Truth and Consequences

Introduction: Early on in my ministry, I was preaching and I told a story in my sermon. I think stories are important because they help people grasp scriptural truths.

Jesus told stories. The Bible is 75% story. Sometimes mundane other times supernatural and unbelievable. Yet it’s all true. Stories are important to our faith and journey.

We are all part of a shared story in Christ that is moving towards completion when Jesus returns and takes us to be with Him.

So I was telling a story and I could tell by the reaction that the story was landing with people.

After the service, someone came up to me and asked matter of factly, “was that story true? Or were you just preaching?”

Think about that, because we’ve probably all heard a sermon with a truly inspiring story and wondered, “did that actually happen?” or maybe worse, we later found out that the story was either grossly embellished or it was “not true at all.”

The pulpit should be the one place that you can trust the truth to come from. And I know that’s not always possible because even preachers are fallen.

But I’ve always committed to speaking the truth from the pulpit. So when I preach you can trust that what I’m preaching I believe to be true whether that comes from the Bible or stories in the world.

When I find something to be untrue that I have spoken, I need to correct that.

Because lies have consequences.

Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 5:33. Last week, Wayne brought us a great message about the sacred covenant of marriage. And don’t miss this how easily a broken covenant of marriage segues into a conversation about truthfulness and keeping your word.

Because a broken marriage is often a failure to keep one’s word. Now, again, there is a great need for grace.

But essentially this message can be summed by saying, when you saying you are going to do something do it. Because…

Introduce:

Big Idea: TRUTH and FAITHFULNESS matter to God.

Let’s Read: Matthew 5:33-37

Matthew 5:33–37 ESV

33 “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.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Big Idea: TRUTH and FAITHFULNESS matter to God.

Now it’s not a stretch to say that while Jesus is specifically talking about vows we make to God that there is an element where we are talking about truth in general.

We need to be people are characterized by truthfullness to both God and others. in the vows that we make the and the words that we say. So to start.

1. Take CARE in the WORD you speak. (Matthew 5:33-36)

Explanation: It’s been noted by a lot of people that Jesus doesn’t directly quote a single passage in scripture but a summary of Numbers 30:2

Numbers 30:2 ESV

2 If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

But really he’s keying in on something that the rabbis and the teachers of the law were doing….looking for loopholes. Just like Wayne talked about how people were looking for loopholes out of marriage, the people were trying to figure out what oaths they had to keep and which one’s they didn’t.

They had a whole system for these loopholes that Jesus condemns later.

Matthew 23:16–22 ESV

16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 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.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

Jesus is saying that people go to great lengths to justify not keeping their word.

And what are the consequences of this? You can’t trust anyone’s word. The entire nation of Israel is suspect, or you force people into more and more outlandish oaths while people look for more and more outlandish loopholes to get out it.

People are now seen naturally untrustworthy.

Oaths are a concession to a world full of lies. A way to try to figure out whether someone is trustworthy.

Illustration: You’ve probably heard the old question, “How do you know a politician is lying?”

HIs lips are moving.

Now, you and I know that not every politician is a liar. In fact at the lower level’s of government there are a lot of really good people trying to do some good in the world. But we’ve been lied to enough by people in politicians enough that we typically lump them all in as suspected liars.

Even taking an oath of office on a Bible does usually help our skepticism. In fact, it makes us wonder how they don’t all burst into flames.

Application: I don’t intentionally want to demonize anyone. But there is something to be said for Jesus wanting his kingdom to be characterized by the truth.

No loopholes.

No oaths.

Just truth.

And it should be such that truth is so prevalent that it is the lie that is out of the ordinary. And this means in speaking the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, the preciseness of our words matter. Don’t be careless.

Because even when we are precise people will try to twist our words and use them against us.

They did that with Jesus so they certainly do it with us.

And more than that don’t be ashamed of the truth.

Romans 1:16 ESV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Never apologize for God’s truth.

I’m always amazed when preachers preach about certain sins, how often they seem to spend 5 minutes apologizing for what they are about to say, 5 minutes saying it and then 5 minutes apologizing for what they just said.

