Thou Shalt Not Forswear Thyself

Introduction: The Sermon on the Mount and the Law

0:03 We turn again to the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew as we continue our studies in this portion that we have commonly described or called the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5. Now again, as we have visitors with us each Lord's Day morning who have not been able to feel the drift and the total spectrum of what we have been trying to see in this passage, it is necessary to take just a few minutes to give some overall review lest it be said of us we didn't see the woods for the trees. So often this is true in our study of the Word of God. If we miss the relationship of any given passage to the whole, we'll miss the essential truth that God has for us in that particular passage. So we've seen in the first section of this sermon, in that section that we call the Beatitudes, the Lord's delineation of the character traits of a true Christian. Then he told us what the reaction of the world would be to such a person.

1:18 They can't stand him, so they'll persecute him and say all manner of evil against him falsely. Then we came to that pivotal section in which our Lord Jesus clearly states that in laying out this description of a true Christian, a true subject of his kingdom, he is not coming and negating and setting aside all that Moses has taught, and all that the prophets have taught, but by his very mission, his words and his work, he is coming to fill to the full all that God has foreshadowed in the law and in the prophets. And we are well into this section, beginning with verse 21 through verse 48, in which we have six parallel passages. Our Lord Jesus, in each of these passages, states the shackled interpretation, of the law given by the scribes and Pharisees, and then he breaks the shackles from off Moses and the true intent of God's revelation through Moses, and says in each of these sections, But I say unto you, One of the old church fathers said that Moses drew the sketch, and our Lord Jesus came and filled in the details. I like that. Our Lord is not contradicting Moses.

2:36 For the God of Moses is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, Jesus Christ. And we must never read anything that our Lord taught in such a way as to make him come to Moses and put an X over him. No, Moses and the prophets spoke and drew pictures in sketchy outlines, and our Lord Jesus and the apostles came and filled in the details. There is one God.

3:02 The God of the old covenant and the new is the same God. There is a diversity in his workings, but there is, but one, one God. And so we come this morning to the third or the fourth of these sections in which our Lord Jesus states the interpretation given to Moses by the scribes and Pharisees, and then gives his own authoritative declaration of what that precept really means. We come to verses 33 to 37.

The Practical Importance of Speech

3:37 Matthew 5, 33 to 37. Again, Again, He hath heard that it hath been said by them or to them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. But I say unto you, Swear not at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, neither by the earth, for it is his footstool, neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair, white or black.

4:14 But let your communication be, Yea, yea,

4:19 nay, nay. For whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. In the preceding sections, our Lord has dealt with the very practical issues found in the sixth and seventh commandments. The matter of our attitude to our fellow man in terms of hatred being a breach of the sixth commandment, Thou shalt not kill.

4:47 And he shows us that the sixth commandment not only forbids murder, but unjust anger, and also enjoins upon us that we seek as much as possible to live in a right relationship to our fellow man. Agree with thine adversary quickly. If thy brother hath aught against thee, go be reconciled to him. And then our Lord dealt with the seventh commandment.

5:10 Thou shalt not commit adultery. He showed that adultery was primarily a matter of, heart, lust, and then the related subject to it that we considered last week, the matter of marriage and divorce. Now in these areas, all of us are aware of the tremendous practical importance of our Lord's teaching. The Bible concept of sex, the Bible standards of adultery and marriage and divorce, and what God has to say about the attitudes of our hearts to our fellow man.

5:42 We feel in some way, very easily, we can see the relationship of these things to practical everyday experience. But now we come this morning to a matter that perhaps on the surface doesn't seem quite as relevant. Thou shalt not forswear, but perform to the Lord thine oaths. That I say unto you, swear not at all.

6:03 What does this have to do with my practical experience as a Christian? I can see the relationship of lust and anger. These are problems that plague me constantly. But now what about this matter of taking oaths? Well, I'd remind you that this matter of our speech is of tremendous importance. The scripture tells us in Matthew 12, verses 34 to 37, that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.

