Did you know that God has limitations? He has imposed them on Himself and without them He would not be God. He is the only being that is unable to lie. In Hebrews 6:18 we are told "...it is impossible for God to lie..."

In Numbers 23:19 we see the contrast between God and man when we read, "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" Based on God's inability to lie is why, "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;" (Titus 1:2). If God can lie, then we can be sure of nothing. We humans, on the other hand, seem to have a lie for all occasions and we are able to give a number of excuses on why we do so. The end reason though is because we see an advantage to ourselves for lying or to avoid conflict. We even have different types of lies. There are black and white lies. What exactly defines a black versus white lie is nebulous at best since the only type of lies we tell, we justify as being white. We should be asking ourselves at this point, does God make this distinction? The answer is "No!"

The basic element of the lie is that it is a false statement masquerading as truth and is made with the intent to deceive. Anyone who is a Christian is forbidden to lie since we have put off our former life and its deeds (Colossians 3:9). We are to repay no one evil for evil and have regard for good things in the sight of all men (Romans 12:17).

God has made clear how He looks upon lying. In Proverbs 12:22 we are told, "Lying lips are  abomination to the LORD: But they that deal truly are his delight." Finally, in Revelation 21:8, we are told all liars shall have their part in the lake, which burns with fire and brimstone. Without doubt, God disapproves of lying, period; unless He is lying.

 Charles Royal, Decatur AL