No More Swearing

Introduction

A. AG: Who likes a liar?

a. John D Rockefeller Jr. once quoted, “I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man’s word shouldbe as good as his bond; that character – not wealth or power or position – is of supreme worth”

i. A man or woman’s word should be their bond shouldn’t it? But really the key word in that phrase is should. I would say in this country and in this time that we have left this mindset. Contracts don’t even have the binding force that they should anymore.

ii. We have entered into a time where it is hard to believe someone when they give a simple yes or no to doing something for you.

B. Don’t you wish we could get back to the days like you see in bonanza or any western movie where agreements were made with handshakes and sometimes no talking at all. Now we don’t have to get back to the boots and spurs, and cowboy hats but wouldn’t it be great if we could be as trusting as they were back then.

C. And really the key to getting back to that is trust.

a. Webster’s defines trust as an assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.

i. In my words trust is 100% dependability on someone because of who they are. Illustration

ii. Trust is at the center of every relationship

1. Marriages are made on trust

2. Friendships are built on trust

3. Parents build trust with their children

4. Preachers build trust with the congregations they are at

5. Lost souls are taught because of the trust they have for the person teaching them

iii. Trust is literally in every relationship and when it isn’t there usually is not a relationship to speak of

D. As we start to narrow in on our lesson this morning in Matthew 5 Jesus is beginning His sermon on the mount and in chapter 5:20 he gives his thesis statement (His Main Point) and that is unless our righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees we will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven

a. Normal question to ask? How do I exceed the righteousness of the S/P?

b. With that thought in our minds now we are going to specifically look at the lesson Jesus gives in Chapter 5:33-37. Jesus is taking us through a series of 6 contrasts of what people had heard was the Law and he is giving new teachings on the Law. So in 33-37, which is the 4th contrast, and in most of our translations the section heading is probably going to say something like “Oaths”, or Jesus Forbids Oaths. But really after studying and constantly trying to understand what this text was talking about and with chapter 5:20 in mind I couldn't help but think Jesus is giving a lesson on trustworthiness. And so that is going to be our lesson this morning.

E. Thesis: We need to be Trustworthy

a. Jesus is going to present 2 Teachings on what it means to be Trustworthy

Body

I. First teaching, “No add-ons” needed when we are trustworthy (V. 33-36)

a. Explained –

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.

OT VERSES

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

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

Numbers 30:2 “2 “If a man makes a vow to Yahweh or swears 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.”

Exodus 20:7 “7 “You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.”

What was happening at this time was that the Pharisees and Scribes were teaching that you were not to swear falsely but shall do you what you swear to the Lord v. 33. But really what these Scribes and Pharisees were doing was the complete opposite they were making these elaborate vows and when it came time to live up to that vow they twisted it.

Jesus is going to rebuke the Scribes and Pharisees for this exact thing in Matthew 23:16–22 “16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is obligated.’ 17 “You fools and blind men! For which is more important, the gold or the sanctuary that sanctified the gold? 18 “And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ 19 “You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering? 20 “Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. 21 “And whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears both by the sanctuary and by Him who dwells within it. 22 “And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.”

. They were making the form of the vow mean more than the vow itself.

So Jesus is teaching to don't even start down that path…

That doesn't sound like someone who is deserving of the title trustworthy does it?

That's why Jesus says to make no oath at all. A Christian should let their word be their bond and we should not need add-ons attached to our word.

b. Illustrated

“I swear”, “I promise”, “I swear to God”, “I swear on my life”, “I pinky promise”

ii. All these are add-ons we used today aren’t they? Why do we need them…Maybe we don’t have trust with the person we are making a vow with and we feel like adding on one of these phrases will give us more credibility

iii. But if we are a trustworthy person should we have to tack this on to the end?

iv. I would say no

Have you ever known someone who constantly says:

“I swear I’m telling the truth.”

“I promise.”

“Cross my heart.”

“I put that on my life.”

At first you may not think much about it.

But after a while, something starts happening in your mind: You begin wondering why they have to keep adding all the extra words.

Because when someone is consistently honest, they usually do not need verbal fireworks to convince people.

Imagine two different men.

One man says:

“I’ll be there at 6.”

And he shows up every single time.

The other man says:

“Bro, I swear on everything, I PROMISE I’ll be there.”

…and then half the time he cancels.

Eventually, which man do you trust more?

The one using dramatic promises? Or the one whose character already speaks for itself?

That is exactly what Jesus is addressing.

