Reddit mentions of How Christians Behave: The Foundation Series Volume Two

From my book on the Ten Commandments, How Christians Behave (just a little section from chapter 9, on "Don't Bear False Witness":


May I Lie To Save My Baby?

First, I knew you were going to ask that. Anytime this commandment is thoroughly addressed, the question of “ethical lying” comes up: “Is lying ever the right thing to do?” The short answer is, “Yes.” I must warn you, what comes next is like playing with dynamite.

Let me rephrase the question: “Does the God require us to tell the truth at all times?” While the Bible forbids us to bear false witness and to lie, it does not demand that we speak the full truth to those who have no business knowing it. Solomon said, “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret” (Proverbs 11.13). R.J. Rushdoony, in his monumental work on the Ten Commandments, wrote,
"The commandment is very clear: we are not to bear false witness against our neighbor, but this does not mean that our neighbor or our enemy is ever entitled to the truth from us, or any word from us, about matters of no concern to them, or of private nature to us. No enemy or criminal has any right to knowledge from us which can be used to do us evil. Scripture does not condemn Abraham and Isaac for lying in order to avoid murder and rape (Genesis 12.11-13, 20.2, 26.6-7); on the contrary, both are richly blessed by God, and the men who placed them in such an unhappy position are condemned or judged (Genesis 12.15-20, 20.3-18, 26.10-16). Likewise examples abound in Scripture. No one who seeks to do us evil, to violate the law in reference to us or to another, is entitled to the truth." ^31

Other examples of people who either did not tell the full truth or lied to God’s enemies are the Hebrew midwives (Exodus 1.15-21), the prostitute Rahab (Joshua 2.1-24), and the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 16.1-3). In all these instances, God blessed these people for fearing and honoring God above men.

The point of this is not to create some loophole for all liars, but to show that honoring God is our number one priority in life. The Law was not given as a taskmaster, but as a tool for righteous victory. We must live by the spirit of the Law which seeks, above all, to strengthen and bless God’s people and to bring glory to him. Clearly, there is no biblical suggestion that by brutal honesty we should destroy innocent lives and abuse God’s Word.

J.I. Packer asks, in response to this line of thinking, “But does that square with the ninth commandment?” Then he answers himself,
"What is forbidden is false witness against your neighbor - that is, as we have said, prideful lying designed to do him down and exalt you at his expense. The positive command implicit in this negative is that we should seek our neighbor’s good and speak truth to him and about him to this end. When the love that seeks this good prompts us to withhold truth that, if spoken, would bring him harm, the spirit of the ninth commandment is being observed. In such exceptional cases...all courses
of action have something of evil in them, and an outright lie, like that of Rahab, may actually be the best way, the least evil, and the truest expression of love to all the parties involved.”^32

Though I will probably get made fun of for once again saying something nice about his books, /u/Im_just_saying 's Foundation Series is really good.

Book 1: What Christians Believe

Book 2: How Christians Behave

Book 3: How Christians Pray

Book 4: How Christians Worship