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Simply Speak The Truth (James 5:12; Matthew 5:33-37)
Introduction (James 5:12; Matthew 5:33)
I greet all of you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our text for this morning’s message is taken from James 5:12, “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and [nay be nay]; lest ye fall into condemnation”.
Today, we have a big problem with truthfulness in our society. People lie in their businesses. Salesmen lie about the products they are selling. Husbands and wives lie about their relationships. Lawyers lie about their cases. Politicians lie and give empty promises. People cheat, exaggerate, evade taxes, flatter with empty, untrue words. People tell lies all the time. One way or another, sinful men and women have difficulties with speaking the truth. Every one of us knows that we are being lied to on a daily basis. If we look at our children, the first thing they will do when confronted with something they have done is to lie about it.
When people lie, they want the listener to believe their lies. So what do they do? They make a vow. They swear with an oath, to add credibility to their lies. Sometimes we may be speaking the truth. ‘But how can people know that I’m speaking the truth? How can people know that I can be trusted? Well, if I swear, I may make them believe that I am speaking the truth’. Those are the reasons why people would vow, swear, and take oaths, to add credibility to what they say.
There are some people who have this misconception that, here in this verse, James was speaking against taking oaths because he said, “swear not… neither by any oath” (James 5:12). If that is true, then you and I cannot even take the marriage vows. We cannot take the church membership vow to obey God and His Word. We cannot take a vow to speak the truth in the court of law. The reality is that James was not speaking against oath-taking, but rather against the abuse of oath-taking.
This passage or this verse is about truthfulness. To help us to better understand what this verse means, it is good for us to consider what our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 5:33-37, which is actually a commentary of James 5:12. The title of our message is ‘Simply Speak The Truth’.
Let us begin with Matthew 5:33. Jesus said, “Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths”. In other words, ‘You have heard the rabbis of old saying that you should not break your oaths, but you must keep the oaths you have made to the Lord’.
I. Christ Was Not Against Oath-Taking
The first thing we can learn is that Christ was not against oath-taking. If you look at the preceding verse 17, Jesus said, He was not contradicting the Old Testament, “Think not that I [have] come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I [have come not] to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17). So, the phrase “ye have heard that it hath been said [of] them of old time” was a reference to the rabbis who were also known as men of long ago or rabbis of old. Jesus was not contrasting His words with the Old Testament. He was contrasting His words with the words of the rabbis, the rabbis who added their thoughts to the Old Testament; the rabbis who added their traditions onto the Holy Scriptures.
The Pharisees and scribes thought they were very religious. Why? Because they had observed the teachings of the rabbis of old. They thought that because they didn’t physically kill anyone (Matthew 5:21), they were righteous. And Jesus said, ‘But you hate, and that is murder in your heart’ (Matthew 5:22). They thought that because they did not commit the physical act of adultery (Matthew 5:27), they were righteous. And Jesus said, ‘But you lust after the woman in your heart, that is just the same’ (Matthew 5:28). They thought they were speaking the truth by taking an oath (Matthew 5:33). But Jesus said, ‘You are nothing but a group of liars’ (Matthew 5:37). God is concerned not only with the external observation, but with the intent of the heart.
An oath defined & cited
What is an oath? An oath is simply a statement, and then calling on God to be a witness to the truth of that statement, and invoking a curse from God if we are not telling the truth. In those days, Israel was theocratic, which means God was their Ruler, the people were under His rule. But God knew they were sinners. They needed something to bind their words — that they would speak the truth — especially in a serious matter. Sinful men and women always break their promises. They needed something to hold them accountable. And God allowed them to use His name as an oath.
This matter of oath-taking was taught in the Old Testament. Just to cite a few examples. God says in Leviticus 19:12, “And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD”. In other words, be sure you tell the truth. In Numbers 30:2, “If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul [to] a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth”. Not only must you tell the truth, but you must also keep the vow.
Deuteronomy 23:21, “When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it [will] be sin in thee”, which means when you make a vow, do not delay to keep it. So, it was not surprising that the Old Testament saints, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and other great men and women of faith, on certain occasions, would make an oath, and call on God to be their Witness.
