Commandment #9 ~ Lifeway SS topic from The Gospel Project “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16 Sometime this is paraphrased as “do not lie”, but that is not what it says and I would like to suggest that a lie as most would define it does not always line up with the biblical view of a “lie” or false witness. This should be dealt with in depth but there is not time or space but it this is longer than normal. Christian writers and philosophers have dealt with the idea of “is it ever OK to tell a non-truth and are all non-truths a lie” from different points of view. Consider this as you read the rest of this... We know it is not wrong to kill in self defense or to protect your family, so if someone broke into your home looking for your child to kill them and your child were hiding in the closet, it would be OK to kill the person to protect your child, but not to tell them the child was not home and allow them to leave? Lying to save someone should be just as justifiable as killing to save someone in my way of thinking, but you decide and reconcile the two for yourself. Let’s look at Rahab for an example; Rahab lied. Thats the truth and the Bible condemns deception. Even so, when Rahabs story is told in Joshua 2, and when she is celebrated for her faith in Hebrews 11:31 and for her works in James 2:25, the Bible—while not justifying her lie—does not condemn it. John Calvin condemned Rahabs deception. Her lie, even though told for a good purpose, Calvin says, is contrary to the nature of God. Other Christians, however, have been less ready to condemn Rahabs lie—or all other lies. Luther defended a good hearty lie for the sake of the good and for the Christian Church, a lie in case of necessity, a useful lie. Such lies, he said, would not be against God. So, I would like to ask you to consider that there is a slight possibility that something that is not true is not always what is condemned as a lie in scripture and that something is not necessarily good to tell because it is true (like some gossip or secrets to an enemy nation). Other examples of the heart and motive counting for as much or more than what is said are the midwives lie (Exod. 1:15-21) and Elijahs lie (2 Kings 6:19). However, Scripture offers no subtle philosophical distinctions or clear teachings to justify or to excuse such lies. So, if you choose to believe a lie like these is acceptable then do so from your understanding of the Bible as a whole and not from some specific teaching or scripture as there is none. To quote from an article from a Christian ethicists, “God is Truth, but truth is not a second god—just as love is no god though God is Love, and life is no god though God is the Life. Devotion to God should lead us to speak the truth, to love the neighbor, to serve life. In this sad world, however, sometimes we find ourselves in situations where to speak the truth may harm a neighbor, or where a lie (as in Rahabs story) may be necessary to preserve the life of a neighbor. (Even the instruction not to bear false witness in the Ten Commandments is put in the covenant context of not harming ones neighbor.) We live the truth not for its own sake, but for Gods sake and for the neighbors sake.” “The test for our speech and our lives, then, is not simply whether what we say or do corresponds to what we think, but faithfulness to covenant. This test requires of our speech more than simply telling the truth. The Devil may be the father of lies, but there is also, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, a truth which is of Satan. For example, when we pass along the gossip that injures a neighbor, we are not excused simply because it is true.” “Consider Rahab. She covenanted to hide the Israelites from the tyrant who threatened to harm them. That same tyrant put her in a position of having either to break that covenant or to tell a lie. The tyrant was at fault here, not Rahab. A kind of violence had been done here, putting her in a situation of either violating covenant or telling a lie—and her lie, another kind of violence, may be permitted as a form of covenanted self-defense.” “As Christians we make decisions, including decisions about our words, not simply as rule keepers, and surely not simply as utility calculators, but as people disposed to truthfulness, prepared to regret even the justifiable lie as a mark of the not yet character of our life in the Spirit of Truth. In a broken world, sometimes a lie is justifiable, but every lie, even the justifiable one, is a sad reminder of our brokenness.” So, here are two view of a lie. Pray and see where God leads you in developing your definition of a lie. Be very careful of a self-righteousness that would lead you to condemn those that might believe differently and think more highly of yourself whichever view you hold; both are prone toward a very judgmental attitude. Lying is serious to God; 1 Cor. 6:9 & Rev. 21:8. One last thing on this ninth commandment is that it is specifically against “bearing false witness” which is to testify something not true against someone. Remember that a person could be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses, so this was a very serious, possibly life or death matter.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 01:32:52 +0000
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