Key Questions: Dad, is it OK to lie?
1. Why does the ninth commandment say “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”?
The ninth commandment is addressing a specific form of lying–false testimony in court.
Court is a particularly important place for people to tell the truth because:
1. People’s lives and livelihoods are at stake.
2. The functioning of society as a whole is at stake.
If people cannot be trusted to tell the truth in court, then the rule of law crumbles, and justice becomes impossible.
However, we can extrapolate the principle of the ninth commandment to forbid lying in other situations.
The Bible elsewhere condemns lying more generally (e.g., Proverbs 12:22; Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9).
2. Does this mean there are exceptions to others of the Ten Commandments?
Because the ninth commandment specifically refers to false testimony in court (previous question), situations in which people lie to save others’ lives are not actually exceptions.
However, they do point to potential exceptions to the general principle of honesty that the commandment represents.
There may be situations where a higher ethical or theological commitment may require exceptions to other commandments.
Jesus claims saving life justifies not following the fourth commandment on not working on the Sabbath (Luke 6:6–11).
Though the second commandment forbids bowing to idols, 2 Kings 5:18–19 even discusses an unusual situation in which it might be acceptable.
The goal, however, should not be to look for exceptions, but to seek to obey the commandments wherever possible.
They are gifts from God to guide us into blessing.
But, as Jesus demonstrates, we shouldn’t become legalistic in our obedience and forsake “weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23).
3. Doesn’t this create a dangerous situation in which we can break God’s commandments whenever we think it’s right to do so?
If you or your kids are asking this question, you're thinking exactly the way you should about this difficult issue.
We don’t want to put our authority over God’s.
Just like Adam and Eve, that would be to make ourselves like God, determining good and evil.
There are extensive debates over the proper ethical systems to navigate these questions.
But the important point is to seek to glorify God in all we do (1 Corinthians 10:31).
We should never break the general principles God has given us in the Bible when WE think it’s right to do so, but only when we are convinced by God’s Word that HE would think it was right to do so.
4. Is it only OK to lie to save a life, or could lying be acceptable in other situations?
The biblical examples we’ve discussed (the Hebrew midwives, Rahab) involve lying to save lives.
The principle that lying may be acceptable when motivated by a self-sacrificial commitment to the good of others could potentially apply to lesser situations.
Many would say it applies to the small lies that convey politeness, such as complimenting a host on a meal even if you didn’t enjoy it.
The challenge with navigating those lesser situations is that the temptation to put our judgment over God’s increases (see last question).
So, we should only consider lying when we feel forced to, not by selfish self-preservation, but by love for God and neighbor.
Saving lives makes this more obvious, but even here, we still need to be careful and should exhaust any other option first.
