ST. CATHARINES CONCORDIA - Brock University

20 LUTHhKAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW
as it exists in God ..."31 In this sense, then, Abram did not lie. 11 was rather thc
Egyptians who were hving a lie by their denial of the true God as the Creator and
Saviour (cf. Gen. 20:l l), while Abram's priority was to be true to the real as God had
revealed it to him. Thcrefore, Abram actually told the truh
3. TO DECEIVE EVIL PERSONS
Luther bcgan his defense of Abram by identifying his action as an "obliging lie"
(or, as Helmut Thielicke would describe it, a "lcgitimatc illegality"),32 which he
defined as being donc "for thc sake of someone's good ... It not only sesves the
advantagc of someone else, who would olherwise suffel. harm or violcncc, but also
prevents a sin. ... it is rather a virtue ..., by which both the fury of Satan is hindered
and the honor: life. and advantages of others are sesved." By contrast? it "is a lie whcn
,,33
our neighbor is deceived by us to his ruin and our own advantagc. Acknowledging
that Abrarn suffered a struggle with his faith and a conflict of conscience, Luther may
havc bccn thinking of his own experience when he pointed out that Abram, whcreves
he went. was a foreigner with "a new religion." Suffering under the "scandal of
par~icularity,"74 could he bc certain that he is "the only one who is holy ... the only
object of Cod's concern?" 35
Otherwise, Lulher is only concerncd about the possibility of criticizing Abram
"for having evil suspicions about the Egyptians ..." For every "suspicious person is a
slanderer in his heart ... Slander is a great sin" (see 1 Tim. 6:4; Matt. 7:l). "Every
suspicious person sets himsclf up as a judge over others and condemns them."36 But
on the othcr hand, Luther demonstrated that, because Scripture also plainly teaches
that "all men are by nature evil and thereforc arc all liars" (PS. 116:l l), Scripture
"demands that we not put our trust in a human being, for it can happen that he will fail
us." Against human reason, which "thinks that the good ... dcscrvc not only love but
trust," Scripture declares that "we should lovc all human beings equally ..." (Matt.
5:45), and should consider "not simply the conduct OS mother person but the Word
and the fear of Cod. Where we find these, the people arc no do~lbt pious ...u~' Thus,
Abram did not hate the Egyptians, but neither could he trust them, because not only
"nature per sc is evil ... [but] also Egypt is devoid oS the Word and thc truc religion."
Thus, "love ... (l Cor. 13:4,7) is not suspicious, but is hopeful even about evil things.
... those who are evil can improvc. ,,35
In short, because the Egyptians lacked the Word and true rcligion of God, Abram
could expect them to be lustful, unjust and tyrannical, that is, to kill him in order to
Bunl~uelTer 369-370.
l%eological Ethics, Vol. l: F~uizd~t~~~t.~,
tl.. .l. W. L)o/)esste~~l (Grand Eerdmans, 1979) 583.
AE 2292.
See Horacc D. Hummcl, /ha Wo~dGeco~niiig Flesh (SL. Louis: Concordia, 1979) 67.
AE 2:29R.
AB 2296.297.
AE 2:298-299.
AE 2:299-300.