Matthew 5:33-37 (Oaths)
OATHS - "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 the evil one" (Matthew 5:33-37).
Words are important. Words convey a message. Words reveal what we believe. In many cases, words have incredible power when used to tear down or build up others. Our ability to receive salvation is made possible through spoken words.
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved" (Romans 10:9-10).
Simply stated, our words gauge the spiritual maturity we profess to those around us. For if we confess ourselves as Christians, we are held accountable to live out Scripture by word and deed. And if we are liable to judgment based on the application of our faith, the manner in which we speak will either affirm or deny whether our hearts are bond-servants to Christ or our flesh.
The Bible affirms, "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless" (James 1:26). Therefore, we must be vigilant to guard our tongues from speaking falsely, because our words can undermine the good work God desires to do through us.
Keep in mind, Matthew 5:33-37 is a continuation of Jesus' sermon on the mount, beginning with the Beatitudes and an exhortation for Christians to be salt and light in the world.
He continued by admonishing those who felt He came to abolish Old Testament law by explaining His purpose in fulfilling the law (a foreshadow of His future sacrifice unto death). Then He shifted gears and began a 6-part series focusing on character attributes by taking what Scripture taught as righteous behavior and layering new perspective to amplify the seriousness of each issue on man's heart.
In other words, Jesus closed any loophole man could find to superficially obey God's Word while continuing to live in the flesh. Jesus' entire ministry focus centered on the heart, because the heart is the root of man's behavior.
"And he (Jesus) said, 'What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person'" (Mark 7:20-23).
If we desire to change our behavior, we must first recognize the condition of our heart and identify whether we are living for our own pleasure or God's glory.
We simply cannot undervalue how important our hearts are to understanding the wisdom Jesus conveys throughout His sermon. For if our hearts are bent on serving our flesh and self-protecting in order to legalistically check off religious boxes, we will never free ourselves from the strongholds that bind and quench the Spirit's conviction.
God's Word reminds us, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). But rest assured, "I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds" (Jeremiah 17:10).
Just as the Lord spoke to the prophet Samuel, we must also reconcile this absolute truth: "For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). This should compel us to examine the motivation behind our actions, because a heart secretly bent on serving itself will never illicit righteous behavior that obeys what Jesus teaches throughout Matthew 5-7.
Consequently, Matthew 5:33-37 forces us to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, "Are my words trustworthy or manipulative and dishonest? Do my words support or contradict my actions? Can I be counted on for what I commit to?"
By viewing this passage with a quick glance compared to the aforementioned topics of anger, lust and divorce in Matthew 5:21-32, Jesus places a spotlight on man's character and integrity and challenges him to live not only according to what he says, but believes.
James echoed this same sentiment when he wrote, "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" (James 3:11-12).
If we are to be known as followers of Christ, our words must be true. Our 'Yes' and 'No' must be resolute to avoid confusion and misrepresentation.
Therefore, there is no need to swear by anything to prove the validity of our words if we live truthfully according to what we say, and we cannot expect others to live with the same lofty standard of righteousness if we are not modeling that behavior first and foremost in our own hearts.
No doubt James, the brother of Jesus, heard this message loud and clear when he wrote, "But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation" (James 5:12).
When we consider the context of what Jesus and James are saying, we begin to understand the importance oaths have on the health of the church. For when Christians behave in obedience to Scripture, the authenticity with which we witness for the cross of Christ has substance.
The salvation message carries incredible weight when we do not simply "act" like Christians but truly "live" like Christians, exposing how our hearts have been changed and transformed by the Gospel.
The Bible changes our entire behavioral trajectory, because God speaks to us directly through the absolute truth of His Word.
"These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD" (Zechariah 8:16-17).
Therefore, we are without excuse. The world will always gives us alternative routes to living with integrity, honesty, authenticity and genuineness, but we must decide whether the words we speak will be honest and true or deceptive and hypocritical. The choice is ours.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on October 23, 2016 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