6:31 And by our words we shall be justified, and by our words we shall be condemned. Your mouth is the echo chamber of your heart. Your mouth is the echo chamber of your heart. Now there are times when we can studiously attempt to deceive people by our lips, and we can feign words. But by and large, what I say when I'm not forced to say it by the pressure of external circumstances, but I'm just letting something flow out that's within, my mouth is the echo chamber of my heart. And if someone would know what's in my heart, all they need do is expose themselves to that which comes out of my lips.

7:23 The Lord Jesus said that our speech is the visible fountain of the hidden springs of the heart. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. This is why in the day of judgment...

7:37 Part of that which God will use as a basis of judging men will be their very words. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. And I'd remind you of James' well-known word, If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man. And so this is a very practical issue, the matter of the Christian and his speech, as it relates to the matter of oath-taking.

Defining Oaths and Forswearing

8:05 As we try to think through this, we want first of all to define several terms, then we'll seek to come to a clear understanding of what Moses actually taught, then what the scribes and Pharisees taught, and then what our Lord Jesus teaches on this subject. This is the basic outline we've been following. It was suggested to me in the collection of sermons on the Sermon on the Mount by Martin Lloyd-Jones, and I don't think it can be improved on as far as teaching. In this particular passage.

8:38 All right then, first of all, a definition of several terms. Our Lord is talking in this passage about the matter of oaths. But thou shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. Swear not at all.

8:53 The term swearing and oath-taking, this is the central thought of the passage, and so we must have before us a clear definition of an oath. Now what is an oath? In the Zondervan Bible Dictionary, we have this little definition that I feel will be helpful, a good working definition for us this morning. An oath is an appeal to God to witness the truth of a statement or of the binding character of a promise.

9:22 An oath is an appeal to God as witness to the truth of a statement or the binding character of a promise. Just several examples from Scripture that will perhaps illustrate the definition and make it...

9:36 a little bit more clear in our minds. In Genesis 21 and verse 23, we have an instance of an oath. Genesis 21 and verse 23.

10:03 Here's the record of the conversation between Abimelech and Abraham. Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me nor with my son nor with my son's son, but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me. And to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham said, I will swear.

10:27 Now you see what Abimelech wanted was this. He wanted a promise from Abraham that touched these two issues that he would show kindness not only here but in the land where he is coming. And he says, I want to be so sure that this promise is binding that I want you to seal it with an oath. I want you to swear that you will keep your word.

10:51 And so when Abraham swore that he would do this, he called God himself to witness to the truth and sincerity of his promise to Abimelech. And so this fits in with our definition that an oath is an appeal to God as witness to the truth of a statement or to the binding character of a promise. Hebrews 6.16 tells us in a very practical way in the sort of a side reference to an oath, the following.

11:21 Now what is the basic function of an oath? We've sought to define an oath. Now what is the basic function of an oath? Hebrews 6 and verse 16.

11:29 For men verily swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.

11:40 In the dealing of man with man, when a person says that this statement is true and seals it with an oath, that finalizes it. And so we have that reference here in Hebrews 6. In verse 16, that an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. So much then for our definition of an oath.

12:01 Now what does the word forswear mean?

12:05 Well, the word forswear basically means to make an oath falsely or to lie in a statement that you ratify with an oath.

12:16 You read in our newspapers of a certain man that is indicted for perjury. He took an oath to tell the truth, and nothing but the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help him God. Then if later testimony and evidence reveals that he was lying under oath, then the man is indicted on a case of perjury. So the word forswear means perjury in a limited sense, but it's broader than that.

Moses' Teaching on Oaths

12:42 Any swearing falsely, any calling of God to witness to a statement that is not true, or to the casting off of a promise that was sealed, with, an oath. Now we move to consider what did Moses actually teach? Our Lord Jesus says in the passage before us, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. Now was this actually what Moses taught, or God taught his people through Moses?

