Would You Lie To Save A Innocent Life?

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My dear brother. I have seen the evidence of your need to comply with the Law of God. The truth is however that you seem to have misunderstood that which you are trying to keep.

The 9th commandment says, “Thou shall not lie”. I think quoting the scripture wrongly is a bigger sin than lying. What Exodus 20:16 and Deuteronomy 5:20 actually say is “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” For the sake of our conversation here, that makes a huge difference, because now it’s not talking about lying in general but a very specific form of lying.

Bringing a false accusation against someone is an affront to the justice of God. So it is very clear that God hates this kind of lying. This thought is repeated over and over in the book of Proverbs. That book has many references to lying but they are all in the context of lying against one’s brother or neighbor to accuse them wrongfully.

Then we have discussed Rahab several times. She was convinced that God was with the children of Israel, so she hid their spies in her house when they were being pursued by their enemies. When the soldiers questioned Rahab about the whereabouts of the spies, she said "they went that way", thus leading them in the wrong direction. A blatant lie to save the spies' lives. The point of this thread was...."would you lie to save the life of an innocent person?"

Now you ask me how would I know a lie would save the life of an innocent person? I do not know that it would because it has not happed yet. But I do know what happened when Rahad did it. Some people say that Rahab didn't have to lie, and God would have given Israel the victory even if she had told the truth. Maybe He would have, maybe He wouldn’t have. All we know is what God actually did, not what He would have done or could have done.

But this is completely missing the point. The question is not whether God would have given Israel the victory, but whether Rahab’s life and her family’s would have been spared when Israel invaded the land. I doubt very much that Israel would have spared her life if she had sold the spies out and then conceded, “Sorry guys, I couldn’t bring myself to lie.” Besides how would the rest of the army have found out about the red ribbon plan if the spies weren’t alive to tell them (Joshua 2:18)?

So the Bible clearly condemns 3 types of lying:
1. bringing false accusation against others.
2. using dishonest means to get ahead.
3. and preaching false doctrines that lead people away from Christ.

These are clearly labeled as sin, not telling a lie to save an innocent person. The Bible remains silent on any other type of lying, and so should a lot of people. There may be social consequences associated with certain types of lying, but to call them sin is to run ahead of the scriptures.

Lets look at this saying, " I would lie to save a life". The "I" is who? The "I" is you. The problem is the "I" died on the cross with Christ 2000 years ago and it is no longer "I" that liveth but Christ liveth in me. Now you can either choose to walk in the flesh and let the "I" rule and do its thing, or you can walk in the Spirit and let Christ work through you. If you choose the flesh then you would say, "I will lie to save a life" If you let Christ live through you he will never lie, no matter what the circumstances might be. He is much smarter than the "I" that can never do a righteous act. God can not lie, neither can Christ since he is God. Saying "I will lie to save a life" requires you to be a prophet, and you should be able to tell the end from the beginning which I know you can not. Not being able to guarantee your actions means you are speaking of things you have no idea what would happen. All things that do not come from faith is sin.
 
My dear brother. I have seen the evidence of your need to comply with the Law of God. The truth is however that you seem to have misunderstood that which you are trying to keep.

The 9th commandment says, “Thou shall not lie”. I think quoting the scripture wrongly is a bigger sin than lying. What Exodus 20:16 and Deuteronomy 5:20 actually say is “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” For the sake of our conversation here, that makes a huge difference, because now it’s not talking about lying in general but a very specific form of lying.

Bringing a false accusation against someone is an affront to the justice of God. So it is very clear that God hates this kind of lying. This thought is repeated over and over in the book of Proverbs. That book has many references to lying but they are all in the context of lying against one’s brother or neighbor to accuse them wrongfully.

Then we have discussed Rahab several times. She was convinced that God was with the children of Israel, so she hid their spies in her house when they were being pursued by their enemies. When the soldiers questioned Rahab about the whereabouts of the spies, she said "they went that way", thus leading them in the wrong direction. A blatant lie to save the spies' lives. The point of this thread was...."would you lie to save the life of an innocent person?"

Now you ask me how would I know a lie would save the life of an innocent person? I do not know that it would because it has not happed yet. But I do know what happened when Rahad did it. Some people say that Rahab didn't have to lie, and God would have given Israel the victory even if she had told the truth. Maybe He would have, maybe He wouldn’t have. All we know is what God actually did, not what He would have done or could have done.

