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What Does the Bible Say About Lying?

Name: GodlyScore Review: What Does the Bible Say About Lying?
Item: Lying (biblical framework)
Rating: 1.3
Author: GodlyScore

What does the Bible say about lying? Scripture addresses lying more extensively than most people realize — from the ninth commandment to Jesus's claim to be the truth himself. Here is the complete biblical framework.

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Lying (biblical framework)

Caution

★☆☆☆☆1.3/5 · GodlyScore 25/100

Lying is consistently condemned in Scripture: the ninth commandment (Exodus 20:16), Proverbs 12:22 ('The LORD detests lying lips'), John 8:44 (the devil is 'the father of lies'), and Revelation 21:8 (liars among those excluded from the new creation). However, Scripture also contains accounts of deception that appear to be blessed by God — Rahab, the Egyptian midwives, and others — creating genuine ethical complexity. 25/100 Caution.

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What Scripture Clearly Teaches

The biblical prohibition on lying is clear and grounded in God's own character. The ninth commandment — "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16) — is the foundation. But the biblical case against lying goes deeper than law:

God himself is truth: John 14:6 — Jesus says "I am the way and the truth and the life." Numbers 23:19 — "God is not human, that he should lie." Truthfulness is not an arbitrary rule but a reflection of God's essential nature. Lying is not merely wrong because God forbids it — it is wrong because it is contrary to the character of God.

Proverbs 12:22 — "The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy." John 8:44 — Jesus describes the devil as "a liar and the father of lies" — lying is associated with Satan's fundamental character in opposition to God's. Colossians 3:9 — "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices."

The Hard Cases

Scripture contains several accounts where deception appears to be blessed by God, creating genuine ethical complexity:

The Egyptian midwives (Exodus 1:15-21): Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all male infants. They lied to Pharaoh about why they didn't obey — and "God was kind to the midwives" and "gave them families of their own." Their deception preserved innocent lives.

Rahab (Joshua 2:1-7): Rahab lied to the king of Jericho about harboring the Israelite spies — and she is praised in Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 for her faith and her actions. The New Testament specifically commends what she did.

How to handle these cases: the most common evangelical response is that deception to protect innocent life from an unjust aggressor represents a conflict of duties (loyalty to God's image-bearers vs. prohibitions on lying) in which the higher duty (protecting life) takes precedence. Most evangelical ethicists agree these cases do not license general dishonesty but acknowledge genuine moral complexity in situations of severe moral conflict.

White Lies and Partial Truths

The Bible's teaching on honesty extends beyond outright false statements. Deception by omission, misleading half-truths, and exaggeration are addressed by texts like Leviticus 19:11 ("Do not deceive one another") and Ephesians 4:25 ("Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor"). The standard is not merely avoiding technically false statements but being a person of genuine integrity. See our Is It a Sin? hub and our What Does the Bible Say About? hub. The Gospel Coalition's treatment of lying and the hard cases is thorough. GotQuestions on lying provides solid biblical grounding.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Bible say about lying?

Lying is consistently condemned: ninth commandment (Exodus 20:16), Proverbs 12:22 ('The LORD detests lying lips'), Colossians 3:9 ('Do not lie to each other'), and Revelation 21:8 (liars among those excluded from the new creation). Truthfulness is grounded in God's own character — Jesus is 'the truth' (John 14:6); the devil is 'the father of lies' (John 8:44). However, the Egyptian midwives and Rahab present genuine ethical complexity where deception to protect life appears blessed by God. 25/100 Caution.

Is it always a sin to lie?

The biblical prohibition on lying is clear and grounded in God's character. The harder cases — the Egyptian midwives (Exodus 1), Rahab (Joshua 2, praised in Hebrews 11 and James 2) — involve deception to protect innocent life from unjust aggressors. Most evangelical ethicists hold that these represent genuine conflicts of duties where the higher duty (protecting life) takes precedence, not a license for general dishonesty. In ordinary life, lying is sin.

What does the Bible say about white lies?

Scripture's standard for honesty extends beyond avoiding technically false statements. Leviticus 19:11 — 'Do not deceive one another.' Ephesians 4:25 — 'Put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor.' Deception by omission, misleading half-truths, and flattery are all addressed. The goal is not merely technical truth-telling but being a person of genuine integrity whose word can be trusted — reflecting God's own character as truth.