(Is It Ever Okay to Sin? Post 2) The Premise

            1 Corinthians 10:13 states, “… And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted 

beyond what you are able…” (NIV)

            The King James writes, “… but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted 

above that ye are able…”

             Other Bible versions basically say the same thing. This verse is the premise for the rest 

of my post(s) on this subject. If my interpretation (exegesis) of this verse is incorrect, then, most 

likely, so is my opinion on this subject.

             Now, back to the subject. Is sin justified (excused, okay) in extreme situations if it saves 

lives?

             My personal answer is no. Now, I am a teenager, so no one probably cares about my 

personal opinions. That’s okay. Here is the premise of my position:

            For it to be true (that sin is excused in extreme situations), that would mean that God 

would put us in situations “beyond what (we) are able.” I hope this makes sense. For me to say 

that “sin is okay in certain situations,” I would have to believe that 1 Corinthians 10:13, the great 

doctrinal rock in times of trial (I don’t know how many times I’ve heard it quoted), is wrong.

             For sin to be okay when the going gets tough, I would have to believe that God could put 

me in a situation where disobedience to Him is fine. I don’t know about you, but whenever I read 

the Old Testament (and the Bible in general), one of the major thoughts I come away with is…

God hates sin.

             (I was planning to end the post with that thought, but I just thought of something else. Oh well, 

here is the extension:) Now, for me to turn around and say, “Well, you know, sin is okay if it saves 

lives” would be weird because…

Sin is what kills lives.

            Because sin is what allowed death (spiritual and physical) into the world, I can’t turn 

around and say “sin saves.” I hope this makes sense. Now that I’ve established the premise for 

my position, I’ll go into the historical account of the Hebrew (or Egyptian) midwives and Rahab 

the Harlot. I’ll conclude this topic (unless I want to write more) with a fascinating position I 

came across.

(Is It Ever Okay to Sin? Post 1) It's All a LIE!

            Alrighty, I am done with the Strange Scriptures series. I might go back to the book in 

the future, but for now, I’ll write about another topic:

            Is it okay to sin (more specifically, to lie) in extreme situations if it saves lives?

            I recently had a discussion with a friend over this matter. We talked about the hypothetical 

Nazi/holocaust situation. What if I was hiding “enemies of the state” in my house (Corrie Ten Boom 

style), and Nazis came to my door? They demand to know if I am hiding anyone. What do I do? 

Lie to save lives, or tell the truth… and people die?

            Ouch.

            What does the Bible have to say about situations like this? There are basically two Biblical 

accounts of history that pertain to this touchy subject: Rahab the harlot (Joshua 2) and the Egyptian 

midwives (Exodus 1). There also is a handy verse to keep in mind throughout this discussion. It will be 

in my next post.

Strange Scriptures: Shut Up! (Just Kidding :)

            (Chapter 1 of Strange Scriptures) Have you ever wondered what the word “Selah” means 

in Psalms? I have. I’ll be reading something, and I’ll randomly see “Selah” at the end of a verse. 

The annoying thing is that I’ve heard the meaning for it a gazillion times, but I always forget! 

Hopefully this time will be different.

            It’s a relatively simple explanation. Originally, the Psalms were meant to be sung. That’s 

why you’ll read “Sing unto the Lord” or some variation of it a thousand times in the psaltery (the 

Psalms were not meant to be read along like prose). All “Selah” means is a break, or a pause, in 

the singing. Instead of hearing voices, the listeners would hear a musical interlude until the 

singer started up again.

            This is sort of like in my church where, after a verse or a chorus, the band will just play 

music while everyone contemplates the lyrics and what they are singing.

P.S. The Hebrew word for “Selah” means “to be silent” (shut up :).