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The original commandment, "Do not bear false witness against
your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16 and Deuteronomy 5:20) focuses on a
specific aspect of lying, and is directly applicable to the testimony
a person might give in court. Other Scripture passages focus on the
general (and all-encompassing) principle: "Do not lie" or
something similar (examples - Leviticus 19:11; Colossians 3:9).
By implication, what we are supposed to do - to be truthful -
is also a part of this command. Truthfulness, integrity, honesty and
other similar traits are to be characteristics of our lives.
As for oath-taking, there are times when a person may rightfully
"swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" -
such as in a court of law. To use what Jesus says, in the "Sermon on the
Mount," to oppose such oath-taking is to tear his words out of context.
He was teaching us that our character should be such that there would
never be a reason to question the truthfulness of what we say - oath or
no oath. We shouldn't have to take frivolous oaths every time we say
something, in order to get people to believe us!
There are times when we have a moral obligation to withhold truth
from someone - such as when a person is not an authority over us,
and has no legitimate right to the information. But withholding
information is not the same as lying about it. (Some of the
articles below explore this issue further.)
About Making Promises... |
A group of Scripture passages which show us the
seriousness of making (and keeping) the promises and vows we make. We
should not make promises or vows lightly!
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Is it ever right to lie? |
This is a general article that looks at various issues
related to the question. Numerous Scripture passages are included,
which demonstrate that it is not right to lie. |
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See Also: |
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Hypocrisy (A hypocrite doesn't just
speak lies... his very character and life is a lie.)
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Joshua 2 and James 2:25 -
Was Rahab's Lie a Sin? |
This is some e-mail correspondence I had with a person
who asked about Rahab's lie - whether or not it was a sin. Many
people try to use James' comments about Rahab to "defend"
lying. Yet a careful examination of James 2:25 shows that such is not
the case.
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See also: "What did Rahab Know about Israel and Israel's God?" -
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1 Samuel 16:1-6 - Did God
Tell Samuel to Lie? |
This is some e-mail correspondence I had with a person
who claimed that God did tell Samuel to lie. We never reached
an agreement, but the "dialogue" is instructive, in that it
brings out some of the issues that come up when this issue is
discussed. It also shows some of the reasons (or assumptions -
whether good or bad) that cause people reach their conclusions.
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Truthfulness as a lifestyle...
Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond
this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:37)
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