The Simple Man

Book of James  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  52:49
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Please turn to the Word of the Lord, James chapter 5 verse 12
James 5:12 CSB
12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “yes” mean “yes,” and your “no” mean “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.
What is truth?
quality - conformity to reality or actuality
some thing is true if it is a reality. Not what we perceive to be true but what is true. As science has developed over the years scientists have hypothesized about how the world works. They have made false concluding based on partial information. It wasn’t until 1877 that the medical world was convinced that germs existed and that they were the cause of infections. Before this time people thought that diseases were transferred though bad air smelly wounds. It wasn’t until 1940 that antibiotics were found to combat bacterial infections. Doctors were using what they could see touch and feel but their conclusions were false.
Statement - a statement that is dependable - The Gospel
This is a statement that will come true. The Gospel is a dependable statement 2 Co 13:8 “8 For we can’t do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.”
Adjective - expressing or being characterized by expressing truth
Someone who makes dependable statements or has the characteristic of expressing truth
Verb - to speak or to make known statements consistent with fact or reality
To say things that are true and dependable.
Why did I go through all of that. We like to believe that we are truthful people but in reality we live in a society that is built on lies and deception. Look at the history of the world and the deceit of man against man. Who here would describe themselves as a skeptic. You are a show me then I will believe you. Who here as ever been lied to. Who here has been caught in a lie or false statement? Like I said we like to believe that we live in a truthful world.
Have you ever thought what would happen in the world if every single person had to tell the truth for one day. That when someone asked you how you felt you had to tell them what you actually felt.
I looked up truth in the bible and there about 150 verses that have the word truth in it. Anyone want to guess how many times I found lies, lying and other derivatives in scripture. Over 50 books of the bible, over 1000 words in almost 400 verses.
When we go to the beginning we see
Genesis 3:1–13 CSB
1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” 11 Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man replied, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 So the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Then not long after we have Cain kill Abel and:
Genesis 4:9 CSB
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”
Since man was deceived by the Father of Lies. Satan. It became part of the nature of man. Scriptures says all men and women lie at some time. Through out the Word of God we see all sorts of false thing come out of the mouths of men and women.

Above All

James 5:12a
12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, ...
Above all. This verse starts a transition to the final commands of James. He says after everything that I have said above all
James 5:12 CSB
12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “yes” mean “yes,” and your “no” mean “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.
James is speaking of the words of man again. This has been a common issue that he was dealing with in the church and it is something we deal with today.
James Teaches
how a believer should ask for wisdom, with faith and without doubt
how a believer should boast in their circumstances with proper respect to God
how a believer should not accuse God of tempting them.
How a believer should be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to anger
how a believers religion is useless if he cannot control their tongue
How a believer is speak and act like one who is to be judged
How a believer is to claim faith but not do anything about it. That their works come from their professed faith
How a believer should control their tongue and all of the damage that comes from it.
Get the point. The words we use the words we say are a window into a person heart. You may ask why we went into so much background and that’s because this scripture is so simple but based on truth and the struggle the church had with controlling their speech.
James is getting to another example of the sin of men and the craftiness of deception.

The Command

He tells then to not swear (make a promise)...
James 5:12b
… do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. ...
He says do not swear. Many taken this to mean that a person is to never swear, make a promise, or take an oath. This is not true. Throughout the scriptures God gave men oaths.
Hebrews 6:13–17 CSB
13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater to swear by, he swore by himself: 14 I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply you. 15 And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and for them a confirming oath ends every dispute. 17 Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath,
Jesus said it this way
Matthew 5:33–37 CSB
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord. 34 But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 36 Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.
Why do oaths exist. They are a process that has been created to deal with the sinful lying man. They are an attempt to force or hold liable someone to not break their word. The Isrealits were told to take oaths in Gods name
Deuteronomy 6:13 CSB
13 Fear the Lord your God, worship him, and take your oaths in his name.
However there were harsh punishments for breaking oaths sworn in God’s name
Exodus 20:7 CSB
7 Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name.
The religious leaders were not following what God had established. They were only to give an oath i the name of the Lord. But who hear has made a promise while crossing their fingers. This is what the Isrealites did, what the religeous leaders were doing and what the church in Jerusalem was doing. You see they did not have written documents traditionally for them to bring up in court. The proper oath was good enough for the courts and the people.
Exodus 22:10–11 CSB
10 “When a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any other animal to care for, but it dies, is injured, or is stolen, while no one is watching, 11 there must be an oath before the Lord between the two of them to determine whether or not he has taken his neighbor’s property. Its owner must accept the oath, and the other man does not have to make restitution.
However the people started to take oaths on other things such as, heaven, earth, Jerusalem, head. This was because even though it made them look good these oaths were not binding.
Matthew 5:33–37 CSB
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord. 34 But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 36 Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.
Jesus was calling them out and saying you have no wiggle room. You cannot cross your fingers. If you make an on anything that exists it is God’s and therefor you are swearing in the name of the Lord. If you swear on anything other than God’s name then you are being deceptive and that comes from the evil one the Father of lies, satan. James refers to the same line that jesus uses.
Matthew 23:16–22 CSB
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the temple, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’ 17 Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 Also, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it means nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’ 19 Blind people! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it. 21 The one who takes an oath by the temple takes an oath by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God’s throne and by him who sits on it.
Woe to you statements.

