Command and Character of Christ Keep Your Word Truthfulness vs. Deception Command Eight

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Arleen McDonald
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1 Command Eight Simply let your Yes be Yes, and your No, No ; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Mt 5:37). Command in Bibilical Context Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord. But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your Yes be Yes, and your No, No ; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Mt 5:33-37 Command Interpreation Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord Oath = vow, promise, statement of fact, a solemn affirmation, pledge, or declaration. Taking an oath is not wrong. o Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. (Deut 10:20) o When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said. (Num 30:2) Oaths are intended to demonstrate honesty because humans are liars. It s part of our sinful nature. Praise God, Jesus took on our sinful nature and died for our sins. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Pt 2:24) 1

2 Religious Leader - Tradition/Compromise If you don t specifically used God s name, you don t have to Keep Your Word. They considered this was a valid loop hole around God s instructions on making oaths. A tradition that made lying to each other legal. Jesus is correcting their understanding this command to. Lying was ingrain in their society and is also deeply ingrained in our society today. The top two trusted professions in America are Firefighters and Nurses. The bottom two trusted professions in America are Politicians and Telemarketers. The scribes and the Pharisees were the lawmakers and most politicians today are lawmakers. It s not really odd that the lawmakers, those in power, those entrusted to bring about law, order, and peace are the liars. Satan knows what he s doing and knows how to destroy people and societies. But I say to you, make no oath at all Make no oath, promise, or vow that you do not plan to keep. Either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Swearing and cursing in the Bible had a different meaning then it has today. 2

3 In the Bible swearing and cursing were to different methods to validate something. 1. The truth of a Statement (I swear I didn t take your cow) 2. The certainty of a promise (I swear I will give you a cow) Swearing involves using a greater witness ( As God as my witness, I will give you a cow or By God, I m going to give you a cow ) Cursing involves terrible consequences ( May God strike me dead, if I don t give you a cow or May God strike you dead, if you don t pay me for the cow ) When Peter denies Jesus three times, the first time he denies it. The second time, he denied Jesus by swearing. The third time, he denied Jesus by cursing. Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. (Lev 19:12) This is what the 3 rd Commandment is about. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (Ex 20:7) Misuse literally means, to lift up without any purpose. God said that if you use His name, there better be some meaning behind it. God doesn t want to be part of our lies and deceptions. Religious Leader - Tradition/Compromise If you say, I swear to God then that is binding, but if you say I swear by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or your head(life) then it was less binding. 3

4 (Mt 23:16 22) Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, then he is obligated. And, Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering upon it, he is obligated (vv. 16, 18). UPS Hand Waving Analogy Illogical If there wasn t a temple then there wouldn t be a need for the gold If there wasn t an altar then there wouldn t be a place for the offering. Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God s throne and by the one who sits on it. (Mt 23:16 22) The problem they had then is the same problem we have today. How do you know when someone is lying? When we don t believe that someone is going to keep his promise, we often want them to swear that they will do it. o I swear I will do it o Cross my heart hope to die, stick a needle in my eye. o Secret or Pinky Shake (spit, blood) o Swearing on a Bible Somehow swearing makes it more believable. Loophole If I swear with my fingers crossed, or with my left hand it doesn t count. 4

5 Jesus said, Don t swear by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or your head The Truth is - Heaven belongs to God The earth belongs to is God Jerusalem belongs to God Your head (life) belongs to God Every lie is a sin against God Statement Analysis Lie Detector Unreliable Written or Verbal Statement 99% reliable For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you. (Mt12:34 37) Whether Verbal or Written, you words determine if you re telling the truth or not. Example #1 While I was at the bus stop a man robbed me. The man took out the gun and demanded all my money. (Broken Grammar Rule) Example #2 Did you kill Mr. Jones? You know, I m trying to be as honest as possible This person confessed three times that he did kill Mr. Jones An honest answer is either Yes or No Example #3 A former President said when questions by an impeachment hearing, I have taken an oath to be honest and I have been trying to keep that Oath. This means, so far, I have lied. An honest answer is either Yes or No 5

