Lying for God

Such is a controversial topic. Lying for God? How can such a thing even be thought about? If lying is evil then how can we as Christians say that it is right to lie for God? Lying in general is wrong isn’t it?

In Exodus, one of the Ten Commandments is “Thou shall not bear false witness against they neighbor.” This is lying, bearing false witness. So how can I make such a bold statement and say that we can “Lie for God.” Well it has come up in my life, a truth that I must discover.

In Joshua: 2, Joshua sends out the two spies to scout Jericho, they come upon the house of the prostitute Rahab. Now Jericho had heard of the spies coming and they were afraid of Israel because of what they had done to the tribes across the Jordan River. They had heard of the spies being in Rahabs house and when they came unto the house looking for them Rahab hid the men and proceeded to spin a tale of deceit to throw the men off.

So ok, obviously Rahab did the wrong thing by lying. 

Hebrews 11:31 “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.”

James 2:25 “Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent [them] out another way?”

With these verses I took a step back. So yes she lied, but she is now in what we call “The Hall of Faith” because of her faith to God, and by works she proved that faith, in protecting the spies. So what now? Was Rahab wrong for lying, or were her lies for God a good thing. This came up in a Bible study and the group I was with said that it was completely wrong to lie in any circumstance. That Rahab should have told the soldiers they were there, and prayed that God would give deliverance. 

This brought into my mind the Jews of WW2 and the Christians that protected them for months and months. So are those Christians all wrong because they protected innocent lives? Some people would say so, however, if I were in that position I would lie every time. If it is a sin to lie for Christ, then I will take the lesser of the sin. I will lie to protect those innocent lives. Cause in my mind it’s better to be a liar then a murderer, which is what I call giving up those innocent. 

I have not come to a place in my research that I can answer the question of “Is lying for God right?” But as I pray and study His word I hope to find my answer.

Ian McNear

Deep South Men's Conference 2011 (Saturday)

I’ve made it safely back to Charleston, the conference was simply amazing. Saturday was even better, even if I didn’t enjoy one of the speakers as much as I thought I would. Despite this, worship was amazing, and teaching was excellent.

Worship was amazing, most of the groups that played for us were phenomenal, having a packed auditorium full of men singing “Our God” and “He loves us” was inspirational.

Teaching was even better in most cases; we heard the last 4 sessions and finished the book of Colossians.

Out of the three teachers Ken Graves was my favorite, he was inspirational and whenever he talked wisdom poured forth. His last session on Saturday was on Colossians 3:18-4:1. The title of the message was “Being Godly at Home and Work” and Graves taught a phenomenal lesson on this passage, about Women, Men, and Children, then finishing with servants and masters. It was an eye-opening time of conviction and understanding. Graves challenged us to be men of God, and then explained to us what being men really meant, including how we should treat our wives/future-wives. How God made us uniquely different, and he did so that we could be complete together. It was a beautiful thing.

Rob Salvato spoke on Colossians 2, talking about “Being Complete in Christ.” It was a beautiful message and Salvato drew on inspiration on his life involving his father’s transformation from an angry drunkard to an alcohol free man of God.

Out of the three Sandy Adams was my least favorite, he had some good things to say and talk about but some of it was lost with his style of delivery, and then there was this really awkward moment in the middle of his second session. Of which I will not talk about.

All in all the conference was amazing and inspiring. Ken Graves was the best speaker and has definitely made an impression on my life, as I seek to become a good man of God.

Thanks,

Ian McNear