,“Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth” (John17:17). Psalm 31:5 calls God the “God of truth.”God cannot lie; He hates lying; it is contrary to His nature; andGod forbids His children to lie.
The Old Law said, “You shall notsteal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another” (Leviticus 19:11).The Ten Commandments said, “You shall not bear false witnessagainst your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). In the New Testamentincluded in the list with the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable,murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, and idolaters we findthe words “all liars.” The text says that they “shall have theirpart in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which isthe second death” (Rvelation 21:8).
As we think about God and lying, we also must rememberwho is just the opposite of God, Satan, of whom the Biblesays is “the father of lies.” John 8:44 says that Satan “…was amurderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth,because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaksfrom his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” Let’s change gears and think about man and lying. Proverbs13:5 says, “A righteous man hates lying.” As already mentioned,John 8:44 states that Satan is the father of lies.
Someone once said, “A man is never more like the Devil than when he’s tellinga lie.” In John 8, Jesus said to the Jews who were lying, “Youare just like your father. You are of the Devil.”Lying is perhaps one of the mostcommon of all sins. Recall that the average person lies twenty-five times aday. Is there another sin that is committedso frequently? Now, lusting might be arecurring sin for some people, but lyingwould have to be near the top of the listfor its frequency because lying is a sin that plagues everyonefrom the very young to the very old. It is a sin that probablyevery human who has ever lived any length of time on this earthhas committed.
But lying seems to be a bigger problem for somethan for others. Some have reached the point where lying is nota trap that they fall into sometimes, but rather it is a way of life.A habitual liar might tell a lie even when the truth would beeasier, simply because he does it all the time. It has been saidabout some people that you know they are lying “when their lipsare moving.”A question one might ask is, “Why do men lie?” Answersto this may vary. Someone says, “Well, people lie to gainsomething.” A person might lie on his taxes in order to keepmore of his money. A salesman might lie to the customer abouta product to make a sale. Some might say, “Oh, that’s justbusiness. You can’t make a living in the car business if youdon’t fudge the truth a little bit!” If that is true, then that personbetter get out of the car business, because he can’t go to Heavenif he continues to lie.
A man looking for a job might lie to the employer about hiscredentials in order to be hired. Someone else might lie to hisemployer by calling in and claiming to be sick when he actuallyjust wants to take a day off. Worse yet, people will brag aboutthis sort of thing!There was a country music song several years ago called “IDon’t Have To Be Me Til Monday” and in the song, the artistsays, “I called in sick to work. No, my back don’t really hurt.”And then he plans to go party. In some ways, this is a veryaccepted sin in our society, but Proverbs 21:6 says, “Gettingtreasures by a lying tongue is the fleeting fantasy of those whoseek death.” In other words, those who get gain by lying areseeking eternal death. They will spend eternity in Hell becausethey lied to obtain temporary treasure now.Another reason why people might lie is to keep themselvesout of trouble.
We alluded to this already. We see this in childrencaught with their hand in the cookie jar. We see this with adultswho might lie to the police. They are stopped for some trafficviolation, and they may deny it altogether, or concoct somefabrication like, “I’m late picking up mychild from school,” or “I’m on my wayto the hospital.” There are a million reasons to think of for telling a lie, butpeople do lie to keep themselves out oftrouble. And again, all the way up tohigh government officials, we see themlying before Congress to avoidpunishment for their actions. They also play word games(semantics) to try to turn a lie into something other than a lie.It’s repulsive to God, and should be repulsive to man, too.
Sometimes people lie to avoid hurting somebody’s feelings.Did the Lord adhere to that practice? No, He did not. To manypeople, this type of lying just wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Itis one of those sins we accept. In fact, we have come up withthe term, “the little white lie.” It’s a small lie. It is white (pure,innocent) and it doesn’t hurt anybody and may actually sparesome pain.The Andy Griffith show is a great show, but often in theshow Barney Fife is messing something up, and then Andyfrequently lies to spare his feelings. Our society has reached the point where we think this is admirable. It is honorable because,after all, you’re doing it because you care about people.
But weneed to realize that lying is wrong, in any shape or form. It is atransgression of the law of God. Wemust not allow ourselves to measure sinby how much damage it does or does notdo on this earth.Any sin can cause a man or womanto be lost and, in light of that, none ofthem are little. Also, if a person tells alie, it grows and leads to another. Someone once said, “If younever tell a lie, you never have to remember what you said.”As we think about man and lying, it is imperative that werealize lying is very costly. Lying really hurts people.
