The Call to Credibility

Introduction: In high school I had a friend named Chris. Chris had a wild imagination and an affinity for telling stories. His stories were often extravagant and unbelievable, but they captivated the minds of his classmates.

One day, Chris shared that he had received a gift that would surely make all his friends jealous. He claimed that he had been presented with a vintage Ford Mustang, a sleek and powerful machine that would turn heads on any road. In fact, he also shared about how he was getting attention from the ladies as he drove it the Saturday before. The very thought of such a magnificent car sent a wave of excitement through the school (especially since many of his friends figured he would let them drive it).

Eager to see this legendary vehicle with their own eyes, Chris's friends begged him to show it to them. With each request, Chris made up reasons why it couldn't be done. He would say that the Mustang was being serviced or that it had been temporarily loaned to a relative.

As time went on, Chris's stories about the Mustang became increasingly elaborate. He painted vivid pictures of thrilling drives, boasting about the car's speed and handling.

So, of course, doubts began to creep into his friends’ minds. They noticed inconsistencies in Chris's stories. Soon Chris’s friends even questioned the existence of this “Mustang.” Chris’s once-captivated audience now harbored skepticism, wondering if Chris's Mustang was nothing more than a fantasy.

However, Chris remained persistent in his claims, and even began telling other stories that always made him out to be the hero. In time, his friends began to distance themselves, realizing that Chris had lost touch with why he told those stories in the first place, and instead of gaining the attention that he sought, he ended up losing friends who could not take anything he said as truth.

Chris failed to grasp the value of his own credibility.

Unfortunately, Chris’s story is not that uncommon, is it? We all know that person at work who exaggerated their past accomplishments to get to the position they have. Or that acquaintance who continually makes promises they can’t keep. The gossip who consistently spreads rumors, or the confidant who shares sensitive information. One preacher even went as far as to say, “The entire system of the world in which we live is built on lying. After all, it’s all spawned from Satan, of whom said Jesus in John 8:44, “He is the father of” - what? “lies,” and all men are born liars . . . In fact, the whole of our society is a network of fabrication. We shade the truth, we cheat, we exaggerate, we tax-dodge, we fail to keep our promises, we flatter for gain, we betray confidence, we make excuses, we tell half-truths, white lies, etc.”

Man! That is not great news! Aren’t you glad that one of Jesus’ agendas in His Sermon on the Mount is to debunk the traditions of men? Aren’t you glad that, in Christ, we belong to a kingdom in which we are called to credibility? And through the power of God working in our lives we do not have to participate in the kingdom of deception.

Looking back historically at Jesus’ audience, the Jews of the day understood the value of truth in principle, but in practice they had buried it so far underneath their own traditions that instead of honoring God, the traditions only served themselves.

In Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus continues challenging the traditions of men by pointing out God’s standards for both truthfulness and authenticity.

Read Matthew 5:33-37

Matthew 5:33–37 NKJV

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

God’s Standard for Truthfulness

Were oaths forbidden in the Old Testament?

The traditional teaching Jesus refutes here was a combination of ideas from three OT passages

Leviticus 19:12 “And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”

Numbers 30:2 “If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”

Deuteronomy 23:21 “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you.”

In the OT, God provided for the taking of oaths by His name as an accommodation to sinful human behavior. Proper-oath giving calls God as a witness to hold the oath-taker liable for the judgment of breaking his oath.

Oaths taken in the OT

Abraham

Genesis 14:22-24 “But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”

David and Jonathan

1 Samuel 20:16 “So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “Let the Lord require it at the hand of David’s enemies.”

God

Genesis 22:16-17 “and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.”

Oaths we take today

Wedding vows

Courtroom oaths

Swearing-in ceremonies

Pledges, creeds, and affirmations

What was it about oath-taking in Jesus’ day that caused Him to refute it so strongly?

Jesus was refuting oaths taken with no regard to a serious context.

Example: One child promises another on the dodge ball court that they will not turn on them as long as they are willing to form an alliance. However, one of them had their fingers crossed behind their back.

Oaths were designed to be designated as marks of integrity for life’s serious moments. Instead, oaths were so common in this time that no one took them seriously. Instead of being marks of integrity, they were warnings of insincerity.

Jesus was refuting the tradition of oaths being limited to oaths before the Lord.

Notice the crafty nature of their tradition. It seemed Biblical, but they had designed a fail-safe for themselves. Oaths before the Lord were to be kept, while oaths invoking other things were up for debate.

As a result, they would swear by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and even their own head.

However, Jesus points out that their attempts to skirt the OT law are useless. Heaven is God’s throne, earth is his footstool, Jerusalem is His city, and you have no control over even your own head - it is God’s.

In other words, all oaths are made before God, and there is never an exception for making an oath and not keeping it.

Therefore, Jesus concludes, to carelessly call any part of God’s creation as a witness to a false oath was to dishonor God Himself. To disregard truth is to disregard God.

This also in regards to our conduct. We cannot act differently in church than we do at work.

God’s standard for truthfulness and consistent conduct is absolute sincerity and dependability, even in the most routine of conversations.

God’s Standard for Authenticity

Read Matthew 5:37

Matthew 5:37 NKJV

But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

God’s standard for authenticity is simple: when you say something, it means something.

Every simple word, every normal conversation should be authentic and true. A kingdom citizen’s speech needs no qualification because a kingdom citizen lives a life of absolute integrity.

Conclusion: Chris's story serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of our call to credibility. Our embellishments, fabrications, and empty promises only matter as much as our own credibility. While we may initially command the trust of others, we will eventually lose the trust and respect of those around us if we waver in our commitment to simple truth. It is crucial to understand that credibility not only forms the foundation of our relationships and integrity but also underpins our worship of God. As citizens of God's kingdom, let us strive to be people of honesty, authenticity, and reliability, consistently aligning our words with our actions. In a world filled with deceit, may our authenticity point those in our community to Christ.