6 But let your statement be, Yes, yes or No, no ; and anything beyond these is of evil. (5:33 37) Christians should be people of their word. Your word (logos - Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 2:1; 4:19; and Titus 2:8) should either be Yes or No Anything beyond that crossing your fingers or not intending to do what you say is evil because it s lying. But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but let your yes be yes, and your no, no; so that you may not fall under judgment (James 5:12). Command Examples Two Case Studies: Consequences of Lying Abram and Sarai - Gen 12:10-20 They agreed to lie and tell the officials that they were brother and sister and not husband and wife. (Half Sister = Half Lie?) Sarai was brought into Pharaoh s palace to be his wife and Abram received many gifts for her. God inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh s household because of Abram s wife Sarai. Pharaoh learn of the deceptions and allowed Abram and Sarai. They even got to keep everything Pharaoh gave them. It seems like their lie work, Abram got his wife back, got a bunch of stuff, and God didn t even punish him for this lie. Ananias and Sapphira - Acts 5:1-11 Ananias and Sapphira also agreed to lie by selling a piece of property and then keeping some of the money but then saying that they gave it all to the church. When Peter told Ananias that he lied, Ananias immediately fell down and died. Three hours later, when Peter later told Sapphira that she lied, she immediately fell down and died. 6

7 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. (Acts 5:11) Why was God so tolerant with Abram and Sarai and so strict with Ananias and Sapphira? Similarities Between Abram and Sarai and Ananias and Sapphira Both were believers in the Lord. Both left their lands for a better country. Both lied to protect their futures. Both lacked faith for complete honesty. Both agreed beforehand to lie. Contrasts Between Abram and Sarai and Ananias and Sapphira Abram and Sarai lived before the law, Ananias and Sapphira lived after the law. Abram and Sarai started the nation of Israel, Ananias and Sapphira were involved in started the church. Abram and Sarai s sin affected Israel, Ananias and Sapphira s sin affected the church. Why were there two different consequences of their lying? The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. 1 Tim 5:24 Ananias and Sapphira were judged immediately - They both died Abram and Sarai s judgment trailed behind them: Abraham s son, Isaac told the same lie to King Abimelech. This time it was a Full Lie Gen 26:7, When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, She is my sister, because he was afraid to say, She is my wife. He thought, The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful. Isaac s son, Jacob deceived his father into thinking that he was Esau, the first born son. 7

Jacob s father-in-law, Labon, lied to him and gave him the wrong wife. Jacob sons deceived Jacob into thinking that Joseph, his beloved son, was killed by a wild animal.

8 Jacob s father-in-law, Labon, lied to him and gave him the wrong wife. Jacob sons deceived Jacob into thinking that Joseph, his beloved son, was killed by a wild animal. Abram sins were passed down from generation to generation. Abram should have repented and taught his sons the consequences of lying. Command Application Sources of Truth God is Truth (Du 32:3,4) Jesus is Truth (Jn 14:6) The Holy Spirit is Truth (1Jn 6:6) God s Word is Truth (Jn 17:17) All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for teaching, rebuke, correction and for training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16), "How can I know if I am hearing God, hearing Satan, or hearing my own thoughts?" God will always tell you the Truth, Satan will always lie, and your thoughts can often be confusing. (1 Cor 14:33, God is not a God of Confusion) Truth Lie Confusing God Always Never Never Devil Never Always Always You Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Pv 3:5 6) 8

9 Lie Your Useless Your Unloved Your Guilty You re a Failure You should Give Up Discouragement Truth You re Precious to Me! I Love You! I Forgive You! I m Proud of You! Keep running! Encouragement Don t listen to the devil or to your own lies, listen to what a loving Father in heaven says to you as His child. Don t be discouraged, you re heaven bound. For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, they are plans to good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jer 29:11) Conclusion Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. (Jn 14:6) As Disciples of Jesus we need to walk in the truth and put away all forms of lying. Simply let your Yes be Yes, and your No, No ; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Mt 5:37). 9

You have Heard... But I say to You... 4: Swearing

You have Heard... But I say to You... 4: Swearing Introduction Once again Jesus confronted the lax teaching of their scribes and teachers. These teachers were not demanding the self-control over anger