Is Lying A Sin?

Is lying a sin?

Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Exodus 20:16 HCSB

“You must not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked to be a malicious witness. “You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.  Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit. “If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. “If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.  “You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit. Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty.  You must not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words of the righteous.
Exodus 23:1‭-‬8 HCSB

All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.
Ephesians 4:31‭-‬32 HCSB

I will destroy anyone who secretly slanders his neighbor; I cannot tolerate anyone with haughty eyes or an arrogant heart.
Psalms 101:5 HCSB

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.
Titus 3:1‭-‬2 HCSB

There are a few definitions that we need to establish in order to make a determination here.

Bearing false witness is to give testimony in a court of law that is false. In our modern society, it is not a stretch at all to include giving false statements to the authorities. Since law enforcement are typically acting as part of the legal system - the courts - they are an extension of the courts.

Slander is the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.

Libel is a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.

Essentially,  slander is to say something false that results and defamation, libel is to write something false that results in defamation. Both slander and libel are types of defamation  (also including calumny, vilification, or traducement) - the communication of a false statement that harms the reputation of an individual, business, product, group, government, or a nation. For this essay, the focus shall be placed upon the individual.

Naturally, not all Bible verses pertaining to slander, libel, and speaking ill about one's neighbor are included in this article. There are too many to list and quote. Needless to say, the Bible is very clear that these things are sinful  actions.

But, do all lies fall into this category?

In a word, no.

Suppose that a criminal breaks into your house and hold a gun to your head. Your family is hidden in another room. The criminal asks you if there's anybody in the house with you. In an effort to save your families lives, you reply, "no."

In this situation, the statement is clearly a lie. However, it is not slander, libel, or bearing false witness. To go a step further, it is not a deception that results in harm to one's neighbor. Much the opposite, this lie could actually preserve life.  Such a lie would not be a sin.

As a different example, supposed person were involved in a car collision. They tell the insurance company that they suffered health issues as a result of the collision. However, in reality, they suffered no ill-effects. This person is just trying to help out his doctor friend, or wants to collect the money for himself.

This lie would most certainly be a sin. Additionally, this would constitute insurance fraud.

As a third example - suppose a father asks his daughter if she has cleaned her room. The daughter answers that she has cleaned her room, when, in fact, her room has not been cleaned.

This lie is an example of a sin. Thankfully, failing to clean a room does not constitute a violation of the law in most precincts. Nevertheless, the daughter has lied to her father. This constitutes bearing false witness, as the father would be needing this information in order to pass good judgement for the running of his household.

There are countless other examples. However the crux of the matter is the intent of the lie. If it results in a faulty judgement by a person in authority, it will typically be regarded as a sin. If it results in harm to your neighbor, it will typically be regarded as a sin. Please note that one's enemy is the exact opposite of one's neighbor. So, generally speaking, deceiving the enemy is certainly not bearing false witness.

And, as with all things, these are generalizations. Each individual instance must be judged on its own merits.