Promises & Oaths: Righteousness in Daily Life
Matthew: The King and His Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 41:09
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· 10 viewsIn God’s kingdom, honesty prevails; forsaking “oaths” and deceit upholds relationships, making a Christian’s word their vow.
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“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’
But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
Before we talk about the topic of today we need to do some word-before-the word kind of work.
Before we talk about oaths and promises we need to understand something.
The Bible NEVER tells us to trust each other.
The Bible actually never even mentions that we should trust each other as humans.
It never tells husbands and wives to trust each other.
It never tells business partners to trust each other.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
What does trusting people get us?
Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
What are we even saying when we say, “I don’t trust this person”?
I want to define my terms a little more and unpack the underlying assumption behind the concept of oaths.
Relationship and trust are IDENTICAL.
To have a relationship with someone requires us to trust them.
But trust is the fruit of honesty.
We need to remember where we have been in the book of Matthew.
Matthew 4:17 (ESV)
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The kingdom of heaven is where the RULE and REIGN of Christ is.
Which brought the Lord Jesus to the Sermon on the Mount.
In this famous sermon we have seen how Jesus preaches on who will be included in the kingdom.
It’s not the strong and fast.
It’s the weak and meek, and those who know their need.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Jesus is elevating the Word spoken by God in the OT.
Matthew 5:33–34 (ESV)
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all…
What is an “oath”?
What is an “oath”?
He is elevating it and bringing it to its fullness.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
Numbers 30:2 (ESV)
If a man vows a vow to the Lord….he shall not break his word.
“If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.
An oath as follows…
An oath is like a promise that you swear by something bigger than yourself, usually implying that if you lie, something bad should happen to the thing promised.
What do oaths do?
Oaths give weight to words.
Oaths give weight to words.
Oaths give an appearance of an increase in significance to words.
Oaths give an appearance that something is more serious.
Oath’s DO NOT increase truth.
Oath’s actually DECREASE truth.
Psalm 116:11 (ESV)
“All mankind are liars.”
This does not mean everyone is always lying.
We can be truthful.
But the problem is when we are called upon to trust a person’s word.
Let me give you an example of what this sounds like,
“Honestly, this is what happened…”
Do we need the word “honestly” there?
Or take for instance…
“I swear on my mothers grave I will take care of it!”
Oaths no longer foster words of integrity and truthfulness.
They weaken truthfulness by place the weight elsewhere then upon the words themselves.
But before we just start condemning oaths, we need to understand the broad understanding of oaths in the Bible.
Because in the OT, God took oaths.
Oaths and the Character of God.
Oaths and the Character of God.
For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.”
God made an oath to Abraham.
He swore by HIMSELF.
The author of Hebrews says that there was no one greater to swear by.
So you see again what oaths function to do.
Oaths function to strengthen a claim.
God does the same thing after the FLOOD.
I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
We see even in the OT that the people were commanded to take oaths.
You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear.
We see the Apostle Paul make oaths…
Romans 1:9 (ESV)
For God is my witness…
So how should we understand Jesus saying “do not take an oath”?
Does this mean that any of these are wrong in some way for taking an oath?
By no means!
ALL oaths in Scripture function to increase confidence because of UNBELIEF.
God doesn’t make oaths because He lacks integrity but because WE DO.
Why does Jesus condemn “oath” making?
Why does Jesus condemn “oath” making?
Matthew 5:34 (ESV)
But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all…
The Jews of Jesus’ day spent a long time debating oaths.
They debated when an oath could be broken.
And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’
You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
“If one swore by Jerusalem it was not binding, but if one swore toward Jerusalem, it was.
“If one swore by the temple, it was not binding, but if one swore by the temple’s gold, it was.”
“If one swore by the altar of sacrifice, it was not binding, if one swore by the gift on the altar, it was.” Matthew–Luke (Daniel Doriani)
Pinky Promises and Oaths
In a similar way that we do pinky promises in middle school.
We did pinky promises because we really wanted to agree on something.
But everyone knows the “rules.”
If you cross your fingers while doing a pinky promise, the promise doesn’t count.
This is similar to the way that the Jews and people throughout history have thought.
Oaths needed to be made because the promises were never kept.
Matthew 5:34 (ESV)
But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all…
All promises rise to a level of significance.
ALL WORD are deeply important.
Disciples of Jesus are ALWAYS truthful.