There isan old story about a little boy who had a problem with telling lies, so his father wanted to teach him a lesson. The father got abrand-new piece of wood and he drove ten nails into the wood.He then called his son and said to him, “Son, you have recentlytold ten lies. I want you to go back and fix them. For each oneyou correct, we will remove a nail from the wood.” So the littleboy set about to “fix” his lies. When he had finished and thetenth nail was pulled from the wood, the boy’s father said,“Well, how does it look?” The boy responded, “The nails aregone, but the scars are still in the wood.” His father said, “Nowyou have learned the lesson.”Lying does damage that is sometimes impossible to correct.It has hurt feelings and scarred reputations.
A young girl ina small town high school once made accusations of a sexualnature against one of the male teachers. In that small town, theteacher’s reputation was destroyed, and it caused tremendousdamage to his family. Finally the man was forced to move awayto find another job. After some time had passed, the girl cameforward and said, “I lied. It never really happened.” Did that fixthe problem? Did her confession undo the damage done? Not only can lying hurt other people, it can ruin the liar’sown reputation. Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is rather tobe chosen than great riches…” The loss of one’s good name is atremendous loss indeed, and a surefire way to lose a good nameis to become a liar. Few people have respect for a liar, but a manwho always tells the truth is esteemedalmost everywhere.
There is anexpression, “A man is only as good ashis word.” Some people might say of anindividual, “If this person gave you hisword, you can count on it, because hisword is as good as gold.” This is a greattreasure when people think of a person his way. “A good nameis rather to be chosen than great riches…”As Christians, our personal reputations and commitment tothe Lord should mean more to us than a brief gain by way oflying. When you as a child of God have reached the point wherepeople can come to you as a Christian and know that you willalways tell them the truth, whether it is pleasant or not, youhave an invaluable treasure.
Lying can hurt other people. It can destroy your reputation,and it can hurt the church. If a man lives a doctrinally correctlife outwardly, but secretly he is also living an immoral life,he is living inconsistently. If a man will fight for the truth onbaptism and the one church of the New Testament, but in hisday-to-day life, he tells lies, what does that do to the church?Few things harm the Lord’s church more than a man who claimsto be a Christian and then doesn’t live like one.
There have even been times in history when lying has costa man his very life. In 1 Kings 13 is the account of the youngprophet who was sent to prophesy against King Jeroboam. Hefaithfully carried out that duty, but God had told him to gostraight home after he left the king, and not to eat anything ordrink anything, or return to that place. An old prophet cameto the young prophet and said, “Come home and eat with me.”He essentially said, “It will be alright. An angel said for meto tell you to do it.” But then 1 Kings 13:18 adds these words,“But he lied unto him.” Because the young prophet believed theolder prophet, he dined with him, and on the way home the Lordpunished him by a terrible death.
In Acts 5 the Lord showed His disdain for lying when aman named Ananias and his wife Sapphira lied about a pieceof property they had sold. They claimed they were giving all ofthe profit to the church, but in reality they kept back part of themoney for themselves. They may have thought, “It’s no big deal.We gave money to help the work of the Lord; we only lied aboutthe percentage. It didn’t hurt anybody, right?” Is this not the waywe think sometimes today? But God made a powerful statementabout how He regards lying, and struck both of them dead.
Here is a very important point we must never forget. Lyingcan cost a man his soul. Proverbs 21:6 says that a lying tongueis a characteristic of them that seek death. Revelation 21:8 says that all liarsshall have their part in the second death(in the lake that burns with fire andbrimstone). 2 Thessalonians 2:12 teachesthat believing a lie can cost men theirsouls. This sin of lying that so manyconsider insignificant, that they call “little” and “white” cancause them to lose their most valuable possession, their immortalsoul, and burn eternally in a Devil’s Hell.
Concerning God and lying, God cannot lie. He hates lying,and He forbids His children to lie. Lying is contrary to Hisvery nature, but the Devil is the father of it. Like one man said,“Perhaps a man is never more like the Devil than when he istelling a lie.”Concerning man and lying, lying can hurt other people.Lying destroys reputations, and does untold damage to thechurch. Lying has cost men their lives and more importantly, their souls. Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abominationto the Lord, but they that deal truly are His delight.”This is the truth about lying!
