Defining Deception & "Concealment"

Recently, on my Facebook page, I wrote a status update that resulted in a very interesting conversation about deception. The conversation was SO interesting that I'd like to offer my thoughts on the issue here.

Most Christians are quick to condemn deception as a form of lying. According to Webster's Dictionary, it is defined as, "1: to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive; 2: to create a false or misleading impression." We can easily see that deception is sinful if we're going by the first definition. After all, to make an untrue statement - to lie - is condemned in places like Ephesians 4:25 and Revelation 21:8.

However, let's give greater thought to the second (modern) definition of deception...

"to create a false or misleading impression"

If you've ever studied the Old Testament, then I'm sure you've noticed that many of God's most faithful servants, on occasions, created "a false or misleading impression."

1. God sent Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and to lead them through the wilderness to the land of Canaan. When Moses first confronted Pharaoh, he said, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness" (Exodus 5:1). Then, in verse three, he added, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword." Moses and Aaron were implying that the Israelites would return from the wilderness after sacrificing and feasting unto the Lord. Of course, they would do these things...but left out the fact that they wouldn't be returning. Did they "create a false or misleading impression?" It seems so.
2. The story of Gideon's 300 men which we all love so much is a story of deception...that is, if it's deceptive "to create a false or misleading impression." In Judges 7:18-20, when Gideon's 300 men surrounded the camp, blew their trumpets, broke their pitchers, held up their torches and cried out "the sword of the Lord and of Gideon," were they not trying to give the impression that there were many more than 300 men surrounding the Midianite camp? And it worked!
3. When the Lord sent Samuel to anoint a new king to replace King Saul, Samuel replied, "'How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.' But the Lord said, 'Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.'" (1 Samuel 16:2-3). Samuel's true mission was to anoint a new king, but God authorized Samuel to engage in subterfuge to conceal the true nature of his mission. So, with God's approval, Samuel created "a false or misleading impression."

There are certainly other examples, but these three should cause us to step back and reconsider our view of deception. If it is deceptive to "create a false or misleading impression," and if all deception is lying, and if lying is sinful (which, of course, it is), then not only did the Jews of old totally get this wrong, but even God has been guilty of lying. This conclusion is untenable because we know that "it is impossible for God to lie" (Hebrews 6:18).

So clearly, we need to rethink our traditional view of deception.

Then again, the word "deception" (in its many forms) is always condemned in Scripture. In the New Testament especially, it is always tied to false teachers (Matt. 24:11; Rom. 16:17-18) and even to Satan (2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14; Rev. 20:3). As far as I know, the word is never used in a positive way.

So, based on a modern definition of deception, we cannot condemn it across the board lest we condemn God's prophets of old, and even God Himself. But then we cannot say anything positively about it in lieu of the biblical usage and definition of it. We must therefore conclude that definition #2 - "to create a false or misleading impression" - is not universally condemned in Scripture nor reflected in the Scripture's use of deception. In other words, the word "deception" as it is used throughout God's word does not have in mind the practice of "[creating] a false or misleading impression."

With this in mind, we either have to call definition #2 something OTHER than deception, or we have to be careful to define what we mean when we condemn deception. To make things simple, I'm going to come up with a replacement word for definition #2 of deception: concealment.

This brings me to my main point, or question, I should say...

How do we distinguish between concealment and deception? I'm going to lay out a few principles that ought to help us to have discernment here...

1. It should first of all be understood that we can never justify lying for reasons stipulated above. If we are making "an untrue statement with intent to deceive," we are lying, and we have sinned. Everything we say must be true and accurate to our knowledge.
2. "The fruit of the Spirit is...faithfulness" (Galatians 5:22). The Greek word here is pistis and in this context, means "fidelity." It's the idea of being trustworthy and reliable. We're told in other places that our "yes" needs to mean "yes," and our "no" needs to mean "no" (Matt. 5:37; 2 Cor. 1:17-22). The word of a Christian, in other words, ought to mean something. If we make a statement that detracts from our fidelity and trustworthiness, we have violated this principle. Others shouldn't have to second-guess us or question the veracity of our words. This ought to cause us to reflect deeply and carefully on anything that might be construed as deception. More than that, this ought to even discourage us from the regular practice of concealment. If, whenever I'm backed into a corner (in an argument), I resort to half-truths and distortions, or if I am disingenuous, I am not being "faithful" and therefore I am being indirectly dishonest, if not directly so. Such MUST be avoided at all costs.
3. In the three examples I cited toward the beginning of this article (of Moses, Gideon and Samuel), not only did these men utter 100% truth (even if they didn't reveal the whole truth), there were no harmful consequences from their words or actions. To put it another way, they were not being self-serving or lacking in faith. They weren't being impulsive to the potential detriment of others or their own reputations. Rather, they were acting in good faith toward God, with His will and His glory in mind. Did they hold back some critical information? Yes. But can we really compare them to the child who, in a self-serving manner, to avoid punishment, doesn't tell the whole truth, and creates a false impression? I don't think so. To better understand the difference here, consider the example of Abraham in Genesis 12. As they arrived in Egypt, he said to Sarah, "Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with you for your sake, and that I may live because of you." Technically, Sarah was his sister...so they weren't lying. But clearly, they were creating "a false or misleading impression." Was this an innocent display of concealment (as I've defined it)? I don't think so for the following reasons: (1) God had made promises to Abraham and surely wasn't going to let him be killed by Pharaoh. Abraham should have known that God would protect him. (2) His actions placed his wife, Sarah, in danger. In that day and age, assassinations and political turmoil were commonplace. (3) Furthermore, when Pharaoh did take Sarah to be his wife, he could have fornicated with her, thus tarnishing her purity. This was only prevented because God stepped in to save her from such defilement. Abraham's actions were short-sighted, reflected a lack of faith in God, and put others in peril. For these reasons, Abraham's actions here cannot be placed alongside those of Moses, Gideon and Samuel.

A brother whom I respect presented the following scenario to me: let's say that a preacher travels to China for the purpose of preaching the word and strengthening the churches, and yet when he is asked by Chinese officials what his purpose is for coming into the country, he replies, not with the details of his preaching plans, but by saying, "I have come here to teach." Is he creating a false or misleading impression? Yes. Is he concealing the true nature of his mission? Yes. Is he telling the whole truth? No. Is he guilty of deception? Should we condemn his actions? I don't think so. If so, we must also condemn Samuel's actions in 1 Samuel 16.

The intent of this article is not to muddy the waters or stir up controversy. Just as we often write articles to define fornication, lasciviousness, truth, and many other things that the world misunderstands, there is equal value in developing a proper view and definition of deception. As I've stated in this article, such misunderstandings have serious consequences. Clearly, we cannot condemn something that God Himself has done and/or authorized.

We want everything to be black and white. As a result, we often stretch meanings and overextend biblical principles to "simplify" sin. Painting with a broad brush may be easy, but that doesn't make it right. There is no doubt that lying is sinful. Nor is there any doubt that deception, as it's often defined (both in modern and biblical contexts), is sinful. However, there is something that we sometimes call "deception" and sometimes condemn, that doesn't appear to be condemned in Scripture. The attempt of this article has been to better understand this particular question. I hope I have offered some clarity on this issue, rather than more confusion.

If you can offer any advice or insight on this issue, please feel free to respond below. I don't claim to understand all of this perfectly or to have a corner on the truth.