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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: Dear Brother WOS, Excuse me for chucking in my two mites: One must remember that God makes use of the sinful actions of creatures to accomplish His own purposes without condoning those actions nor being the author of evil. This is what the old divines and philosophers meant by "secondary causes." The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith states, "The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God, so far manifest themselves in his providence, that his determinate counsel extendeth itself even to the first fall, and all other sinful actions both of angels and men; and that not by a bare permission, which also he most wisely and powerfully boundeth, and otherwise ordereth and governeth, in a manifold dispensation to His most holy ends; yet so, as the sinfulness of their acts proceedeth only from the creatures, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin." In more modern English it would be "God's almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness are so far-reaching and all-pervading, that both the fall of the first man into sin, and all other sinful actions of angels and men, proceed according to His sovereign purposes. It is not that He gives His bare permission, for in a variety of ways He wisely and powerfully limits, orders and governs sinful actions, so that they effect His holy designs. Yet the sinfulness involved in the actions proceeds only from angels and men and not from God who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor ever can be the author or approver of sin." (cf Gen 50:20; 2 Sam 24:1; 2 Kings 19:28; 1 Chron 21:1; Ps 50:21; 76:10; Isa 10:6,7,12; Rom 11:32-34; 1 John 2:16) You are right, God does not need anything from us to accomplish His eternal purpose. However, He makes use of the actions of every created being. Indeed, we see this over and over in redemptive history. For example, Jacob stole the birthright, Judah impregnated a "prostitute," Rahab was a harlot, Ruth the daughter of Lot's incest, Solomon the child of an adulterous marriage, etc... not the most auspicious lineage for the King of Kings! In Him, Doc |