Lying for the Gospel's sake?

gratefulgrace · Oct 26, 2010

grasping the after wind said:
I would think one would be eager to witness that they were going where God leads them. What does it say about a person when they wish to hide their actual intentions from other people? We are not talking about a life threatening situation here but a temporary inconvenience. Why even contemplate being evasive for such paltry stakes. The price of your honesty should be higher than that.

I have no idea in this case if it is life threatening or not to reveal that they are Christians. But surely we are not so naive as to think this is the case in all situations. We have missionaries in very sensitive locations and and cannot mention missionary or church when emailing or writing them. It could jeopardize their ability to be there doing their job and also witnessing to the locals. And I know in some areas could definitely be life threatening. gg

SpiritPsalmist · Nov 2, 2010

murjahel said:
From Adam Clark's commentary on the O.T.

1 Samuel 16:2
Take a heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice—This was strictly true; Samuel did offer a sacrifice; and it does not appear that he could have done the work which God designed, unless he had offered this sacrifice, and called the elders of the people together, and thus collected Jesse’s sons. But he did not tell the principal design of his coming; had he done so, it would have produced evil and no good: and though no man, in any circumstances, should ever tell a lie, yet in all circumstances he is not obliged to tell the whole truth, though in every circumstance he must tell nothing but the truth, and in every case so tell the truth that the hearer shall not believe a lie by it.

I agree! We are to speak the truth, however, revealing all the plans is not necessary. Samuel did offer a sacrifice. He did not lie. God simply instructed him to tell "only" what was necessary. God said, "say you are there to offer a sacrifice". It was not necessary for him to also say that he was there to annoint a king, stop and see his brother, use the public library, and eat at McDonalds, etc..

Tenebrae · Nov 2, 2010

I would say dont do anything that goes against your integrity and forces you to compromise on your beliefs.

I recall a situation, I was being blackmailed by a christian who had some very sensitive information. If I didnt retract what I said about this person, she would go to the boss of the ministry I was working for and tell them. In the end I basically decided I would tell my boss, because I refused to be blackmailed. I got put on light duties for a while, however my boss was incredibly supportive, and in the end it was a good outcome.

Personally I would have a big issue with an outright lie, however there are other options such as mentioning the tourist part of your trip, etc. I think if we are truthful at times when it could lead to hard circumstances, God is faithful and honours that truthfulness

imperfectchristian · Nov 2, 2010

That is a personal thing between you and God. If you feel it is wrong, don't do it. Simple as that. You should not defile your conscience in the name of a greater good.

Personally there are instances in which I would premeditate a lie say to protect my family or save the life of brother in arms, but I am not sure if this would be one of them.

lismore · Nov 2, 2010

Don't many Christian churches and groups omit things in their message?

Usually new converts or seekers are directed towards the New Testament, the gospel of John or Mark for example.

Leviticus and other harder stuff isnt wheeled out until later.

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Lying for the Gospel's sake?

gratefulgrace

Contributor

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SpiritPsalmist

Heavy lean toward Messianic

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Tenebrae

A follower of The Way

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imperfectchristian

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lismore

Maranatha

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