13:22 As we've seen in these other passages, much that the scribes and Pharisees taught was based, somewhat upon the precepts of the Old Testament, but they had so interpreted them, and so applied them as to nullify the very spirit of the Old Testament command. When the scribes and Pharisees taught, Thou shalt not commit adultery, they so limited that to mean the actual physical act of adultery, that they felt in all who listened to them, if you lusted with the heart and with the mind, this was no sin, this was no breach of the eighth commandment. They had so limited, the precept of God, as to actually nullify the intention of God in giving that precept. Now the same thing was true with this matter of taking oaths. What did Moses actually teach? Well there are three passages in the Old Testament, which I believe very succinctly and clearly, bring into focus all that the Mosaic legislation taught, concerning the matter of the taking of oaths. First of all, in Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse, 13 Deuteronomy 6 and verse 13 we have this command from Jehovah God to his people Israel,

14:40 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve him and shalt swear by his name. Perhaps verse 14 will throw a bit of light on this, Ye shall not go after other gods of the gods of the people which are round about you. Now notice of the duties that God enjoins upon his people, there are three mentioned in this verse. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God.

15:07 This was his command to his people. Thou shalt serve him and thou shalt swear by his name. What is God telling his people in this particular text? Well he's first of all indicating that oaths were a common thing.

15:24 When our Lord, when Jehovah God said to his people, Thou shalt swear by his name, he was assuming that this matter of oath taking and swearing, was a common thing. This is a common practice and he's telling them that they are only to bring as witness the true God upon their statements and upon their binding agreements and promises. And if they were to go whoring after other gods, it would apparently indicate, this would be indicated by their swearing by the name of false gods. You'll find a reference to this later on in Jeremiah, where God says to the heathen nations, If you will come and learn to swear by me, even as you taught my people to swear by your false gods.

16:07 And so the Lord is telling his people in this passage that when they swear, when they take an oath, that they are to take as witness to that oath the only one who is the true and the living God, even Jehovah God of Israel. Then in Leviticus 19.2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel and say unto them, Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Then beginning with verse 3, we have specific directions to the children of Israel as to how they were to be a holy people.

16:41 We move to verse 12. And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God. I am the Lord. What does this tell us about oaths?

16:57 Well it tells us that the children of Israel were instructed that they were only to use, only to use the name of God when they had spoken the truth. Jehovah God is the God of truth and to call him as witness upon an untruth or upon a lie is to profane his holy name. It's to do violence to his character as the God of truth. So there's that progression.

17:25 Oaths were a common practice. They were only to swear and take an oath in the name of Jehovah God and not the false gods. They were never to swear and take an oath in his name unless that statement made was a statement of absolute truth. And then this last text, Numbers 30 and verse 2.

17:46 Numbers 30 and verse 2. If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. Here God is instructing us and telling his people that an oath is a tremendously serious matter.

18:13 To swear with an oath or to enter into a covenant with an oath is to bind yourself in a relationship or to a statement from which there can be no severance. And so you have in these three verses the basic structure of what God gave his people Israel concerning the matter of oaths. Only to be taken in the name of Jehovah. Only to be taken in the case of truth and absolutely binding.

18:40 Now I believe it's obvious God's purpose in this. Apparently oath taking had become a very common thing. You find record of it long before the law was given. We read that instance back in Genesis.

18:51 There are three or four clear instances in the book of Genesis where oaths were taken. And apparently it had become a very common practice even amongst heathen people to call their heathen deities as witnesses to certain statements that they made. So when God gave this legislation to his people Israel his purpose was to elevate to a higher level this whole matter of oath taking. He was seeking to discourage his people from taking oaths lightly.

19:21 He reminded them that an oath was absolutely binding. It shouldn't be entered in hurriedly or carelessly. He was reminding them that to take an oath was to bring to witness upon that relationship that promise or that statement Jehovah God of Israel and this was a very sober and serious matter. So much now for what God intended his people should learn from the Old Covenant.

The Scribes' and Pharisees' Perversion of the Law

19:48 Now what did the scribes and Pharisees teach concerning this subject? Well their teaching is summarized in Matthew 5 the text that we read this morning beginning with verse 33. It was said by them of old time thou shalt not forswear thyself but shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths. The scribes and Pharisees reduced the whole teaching of Moses to this you shall not commit perjury.

