I remember a conversation from many years back that I engaged in with a colleague in ministry about deception and whether it is ever acceptable in the life of a Christian. It was a friendly conversation, with neither one of us actually defending a position - mostly just conversing about the moral implications involved in such actions. However, as the conversation progressed, I realized my friend was beginning to move toward a stance in his own mind and started to show signs of becoming agitated. I asked him why his tone had changed, and he admitted that the more he talked about the matter, the more he felt that his opinion was correct, and that the opinion I seemed to be endorsing was “immoral.”
It is interesting how charged up we can get over gray areas that revolve around moral issues. We can pretend that there is no such thing as gray areas, and that every issue has a right and wrong answer attached to it, but try as we might, we continue to come across those issues that we can’t quite peg as morally right or morally wrong. Is it a sin every time we exceed the posted speed limit? Even by .5 mph? What if we had a momentary lapse of attention? Is it wrong to be proud of your son’s or daughter’s academic achievement? The Scriptures are clear that pride is a sin. Should we ever say “I’m proud of you”? Can there be exceptions?
Sunday, we will tackle one of those sticky wickets. We find ourselves in chapter two in our series through the book of Joshua. And there we find Rahab, a prostitute, helping “the good guys” by hiding Israelite spies who have come to gage the defensive positions inside and around the environs of Jericho. Rahab goes so far as to lie to the men who come to arrest (read “kill” here) the spies, who they know have been in Rahab’s inn. Rahab devises a ruse, and sends the men off in the wrong direction, all the while knowing full well that the spies are hiding on her roof. The ruse works, and the men’s lives are spared. Now, what do we do with this one? To make matters more complicated, Rahab is commended in the New Testament for both her faith and her good works, and to add insult to injury, we find her as one of four women named in the genealogy of Jesus himself in Matthew’s gospel.
Lying is clearly condemned in Scripture, both Old and New Testaments (Ex. 20:16; Ps. 63:11; 1 Tim. 1:10; Rev. 21:8). But is deception always wrong? Are the lengths we go at times to keep a surprise party a surprise sinful? We will talk about this Sunday, and although it will not be the main point that we take away from Joshua chapter two, it must be addressed. You may find yourself disagreeing with me on this matter. It may not be the first time you have disagreed with me either. : )
As a reminder, each week we are adding additional resources on our website for those of you who would like to dig deeper into the book of Joshua. If you will go to the website, click on the “Resources” tab, then on the “Joshua Series Resources,” (www.lifepointindy.com/resources/joshua-series-resources) you’ll find additional notes, questions for discussion, and background information. Let me encourage you again to be reading along with us in Joshua as we progress through the study, or, better yet, read the whole book through in a few days reading, and then go back through it again slowly with us as we make our way through the book on Sundays. I’m convinced you will find such a practice to be fruitful for your own understanding and edification. You can always go to the Worship Ministry page on our website (www.lifepointindy.com/ministries/worship-ministry) to find out not only what text is coming up for study on the approaching Sunday, but even what songs we will be singing. For those who are smart phone savvy, I always tweet out on Twitter what our upcoming verses will be, along with occasional quotes from books I am reading, and our LifePoint Twitter page does the same. Follow @pastorjym or @lifepointindy on Twitter if you want to be truly inspired! Okay, would you believe “better informed”?
The most recent Scripture I am committing to memory comes from Isaiah 45:19 – “I am the LORD, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness. I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘seek me in vain!’ I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.” This is good for us to know. God has made himself known to us. He intended to do that all along. Now we are called to get to know him. Let’s keep doing that together, friends.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym