I was reminded today of Rahab in Joshua 2. Reading the passage, it begs a question asked of it.
Two Israelite spies have snuck into Jericho and have found the home of Rahab.
3 And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
5 “It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”
6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.
7 So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.
She is mentioned again in James 2:
22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.
24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
26 For just as the body without the spirit is , so also faith without works is .
Wait a minute. So lying is a good work?
Anyway, here’s the question:
Is lying okay (at least in some situations)?
10 comments:
Yes.
Would you care to elaborate?
Not online-I don't normally do theological stuff online. I might after a little while, but I'm a little busy right now. Later possbily.
Emphasis on normally...
I agree with Isaac. And you have already posted my response. God condoned it and so it is.
Even though the "God said so; end of discussion" is valid, it quite defeats debate on the subject.
As for my view, one need only look to see that the lie promoted the greater glorification of God, and therefore is condoned, given that that is our highest calling.
But does this create a paradox, when looked at in conjunction with Jesus' preaching that one should submit to rulers (even ungodly ones, such as the Romans)? Wouldn't obeying ungodly rulers present a treasonous act toward Christianity? Or would the treasonous act be not obeying?
As your father once said to Mr. Morton in our Sunday School class, Matt, "if that's the hill you choose to die on", which essentially means "how much integrity are you willing to sacrifice for the eventual glorification of God" and "if it would serve the religion more if you died on that hill than if you kept your head down and shut up".
I'd like to say I'd sacrifice none of my integrity, even for God, but I know prudence would command me to make decisions based on the circumstances, not unilaterally, as I would prefer it. And anyway, I think that may be getting into just a bit too much self-centricity.
That was an especially long-winded reply. I guess the essence of what I'm trying to say is "yes, as long as it will advance the religion's goals in an efficient manner".
Okay guys, I just feel the need to ask for a bit of clearification:
Are you answering to the queston, "Does God Condone Sin?" or "Is Lying Okay?"
The former is an impossibility: words do not exist in the English language to describe God's holy hatred for sin. This question is based on the assumption that lieing is a sin, and so, can never be true.
The latter question is easier to debate: however, to answer this question with a "yes," we must first show that lying (at least in this case) is not a sin. I think this is the next question we must answer in this conversation.
sean, I see what you mean about glorifying God in any way possible, but how could lying possibly be glorifying if God has commanded us not to do it? Are there different kinds, some that are glorifying and some that aren't?
So, the next question to answer is: "Are all types of lies dishonoring to God?" I think that to continue, with the "yes, it's ok" answer, we need to show that there is no pure line in the area of lying.
please note: on this blog, I do not mind "long-winded" comments. In fact, I welcome them. Thankyou all commentor.
I'll comment a long one after trail drive today...
Well, I'd have to say, that the leaders of the city of Jerico were not the legal authority at the time. Reason being, God had promised the land to Isreal, and they were coming to claim it. Rahab was only helping the legal athority take their property.
If you want to argue that God has no right to do that, look at this, NIV (yeah I know but that is all my computer has) Romans 9:21, "Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?"
I was answering the "is lying okay" question.
Andrew, why do we need a unilateral answer to the latter question? Saying to, for instance, a Untersturmführer of the Schutzstaffel that, no, there are no Jews in this house, is not breaking God's law, because the SS had no right to exterminate the Jews in the first place. However, if we are to say to an authority figure (such as a parent) that we don't know how that quarter vanished from the coinpurse (and very well do know such), we are committing sin, because we are defying God-given authority.
This ties in with Matt's answer on the subject, and I fully agree with him. If there is properly-given authority, properly operating within God's laws, then we need to obey it, irregardless of how much we may not "like it".
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