Be Simple

James 5:12c
… But let your “yes” mean “yes,” and your “no” mean “no,” ...
Christian’s are supposed to be known for truth because we believe in the God of truth. We worship in truth and we live in truth. Our word should be dependable and based on reality. Based on fact. In our word people are not that dependable. I have hired men in this last year and I will give them an offer. They shake my hand. They sign the offer letter. Give a start date. And then do not show up. The disappear. We get ghosted. People call in sick when they are not sick. Make up stories on why they are not at work. Tell you they will do something and they do not.
A christian’s actions to there employer should prove to be dependable and truth. Their yes should be yes and their no should be no.
There is a bible word that describes this type of person and that is Integrity.
Proverbs 19:1 CSB
1 Better a poor person who lives with integrity than someone who has deceitful lips and is a fool.
The word translated to integrity means simple, pure, blameless. A believer should live simple lives. Pure lives. Not complicated double lives. A believer should be the same at work, at home, at church. This last year was interesting because the company I worked for hired my daughter Tanna to work there. Now my home, work, and church life merged for the first time. I now had a witness to my integrity. Am I the same person in all areas of my life. See it is a complicated life to be different people in different places. To be different for different people. It will tempt a person or force a person to be deceptive or to lie from one situation to another.
This type of deception was in the hearts of the members of the church and it had lead them to making false vows in order to get away with what they wanted to get away with. James leave it with a common warning.

The Warning

James 5:12d
... so that you won’t fall under judgment.
He continue to talk of judgement. He continues to warn that people who continue to live in unrepentant sin and in this case give false oaths that profaned God’s name must question if their heart has been regenerated. The bible is very clear who God associates habitual lying with.
John 8:44 CSB
44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

Conclusion

We know that it is in the hearts of man to lie. we see it in our children in our work places and unfortunately in our marriages and the church. This pervasive sin is everywhere but only a true believer, a believer in who has been regenerated by faith in Jesus will have the power through the working of the holy spirit to have their yes be yes and their no be no.
Ephesians 4:25 CSB
25 Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another.
Colossians 3:9 CSB
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices
We are not to make promises to manipulate or to try to convince people. What we promise and swear should not be flippant. There are promises and oaths that have the weight and seriousness that can be set upon with and oath. The court of Law, or marriage, swearing of leaders. But we must be careful not to fall into the trap of the people James is dealing with.
Psalm 24:1–6 CSB
1 The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord; 2 for he laid its foundation on the seas and established it on the rivers. 3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not appealed to what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who inquire of him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
James speaks of the deceitful heart of man. Inside us is a place that has a natural tendency to stretch the truth and to speak deceitfully. Who may ascend the mountain those who appeal to what is false and who has not sworn deceitfully. We must be carful of the oaths we take. and the oths we take we must take seriously. Backing out of contracts, marriage, obligations. When we fulfill our obligations as far as we are capable we are a demonstration of the Spirit working in us.
Our word matter and people are watching. Truth matters. statements that are factual and dependable. Factual and dependable. Every vow is not to man but to God himself.
Address Gossip and Slander.

Next Steps

I am going to ask the worship team to come up an play for a little while. I would ask that you spend some time reflecting on today's message. Write down your final thoughts, sit in prayer of worship and repentance, fill out a connection card if you would like to speak with me more.
Pray
Romans 15:5–6 CSB
Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.
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