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From the Pastors at Joy

Is it Ever Right to Tell a Lie?

As we saw in yesterday's sermon on Rahab, the New Testament looks back on her life as an example of faith. Yet as we read her story in Joshua 2, it's perplexing to see this notable woman of faith breaking one of the Ten Commandments. God clearly forbids lying, yet it's obvious in Joshua 2 that Rahab lies to the king's men who come to her home, questioning her about the Jewish spies. It begs the question: is it ever right to tell a lie?

rahab

In my study of the passage, almost every commentator mentions this issue, but nobody spent much time wrestling with an answer to that question. They typically say something along the lines of, "Though Rahab lied, she is never commended specifically for lying, but for her faith in hiding the spies." While true, that seemed unsatisfactory to me. I wanted more.

As is often the case, I found help from the ministry of John Piper. One reason why I respect Piper as a teacher of God's Word is that he never shies away from the difficult questions that arise from a careful study of the Scriptures. Whether you agree with him or not, I appreciate the fact that I can always look to him to present an answer to a tough question that most commentators or preachers never even address.

In a sermon from 1986 entitled Speak Truth with Your Neighbor, Piper opens his sermon by addressing the subject of lying head on:

"I would like to begin this morning by addressing the most notorious but not the most important issue relating to falsehood; namely, the question: Is it ever right to tell a lie? I am going to address the issue, but I am not going to answer the question directly. What I am going to say is this: It is possible to be a person who never intentionally lies and yet be a hardened sinner, living in darkness and cut off from Christ in unbelief; and it is possible to be a person who fears the Lord, walks by faith, and yet feel constrained in extreme, life-threatening situations to oppose evil by lying intentionally.

"The reason I say that you can be virtually free from intentional lying and still be unregenerate and bound to sin is that there may be cultural or personal incentives that have nothing to do with God, and yet make you want to have the reputation of dependability—to be known as a person whose word is as good as an oath.

"And the reason I say that you can be a godly person who trusts Christ and still feel constrained to lie in extreme, life-threatening situations is that there are several stories in the Bible where this is exactly what happened."

He then mentions two stories: the Egyptian midwives lying to Pharaoh in Exodus 1, and the story of Rahab and the Jewish spies from Joshua 2. In both cases, the writers of Scripture look upon their actions as being motivated by the fear of God (Exodus 1:17) and faith (Hebrews 11:31).

Piper continues by saying:

"So, I conclude from these two biblical stories that it is possible to be a person who fears the Lord (like the Hebrew midwives) and acts in faith (like Rahab) and yet feel constrained in extreme, life-threatening situations to oppose evil by lying.

"The reason that this is all I am willing to say instead of answering the question: Is it ever right to tell a lie? is that in neither of these cases (nor anywhere else in Scripture that I am aware of) does the Bible explicitly commend or approve the lying itself. The midwives are commended for fearing the Lord and not killing the babies. And Rahab gives evidence of her faith by giving a friendly welcome to the Israelite spies. But her lying is not explicitly commended.

"I've struggled a long time with how to think and teach about these borderline cases. And I have concluded that pastorally the wisest thing for me to do is to acknowledge that in the fear of God and in the walk of faith worthy saints have chosen to oppose the effects of evil by concealing the truth from wicked men. And having recognized that fact and that possibility, we do well to shift our attention to the overwhelming biblical emphasis on the condemnation of falsehood and lying."

That seems like wise counsel to me.