Can God Lie?
Can God lie? This is and has been one of the most asked questions by Christians, skeptics of the faith, non-believers and even Atheist. The short answer to this question is NO! God is the only being who is incapable of lying since God has not been touched the sin of Adam he is not capable of lying.
In fact God cannot only not lie, God cannot be tempted to lie. Unlike humans no one can catch God in a compromising position, or give Him an opportunity to make Himself appear more impressive by making up false accomplishments or attributes. God is perfect in every way. Even if God’s character did permit Him to lie, the potential for personal gain, which serves human motivation to lie, would not affect Him because of His Holy character.
To understand why God cannot lie we must first understand some of the attributes of God . Let's start by understanding that God is our Creator and that we are a part of His creation (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1) and are created in His image. Man is above the rest of creation and was given dominion over it (Genesis 1:26-28). Creation is marred by the fall but still offers a glimpse of God’s works (Genesis 3:17-18; Romans 1:19-20). By considering creation's vastness, complexity, beauty, and order, we can have a sense of the awesomeness of God.
Now that we have seen how awesome God is let’s take a look at some of the exact attributes that help show that God is incapable of lying
As we can see by God’s attributes He is incomparable to any human being. By examining God's attributes we can see that he is incapable of committing a lie. Let’s now take at what the bible says about God and if He is able to commit a lie. In the following passages you will see that God is incapable of committing a lie.
Between examining the attributes of God and looking at what His Word states about Him we can see that God is incapable of telling a lie.
In fact God cannot only not lie, God cannot be tempted to lie. Unlike humans no one can catch God in a compromising position, or give Him an opportunity to make Himself appear more impressive by making up false accomplishments or attributes. God is perfect in every way. Even if God’s character did permit Him to lie, the potential for personal gain, which serves human motivation to lie, would not affect Him because of His Holy character.
To understand why God cannot lie we must first understand some of the attributes of God . Let's start by understanding that God is our Creator and that we are a part of His creation (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 24:1) and are created in His image. Man is above the rest of creation and was given dominion over it (Genesis 1:26-28). Creation is marred by the fall but still offers a glimpse of God’s works (Genesis 3:17-18; Romans 1:19-20). By considering creation's vastness, complexity, beauty, and order, we can have a sense of the awesomeness of God.
Now that we have seen how awesome God is let’s take a look at some of the exact attributes that help show that God is incapable of lying
- First God is Eternal; He had no beginning and His existence will never end. He is immortal and infinite (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 90:2; 1 Timothy 1:17).
- God is Immutable; MHe is unchanging; this in turn means that God is absolutely reliable and trustworthy (Malachi 3:6; Numbers 23:19; Psalm 102:26, 27. What God says He will do will be done.
- God is Incomparable; there is no one like Him in works or being. He is unequaled and perfect (2 Samuel 7:22; Psalm 86:8; Isaiah 40:25; Matthew 5:48). You cannot bargain, persuade, or make a deal with God.
- God is Inscrutable, Unfathomable, Unsearchable; past finding out as far as understanding Him completely (Isaiah 40:28; Psalm 145:3; Romans 11:33, 34).
- God is Just; He is no respecter of persons in the sense of showing favoritism (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:30).
- God is Omnipotent; He is all-powerful and can do anything that pleases Him, but His actions will always be in accord with the rest of His character never contradicting His Word (Revelation 19:6; Jeremiah 32:17, 27).
- God is Omnipresent; He is present everywhere, but this does not mean that God is everything (Psalm 139:7-13; Jeremiah 23:23).
- God is Omniscient; He knows the past, present, and future, including what we are thinking at any given moment. Since He knows everything, His justice will always be administered fairly (Psalm 139:1-5; Proverbs 5:21).
- God is One; not only is there no other, but He is alone in being able to meet the deepest needs and longings of our hearts. God alone is worthy of our worship and devotion (Deuteronomy 6:4).
- God is Righteous; God cannot and will not pass over wrongdoing. It is because of God’s righteousness and justice that, in order for our sins to be forgiven, Jesus had to experience God's wrath when our sins were placed upon Him (Exodus 9:27; Matthew 27:45-46; Romans 3:21-26).
- God is Sovereign; He is supreme over all. All of His creation put together cannot thwart His purposes (Psalm 93:1; 95:3; Jeremiah 23:20).
- God is Holy; Separated from all moral defilement and hostile toward it. God sees all evil and it angers Him. God is referred to as a consuming fire (Isaiah 6:3; Habakkuk 1:13; Exodus 3:2, 4-5; Hebrews 12:29).
As we can see by God’s attributes He is incomparable to any human being. By examining God's attributes we can see that he is incapable of committing a lie. Let’s now take at what the bible says about God and if He is able to commit a lie. In the following passages you will see that God is incapable of committing a lie.
- Numbers 23:19~ God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent.
- 1 Samuel 15:29~The Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent.
- 2 Samuel 7:28~Thou art that God, and thy words be true.
- Titus 1:2~In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.
- Hebrews 6:18~It was impossible for God to lie.
Between examining the attributes of God and looking at what His Word states about Him we can see that God is incapable of telling a lie.