But this is completely missing the point. The question is not whether God would have given Israel the victory, but whether Rahab’s life and her family’s would have been spared when Israel invaded the land. I doubt very much that Israel would have spared her life if she had sold the spies out and then conceded, “Sorry guys, I couldn’t bring myself to lie.” Besides how would the rest of the army have found out about the red ribbon plan if the spies weren’t alive to tell them (Joshua 2:18)?

So the Bible clearly condemns 3 types of lying:
1. bringing false accusation against others.
2. using dishonest means to get ahead.
3. and preaching false doctrines that lead people away from Christ.

These are clearly labeled as sin, not telling a lie to save an innocent person. The Bible remains silent on any other type of lying, and so should a lot of people. There may be social consequences associated with certain types of lying, but to call them sin is to run ahead of the scriptures.

Why do want to resurrect the old man? Do you prefer his way of life better than Christ? You are suppose to put off the old man not put him back on!!! Your idea of Christianity is in error. God does not need your help in anything. Your only work is to believe the truth, and let God flow out of his temple so he can reconcile the world unto himself. We have this power in us so the excellent power may be of God and not us "I".
 
In a dire emergency, to say that your personal righteousness will rule is also being prophetic.

Sister have you not been listening here? Christianity is not about you doing anything. It is about God living his life through us. How can you say "personal righteousness" when that old man died on the cross? I, myself I can not do anything on my own. I do not trust myself for anything, my trust is not in the "I" it is in God.
 
Sister have you not been listening here? Christianity is not about you doing anything. It is about God living his life through us. How can you say "personal righteousness" when that old man died on the cross? I, myself I can not do anything on my own. I do not trust myself for anything, my trust is not in the "I" it is in God.

I listen better than you seem to. What I am getting from this discussion is that some of you are depending on your own sense of personal righteousness when you really don't know what will come out of you in a sudden emergency where thought before action is not the rule. I pray that you will never have to experience anything like that, but I do hope that should you ever be in such a situation and behave in a way that you deplore here, that you will be able to cope with telling the exact truth to an evil person with the result that someone loses their life.
 
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I listen better than you seem to. What I am getting from this discussion is that some of you are depending on your own sense of personal righteousness when you really don't know what will come out of you in a sudden emergency where thought before action is not the rule. I pray that you will never have to experience anything like that, but I do hope that should you ever be in such a situation and behave in a way that you deplore here, that you will be able to cope with telling the exact truth to an evil person with the result that someone loses their life.

You have been listening? I have been in that situation...and while I heard alot of lies not one served to save an innocent life - only truth ever did that. You admit the situation in the OP is hypothetical and yet you claim because it is hypothetical, we don't know what will come out of us. But we do know which way is God's don't we? We who are opposed to lying, are boasting that we will follow God's way? Are we boasting because we all know it's the right way? Or is it boasting to say we will save the innocent with lies, because God's truth cannot? Up is down with you folks. And it is pride to refuse to give up a position when you know it is wrong. When you know you are upholding God's Word, it is not pride that keeps you there. It is faith. It saddens me that this is the majority view.
 
Why do want to resurrect the old man? Do you prefer his way of life better than Christ? You are suppose to put off the old man not put him back on!!! Your idea of Christianity is in error. God does not need your help in anything. Your only work is to believe the truth, and let God flow out of his temple so he can reconcile the world unto himself. We have this power in us so the excellent power may be of God and not us "I".
Love is not the "old" man legalism and hypocrisy are.
 
You have been listening? I have been in that situation...and while I heard alot of lies not one served to save an innocent life - only truth ever did that. You admit the situation in the OP is hypothetical and yet you claim because it is hypothetical, we don't know what will come out of us. But we do know which way is God's don't we? We who are opposed to lying, are boasting that we will follow God's way? Are we boasting because we all know it's the right way? Or is it boasting to say we will save the innocent with lies, because God's truth cannot? Up is down with you folks. And it is pride to refuse to give up a position when you know it is wrong. When you know you are upholding God's Word, it is not pride that keeps you there. It is faith. It saddens me that this is the majority view.

