Is it Ever OK to Lie?

Is it ever not a sin to lie? Or—to let the double negative cancel itself out and get  right to the chase—does God ever put you in a position where sinning is the right thing to do?

 

This question is as bothersome as it is perennial. It invariably comes attached to this hypothetical: say you lived in Nazi Germany, and you have Jews hiding in your living room, and the SS guards knock on your door and ask if you are hiding Jews. What do you do? Do you lie?

Let me give you my conclusion, and then try and walk you there with me. First: GOD HATES LYING. So yes, it is always a sin to lie, and no, it is never ok to lie. Proverbs 12:12-13 explains why:  

“No disaster overcomes the righteous, but the wicked are full of misery.  Lying lips are detestable to Yahweh, but faithful people are His delight.”

Lying lips are one of the seven things that God finds detestable (Proverbs 6:16). Christians are called to let their yes be yes, and lying violates that basic principle (James 5:12). Meanwhile, God is a God of truth (John 14:7), while the devil is the father of lies (John 8:38). Lies are an affront to providence, as they imply that the world would be better if God simply would have worked it out more to our liking. Thus every lie is an attack against the sovereignty of God, and essentially places you in opposition to that which is true. Instead of lying, speak the truth (Col 3:9, Eph 4:22, 24).

It really is that simple.    Continue at Jesse Johnson

Why the Revelations of Dr. Gosnell’s Trial Don’t Shock Me, and the Holocaust in Our Midst

A few years ago I wrote a blog about the murder charges against Dr. Kermit Gosnell, the Philadelphia abortionist. He’s back in the news (well, some of the news) because of his trial.

Last Friday the EPM staff reposted on my Facebook some of my original comments. That post has had an incredible reach, with over 1,300 shares, more than 1,100 likes and nearly 200 comments. Facebook also tells me that over 170,000 people have seen the post.

(You might want to check out Trevin Wax’s article on 8 Reasons for the Media Blackout on Kermit Gosnell where he speaks of “the strange silence of the mainstream media regarding one of the most gruesome murder trials in American history.”)

I’m grateful for the way God is really touching lives through the work our staff does—in this case raising consciousness for the plight of the unborn. I’m including my Facebook post below for those of you who may not have seen it, and am adding a few additional comments.

I must say that while I agree with all the Christian bloggers and tweeters that the revelations in the Dr. Gosnell case are all horrific, in fact I am not shocked about them. Why? Because I already knew what was going on in abortion clinics. I already knew that innocent people are killed there by the hundreds every week. Twenty-four years ago I looked in the dumpster of an abortion clinic and saw pieces of human flesh. This is not news to me. I knew that the lives of women are ruined there, and I knew that the “doctors” who spend their lives killing babies in most cases know exactly what they are doing. (Yes, I have talked with them.)   Continue at Randy Alcorn

See Also: 

How will you respond to Kermit Gosnell’s house of horrors?