In the New Testament, there was this classic example in Matthew 26, that showed us how our Lord Jesus responded to this matter of oath-taking. Maybe you can turn with me to Matthew 26:63. Jesus was arrested and brought before the high priest, Caiaphas. Verse 63 says, “But Jesus held his peace”, which means He remained silent, He refused to speak. “And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God”, which means ‘I charge you with an oath by the living God’, “that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God”.
If Jesus was against oath-taking, He would have continued to remain in silence. But Jesus responded to the oath and said, “Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto [thee], Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64).
What about the Apostle Paul? On many occasions, in his epistles, Paul would say, “For God is my witness” (Romans 1:9), or “I call God for a record” (2 Corinthians 1:23), or “I speak the truth in Christ” (1 Timothy 2:7), or ‘the Holy Spirit bears me witness’ (Romans 1:9). If Paul knew that Christ was against oath-taking, he would not have said those words.
First time that God swore by His name
But ultimately, the most interesting thing is that God Himself also made oaths, on numerous occasions. One example is found in Genesis 22, when Abraham did not withhold his son, Isaac, from God and he was willing to obey God’s command to sacrifice his own son. And God said to Abraham in verse 16 of Genesis 22, “By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars [in] the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies” (Genesis 22:16-17).
But God could not swear by someone else, because there is none greater than Him, so He swore by Himself. That is why Hebrews 6:13 says, “For when God made [a] promise to Abraham, because he could swear by [someone else]”, there’s none greater than Him, “[so] he [swore] by himself”. Obviously, when God makes an oath, it does not mean that He needs an oath to make His words more truthful. Otherwise, His words would be questionable or unreliable. The reason why God makes an oath is to impress upon men, there is something special; there is something important, related to the oath.
Like oftentimes, our Lord Jesus would say, “Verily I say [to] you” or ‘Truly I say to you’. At other times, He would say, emphatically, “Verily, verily, I say unto you”. Whether “verily” or “[verily], verily”, both are equally and absolutely truthful. The reason why Jesus used, “[verily], verily, I say unto you” is to call our attention to something of great importance.
So, if you read through the Bible, you will see that the Bible teaches the taking of oaths. But oaths must be taken truthfully. They must be taken in God’s name. And they were only for special occasions, important occasions. Therefore, Jesus was not against oath-taking. He was against the abuse of oath-taking.
II. Christ Was Against The Abuse Of Oath-Taking (Matthew 5:34-37)
This brings us to our second point: Christ was against the abuse of oath-taking. Somewhere along the way, especially through the rabbis of old, the taking of oaths had been abused. That was why Jesus said, “But I say unto you, swear not at all” (Matthew 5:34). People were swearing oaths for every little thing, even in daily conversation. People were making all kinds of oaths, and bound themselves to foolish promises.
Do you remember King Herod? He had committed adultery with his brother’s wife, Herodias. John the Baptist had rebuked him sharply, and John was sent to prison. On King Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before him. He was so happy that he made a foolish oath to give her whatever she would ask. Then Herodias instructed her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. King Herod was sorry. But it was too late, because of the oath he had taken. He had John the Baptist beheaded. You can read about that in Matthew 14. It was all because of a foolish oath.
The taking of oaths had been so abused that the people were swearing to this and swearing to that. They were swearing by this and swearing by that. The people knew that God had commanded, “ye shall not swear by my name falsely” (Leviticus 19:12). So, they reckoned in their sinful minds that if they swore unto the Lord (Matthew 5:33), they must be truthful. But as long as they swore by any other names (Matthew 5:34-36), it was all right. It could be a pack of lies. It didn’t matter. It would not hold them accountable.
They knew that God commanded, “If a man vow a vow unto the Lord… he shall not break his word” (Numbers 30:2). So, their sinful minds tell them, ‘Well, if we make a vow unto the Lord, then we have to keep it. But as long as we make a vow unto any other names, we are not bound to keep the vow’. So, that was why they swore by heaven, by the earth, by the temple, by the hairs on their head (Matthew 5:34-36). As long as they did not use God’s name, it was all right. The truth of the matter is that they had no intention to keep those vows. They just want to impress upon the people they want to take advantage of.
