Is it a sin to lie?

[Arka]

I used to think that the Ten Commandments forbade lying, but my brother recently pointed out to me that this is not the case. The actual commandment in Deuteronomy deals with a very specific type of lie:

20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Is there somewhere else in the Bible that establishes lying in general as a sin?

Edited October 13, 2014 by Arka

[OneLight]

Revelation 21:8

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Making a practice to lie is a sin.

[Arka]

Revelation 21:8

 

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Making a practice to lie is a sin.

 

 

Thank you!

[His_disciple3]

James 4:17

17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

KJV

[miriam40012]

Love “rejoices with the truth”  1Corinthians13:6

[Guest shiloh357]

Are all lies created equal?

 

There was a fishing family in the Netherlands who were using their fishing boat to hide and transport Jews out of the country during the time that the Netherlands were under Nazi occupation.    One day, as they were getting ready to depart with a Jewish family down in the bottom of the boat covered by tarps and nets and other fishing equipment, they were approached by two Nazi soldiers.  The soldiers asked the father of the family if they were the only ones in the boat, or if they had any passengers.  He respond that he and his sons were the only ones in the boat.   He managed to looking convincingly at the soldiers in the eye.  The soldiers believed him and told him to carry on and they managed to get the family to safety.

 

Now had he told the truth, he and his family would have been arrested and  his family and the Jewish family would likely have been murdered in the camps.   Did he sin by lying to to soldiers or should he have told the truth?

[ravindran]

Are all lies created equal?

 

There was a fishing family in the Netherlands who were using their fishing boat to hide and transport Jews out of the country during the time that the Netherlands were under Nazi occupation.    One day, as they were getting ready to depart with a Jewish family down in the bottom of the boat covered by tarps and nets and other fishing equipment, they were approached by two Nazi soldiers.  The soldiers asked the father of the family if they were the only ones in the boat, or if they had any passengers.  He respond that he and his sons were the only ones in the boat.   He managed to looking convincingly at the soldiers in the eye.  The soldiers believed him and told him to carry on and they managed to get the family to safety.

 

Now had he told the truth, he and his family would have been arrested and  his family and the Jewish family would likely have been murdered in the camps.   Did he sin by lying to to soldiers or should he have told the truth?

Just saying.. It was not the lie that saved the family.. The Nazi soldiers could have still searched for the boat and found the others. It was grace of God.. If the person had said "I am hiding some Jews and they are hiding at bottom of the boat". The Nazis might have thought this guy is crazy or pulling some jokes and left. 

[Guest shiloh357]

 

Are all lies created equal?

 

There was a fishing family in the Netherlands who were using their fishing boat to hide and transport Jews out of the country during the time that the Netherlands were under Nazi occupation.    One day, as they were getting ready to depart with a Jewish family down in the bottom of the boat covered by tarps and nets and other fishing equipment, they were approached by two Nazi soldiers.  The soldiers asked the father of the family if they were the only ones in the boat, or if they had any passengers.  He respond that he and his sons were the only ones in the boat.   He managed to looking convincingly at the soldiers in the eye.  The soldiers believed him and told him to carry on and they managed to get the family to safety.

 

Now had he told the truth, he and his family would have been arrested and  his family and the Jewish family would likely have been murdered in the camps.   Did he sin by lying to to soldiers or should he have told the truth?

Just saying.. It was not the lie that saved the family.. The Nazi soldiers could have still searched for the boat and found the others. It was grace of God.. If the person had said "I am hiding some Jews and they are hiding at bottom of the boat". The Nazis might have thought this guy is crazy or pulling some jokes and left. 

 

I am not saying the lie saved the family.  That's not the point at all.  The question is, was the family wrong to lie to the Nazi soldiers in an attempt to save human lives from certain murder?    Furthermore, I think it is little bit of a stretch to think the soldiers would have thought they were joking. That is just silly. 

[Fez]

 

 

Are all lies created equal?

 

There was a fishing family in the Netherlands who were using their fishing boat to hide and transport Jews out of the country during the time that the Netherlands were under Nazi occupation.    One day, as they were getting ready to depart with a Jewish family down in the bottom of the boat covered by tarps and nets and other fishing equipment, they were approached by two Nazi soldiers.  The soldiers asked the father of the family if they were the only ones in the boat, or if they had any passengers.  He respond that he and his sons were the only ones in the boat.   He managed to looking convincingly at the soldiers in the eye.  The soldiers believed him and told him to carry on and they managed to get the family to safety.

 

Now had he told the truth, he and his family would have been arrested and  his family and the Jewish family would likely have been murdered in the camps.   Did he sin by lying to to soldiers or should he have told the truth?

Just saying.. It was not the lie that saved the family.. The Nazi soldiers could have still searched for the boat and found the others. It was grace of God.. If the person had said "I am hiding some Jews and they are hiding at bottom of the boat". The Nazis might have thought this guy is crazy or pulling some jokes and left. 

 

I am not saying the lie saved the family.  That's not the point at all.  The question is, was the family wrong to lie to the Nazi soldiers in an attempt to save human lives from certain murder?    Furthermore, I think it is little bit of a stretch to think the soldiers would have thought they were joking. That is just silly. 

 

It is a difficult question to answer. I think that the intent of the lie is the core of the answer. Fascism is evil, millions of Jews were being murdered, the fisherman knew his life and those of his passengers hung in the balance. He was almost obliged to lie.

 

A guy driving a car full of hidden illegal on the Mexican border gets stopped and asked by a police officer "is there anyone hiding in the vehicle",  and he answers "no". The intent of the lie is different is it not? And therefore wrong.

 

As I say, a difficult question because there is no right or wrong answer.

 

Does this make me look fat"? Be diplomatic, very, very diplomatic....

[OneLight]

It is the intent of the heart that God judges, not the action itself.  If I gave a million dollars to a charity, not because it is something God moved me to do but for selfish gain, will this be seen as a work of wood or of gold when I stand in judgment?  The world sees it as a good thing, but God knows my heart.

 

I am sure we can bring up post after post of lies that saved peoples lives.  The question is, does our reasoning trump scripture?