Lying is always wrong. Colossians 3:9 says, “Lie not to oneanother.” Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abominationto the Lord, but they that deal truly are His delight.”These verses and many others teach us that God hateslying. The Bible is very plain about this, so it is very sadlysurprising when Christians try to defend lying. Unfortunately,it happens quite often. Their argument usually consists ofsome difficult situation with very serious consequences, andthe person will suggest that in light of these very undesirablecirc*mstances, lying is the better choice, and that God wouldeven approve. Sometimes they will make appeals to events inthe Bible that they believe imply that lying is permissible.The first part of this lesson covers three points. First,we will put forth some of the scenarios (dilemmas) that peoplebring up to try to defend lying. Second, we will go over some ofthe Bible passages people appeal to in order to attempt to justifylying. Finally, we will look at some of the situations to whichpeople appeal to defend lying.
SCENARIOS IN DEFENSE OF LYING
In an effort to defend lying, one individual brought up asituation in the area where he lives. Someone had been breakinginto houses and committing rape. A grandfather was homealone except for his two granddaughters. He heard somethingdownstairs and knowing about the criminal in the neighborhood, told his granddaughters to hide while he went downstairsto investigate. When the grandfather got downstairs, a manknocked him to the ground and put a gun to his head, asking, “Isthere anyone else in the house?” The individual telling the storywanted to know, “What would you say? If you tell the truth, it is going to be tragedy for your granddaughters.”This individual then went on to suggest than under these extreme circ*mstances, it would be acceptable to lie. What doyou say to that? Admittedly, this is a terrible situation, one wehope never to encounter. But a wrong action does not turn intoa right one just because the consequences are severe. Sin doesnot change to righteousness just because of circ*mstance. That would make this situational ethics, where the ends justify themeans.It is true that many governments lie (shocking as that mayseem) and sometimes convince themselves that it is necessaryto do so. But the Bible still says, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ andyour ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37). Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousnessexalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” If agovernment lies, it is not right just because it’s the government.Again, the consequences of a sin do not somehow transform itinto a “non-sin.”One quote by an unknown author says, “Always tell the truth. If you can’t always tell the truth, don’t lie.” Sometimes indifficult situations, the best thing to do is say nothing. In thesame context, someone even suggestedthat “the truth is so precious thatsometimes it has to be protected by abodyguard of lies.” This is absolutenonsense! That is the Devil’s handiwork.The Bible says, “Buy the truth and sell itnot…” (Proverbs 23:23). Don’t ever bethe one who gives up holding onto truth. There is nothing soprecious upon this earth that one should cease to walk in thepathway of truth, and instead walk down the pathway of theDevil.Sometimes men will even argue that mercy overrides truth,that mercy is greater than truth, and that being the case, thereare times when we must lie in order to uphold mercy. But thatbegs the question: if lying is justified by mercy, does mercy alsojustify other sins? Could adultery be justified by mercy? Couldhom*osexuality? Could abortion? Could we indeed have such athing as “mercy killings?”God is a God known for His mercy. Ephesians 2:4 says Heis “rich in mercy” and yet Titus 1:2 says He “cannot lie.” Thetwo are not mutually exclusive, and they do not contradict eachother. Obviously, no one would ever question the wonderfulmercy of Christ (Titus 1:4, Jude 21), and yet we never readabout Jesus lying. Is it the case that we are faced with moraldilemmas which would demand that we choose the lesser of twoevils, and yet the Lord never was? If He never was, what aboutHebrews 4:15 which says, “He was tempted in all points like aswe are…”When the Lord walked on this earth, He set the perfectexample for us to emulate. We can fabricate all of the scenarioswe want to, but let’s ask, “What would the Lord do if He werein these dilemmas?” Certainly He would not lie because if Hedid, at that moment, He would cease to be God. Titus 1:2 saysGod cannot lie. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”(John 14:6).