20:23 You should never lie when under an oath. You can take an oath for anything under the sun and oaths were multiplied in our Lord's day so that it was a common practice as we'll see later on in Matthew 23 to take an oath in the name of the gold or the altar of the temple in the name of heaven in the name of Jerusalem and oath taking had become a widespread practice so that the oath lost all its meaning but as long as the scribes and Pharisees and those who followed his teaching as long as they did not make a specific statement of untruth while under oath they felt that they were keeping all that Moses taught about the subject of oaths. It was the same problem as with these other precepts they were clinging to a narrow interpretation of the letter which completely nullified the spirit of the thing. Remember the illustration about Joel? The letter of my law was don't touch the little trinkets on the coffee table and he kept the letter but he'd take his dolly or a stick and touch them.

21:33 Now he was keeping the letter perfectly but he was completely denying and nullifying the spirit and this was the same problem in this particular instance that we found with adultery and with the matter of murder. The scribes and Pharisees reduced it to one little area of external conduct and said if you're keeping this then all is well. Having missed the spirit of the law namely God wanted to teach them that an oath was a solemn thing it was not to be taken lightly or inadvertently God was trying to teach them the binding nature of it but they missed all of this. As long as you don't commit perjury and having gotten this narrowed interpretation of the letter and missing the spirit then the door was wide open for setting up a number of artificial distinctions and why did they multiply them? All we need to do is take the things that are in Scripture you do some outside reading on this and it's almost ridiculous the degree to which they went but just take our Lord's statement in Matthew 23 to see how the scribes and Pharisees had multiplied these artificial distinctions in oath taking. Matthew 23 and verse 16 Woe unto you ye blind guides which say whosoever shall swear by the temple now that's nothing ah but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple

23:01 he better pay his vow now think how ridiculous this was they said oh yes Moses taught that if you make a vow in the name of Jehovah you better keep it but listen if you made a vow and swore by the temple why you don't need to keep your vow you don't have to tell the truth under an oath taken by the temple but oh if you swore by the gold in the temple ah that oath is binding then they went on notice the next verse ye fools and blind for whether is greater the gift or the altar that sanctifieth the gift whosoever therefore shall swear by the altar sweareth by it and by all things thereon whosoever shall swear by the temple sweareth by it and by him that dwelleth therein and he that shall swear by heaven sweareth by the throne of God you see what our Lord was doing he was exposing the sham of their teaching of artificial distinctions in the matter of taking oaths swear by this and you're bound swear by that and you are not bound now before we throw stones at the scribes and pharisees I'd remind you that this is what we do constantly we do this constantly we take a specific precept of God that is an embodiment of a principle and God gives us that detailed precept as an illustration of a general principle and that principle is upon us in every circumstance

24:30 but we just miss the principle and we take the specific precept and as long as we're keeping that our consciences are undisturbed we do it constantly you can do the same thing with the New Testament commands that the scribes and pharisees did with the Old Testament commands we've done it lock stock and barrel in our evangelical churches with that command there in 1 John love not the world neither the things that are in the world and so we've got our little list and as long as we can check it off like the pilot before he takes off he has his checklist so many things he has to go over and his instruments and the rest and he goes down the line and if everything's okay and all systems are go why then he gets clearance from the tower and off he goes and we're the same way we have our little checklist and as long as the checklist is in line we feel that all is well we do this constantly the scribes and pharisees did it because it's the natural tendency of the human heart and so we have the teaching of the scribes and pharisees all these artificial distinctions limiting the breach of this commandment only to the matter of perjury now what did our Lord teach concerning the matter of oath taking ye have heard but I say unto you swear not at all and someone comes along and says well that's obvious Christ said swear not at all that means we're never to take an oath well does it mean that

Christ's Teaching: Swear Not At All (Understanding the Prohibition)

