OPEN BIBLE New Brunswick
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BY MATTHEW LITTLE
Let’s Be Truthful “I told a half truth,” a “white lie,” or “I stretched the truth.” These are phrases we have coined that help us be at peace with our often deceptive ways. But is it ever right to lie? What about in the face of great danger in an attempt to stop the onslaught of evil men or evil purposes? What are we to think of those who harboured those dear Jewish people in their homes in an attempt to keep them from certain death at the hands of a man named Adolf Hitler? As the Wermacht soldiers pounded on doors, many a preserver of life or a hero of justice denied knowing the whereabouts of any Jew. Yet, the Jews were hidden safely in their homes. I don’t know of a person who would condemn such a brave soul or stand in judgement of such apparent heroes. I believe that some good and godly people have been put into deplorable, desperate situations and they have, in their minds, committed a lesser evil (lying) to prevent a greater evil (the death of innocent lives). In answering this question, we must always begin with God. God is a God of truth and even Jesus declared that He was the way and the truth... (John 14:6). Furthermore, God has given us the Spirit of truth living within us (John 16:13) and
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VOL. 55 NO. 11 NOVEMBER 2014
He expects us to walk in truth (3 John 4 & 8). The ninth commandment prohibits bearing false witness (Exodus 20:16). There are two examples in Scripture where individuals lied and it seemed to produce a favourable result. The first was the midwives who lied to Pharaoh in an attempt to save the male babies of the Hebrew women (Exodus 1:15-21) and the second was when Rahab lied to protect the Israelite spies from being captured and likely killed (Joshua 2:5). It is important to remember that although these decisions proved beneficial to all parties involved, God never once condoned their lying. In fact, Rahab is commended in Hebrews 11 for her faith and not her lie. Did God turn a blind eye to these deliberate lies? Scripture is silent as to how God responded to their lies and so we must let God deal with each person as He sees fit. I think we ought to be people of truth and leave the consequences to God and as God commended the faith of Rahab, I too commend the faithfulness of men and women, down through the ages, who stood in the face of evil and sought to stop it, even if how they did it does not fit into our theological boxes. It is always important, no matter what happens in our lives, to reaffirm God’s Word as the standard of truth by which we live our lives (John 17:17), and resolve ourselves to the fact that the vast majority of people in human history have never
faced a situation in which lying was the right thing to do. We ought to be people of truth and that’s no lie!
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