Be Honest

Matthew 5:33-37

The desperate need for truth

Distrust of Media - mis- and dis-information

A broken world comes from broken promises, broken vows, broken contracts, broken faith.

Presidential election season - can we trust anyone?

How desperately do we need to hear Christ’s words again today!

You may have been faithful to your spouse for 60 years, but have you broken a promise, gone back on your word, told a “little white lie?”

Why do your children ask you to promise something?

On Taking Oaths

Moses’ intent.

To encourage faithfulness in what we say and do

Numbers 30:2 "If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”

Preserving truth, living with integrity

To restrain man's tendency to lie

The 9th Commandment – Thou shall not bear false witness…

Since the garden temptation, the father of lies has been working lies into our lives –

Does a child have to be taught to lie?

The 3rd Commandment – You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain…

Leviticus 19:12 “You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.”

If you make an oath in the name of the Lord and do not fulfill it, then you essentially make the name of the Lord meaningless, empty, and without power.

The Pharisees Teaching

Some oaths are binding, others are not.

Swearing on the temple, or on the gold in the temple;

You could swear on the heavens, or on the God of heaven

You could swear on heaven, the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and even on your own head – any of these things were non-binding to them, an empty oath, not worth the paper it was written on.  An oath made in anything other than God could be broken without consequence

Like a kid with his fingers crossed behind his back

Giving a way out of a commitment

Jesus’ Teaching

Rejecting the Pharisees

Jesus is saying, “Everyone knows what you mean when you say heaven.” When you swear by the heavens, that’s God’s throne, Jerusalem is God’s footstool, you can’t even control the color of your hair, or whether you will have hair, how can you possibly swear by your own head?

Can we take an oath?

There are those who argue that this forbids us from taking any oaths at all –

God provided for proper oath-giving in His name as an accommodation to sinful human nature.

Hebrews 6:16 “For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.”

Calling upon a power above ourselves to keep us true to our word – in swearing an oath, we are ultimately calling upon God’s judgment to hold us accountable.

The Heart of Jesus’ teaching: Your life is an oath…

For a Christian, an oath ought to be unnecessary.  The whole of Christian speech is to be oath-laden, transparently honest. A Christian’s whole life is invested with the seriousness of an oath.

Don’t swear by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, head -

All of it belongs to God, and is equally binding - everything you do is under the eye of God, God is over all; every part of your life must be lived as unto Him.

Everything you do is important. You are God's people, even in your talk and conversation, and especially in taking oaths, everything must be done in such a way as to realize that God was looking upon them.

The Gospel and the Tongue

Examining Our Words.

Matthew 12:36-37 “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

If you have to begin your sentence with “honestly” – does that mean that up to this point you weren’t being honest?

OMG – we all know what you are really saying, does abbreviating it make it less offensive to God? Is that less a violation of the commandment “You shall not take the Lord’s name in vain,” because you didn’t actually say it?

For that matter, saying “Jeez”, and thinking your lips are pure because you didn’t go all out and say “Jesus,” how is that better?

Are there some promises that you think are okay to break, that they are non-binding?

Why are so many people, Christian included, defaulting on their student loans, mortgages, credit card payments, pledges? Did you not make a promise, a commitment?

What about the promise, “till death do us part?” What about the promises made on the campaign trail?

Consider your attitude and how that reflects what you say about yourself.

Are you a grumpy Christian? Are you a “nattering nabob of negativism,” singing hymns and praise to God with a scowl on your face?

Do you find yourself saying talking, acting, thinking differently when in church and around other Christians than at other times? Do you think that God can’t see you when you’re not in church or around his people?

If our lives are to be a reflection of our faith, a transparent oath – then what are we really saying?

Do not empty the power of God’s Name

This is what it means to take the Lord’s Name in Vain

Vain – empty, powerlessness: Making God’s name, the significance of Christ’s redeeming grace, meaningless

Who will believe the good news coming from lying lips?

Hope and Healing

The commands of Christ cut us to the core

With every lesson, the word of God cuts us deep – anger, unfaithfulness, infidelity - now our speech…

James 3:7 – “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

What is impossible with man is possible with God

James 3:17-18 – “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

Only a converted heart and mind will bear a converted tongue.

Hear God’s Word, receive it as true, and consider your life in the light of His truth - repent and look to Christ to save you.

Be Honest

Love and speak the truth. 

Jesus emphasizes truthfulness in our conversation, which comes from our inward parts, from the heart.

Psalm 51:6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

Truth in heart comes out of a living, vital relationship with Christ, who is the truth. Through his righteousness alone, we are enabled to live righteously in this world.

Guard your tongue

Proverbs 17:27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Commit yourself to speak less, but to speak only the truth in love…

Say what you mean, mean what you say

Let your yes be yes, your no be no

When a Christian says “I will be there,” the Christian will be there. When a Christian says no, the Christian means no.  When a Christian joins a group or enrolls in a course or accepts an invitation, the Christian fully means what the act entails and is faithfully there.  Let yes mean yes. 

Let your confession of faith be evident – act like you believe what you confess.

That the God is righteous and just, and will hold us accountable

That Christ is mighty to redeem, even these stammering lips.