I hope that, as I said previously, you didn’t get that I was advocating lying. I’m not even questioning if lying is okay, of course. It was just one of those things you come across from time to time and think about.

Blessings!!

Well if you go by Exodus 20:16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,” then you are right. At least from my understanding, this is very legal language – it is almost like it is talking about you lying about someone who is in court and could be judged in the wrong way. Now I suppose that could mean judged guilt when they are innocent or judged innocent when they guilty. Proverbs 14 might be a little commentary on this idea.

Now, Leviticus 19:11 reads, “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.”

Here Heather, I did a quick search of every occurrence of the word “lie” in the OT and NT. I sifted through all the ones related to laying down, and all the non-descriptive ones… check them out :).

1 Samuel 15:29; Psalm 89:35; Psalm 119:69,78,86; Jeremiah 27-29; Ezekiel 13; John 8:44 (of Satan); Acts 5:3; Romans 1:25; Romans 3:7 (lie being used as an example of sin); Colossians 3:9, Titus 1:2 (of God); Hebrews 6:18 (of God); James 3:14; 1 John 1-2; Revelations 14:4-5 (interesting – of our future state?)…

I think we should never lie, period. Whether it be in bearing false witness or telling our wives that we like her new dress. Not that he is necessarily an example we should follow, but Mark Twain believes that it would be impossible to live with someone who always told the truth (On the Decay of the Art of Lying). I disagree :)… but I am an objectivist.

I hope this helps you sort through things…

Oh yeah, I guess to answer your question about God using liars I might lead you to these verses (they might scare you):
1 Kings 22
2 Chronicles 18
Both of these accounts tell of God sending a deceiving spirit.
and
Proverbs 16:4

God’s Glory,
Lew

I think that I totally mis-spoke (SP?) and didn’t ask what I was really trying to ask, which is what exactly are we commanded about lying? Is it lying for dishonest gain or about another person that would hurt them?

I see many instances … my daughter and I are reading through the OT chronologically right now and I keep reading about people who lied or hid the truth and God used it for His glory. Yes, I know that He uses whatever He wants in whatever way He wants … I’m not talking about that. I’m also not talking about justification by works at all. I know that Rahab’s justification was in her faith. I was wondering more about is it “You shall not lie” or “Do not bear false witness against your neighbor” – the two phrases seem to mean different things to me.

Does that make sense??? I’m not sure I am even saying it right. Perhaps it was just a fleeting thought I had one day that has no substance … it wouldn’t be the first time ;)

I hope you don’t feel like I was stepping on your toes. I wrote the blog in an attempt to answer your question (or elaborate my answer), but at the same time I did not want to appear like I was attacking you. I hope it did not come across that way.

Thanks again,
Lew