If my children were huddled in a closet and a violent intruder asked me where my children are, do you think for one minute I would say, "They are hiding in this closet!"...???


Get real. God wouldn't ever have me make such a foolish statement. Maybe you might, but then, you would have to deal with the horror and pain of betraying your children.
 
If my children were huddled in a closet and a violent intruder asked me where my children are, do you think for one minute I would say, "They are hiding in this closet!"...???


Get real. God wouldn't ever have me make such a foolish statement. Maybe you might, but then, you would have to deal with betraying your children.

Well, Ephemia, telling the intruder that the children are not in the closet, might be considered just as foolish. Don't you think?
 
Well, Ephemia, telling the intruder that the children are not in the closet, might be considered just as foolish. Don't you think?
Oh this is "real" logic here...:rolleyes: The discussion is based upon the "need" to lie to save a innocent life!...Or as the OP put it "to DO THE WILL OF GOD"
 
This is Majors post...and no one can defeat the honesty and truth he has presented in it...

My dear brother. I have seen the evidence of your need to comply with the Law of God. The truth is however that you seem to have misunderstood that which you are trying to keep.

The 9th commandment says, “Thou shall not lie”. I think quoting the scripture wrongly is a bigger sin than lying. What Exodus 20:16 and Deuteronomy 5:20 actually say is “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” For the sake of our conversation here, that makes a huge difference, because now it’s not talking about lying in general but a very specific form of lying.

Bringing a false accusation against someone is an affront to the justice of God. So it is very clear that God hates this kind of lying. This thought is repeated over and over in the book of Proverbs. That book has many references to lying but they are all in the context of lying against one’s brother or neighbor to accuse them wrongfully.

Then we have discussed Rahab several times. She was convinced that God was with the children of Israel, so she hid their spies in her house when they were being pursued by their enemies. When the soldiers questioned Rahab about the whereabouts of the spies, she said "they went that way", thus leading them in the wrong direction. A blatant lie to save the spies' lives. The point of this thread was...."would you lie to save the life of an innocent person?"

Now you ask me how would I know a lie would save the life of an innocent person? I do not know that it would because it has not happed yet. But I do know what happened when Rahad did it. Some people say that Rahab didn't have to lie, and God would have given Israel the victory even if she had told the truth. Maybe He would have, maybe He wouldn’t have. All we know is what God actually did, not what He would have done or could have done.

But this is completely missing the point. The question is not whether God would have given Israel the victory, but whether Rahab’s life and her family’s would have been spared when Israel invaded the land. I doubt very much that Israel would have spared her life if she had sold the spies out and then conceded, “Sorry guys, I couldn’t bring myself to lie.” Besides how would the rest of the army have found out about the red ribbon plan if the spies weren’t alive to tell them (Joshua 2:18)?

So the Bible clearly condemns 3 types of lying:
1. bringing false accusation against others.
2. using dishonest means to get ahead.
3. and preaching false doctrines that lead people away from Christ.

These are clearly labeled as sin, not telling a lie to save an innocent person. The Bible remains silent on any other type of lying, and so should a lot of people. There may be social consequences associated with certain types of lying, but to call them sin is to run ahead of the scriptures.
 
If my children were huddled in a closet and a violent intruder asked me where my children are, do you think for one minute I would say, "They are hiding in this closet!"...???


Get real. God wouldn't ever have me make such a foolish statement. Maybe you might, but then, you would have to deal with the horror and pain of betraying your children.

You see the problem is with the "I". that person is supposed to be dead, not alive.
 
No religious hypocrisy is...

Hypocrisy is believing one thing, but doing another. Believing the "I" died on the cross with Christ but has now resurrected that person back and has taken control, not trusting in Christ as their saviour.
 
Hypocrisy is believing one thing, but doing another. Believing the "I" died on the cross with Christ but has now resurrected that person back and has taken control, not trusting in Christ as their saviour.
No, sorry hypocrisy is trying to pretend you are keeping Gods true standards and breaking those standards while you judge and preach to others.
 
No, sorry hypocrisy is trying to pretend you are keeping Gods true standards and breaking those standards while you judge and preach to others.

hy·poc·ri·sy
hiˈpäkrisē/
noun
  1. the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.
Not trusting in Christ that dwells in them, and taking back that control to do their own thing.
 
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