The religious culture had become obsessed with formulas, loopholes, and carefully worded oaths. People were trying to create levels of honesty:

“Well I swore by heaven…”

“I swore by Jerusalem…”

“I swore by the temple…”

And Jesus says:

If your character is truthful, you should not need all the extra layers to make people believe you.

A citizen of God’s kingdom becomes known for such honesty and integrity that a simple:

“Yes” or “No” is enough.

The goal is not impressive speech. The goal is trustworthy character.

c. Applied  

Shouldn’t your word be your bond? When you wear the name Christian shouldn’t that be the only add on you need when you make promises?

Parents when your kids are coming to you and asking you to go play catch outside and you say yes?

Do they believe you

Do they find you trustworthy enough to live up to that response

Husbands when your wives tell you something that is meant to stay between you and her do you live up to the simple answer you give her

Are you trustworthy enough to where she will believe your response

We shouldn’t need to swear oaths by God to make them real rather our word should be our bond – no add ons needed and to achieve this we need to be trustworthy

II. Second teaching, “Mean what you say” to become trustworthy (V. 33, 37)

a. Explained

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

i. Really this is the big point of this lesson on trustworthiness and it is really what helps you achieve the status of trustworthiness. The pharisees and scribes did not have this mindset.

ii. Apparently you could never tell if they could be trusted or not because they could twist the oath they made if they did not want to pay back the vow they made.

b. Illustrated

i. Remember when we were all kids and you would have sleep overs and yall would have secret sharing time and you and your friends would start talking about who y’all liked  

ii. That time is always started with the question…Do you promise that you wont tell anyone who I like and your response is always YES!

1. But guess what you have your fingers crossed…

2. Did you really mean yes…no you didn’t

3. And when the whole school finds out that your best friend likes little betty sue…do you think your friend thinks you are worthy of trust anymore

iii. Do you think he will ever again think your yes is really yes

c. Applied

i. How important is this for us as Christians?

1. If people don’t think they can trust the answers we give them how can we ever expect to help their souls.

ii. Do you think people will want to hear us share the gospel if they can’t even believe our yes to really mean yes?

iii. See this is more than just about vows and trust its about souls that could be at stake

Conclusion

A. So let me ask you are you trustworthy?

a. Can you be counted on?

B. When someone gives you a call and asks for you to help them with something and you give them a yes?

a. Do you show up?

b. Do you gain trust?

c. Or you do you find an excuse at the last minute and let them know you can't make it.

d. Do you think that has built trust in that persons mind about you?

C. Church we don't need to be seen as untrustworthy because that could mean no one wants to hear the message we have that can save them.

D. We don't need to be people that require add-ons to make a vow and we need to be someone who’s yes always means yes and no means no

E. Parents think about your kids souls…if you break vows to them and they don't think you are worthy of their trust…will they listen to the teachings you give them as they are growing up?

F. Preachers if you lose trust with the congregation you are at do you think anyone is going to listen to your preaching? Would you listen to an untrustworthy Preacher

G. Remember we are to exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees and that means we need to be trustworthy and when we are we will be able to enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

H. Illustration – I heard a story the other day about a guy who was in preaching school and the stress and the work became such a burden on him that he began to lie about him having leukemia. He would make up excuses that he had been to the doctor for treatments so that he could get out of doing schoolwork. He had fallen so deep into the lie that he actually started believing it. He even would go to the hospitals to ask for dr. notes and they would have to tell him he had never been there. The guy finally repented and came clean and he got help from a professionals.

a. Does that sound like a guy who had a lot of trust with a lot of people after that?

b. No and it probably took a long time for him to build trust back up

I. Be someone who is worthy of trust….

This week, I want to challenge you to do something that may be uncomfortable, but could honestly change your relationships and even your influence for Christ.

Ask three people this simple question:

“Do you find me to be trustworthy?”

Maybe don’t lead with it the second the conversation starts or they may think something happened. But somewhere in the conversation, ask it sincerely.

Then really listen to what they say.

If they tell you that you are trustworthy, thank God for that reputation and keep protecting it.

But if they hesitate…or point out areas where your word has not always matched your actions…don’t get defensive. Grow from it.

Because church, trustworthy people are not perfect people. They are people who care enough about their character to keep improving it.

Let’s be the kind of Christians whose “yes” means yes, whose “no” means no, and whose character makes people trust both our words and our witness.

a. If they say you are then good keep it up

b. But if they say you aren’t? Then ask them what you could do to build that trust.

K. WE need to be trustworthy because when people can trust us they will want to hear what we have to teach them….

INVITATION!!!!