When is a lie a sin

[dtknowles]

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

The Eighth Commandment condemns lying.

But does it really. Let us for the moment consider that everyone is our neighbor. So if the lie does not harm anyone then it is not a sin? Now if you always tell the truth you do not bear false witness so it is not a sin even if it gets someone killed.

I am going to let others express their opinions before I share more of my own. This is an issue worthy of this forum.

Tim

[Hickory]

Always.
No exceptions.

[lefty o]

agree'd, a lie is always a sin. my own personal take, a liar's word is not to be trusted, and without trust, there is nothing. big lie, little lie, white lie, end result they are all a lie.

[dverna]

I am one of those Christians that trusts God to have common sense. All “sins” are not equal.

His creation has feelings. Telling the absolute truth can hurt people for little reason. White lies that do not harm others is acceptable and not a sin.

Do you tell your grandchild there is no Santa Clause, Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny?

[lefty o]

there is a time and place to shut up and say nothing. its not as easy as lying, but no one said life is easy. kind of like when your mother told you that if you dont have anything nice to say, dont say anything. if you feel the need to lie, you are much better off remaining silent. as far as i am concerned in the end, everyone has to look themselves in the mirror. if anybody feels the need to go through life lying, do what you have to do, but if you lie to me, then we have a problem. not lying isnt easy, but it is better.

[Hickory]

You can use a lie to deceive a person, but, you do not sin against them. You are sinning against God.

[Ickisrulz]

So the Nazis stop by looking for Jews. You have a family hidden in your basement. They ask, "Have you seen any Jews?" You say you have not.

Can anyone seriously say this lie is a sin?

[Hickory]

So the Nazis stop by looking for Jews. You have a family hidden in your basement. They ask, "Have you seen any Jews?" You say you have not.

Can anyone seriously say this lie is a sin?

God will judge the sin as to the why and how.
I am comfortable with that!

[Ickisrulz]

God will judge the sin as to the why and how.
I am comfortable with that!

So you still see this as a sin?

[Hickory]

So you still see this as a sin?

Yes, most definitely.
God, unlike man, is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins.

[GhostHawk]

I think they are pretty much all sins. Severity, intent, and what is in your heart may moderate it. But I think we should be Honest. Can anyone point in bible wher e Jesus lied?

[dangitgriff]

I think they are pretty much all sins. Severity, intent, and what is in your heart may moderate it. But I think we should be Honest. Can anyone point in bible wher e Jesus lied?

Sure!
He lied in a tomb for three days straight.

[robbyPGP2014]

How many lies does it take to be a liar
and how many times do you have to tell the truth to be truthful? In the end it is what GOD says, not what i think.HE will be the Judge.

[Ickisrulz]

Yes, most definitely.
God, unlike man, is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins.

Lying to save someone's life is a sin? I disagree.

Working on the Sabbath was a sin for Israel. Yet Jesus did work on the Sabbath for people's benefit. It was not a sin in this case (or other cases Jesus talked about).

[lefty o]

there are exceptions to every rule. if you feel you are saving someones life by lying, go for it. with very few exceptions, thats a slim argument in favor of being a liar.

[popper]

yes it is a sin, but through Jesus Christ, sins are forgiven. Non-believers don't have to worry, Original Sin places them in a different 'place' anyway!

[Jevyod]

When I saw the title I immediately thought of a short story by Mark Twain. It is entitled "Was it Heaven, or Hell". I believe that is the right story title. This question is more of an ethics question. The overlying question is "Is it ever wrong to commit a sin in order to prevent a greater evil from happening"? Such as, If your wife, only child ect was sick to the point of death, and the only way to save them was to break in to the pharmacy and steal the meds they need to survive, is it ok? Some would say if they are a Christian, then they will go to heaven anyways, so no. But what if the person is an unbeliever that is close to the Kingdom? Would that change your answer? It is so easy for us to make judgement calls like that, but does that make it right? The topic of ethics can be a big one to work through, and I am not sure exactly where I come out at on every question. But at the end of the day, I do not feel it is right for me to lie because it is giong against the command of God. It takes a big trust, but there are people that have done it, and God worked miraculously in their behalf. It does not mean that He has to, but I think there is something very powerful when a child of God says "I will obey God, no matter the cost" I think of the story of people who were hiding Jews in Germany (was in the Corrie Ten Boom family?" who decided they will not lie no matter the cost. The soldiers came and asked where they hid the Jews. One of them looked at him and declared that the Jews were under the table. This was true, there was a hidden trapdoor. The soldiers laughed at them, not believing them, and walked out. Again, God does not always work in that way, but He can. I believe it is up to me to obey, and up to God to be the judge. That is my long-winded answer!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I suspect our society has a definition of Lying that covers more than the Eighth Commandment does.

Embellishing the truth in a hunting/fishing story could easily fit into the Lie category, but is it bearing false witness against thy neighbor?

[Ickisrulz]

God's concern is that we love other people. It is not that we woodenly follow the "rules."

If telling a lie to someone wishing to maliciously harm another person prevents that harm, it is an act of love. To suggest that such a lie is a sin is pharisaic and fails to see what God wants for man.

There is no such thing as a necessary evil. If an action is evil, it's not necessary. If an action is necessary, it is not evil. There are many scenarios where a lie is necessary to prevent harm to others.

[1hole]

Is a "lie" always a sin? Welll ... a lot of people ignore the fact that God examines our hearts more than the deeds we may do, meaning He's much more concerned about why we do things than what we do.

How should we rightly define what is a lie anyway? We know that telling an untruth to harm others is the epitome of lying and, by extension, we may lie to cover our own errors. But, I will argue that not every untruth we say is a "lie". We may say something that's incorrect because we thought it to be true; that's not a lie, it's a mistake. We may tell a homely fat lady she's looking good today because we love her more than we love always telling the "truth." When questioned about slimy rumors we may say, "I don't know" when we actually do know but we chose to not support the rumor mill. I guess what I'm trying to say is God's hatred of lying, as such, can be distorted into pridefully doing "right" no matter the cost to others .... and then call it being a "good" example. ???

Think of this; no one ever said the Pharisees sinned by breaking the letter of the Mosaic Law. But we know they busted the meaning and purpose of that Law by being self-righteous, strict law following religionists. And we don't have to read much of the New Testament to learn Jesus had a really low opinion of them; I don't want to be like them.

As alluded to above, the thing God hates about lying is trying to do harm to others (OR to escape the rightful consequenses of admitting our own failings). But, like the Lord's many parabiles, not every technically untrue thing we may speak is, ip so facto, a "lie".