Integrity

Can I lie to save a friend from getting into trouble?

Personally I would pray about the problem and ask God to give me the strength and boldness to speak the truth. The bible says your “yes” should be “yes” and your “no” should be “no”.
This is one of the reasons why the bible says do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers (1Cor.15:33), and don’t move around with companions that have no regard for Gods laws. Any friend that is a believer and knows what Gods Word says about lies and still wants you to lie is not a good friend, what they have asked you to do by compromising the truth is to obey them rather than God.
Lying to save a friend can have its consequences when you are found out you can get into trouble as an accomplice or be labeled a liar. Secondly, you have displeased God; thirdly you have yielded yourself to the devil who is the father of lies. The bible warns us “lest Satan should get an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices”. (2Cor.2:11)
I know it might not be easy for you but you have to purpose in your heart like Daniel to say the truth. You might have a lot of pressure on you to lie to save that friend, but if you have always presented yourself to your friend as a person of integrity he or she will not think of asking you to lie for them because they know you wouldn’t.
Speak to your friend and ask them if you can pray with them and commit the problem into Gods hands. Sadly you might lose a friend, but if he or she is really a good friend they will not ask you to lie for them. There is a story in Acts chapter 5 about a man called “Ananias” and his wife “Sapphira”. They sold a possession and decided to give it to the church; they kept part of the proceeds for themselves and decided to lie to the apostles that the money they brought to the church was the full proceeds of the sale. The husband went to the church first and lied. The apostle told him that he lied not to man but to the Holy Ghost and he died immediately. The wife came later and could have told the truth but she decided to lie to support her husband and she also died. This is a very sad story of the consequences of lying to save another person. Couldn’t they have just said this is the amount they decided to give the church, and God would have blessed them for it? (Acts5:1-11)
Think about this; if you lie for a friend would they not see you as a person that cannot be trusted? Won’t they think that you have lied for them why can’t you lie about anything else?
In future that same friend might need a trust worthy person and you will not be the person that would cross their mind.
Make it your goal to obey Christ and live for him.