They are never to take an oath because an oath assumes that truth telling is the exception to the rule.
Truth telling is the standard for the Christian.
Christian
Truth telling as the foundation for Christian community
Without truth, we cannot have a Christ following people.
In some communities it unfortunately sounds like,
“If people knew who I really am, they never will love me.”
So we hide from others because we don’t want them to see our true colors and judge us.
“I need to keep up the image of what people think I’m like.”
Exaggeration and all manners of gossip within the Christian community destroy fellowship.
Oaths are unnecessary for those who tell the truth.
The first reason that Jesus says we shouldn’t take oaths is…
Oaths conceal deception.
Oaths conceal deception.
But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
Jesus gives examples that decrease in scope (heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and self)
While simultaneously decreasing in significance (throne, footstool, city of the king, and hair on the head).
There is an “implicit idolatry” when we swear by things that are less than God in His created world.
It is a gross misunderstanding of our own agency to swear over something we don’t have authority over.
To speak a promise based on something outside of our realm of control of stewardship is a great evil.
Situation of a Family Member Breaking a Promise
Say your child wants to go to a baseball game.
You say to them,
“I promise that we will take a trip to the ball game this summer.”
The summer goes on and you don’t take him to the game.
The next summer comes around,
“I swear on everything that is holy we will make it to a game this year!”
You guessed it, summer goes and passes and no game.
What happens when that child is grown?
You will not have a relationship with this child because the child cannot trust you.
“The taking of an oath is an implicit confession that one is not altogether honest. It is ironic that an oath is the attempt to undergird the truth of what we say, which is at the same time a confession that we don’t speak the truth, that our word alone is suspect. The taking of oaths is a pathetic confession of our own dishonesty!” —Sam Storms
Oaths promise more than they can deliver.
Oaths promise more than they can deliver.
Jesus demands integrity that refuses to make promises that cannot be fulfilled.
An oath places the reputation or wellbeing of the thing promised.
You hear people do this all the time.
“I promise, on my mothers grave…”
“Cross my heart and hope to die…”
What they’re doing is making a promise because of something they love and admire and never forsake.
An oath is only needed when a person’s words mean nothing.
If a person’s word is as good as sand through your hand, then an oath seems necessary
Matthew 5:34 (ESV)
either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
The first object that Jesus cautions us from swearing by is heaven.
This includes our understand as “outer space” and all the heavens.
Jesus doesn’t wish for us to think of God as some grandpa in the sky.
God describes the heavens as His throne.
Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?
What could mere humans build for the ONE who makes super-novas His lazy-boy recliner?
What could mere humans build for the ONE who uses black-holes as a trashcan?
What could mere humans build for the ONE who dwells in the heavens?
NOTHING.
There is no house large enough to keep the ONE who dwells in eternity and the heavens are what point to His glory in the cosmos.
Jesus will pick up on this later in Matthew as well when He criticizes the Pharisee’s by swearing according to the alter it is nothing but if he swears by the gift it is something.
He says…
And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.
Building Relationships within the Kingdom of God
How do we build relationships within the kingdom?
Relationship and trust are IDENTICAL.
To have a relationship with someone requires us to trust them.
But trust is the fruit of honesty.
Jesus goes to the next level which consists of the earth.
Matthew 5:34–35 (ESV)
But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all…or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
A footstool like a man reclining in his lazy-boy recliner.
Jesus narrows the focus of the oath to include the earth and all the domain of mankind.
With the connection that even those things are the LORD’s.
So statements like,
“I swear by grandma’s farm I’ll get the work done.”
Every appeal to something else is connected to God.
Every appeal to the heavens, the earth, and anything in the earth is ultimately an appeal to God Himself.
Unbeliever
You’re probably wondering at this point,
“What’s the big deal with all this talk of oaths?”
How are your relationships going?
How do you fix those broken relationships in your life?
You know this to be true.
People are liars.
Everyone is under the just condemnation of God.
Flea to Christ.
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully,
understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers,
the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
Paul places “perjurers” or “oath takers” directly next to “liars” and “kidnappers.”
Everyone stands under God’s just judgment.
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Jesus goes down to the smallest thing.
And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
You shouldn’t make an oath by anything because you cannot even change the color of your hair.
As soon as I say this a person who does hair for a living will cheekily respond,
“I can change your hair color.”