If God’s word calls something sin, to apologize for that is not loving.

The great passage on love in 1 corinthians 13 tells us that love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.

To be a truthbul person who keeps their word is to be a loving person.

Which brings us to our second and final point.

2. Let your REPUTATION speak for ITSELF. (Matthew 5:37)

Explanation: Truth and faithfulness matter to God. And this Kingdom of God idea is going to be radically different from the world and even from the concessions God gave to Israel.

Jesus is calling a people who are characterized by radical truthfulness.

But here’s the rub. Most of us don’t want this.

Sure we want to be truthful about the big stuff.

But we’ve come to enjoy our white lies. Our embellishments.

We ask questions that do not beg the truth but demand a comforting lie.

We respond to the truth with anger.

We do not like the truth. The world hates the truth. The world loves lies.

The Proverbs talks a lot about this:

Proverbs 26:28 ESV

28 A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.

Proverbs 27:5–6 ESV

5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Proverbs 28:23 ESV

23 Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue.

Proverbs 29:5 ESV

5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

Even the Apostle Paul feels the sting and worldly consequences of telling the Galatians the truth about their sin:

Galatians 4:16 ESV

16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?

The world hates the truth.

I say this all to say that when we say, “Let your reputation speak for itself” as a person who speaks truth…this will not necessarily lead to people liking you. In fact the opposite is much more likely.

Radically truthful people are seen as weird and odd because they don’t conform to societal norms on lying.

You’ll be seen as a critical person.

And when you confront a lie that has been so widely accepted as truth in the culture, you are the one who will be called the liar who need to be reindoctrinated to what the world believes.

Illustration: It’s amazing to me how harsh God is with liars in the Bible. In condemning the Pharisees, He says:

John 8:44 ESV

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do 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 lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

In Revelation 21:8, they are lumped in with all of the vileness of sin:

Revelation 21:8 ESV

8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Can I say it again?

Truth and Faithfulness matter to God.

Application: So what does this mean to us?

We need to cultivate a repuatation where people know us to be truthful no matter the cost.

And when this happens, you won’t need oaths.

If you say you are going to do something you do it.

When someone asks for your advice, they don’t need to say, “I want you to be completely honest with me.” Because they know you are and that’s why they are coming to you.

We all need someone in our life who won’t flatter us with lies or beat around the bush.

We all need a straight shooter that will tell us the truth no matter how bad it hurts. Even if it makes us angry.

Can we be that for someone else.

Now obviously this is talking about a specific type of truth. First and foremost speak truth to God.

This comes down to our sin. Be honest with God about your sin. Repent and confess your sin.

But also don’t make rash vows that you can’t keep. God will hold you to it.

I think one of the most rash vows in all of scripture is that of Jephthah.

Judges 11:30–36 ESV

30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” 32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. 33 And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel. 34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.” 36 And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.”

Lot’s of debate about what happened to His daughter. But the point is true, do not be careless with your words.

Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

For our time of response.

Response: Are you COMMITTED unapologetically to the TRUTH?

Summation: Big Idea: TRUTH and FAITHFULNESS matter to God.

1. Take CARE in the WORD you speak. (Matthew 5:33-36)

2. Let your REPUTATION speak for ITSELF. (Matthew 5:37)

Closing Illustration: Now, this particular passage takes on a fuller meaning in the context of the whole Sermon on the mount. When we see what the entire point of the sermon is.

Jesus is offering the kingdom but He’s saying there are stipulations.

When you say yes to Jesus you are committing to being about these things.

You’re going to be characterized by the beattiudes.

You’ll be salt and light in the world.

You will fulfill the law of Christ.

You will not hate people

You will not have a lustful eye.

You will honor and cherish your wedding vows.

You will be a person of your word. Truthful and Faithful no matter what.

And we’re not even halfway through Jesus’ sermon yet.

This is what Jesus talks about when He says we need to count the cost.

Luke records Jesus words

Luke 14:28–33 ESV

28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

If you commit to Jesus you’re either all in or all out.

There is no room for being lukewarm.

So count the cost. And be truthful and faithful.

Let’s pray.