Matthew 5:33-37
The Law & the King – righteous words
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Intro
√ The law & the King - righteous words
It was 1977, or 78’, I was a young Christian and the Lord was going to teach me an important lesson about…
…honesty!
Our words = our witness
Ex. The Rocket and TR4
The Lord taught me how important my words are to Him. That is because honest communication is vital to an effective witness.
The lost won’t listen to a liar.
So, in this section of Jesus’ sermon we find Him dealing with the dishonest communication of the Pharisees…
…reminding us that the King desires honest communication.
The Letter of the Law (vs. 33)
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√ The Letter of the Law
The next area of false righteousness that Jesus addresses regards the matter of making oaths.
An oath is…
“A commitment to tell the truth; a solemn promise, usually invoking a divine witness, regarding your future acts or behavior.”
Once again the Pharisees correctly quoted the Law…
Deut.
…but, they didn’t actually do what the Law said!
Ex. Infamous for making oaths at the slightest provocation
They would swear an oath to affirm that what they said was true.
But, they left themselves an out by claiming that they weren’t obligated by their oath because it wasn’t actually made in the Name of God…
…therefore, wasn’t binding!
Case in point, the Law said…
“oaths to the Lord” ~ vs. 33 & Deut. 23:23
They twisted the Law to meet their own desires, that is, they claimed that they weren’t lying or bound to what they promised or said was true…
…because it wasn’t made “to the Lord”.
Rather, they swore by…
“Heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or their head”
…so, they believed they could break their promise without violating the Law!
Jesus doesn’t buy it.
The Spirit of the Law (vs. 34-36)
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√ The Spirit of the Law
In response to the wrong interpretation and practice of the Law by the Pharisees, Jesus tells us that oaths shouldn’t even be necessary!
“But I say to you, do not swear at all.” ~ vs. 34
Why? Because, if a person is honest and does what they say they’re going to do…
…then an oath isn’t necessary.
The fact that the Pharisees used oaths so often revealed that their hearts were wicked!
Furthermore, Jesus contradicts the practice of the Pharisees by saying their oaths were binding even if they weren’t made in the Name of the Lord!
Why? Because even if they didn’t use the Lord’s Name when they swore by…
“heaven” ~ they swore by His throne
“earth” ~ they swore by His footstool
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Therefore, their oaths were made before the Lord and are binding.
√ Oaths in general
Keep in mind the context of the Lord’s instructions, He’s addressing the false righteousness that the religious leaders practiced.
It is not meant to be a total restriction on making oaths.
How do we know that to be true? Because there are times in life when an oath is required.
Ex. Oaths ordained by God
God Himself made an oath with Abraham and promised to keep it…
Gen. 26:3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.
God required an oath of a woman suspected of adultery…
Num. 5:19 And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.
Ap. Today when we enter into a legal contract or promise to tell the truth at a trial…
…we’re required to take an oath.
Policeman, doctors, lawyers, soldiers and many professions are required to take an oath to uphold the office in which they are called.
So, Jesus isn’t putting a restriction against taking an oath…
…rather, He is telling us that an oath should not be necessary in our daily conduct because our life ought to be sufficient to back up our words!
The Practice of the Law (vs. 37)
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√ The Practice of the Law
Jesus tells us that our conversation should be honest, and our character true.
That is, our lives should be characterized by such integrity that we wouldn’t need oaths to get people to believe that what we say is true!
The integrity of a person’s words are directly tied to that person’s character.
Therefore, oaths cannot compensate for a poor character.
So, Jesus tells us that when we say…
“Yes”
…it should mean “yes”.
When we say…
“No”
…it should mean “no.”
Ex. Story tellers and scam artists
I’m always suspect when I meet someone who can’t stop talking and makes a multitude of promises to do something…
…or claims that what they say is true.
In fact, God warns us to be discerning when people talk too much!
Prov.
Shakespeare wrote…
“Thou protestith too much”
Ap. Our Christian testimony
The commitments and promises that we make to people are a very important testimony of the reality of our faith.
Of all people in the world, the Christian should have the best reputation for doing…
…what they say they’ll do!
Our word ought to mean something to other people. They should think in their hearts…
“He’s a Christian, if he said that he’d do it, he’s going to do it!”
Therefore, be careful what you promise to do. It’s better to say, “no” graciously, than to say “yes” and not do it.
Ex. Keeping our word
In our daily life we make promises all the time.
It would be beneficial then to think about what it is that we promise…
…so that we can make sure that we honor the Lord with the words of our lips.
Here’s a few areas to consider…
1) Financial commitments
Next time you use your credit card look at the receipt and you’ll find printed on it…
“I agree to pay”
In fact, any time you use credit to buy a…
Car
House
Furniture
…you’re taking an oath, making a promise to pay for the goods that you receive.
Unfortunately too many Christians follow the wisdom of the world instead of the wisdom of the Word and get themselves into impossible debt…
…because they didn’t take seriously their promise to pay back what they borrowed.
They figure…
“If it doesn’t work out I’ll just declare bankruptcy ~ let them repo the Hummer”
But, what they forget is that is their Christian witness to the world. So, it’s important that when we make a promise…
…that we keep it.
2) Future plans
Be careful about what you promise to do in the future.
James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;
James 4:14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
James 4:15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
James 4:16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
The point is that we have no idea what tomorrow may bring. Therefore, when we make promises to…
Do something
Be somewhere
Accomplish some goal
We submit that promise to the Lord’s discretion. If we’ll do that we’ll find that we don’t disappoint people because we can’t keep the promises we made.
3) Family obligations
In context with what we’ve already studied the most important promise, or oath, that we can make to another person is the marriage vow.
Make sure that you don’t just say the words…
…think about what you’re promising because how you keep those vows is a reflection upon your faith.
Bottom line, our Christian witness is only as good as our words.
So, make sure your words are honest so that you honor the King.
Close
√ The Law & the King
Jesus desires honest communication in our lives. Don’t fall into the habit of hiding the truth…
…have integrity in what you say.