What do you mean?

Intro

Two truths and a lie

I’ve never been stung by a bee or a wasp, I’ve held a 20 ft snake, I’ve had a black panther jump on my head.

We are in the middle of a series in Matthew. We are looking at the sermon on the mount.

There are two major themes in this sermon by Jesus. One is upside down thinking.

The meek shall inherit the earth, blessed are the poor in Spirit, etc…

Second, is that Jesus cares about the heart.

We saw it last time when Jesus addresses the heart, not just the action when it comes to anger.

He addresses it again in vs 33.

Matthew 5:33–37 ““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.”

I want to give some context real quick before diving into what Jesus is addressing.

When He talks about swearing and taking oaths, he is talking about cussing. He is talking about making a promise, and sealing it with “If it is not true, may God curse me.” We still see this now and then. In the court room, you use to say “I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.” Recently, we have left out that last part. But you get the idea.

Second. When Jesus says “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old…” What he quotes isn’t scripture. It’s something that the Pharisees and the scribes had taken from scripture and raised to the level of scripture. Why? Because it was easier than living what God calls us to do.

So Jesus brings it back in vs 37

Matthew 5:37 “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”

The one thing I want you to get from this passage is this: Be careful what you say.

Jesus is saying that we need to keep our word, not only when we make promises to God or in God’s name, but all the time.

And I want to give you two reasons why.

First, what you say reflects what’s in your heart.

Luke 6:45 “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

James 3:9–12 “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.”

We often make the excuses “It’s just a little white lie.” Or “It’s not hurting anyone.”

Why are we so okay with lying?

Because we think we can get away with it. We are more concerned about appearances than obeying God. We care about what we can get out of the situation than what God has called us to give.

Remember, Jesus cares about the heart. And what comes out of our mouth is the fruit of what is inside.

What you say impacts your witness.

Growing up, I was known for pulling a fast one. For joking around. For lying, because of a joke.

I remember one day, I was with some friends, it was around 8th/9th grade, and I was telling them something, and they did not believe me. They thought I was joking. Even though I kept telling them over and over again, they didn’t believe me.

I forget what it was, it was some story. But I remembered the frustration of them not believing me. And I thought to myself, “What if they don’t believe me over something that was important?”

So I decided to not compromise on telling the truth.

Your integrity, if people think you are trustworthy, will impact your witness to others and your ability to create disciplines.

Think if God lied to us.

Now, you may ask “So I can’t play games where I have to bluff?” Or joke around? I like what my dad use to say. “Don’t let anyone leave the room not knowing the truth.” And if it’s a game where it’s agreed upon that there is bluffing involved, I believe it’s okay.

By the way, all three of my statements earlier were true.

Questions:

Would someone label you as a truthful person?

Why do we lie? What are some common situations that we are tempted to lie?

What is wrong with little white lies?

Why is integrity important? How does that impact our witness?