“BIBLICAL” ARGUMENTS IN DEFENSE OF LYING
Perhaps one of the most common arguments brought up tojustify lying for a good cause is an appeal to the story of Rahab.One person posed it this way, “When the spies entered thePromised Land to spy out the land, what would have happened ifRahab had not lied and protected them? How would the childrenof Israel have received the Promised Land?” The answer is easy:“God would have done it some other way.” Romans 8:28 says,“All things work together for good to them that love God.” Thispassage is teaching us that, regardless of what men may do tous, or what may happen to us, God can use it to accomplish Hiswill. God’s plan was not dependent upon Rahab. He would haveaccomplished what He wanted done whether or not she lied.Sometimes this same argument involving Rahab will beused this way, “When the spies came to Rahab, she lied toprotect them. Later she was blessed for her actions; thereforewe have a situation where a lie met withGod’s approval. Thus, it was a justifiedlie.” Let’s read the passage and see. Thestory is in Joshua 2:1-7: “Now Joshuathe son of Nun sent out two men fromAcacia Grove to spy secretly, saying,‘Go, view the land, especially Jericho.’So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying,‘Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israelto search out the country.’ So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab,saying, ‘Bring out the men who have come to you, who haveentered your house, for they have come to search out all thecountry.’ Then the woman took the two men and hid them. Soshe said, ‘Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know wherethey were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut,when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went Ido not know; pursue them quickly, for you may over take them.’(But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them withthe stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof). Thenthe men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords.And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shutthe gate.”When reading this account, it is clear that Rahab did lie.She actually lied several times. In verse 4 she says, “I did notknow where they were from.” She says in verse 5, “When it wasdark, the men went out,” and also, “Where the men went, I donot now.” The problem seems to arise when we get to the NewTestament and see that Rahab is actually complimented by Godfor her behavior. Some think this is a sanction for lying.Let’s look at the two passages in the New Testament thatmention Rahab. Hebrews 11:31 says, “By faith the harlot Rahabdid not perish with those who did not believe, when she receivedthe spies with peace.” Where does this passage condone lying?It doesn’t. Rahab is simply complimented for receiving the spiespeacefully.The second passage is James 2:25, which says, “Likewise,was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she
received the messengers and sent them out another way?” Again,this Scripture does not applaud her lying. One person tried toargue from this passage that lying was an inherent part of“sending them out another way.” But please appreciate that thispassage can stand wholly and separately apart from the lie. Let’s assume that it took place this way: the king’s men came tothe house, knocked on the door and said, “Can we come in andlook around?” And Rahab said, “Sure,” so they came in, walkedaround, found nothing and left. Under these circ*mstances,could the Scriptures have complimented her for receiving themand sending them out another way? Yes! The statement is notdependent upon the lie. Rahab’s lies arenever condoned in the Scriptures. Thestory about Rahab merely provides anexample of where God honored a womanbecause of her obedient faith, in spite ofmany character flaws. At the time, she was a heathen, a harlot, and a liar. Butshe tried to help God’s people, so God blesses her in spite ofcharacter flaws, not because of them.Another passage people sometime appeal to in orderto justify lying is Exodus 1:15-22. This is an account of theHebrew midwives. It says, “Then the king of Egypt spoke tothe Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one was Shiphrahand the name of the other Puah; and he said, ‘When you dothe duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see themon the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but ifit is a daughter, then she shall live.’ But the midwives fearedGod, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, butsaved the male children alive. So the king of Egypt called forthe midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you done this thing,and saved the male children alive?’ And the midwives said toPharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptianwomen; for they are lively and give birth before the midwivescome to them.’ Therefore God dealt well with the midwives,and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was,because the midwives feared God, that He provided householdsfor them. So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, ‘Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughteryou shall save alive.’ ”The argument goes like this: Pharaoh commanded themidwives to kill the newborn male Hebrews. The midwivesdisobeyed the decree. The midwives lied when questionedconcerning their actions. God blessed the midwives. Since God blessed the action of which a lie was a part, He must havesanctioned a lie.This is false, and not what the Bible says. The text tellsus that God blessed the midwives because they feared Him,not because they lied. Verse 17 indicates that the way theyexhibited their fear of God was by sparing the babies, and that was prior to the lie even taking place. The midwives spared thebabies because they feared God. They lied because they fearedPharaoh. There is no justification for lying in this passage.Another Bible passage where people will sometimes seekjustification for lying is 1 Samuel 16:1-2. In this chapter Godhas rejected Saul from being the king and has instructed theprophet Samuel to anoint a new king from among the sons ofJesse the Bethlehemite. Samuel is concerned about this, becausehe asks, “What if King Saul hears about this? He’ll kill me.” Soin verse 2, the Bible says, “And the Lord said, ‘Take a heiferwith you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’” Andso the argument suggests that God actually told Samuel to lie inorder to protect himself from Saul. In reality it wasn’t a lie atall. As we continue on in the chapter, we see that God instructedSamuel to arrange a sacrifice in Bethlehem and to invite the family of Jesse to the sacrifice. At the occasion of that sacrifice,God would reveal to Samuel which one of the sons was to be thenext king, and he would anoint him there. It was not a lie at all.Somebody even pressed the argument that the wisem*n in Matthew 2 lied by not returning to Herod after theysaw the baby Jesus. Listen to what Matthew 2:7-8 says, “ThenHerod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired ofthem diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent themto Bethlehem, and said, ‘Go and search diligently for the youngchild; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, thatI may come and worship him also.’ When they had heard theking, they departed.” The Scriptures say nothing about the wisem*n’s promising to return. Besides that, in verse 12 God toldthem to go a different way. There is certainly no justificationfor lying in these verses.