We cannot escape His eyes
In our modern times, we often hear people say, “I swear by my house”; “I swear by my children’s life”; “I swear by my mother’s grave”. If they want to convince an atheist, it doesn’t make sense to invoke God’s name because the atheist doesn’t believe in God. It makes more sense to say, “I swear by my mother’s grave”. Basically, they just want to lie. And they want their lies to fit into something comfortable for themselves, something to impress upon the people that they are speaking the truth. God’s Word says very clearly that oaths are to be taken in His name. But people will still try to remove God from their oaths.
Jesus says in verse 34-36, ‘Stop swearing like that. You cannot swear by heaven, for it is God’s throne. Nor by the earth, for it is His footstool. Neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black’ (Matthew 5:34-36). God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He’s the Lord of everything. When a man calls upon God’s creation to be a witness to a false oath, he would be dishonouring God, whether or not he uses God’s name.
You see, a man cannot swear upon heaven and avoid God, because heaven is God’s throne; a man cannot swear upon the earth and avoid God, because the earth is His footstool. He cannot swear upon Jerusalem and avoid God, because Jerusalem is the city of God. Nor can he swear by his own head and avoid God, because God is in control of his head. You and I cannot make even one hair white or black. What right do we have to vow upon our own heads? God forbids.
That is the problem with some people. They try to divide their life into different compartments. Some things will involve God. Other things will not involve Him. They speak one kind of language in the church and another kind of language in the workplace or school. They behave in a certain way in the church and behave in another way in the business world. Do you think God does not know?
If we truly believe that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and we are always in His presence throughout our entire lives and in every activity of our lives, we cannot escape His eyes. He hears not only the words we have spoken in His name, He hears every word we speak. And He knows even the intents of our hearts.
Is your yea, yea and your nay, nay?
So, Christ was not against oath-taking. He was against the abuse of oath-taking. Do not cover up your lies by swearing. You can take oaths. But remember, you are calling on the Almighty God. And it is only for special and important occasions. You do not do it as a way of life. That was why Jesus went on to say in verse 37, “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matthew 5:37).
In other words, ‘Let your daily communication; your daily conversation, be simply yes, yes and no, no’. If, your daily conversation, in every little thing, you need to invoke God’s name — all the time — something is wrong. It just goes to show the lack of truth in your life. It just goes to show the evil source of your heart. In your daily communication, you don’t have to swear by anything because your word is true. Let every word you speak be simple, straightforward, and honest. You do not need to add anything or any credibility because your word is your bond. That is what it means.
Do you realise that, in a daily conversation, if someone says to you, ‘I swear to God that I am telling you the truth’, in a sense, he is saying that this particular thing is absolute truth. Different from the other things that have been discussed. Those may be lies and deceptions. But this particular thing is absolute truth. That is why he has to invoke the name of God. We do not need to do that if every day we have been speaking the truth. When your yes is yes and your no is no, your life will be a strong testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Can you imagine as parents, you tell your children that you will bring them to the park, and you have to swear, ‘I swear to God that I will bring you to the park’. You do not need to do that if your daily conversation is truly and honestly ‘yea, yea; nay, nay’. As an employee, you tell your employer that you will finish the project assignment on time, and you have to swear, ‘I swear to God that I will give you in due time’. You do not need to do that if your daily conversation is truly and honestly ‘yea, yea’ and ‘nay, nay’.
Do you mean what you say?
But there are special times in our lives when we ought to take certain vows, we make certain promises to God. I remember when the Lord first called me into the full-time ministry. I committed my life to Him, and I prayed, ‘Lord, I will serve You; I will honour You all the days of my life’. I know that was a solemn vow, and God will hold me accountable if I break that vow. When I got married, I took the marriage vow to love my wife, to honour her all the days of our lives, till death do us part. I knew that was a solemn vow made before God, and I knew God will hold me accountable if I break that vow. I do not make vows in my daily conversation. If I need to make vows in my daily conversations, something is terribly wrong.
Dear friend, you may have taken a vow at a particular time. Perhaps you had an accident, and you almost died, and the Lord saved you. You committed your life to God, and you prayed, ‘Lord, I give my life to You, I will serve You and love You for the rest of my life’. That is a vow you take before God. Perhaps in your own quiet time. Or you may have prayed for a life partner. You waited for many, many years. Or you wanted a child. And you waited and waited for many years. Then God answered your prayer. You were so thankful, and you prayed, ‘Lord, I promise You that my family will always love You, honour You. We will attend prayer meetings and all the other fellowship meetings’.
