The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 70-15, titled "Bible Questions and Answers."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. Copyright 1994 by John MacArthur Jr., All Rights Reserved.

Question

At what point does deception become sin? For example, Rahab was commended for her faith, but apparently she lied when she was hiding spies. And, more specifically, what would you do if you happened to be hiding Jews in your house, and officials asked you if you were hiding Jews, how would you respond to that?

Answer

Well, in answer to that question, I would, if asked directly, tell the truth. Because I trust God. God does not need my deception to accomplish His purpose. So, I know people are going to say, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What about the Second World War? What about Corrie ten Boom? What about all that?” I’m just saying, God does not need my deception to achieve His sovereign purposes. If he’s going to save the Jews, He has proven capable of doing it, without me saying, “I think I can work this deal out, by telling a few lies here and there.” So, first of all, my belief in the sovereignty of God puts me in a position where I would just tell the truth. Now, I wouldn’t necessarily feel compelled to go down the street yelling it. But, if asked, I would feel I would have to entrust myself to God and speak the truth.

That sort of reminds me of the story of David, you remember, when he was in the Philistine capital and he wanted to escape and so he pretended like he was crazy, and he drooled in his beard, and he acted like he’d lost his mind--he scratched the walls and the gates. And the king said, “Look, we’ve got enough crazy people around here. Get this guy out of here.” And they shipped him out and he went off into a cave in the wilderness and asked God to forgive him for his lack of trust, that he had to act a fool to orchestrate his own escape rather than waiting to see the hand of God.

Now, in the case of Rahab, what you have to understand is God commended her faith, not her lie. There’s nothing in the scripture to indicate that He commended her lie, but He did commend her faith, and that’s a good reminder that believers do lie. I mean, there are times when the noblest of Christians may commit the sin of lying. And God will not damn us for the lie, but He will save us eternally for the faith. So, what was distinctive about Rahab and her commendation was she was commended for faith, and had she have told the truth, who knows what wonderful thing God might have done to deliver Israel. 

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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