In yesterday’s sermon on Genesis 26-27, I argued that Jacob’s deceitful pursuit of his father’s blessing was still sinful, even if he was pursuing what God had already decreed. The consequences of his sin were obvious: in his rush to make things better, he actually made things worse for himself and everyone else involved.
But maybe this was just because he was being selfish. Maybe it would be different if you were acting in a completely selfless way, like lying to the Gestapo about the Jews hiding in your basement. Or lying to the soldiers in Jericho about the Israelite spies hiding on your roof, as Rahab did in Joshua 2.
In fact, this example is often used by people who see justification for sin if it accomplishes a higher purpose. Especially since James seems to be praising Rahab and her deceit in James 2: “Was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?”
The problem with this line of thought is that James isn’t praising Rahab because of her deception. He’s praising her in spite of it. He’s commending her overall desire to serve God and his purpose, even though she went overboard in her zeal. In the same paragraph James praises Abraham for his faithfulness, but he would never extend this applause to the multiple times Abraham tried to sell his wife into a harem by claiming her to be his sister.
When we deceitfully manipulate situations, even to accomplish God-honoring objectives, it betrays a fundamental distrust of God and his sovereign control. Paul rejects this tendency in 2 Corinthians 4: “We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.”