PROOF THAT SHOWS LYING IS ALWAYS WRONG
Proof #1: Right and Wrong are not determined by earthly consequences.
Some of these proofs have already been alluded to, but nowwe want to put them together here in a neat package. The firstproof that shows lying is always wrong is this: right and wrongare not determined by earthly consequences. Sometimes doingright is very costly. Jesus told the rich young ruler that doingright would cost him all he had. Doing right cost the apostlePaul beatings and abuse. When we begin to determine right andwrong based on the earthly consequences, we are going to getreally out of whack. First John 3:4 says, “Whosoever commitssin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the
law.” This is how we determine right and wrong.
Proof #2: Revelation 2:10Revelation 2:10 says, “Be faithful unto death and I will giveyou a crown of life.”
This passage was written to Christians who*re suffering persecution. The beginning of verse 10 discusses
the fact that they were going to suffer. Some of them would bethrown into prison and undergo tribulation. It is in this contextthat the Lord says, “Be faithful unto death.” Homer Hailey, inhis commentary on Revelation, phrased it this way, “even to thepoint of dying.”What is the Lord saying? “Be faithful and do right, evenif it costs you your life.” What does this do to these scenarioswhere it is suggested that you have to lie to protect life? The truthis more precious than life itself. God is the God of truth (Psalm31:5), and we as Christians want to be like Him. Remember whatJesus said in Matthew 10:28, “Fear not him who can destroythe body and not the soul, but rather fear Him Who is able todestroy both the body and soul in hell.” In essence, Jesus issaying, “Don’t be afraid of physical death; be afraid of sinningand losing your soul.”
Proof #3: Revelation 21:8Revelation 21:8 says, “All liars shall have their part in thelake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the seconddeath.”
It does not say “some.” It does not say “All, except those who were put in really tough situations.” It does not say,“All, except those who lied to protect human life.” It just says,“All.” People can come up with all the hypothetical, extremesituations they want, but what they really need, if they want towin the argument that says lying is acceptable, is a passage ofScripture where God says it is all right to lie. There isn’t one.
Proof #4: Titus 1:2Titus 1:2 clearly states God cannot lie.
If lying is reallyacceptable sometimes, why doesn’t God do it? Why did JesusChrist never do it? If mercy justifies lying, why can’t the Godof mercy lie? The answer is that lying is inherently evil. It isalways wrong. That is why God never does it.
Proof #5: The true source of lying
When trying to justify telling a lie, people don’t rememberwho the real origin of lying is: Satan. John 8:44 says, “You areof your father the devil, and the desires of your father you wantto do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not standin the truth, because there is not truth in him. When he speaks
a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar, and thefather of it.”When the devil tells a lie, he speaks from his ownresources. Again, Matthew 5:37 says,“Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’
‘No.’ For whatever is more than these isfrom the evil one.”When people lie, their father isthe devil, the source of lies, and theyare from the evil one. To suggest it issometimes all right to lie is to say that it is sometimes all right tostop following God and to follow Satan instead. This conclusionshould be rejected with every fiber of our being.
Proof #6: God will provide a way of escape.
It has been offered by someone who was trying to defendlying that sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils.This is when we need to remember 1 Corinthians 10:13, “Godis faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond whatyou are able, but with the temptation will also make the way ofescape, that you may be able to bear it.”We can trust that God’s way of escape from sin is not
going to be another sin! There will always be a path we canchoose which does not involve violating God’s will. A personmay not always choose God’s way, but it is there nonetheless.
CONCLUSION
Thinking that it is all right to lie is a very serious error for aChristian to hold. It shows a misunderstanding of God Himself.Proverbs 6:17 says, “God hates the lying tongue.” Proverbs
12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but theythat deal truly are His delight.” Psalm 31:5 called God the Godof truth. The psalmist wrote, “For the word of the Lord is right;and all His words are done in truth” (Psalm 33:4). We also readin Leviticus 19:11, “You shall not steal, neither deal falsely,
neither lie to one another.” Proverbs 13:5 says, “A righteousman hates lying.”Lying is and always will be wrong in the eyes of God!
