Matthew 5:33-37

Matthew 5:33-37 NIV

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

I've often found this teaching to be strange. I wonder why Jesus brought it up. Was there a problem with going overboard with oaths? Today we say things like, "I swear to God", "I swear on my mother's grave", "If I'm lying, I'm dying." According to Jesus' teaching here, all these colloquialisms are from the devil. We are assuming a role of authority that we do not possess.

I suspect Jesus' teaching is to distinguish Christian disciples from the religious and secular people of His day. It is a common notion that the tradition of the Pharisees was hyper-legalistic. They created laws to assure they kept Moses' law in every conceivable situation. Perhaps it became common to overdo swearing by oath as a good intention.

According to Bible.org, "In the Old Testament, oaths were to be sworn in God’s name only; they were to be used for affirming important matters, not trivial matters, and they were to be true.

Oaths were used to resolve disputes, to seal agreements or covenants, or simply to affirm the truthfulness of important declarations.

Hebrews 6:16 speaks of the first purpose of oaths, saying that with men, 'an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.'”

So it's possible Jesus' teaching is meant to keep His followers from taking the Lord's name in vain, to swear in the authority of God on some trivial matter.

I think that this teaching reveals the condition of our hearts, our reverence for the Holy One, or lack thereof. For example, to swear by God's name is to assume you have the authority to include God as insurance that you will keep your oath. We don't have that kind of authority. We can't bind God to a personal promise or contact. It's unlikely we've received clear direction from God when we make a statement like, "I swear to God."

Consider James' teaching.

James 4:13-16 NIV

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.

When sworn in as a witness during a court trial, it was the custom for some time to place a hand on the Bible to swear to tell the truth. In this case one is not swearing in God's name, but rather acknowledge oneself as accountable to God should one give false witness.

Jesus' teaching is more about humility before God than anything else. Guard your words and honor God. When you speak the name of God it should be for His glory, not your personal agenda. When someone swears on their mother's grave, the implication is that one has the authority to decide the eternal destination of their mother's soul. None of us have that kind of authority. Only God does.

It dishonors God to assume authority He has not given. It's true that Christ has given authority to His church, but that authority is not given carte blanche. His authority is given to empower the church to continue His redemptive ministry. It is not given for us to use His name for self-serving matters that have little to do with building the kingdom of heaven on earth.

So if you honor God, honor God in all things. Guard you mouth from speaking obscenities, curses and trivial oaths in God's name. Even if you do not say God's name, you belong to His name. As a Christian you carry the name of Jesus wherever you go. You have a duty to honor His name in all you do and say.

Ephesians 4:29; 5:4 NIV

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

James 3:10-11 NIV

Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

These apostolic teachings show the kind of duty we have as God's children to keep watch over what we say. It all comes down to where our hearts are. If our hearts long to please God, we will not speak falsely and carelessly.

I worked at blending in with my peers. When cursing and obscenities were common, I did it too. Now in my adult life I've found it extremely difficult to keep from uttering obscenities. I grew accustomed to using it around my peers. It saddens me really, that I formed a habit that dishonors Christ, the Name I bear.

What's interesting is that I can seem to control this in public, but not in private at home. I need to remain God conscious and seek not to offend, but honor God with all of my speech. The same effort I made to get comfortable with obscenities, needs to be applied to praising God and honoring Him with all I say and do. The inner life is where this battle is fought. My heart needs healing, cleansing and transformation with divine grace if I am to conquer this foul habit.

For most of my life I've placed this sin low in my priorities. There were bigger things to attend to. But Jesus' words today remind me that it's the little things that add up. If I am obedient in small things perhaps I'll have the grace needed to effectively minister in even bigger issues.

Since I don't have the power to turn my hair black or white, I know I am utterly dependant upon the grace of my Lord. It takes grace to do anything that lasts for God's Kingdom. Therefore I must practice the means of grace like worship, prayer, the Lord's Supper, bible study, fasting, serving and other spiritual disciplines. These keep me connected to Christ, the fountain of grace. By His grace I am being made new, pure, and like Christ.

Lord, May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable unto Thee. Amen.