But this misses the point.
The use of hair dyes may change the appear of hair but it fades over time.
Hair dyes do not change our hair color as much as changes the way the color appears for a short time.
Though we have all sorts of hair dye, a person is UNABLE to change even the color of their hair.
Oaths are from the Evil one.
Oaths are from the Evil one.
If I take an oath by saying,
“I will get this done, I bet it on my life.”
Jesus would say to that person,
“You’re not even able to make your hair white or black, how could you bet anything on your life?”
He is showing that we don’t have jurisdiction over these things, so to swear by them is of the evil one.
And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
We become like the evil one who tries to act outside of his jurisdiction when we take oaths outside of things we can control.
The Jews thought that an oath needed to be said in a specific way for it to be binding.
James says much the same thing when he says…
But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
It comes from the evil one.
Oaths say,
“You can’t really trust my words, you need to trust that right now I am really serious.”
“I am so serious that I am willing to bet everything that it will happen!”
Parents
We teach our children so much in this area.
If we find ourselves constantly saying…
“I swear upon everything that’s holy if you do that again…”
It’s in this area of parenting that we need to realize that these forms of threats are really from the Evil one.
The Christian is simply to say “Yes” or “No.”
Do you see how unique this teaching is.
If you pay attention you will see just how deceptive a culture we live in.
Flaking Culture
Fear of Commitment Culture
Should Christians ever make “oaths”?
Should Christians ever make “oaths”?
Are Christians allowed to take oaths?
What about situations where we are called to take “oaths”?
There is actually a tradition that supports people refusing to place their hand upon a Bible and swear.
The oath can be in the form of…
"I swear by Almighty God that I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth"
"I solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
Is it wrong to take this kind of oath?
Christians have disagreed on this matter for a long time.
There have been people like modern day Mennonites who have held this view.
We need to acknowledge that if the Bible really told us to never take an oath, we shouldn’t do so.
And people that do believe that are right to abstain.
But does the Bible really teach that we shouldn’t take an oath?
Maybe, if an outside authority wants one.
Maybe, if an outside authority wants one.
I think we can answer in the affirmative if an oath is taken with reverence.
The Message of the Sermon on the Mount 2. Honesty in Speech (33)
What Jesus emphasized in his teaching was that honest men do not need to resort to oaths; it was not that they should refuse to take an oath if required by some external authority to do so.
This is true of marriages.
Business agreements.
And even testifying in a court room.
A lawful oath is a part of what it means to honor God.
But what Jesus is condemning here is flippant promises.
The implication here is that if someone breaks an oath, they should expect God to punish.
No, because their word is their Vow
No, because their word is their Vow
In God’s kingdom, it is always important to tell the truth.
This means that we refuse to make promises that we cannot keep.
We shouldn’t make promises that we can’t uphold.
When we’re honest in this way, we build relationships and are able to trust people.
Children
Your word is your vow.
You don’t need other promises.
Excuses like,
“I’m just a kid, it doesn’t matter what I say.”
“I’m young, I don’t have to mean what I say.”
These are lies.
Your word to your parents matters.
Your word to your classmates matters.
What happens if we make a oath that we can’t fulfill?
The Bible talks about this so many places.
My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger,
if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth,
then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor.
The concern should always be for fulfilling his promises.
Not making promises that put himself in danger (like paying off another’s debt).
If he were to make a promise and be unable to fulfill it, he places himself under that liability.
The problem here again is accepting responsibility that is outside of his control.
Notice what the writer encourages us to do if we’re caught in our words….
Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber;
save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
These animals that are typically trapped or hunted serve as a good example for this man to follow to pursue getting from under the liability.
No, because they are unneccesary for the Christian.
No, because they are unneccesary for the Christian.
Part of the application from this text for us is that we need to speak less.
Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
Christians and Relationships
If you struggle with relationships with others, you may need to ask yourself the question.
Why do I struggle with others in relationships?
Is it because I do not speak honestly?
Is it because I do not believe others are speaking honestly with me?
In order to have any relationships as a Christian, we must approach people vertically.
We must approach them with the mindset,
“I am going to let my ‘yes, be yes’ and my ‘no, be no.’”
“I’m not going to worry if they’re upset by this.”
In God’s kingdom, honesty prevails; forsaking “oaths” and deceit upholds relationships, making a Christian’s word their vow.