Have you forgotten your vows? When you quarrel with your husband or wife, and then you decided to take drastic measures, even considering divorce. Have you forgotten your marriage vows? Unless you do not mean what you say. Even in the vows we take, our yes is yes; our no is no. It comes from our hearts.
A story was told of a wealthy tycoon who was lying on his deathbed. The pastor talked to him about God’s love, grace, and mercy, and God’s healing power. The man cried out, ‘Pastor, if God heals me, I will give a million dollars to the mission church’. Miraculously, the man recovered. And within a week, he was out of the hospital.
One day — several months later — he and the pastor met up, and they were chatting. The pastor said, ‘You know, when you were in the hospital dying, you promised to give a million dollars to the mission church if you got well. I shared with the mission church. They prayed for you. And they were so happy to hear that you have recovered’. The tycoon replied, ‘Did I say that? I guess that goes to show how sick I really was’.
That may be a joke, but there are people who make vows. They do not mean what they say. Maybe in your lifetime, you have made many careless oaths. You have been deceitful in your vows and promises. You make one and then you break it, as soon as you can. You have sinned against God. You know that you have invoked His name. And you ask yourself, ‘Will God forgive me’?
Feed my sheep
Well, in Matthew 26:69-75, the Apostle Peter — this was after Jesus was arrested — and let me read this account about Peter. “Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man” (Matthew 26:69-72).
“And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech [betrayeth] thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the [words] of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly” (Matthew 26:73-75).
Remember, this was the same Peter who said and promised our Lord Jesus, ‘Even if every one of them deny you, I will never deny you’ (Matthew 26:33-35). It was already bad enough to lie. But worse to confirm your lie with an oath, invoking God to be a witness to your lie, and then swearing to God, and calling down a curse from heaven. That was a terrible sin that Peter had committed against the Lord.
Dear friend, we must never play the fool with our oaths; with our words. Whether it is an oath we take when we became members of the church, or in our marriage vows, or in our own quiet time when we speak to God and we promise Him certain things, do not play the fool with the Almighty God. But having said that, like Peter, you and I do sin, especially in life’s most challenging and difficult situations. Will God forgive us for breaking and not keeping our words? He will, if we turn to Him in repentance and in faith.
When Jesus was risen from the dead, He appeared to Peter and He asked Peter, ‘Do you love me’? Three times, Peter said, ‘Lord, you know that I love you’. And Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). Jesus restored and forgave Peter — gave him strength — so much so that he went on to keep what he promised to ‘feed the sheep’ until he was martyred.
Conclusion
Dear friend, we must speak the truth. We do not need to swear in our daily conversations to add credibility to what we say. Our word is true. Our word is our bond. But there are times we make certain vows, on important occasions. Whatever vows we have taken, whatever vows we have broken, the Lord forgive us. Whatever vows we have taken, we cannot keep it unless God will help us, and He will help us for His glory. So, I pray that all of us, let us be truthful in what we say, even when we speak to our Almighty God, ‘Lord, I promise I will do this; I will do that’, we keep it. Because our ‘yea’ is ‘yea’ and our ‘nay’ is ‘nay’.
Closing Prayer
Let us pray. Father in Heaven, indeed, Thou has taught us this morning that we ought to simply speak the truth. As Thy children, we ought to always be mindful that we are in Thy presence. We cannot hide from Thee. And we must always speak the truth. We do not need to swear to add credibility to what we say because every day we have been speaking the truth. May we live such a life. And whatever vows we have taken, we may have broken them. May Thou forgive us.
Remind us that we ought to keep our vows. And we can only keep our vows if Thou would strengthen us by Thy Spirit, so that all of us, whether it be the vows we have taken in our church membership; the vows we have taken in our marriages; the vows we have taken to bring up our children in the fear of Thee; the vows we have taken in our own quiet time where we promise to do this and that, we will keep it. Because our ‘yea’ is ‘yea’ and ‘nay’ is ‘nay’. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.