Sermon Tone Analysis

Before airlines existed, people travelled long-distance by train.

During that time, those who are five years old and younger get a free ride.

There was a story told of a mother and little Johnny.

Little Johnny was six years old, unfortunately.

Before boarding the train, the mother told Johnny that he was five years old, not six.

Of course, Johnny was not very happy about it and wasn’t very keen on it because no six years old want to admit that they’re five.

That’s ridiculous, but his mother threatened him.

(Slide 2) When the conductor came to check the tickets, he asked little Johnny how old he was, and he responds grumpily, “I’m five.”

After a while, the conductor came back and asked Johnny, “So, you’re five, right?”

Johnny said, “yes, I am five.”

The conductor asked him, “When will you be turning six?”

And little Johnny responded, “I will turn six by the time I get off this train.”

WORDS

Don’t use your religious devotion to cover up your lies.

We will be talking about Words, and how we use Words to communicate truth, lies, and promises.

But let me elaborate on this concept of Words.

Remember your baptism?

(Slide 3) Words are everywhere in our world.

We see words on newspapers, magazine, Facebook, YouTube, books, textbooks, signs, logos, your booklet, the Bible, and so forth.

What are words used for anyways?

Words are used for communicating information.

We get information every single day, and most of the information that we receive are by Words.

We hear Words with our ears.

We hear what language the person is speaking; we hear Words expressed in different tones, such as happiness, anger, sadness, fear, and more; we hear words from someone speaking as the sentences are being structured grammatically and vocabulary is incorporated into the sentences.

We form words in our mind and in our lips, unconsciously.

HOLD UP AN OBJECT (PHONE).

When you see this, it’s an information, you are already forming a word in your mind immediately as to what this object and information is.

Furthermore, we use words to communicate information.

We either use words to encourage or discourage; we either use words to bring hope or to bring hopeless; we either use words to praise God or to curse God; we either use words to love someone or to hate someone.

In the book of Proverbs, it says that words can either bring life to someone or bring death to someone.

Boys and girls, this is very information for you to understand.

You have to understand that the words you use MATTER.

Your words can truly hurt someone.

An important skill that you have to develop is not to carelessly use your words, but you need to learn to think before you speak.

That’s is something that all of us need to work.

Truth, Lies, and Promises

Here’s another important truth that you need to know.

Words communicate to others who you are.

Most of us tell the truth most of the time.

But then there will be those very inconvenient times when telling the truth will cause us trouble.

In those times, we find out about our character.

We find out that our integrity is being tested.

Most people, when the truth hurts them deeply, will resort to lying or compromising.

That is why courts impose oaths on people, warning them of dire consequences if they lie.

Today, we will learn what Jesus has to teach us about Words: truth, lies and promises

Please Turn To .

READ.

Context

Again, let me explain the context of this passage.

This is Jesus making a public speech known as the Sermon On The Mount.

This occurred sometime after Jesus’ baptism, Jesus’ temptation, and Jesus making disciples.

We are not told how long the sermon was, but it is indeed a very radical and powerful sermon.

Because after Jesus finishes preaching this sermon, many people were astonished at his teaching because he was teaching them as one who had authority, someone who is different from the religious leaders of that day.

In one of the many sections in chapter 5, you will notice that Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said” blah blah blah blah.

But I say to you, blah blah blah blah.

What was going on?

When Jesus says, “you have heard that it was said,” He was making references to what the religious leaders of that day were saying.

The religious leaders were supposedly quoting the Old Testament, but they were using false interpretations and false applications.

For instance, in 5:43, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’”

That was the “law” that the religious leaders taught.

However, Jesus’ response to those sayings was, “But I say to you.”

When Jesus says that, he’s correcting those sayings.

We have to understand that Jesus was not altering the law in any of these passages, nor was Jesus correcting the Old Testament.

Rather, Jesus was correcting the misunderstanding, the misapplication, the misinterpretation of the Old Testament law during that time.

Also, when Jesus says, “But I say to you,” He explains the law by heightening the application.

For instance, going back to 5:43-44, instead of hating your enemy, you are to also love your enemy.

Jesus in this sermon flips the world upside in the way we think about love, hate, anger, lust.

Jesus was not only concerned about the outward appearance, but he was also concerned about the heart and the character of the person.

It was not enough to simply not murder someone, but if you are angry at your brother and sister and you insult that person, then you have murdered him or her in your own heart.

Now that you understand the context, we can proceed to studying .

(SLIDE 4) (ANSWER Q1) The heading of this passage may say “Oath.”

Oath is a solemn, or a serious, statement made in God’s name.

When you are making an oath in God’s name, you are telling people that you are guaranteed speaking the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

By invoking God’s name, you are inviting God to judge your words if in fact they were not true.

Look at verse 33.

READ.

(SLIDE 5 – 6) Jesus quotes what the religious leaders say about the Old Testament law.

That statement is found in and .

(DISPLAY)

Swearing falsely does not mean swear words the way we understand it.

Swearing means to make an oath or a solemn promise.

To swear falsely means you failed what you promised under oath.

Instead of breaking your promises, you are to commit to the Lord what you have sworn.

So far so good.

But take a look at verses 34-36.

READ.

What was Jesus taking issues with?

Was He taking issues with people making oaths?

Is making an oath wrong?

Don’t misunderstand this phrase, “Do not take an oath at all.” Jesus was not condemning people from making an oath.

Jesus was not forbidding people from making an oath.

(SLIDE 7 & ANSWER Q2) There are proper and appropriate uses of oath.

For instance, you make an oath when you are getting married.

You make an oath at a courtroom.

God himself confirmed a promise with an oath ().

Christ himself spoke under oath (-63).

Basically, you are using oaths in a solemn or a very serious situation.

So, what’s the issue that Jesus was taking?

When you have rules and laws, you attempt to find “loopholes” around them or you try to bend the rules.

The religious leaders truly believe that when you make an oath under God’s name, you cannot turn back unless it’s a sin.