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NASB | Exodus 20:16 ¶ "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Exodus 20:16 ¶ "You shall not testify falsely [that is, lie, withhold, or manipulate the truth] against your neighbor (any person). [Ex 23:1; Prov 19:9; 24:28] |
Subject: Is it always a sin to lie? |
Bible Note: Hi Kalos, You mentioned people placing their own righteousness over the lives of others, and that it is ok to lie if the consequence of telling the truth is worse than the lie is. Where does God rank these sins from lessor to greater? What if I am not concerned "with my own righteousness", but I am rather intent on merely obeying my Lord's command? Can I rightfully justify breaking the Law of God because I think that the outcome will be bad? Is this not second-guessing God's purposes, and even declaring that I don't believe that God can make things come out right, and according to His purposes? If I say that it is ok to lie, because I can prevent a greater evil from happening by lying, don't I put myself over God, in saying "I know what needs to happen here, and it's not going to happen by obeying God!" Let's look at the argument offered: "'What if you see a woman run into an alley to escape someone who's trying to kill her, and they ask you, "Where is she?" What do you do? Do you send them on a wild goose chase to protect the woman's life? Or do you lead them to their victim?" This overlooks a great number of options, as all of these arguments do. This presents us only two choices, each engineered to lead one into a corner. The truth is that I could ignore the question, and say nothing at all. I could say "I'm not telling you." I could simply call for the police, or for the help of bystanders, or attempt to restrain this person who I know to be dangerous. I could distract them with inane conversation, allowing the woman more time to escape. Why not protect her by lying and let God forgive the lie? If the lie is ok to tell, why must God forgive it? And if the lie is not ok to tell, then who among us should teach another that it is? Love in Christ, Mark |