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Change of Allegiance  /  A Change of Allegiance: Questions and Answers – Part 1  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 10
On lying to protect the innocent (Nazi-at-the-door, sex trafficking, abolitionists), the speakers insisted, “we start with what’s clear: don’t tell an untruth,” challenged the assumption “I have to survive,” and suggested silence as Jesus’ example; what view of God’s sovereignty and martyrdom is required to obey that, and where do you feel internal resistance because it seems to make the words of Jesus “impractical”?
Another way to ask: What would you have to believe about God’s control and being willing to die to refuse to lie even to protect someone? Where do you struggle with that because it makes Jesus’ commands feel unrealistic?

Direct Answer Obeying this teaching requires trusting God’s sovereignty enough to keep God’s commands even when the outcome is death, and embracing a “theology of martyrdom” where survival is not the highest goal. The internal resistance Dean names is the assumption that Jesus’ words are “impractical,” which often reveals self-preservation driving our ethics.

Support from Transcript:

  • The speaker begins with principle: “we’re told to not tell the untruth in any situation…So we don’t do that. That’s where we start.”
  • He notes motives can include “self-preservation,” not only protecting others.
  • He ties it to trust: “how much do we trust God? We can’t control every earthly situation.”
  • He affirms martyrdom thinking: “the secret to success in…Paul’s life was that he did not believe he had to survive.”
  • Dean adds the command is clear: “one of the actual 10 commandments…Thou shalt not bear false witness.”
  • Dean challenges the Nazi-door scenario: the soldier likely won’t accept a simple lie anyway; instead, Christians can choose “silence” like Jesus before Pilate, even if “that will probably get us killed.”
  • Dean explicitly says such what-if questions often lead to the claim “the words of Jesus are impractical,” which he rejects.
Discussion Follow-ups Where do you feel the pressure to control outcomes instead of obeying? If silence or truth might cost you, what would help you actually believe God is worth trusting more than your own “particular skin”?

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