Is it EVER OK to lie?

I say no it is never okay to lie, but in the particular circumstance ....I would not hesitate to give the lie to protect another innocent. This is a true story....my elderly neighbour who lives alone was awoken by a man in her house...at this point I would either be rigid with terror or berserk, she however said " can I help you?" .....he left! God looked after her !

 

This is a false construct which assumes that there are only two possible answers, lie and save the other person, or tell the truth and get someone killed. Also possible are:

1. Fight to the death to defend your family. I'm a black belt and would have a reasonable chance of taking down the intruder, especially if I could use reverse psychology to get him to put the gun up to my body--"Oh, please, I'm so scared of guns, keep it away from me!" Others may have their own weapon and be able to take down the intruder. (I keep a Chinese sword in our bedroom.)

2. Use misdirection. God's battle plan for the Second Battle of Ai did so without lying (Josh. 8:1-8).

 

There is no need to lie if one is trusting God as your elderly neighbor did.

 

Lying that is sinful is one that seeks to gain something for themselves at the plight and disadvantage of others. There are numerous instances of lying in the Bible that were condoned. Heck, The Lord even told Samuel to do it when anointing David as king, Jesus did it on the road to Emmaus with the two men when He made as He was going further, the hiding of the Israelite spies, God telling Hezekiah to get his home in order he was going to die...and then granting 15 years based on his response, Jonathan and David with Jonathan's archer in the field, etc.

 

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”

Notice, Samuel's mission was to anoint a king, not to offer a sacrifice. In the instance Saul heard what the mission was, he was to say he was there to make a sacrifice. That would not be telling the truth to Saul, and since it was not trying to gain something at someone else's disadvantage, it would not be sin.

 

Samuel actually did offer a sacrifice in obedience to God as part of his mission. Therefore God did not tell him to lie. Period. End of story. Offering a sacrifice was a sacred duty, not some peripheral excuse.

 

Jesus lied? You have got to be joking. He was "the way, the truth and the life" and never, ever lied. On the road to Emmaus He did not lie, but merely did not disclose Who he was. To call Jesus a liar is wicked.

God did not lie then, nor did He condone a lie. Lies were said, but that is not God's fault. He neither commanded a lie then nor condoned it. Satan is the "father of lies," not God.

You mean God cannot change His mind in answer to prayer? It is totally misguieded to accuse God of lying to Hezekiah.

How can you call God a liar based on the actions of these men who were not commanded by God to lie? Furthermore, lying was not involved, but misdirection.

According to the Bible, yes the KJV, it is actually impossible for God to lie: "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began" (Titus 1:2).

 

But everyone can protect their family.

No one. Whoever you are talking about did not get there because they lied. My guess is you are talking about Rahab, but the reason given in Scripture for her inclusion was her faith in receiving the spies, not her lies.

Scripture is plain. In Prov. 6, two of the things God hates are lies: "16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."

Col 3:9--"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds."

 

Sure I can. I just did. :saint:

A baseball bat works just as well as a black belt. Or maybe a headbutt. I believe in using one's head in self defense--just not lying. :BangHead:

 

I really can't believe I'm reading this. Are the two of you serious?

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"