“Rahab's Choice”

Monday, November 11, 2013

Is lying in a life or death situation a sin?

Sincerely,
In A Pinch

Dear In A Pinch,

God hates lying (Pr 6:16-17), but you don’t have to tell everyone everything about your life.  Even Jesus ignored his brothers’ request to know His comings and goings on occasion (Jhn 7:8-10).  Jesus never lied (Tit 1:2, Heb 4:15), but He did deflect their question because what He did or didn’t do, wasn’t any of there business.  In a life or death situation, you have every right to deflect someone from the truth in order to preserve life.

It is worth noting that good christians are of mixed opinions on this issue.  Some believe it would be perfectly appropriate to flat out lie because you would be protecting human life – which is the greater good.  Other christians believe that it would be better to die and go to face God without lying.  Both sides have good arguments, and in such extreme circumstances, each person would need to choose what they believed was the most faithful and godly option.

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