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• Exodus 20:16 "Thou shalt not bear false witness."
• Proverbs 12:22 "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord."

  vs.

• I Kings 22:23 "The Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee."
• II Thessalonians 2:11 "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie."

  Also, compare Joshua 2:4-6 with James 2:25.

-http://www.ffrf.org/books/lfif/?t=contra

So shall we lie?

< STRONG No. Just because God does something Himself, doesn't mean we can do it too. 

For example, God can kill other humans, because He created humans, but we are told not to murder humans in the 10 Commandments.

Click here for more details: Should Christians kill?

< STRONG No. We are commanded not to lie in both the Old and New Testament.

Some OT verses:

• Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor (Ex 20:16)
• You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another (Lev 19:11)
• Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord (Prov 12:22)
• A righteous man hateth lying (Prov 13:5)
• Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips (Prov 24:28)

These are commandments which speak against lies. These commands do not end with the OT, but are upheld in the NT:

• Wherefore putting away lying, speaking every man truth with his neighbor (Eph 4:25)
• Lie not one to another (Col 3:9)
• All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone (Rev 21:8)
• Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely (Luke 3:14)

These verses make it clear that we are commanded not to lie, and that liars will be eternally punished. Further, we are told that the devil is the Father of lies (John 8:44) and that God (Father, Son, and Spirit) is truth (Ps 31:5, Isa 65:16, 1 John 5:6, etc). Lying is of the devil; he is its father. Therefore, we are to be like God and obey His commands.

< What about Joshua 2:4-6 and James 2:25?

Rahab was considered righteous for lying.

< STRONG She was considered righteous for her faith, not her lie.

James 2:25 says she was jusitified by works for receiving the messengers and sending them off a different way so that they wouldn't be captured. She recognized they were men of God and treated them as such. James used her as an example of justification for her faith, not her lie (Joshua 2:8-16). Further, the fact that her lie is recorded in the Bible doesn't mean that it's condoned, for several evil acts are also recorded.

>> But Jesus didn't tell the truth in Matt 21:23-27.

Jesus witheld information from the chief priests. Isn't that lying?

< OK We aren't obligated to tell the truth to people who aren't entitled to it.

"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." (Matt 7:6),  and

"Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?" Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism--where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?"... they answered Jesus, "We don't know." Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." (Matt 21:23-27)

In the Bible, a lie is not only a spoken falsehood but also an action designed to deceive someone. For example, pretending to be faithful when intentionally sinning. Therefore, when Jesus didn't answer the chief priest's question, he didn't fall under these categories and thus didn't lie; He didn't deceive them in word or action. Did this information that Jesus witheld cause any harm, or was it necessary for them to know? No.

We aren't supposed to lie, however these verses show us that it's ok to withold information in cases where it's not necessary to tell the truth.