25:57 if we had some Quakers here this morning some members of the Society of Friends they would say it means exactly what it says don't try to interpret it twist it swear not at all means swear not at all well if that's true if what our Lord taught was a blanket condemnation of any kind of oath taking then we should expect first of all that there is something intrinsically evil with taking an oath and we should expect that the prophets our Lord and the Apostles were never found taking oaths I believe this is a fair assumption isn't it if there's something intrinsically evil in the taking of an oath but we find just the opposite is true we don't have time to turn to all the passages may I just mention them give you the references if some of you are taking notes it would take too much time to thumb through them together but when we turn to the scriptures we find first of all that in the Old Testament before the law of God was given certain of the men of God like Abraham and Jacob took oaths in certain situations Genesis 21, 23 we read that earlier this morning Genesis 24, 89 we find in the Old Testament according to Deuteronomy 6 and verse 13 that part of the law of God was the true worship of an Israelite who was an Israelite indeed was that he swore by the name of Jehovah

27:25 in Psalm 15 we read concerning the man that will ascend into the hill of God and stand in the holy place that he sweareth to his own hurt and won't go back on his word here's a picture of the man who's in fellowship with God and one of his characteristics is that he swears to his own hurt now if swearing and oath taking were sinful certainly it would not be included in the description of the righteous man who ascends into the hill of God and stands in his holy place then we find thirdly that this matter of swearing and oath taking is prophesied as part of the gospel times in which we live in Isaiah 45 and verse 21, 23 we read that they shall swear by the name of Jehovah and we find a similar reference in Jeremiah 12 and verse 16 and then as we look at the life of our Lord you remember that when he appeared before his accusers as recorded in Matthew 26 and in verses 63 and 64 preceding that time our Lord was silent before his accusers but then the high priest said I adjure thee by the living God to tell me whether thou be the Christ our Lord respected that adjuration and his silence was broken when there was an oath uttered by the high priest that he should tell whether or not he was the Christ and he says thou sayest and henceforth thou should see the Son of Man

28:53 coming in clouds and in great glory our Lord did not turn and say you have no right to utter an oath it is sinful our Lord respected the oath that was uttered by even his accuser then we find the apostles using oaths we find Paul saying in Galatians 1, 20 God is my witness Romans 9 my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Ghost I lie not that I have continual sorrow and great heaviness of heart for my brethren my kinsmen according to the flesh so the apostles used oaths in certain instances and then God himself used an oath we read about it in Hebrews chapter 6 that God when he could swear by no greater swore by himself to Abraham saying blessing I will bless thee so God used an oath in terms of sealing his covenant with Abraham that he would make him the head of the nation through which blessing would come to the world then last of all we find an angel in the purpose of God in the end times using an oath we read in Revelation 10, 5 and 6 that an angel shall stand with one foot upon the land and one upon the sea and shall swear with his hand raised to heaven that time shall be no longer so there is this seven fold witness to the fact that there is nothing intrinsically evil in the taking of an oath

30:22 alright then what did Christ mean? didn't he say swear not at all? why do you preachers have to complicate the Bible is so simple and you preachers and theologians and Bible students you make everything so complicated swear not at all let's just take it for what it says well you see the whole problem is the whole Bible isn't found in the Bible isn't found in Matthew 5, 34 Matthew 5, 34 isn't the whole Bible nor is it the whole substance of what our Lord Jesus Christ said and so the answer must be this Christ is saying swear not at all then he gives us the hint in the next word what does he say? neither by heaven for it's God's throne nor by the earth for it's his footstool neither by Jerusalem for it's the city of the great king neither shalt thou swear by thy head what does he say? he's saying don't go on using oaths as the Pharisees have taught you to use them they're the ones who've introduced this business of swearing by heaven and swearing by Jerusalem and swearing by your own head he said don't go on using oaths as you've been instructed to by the teaching and example of the scribes and Pharisees this must cease! Moses never taught them to do this Moses taught that oath taking

31:50 was only to be done in the name of Jehovah and this whole practice of taking oaths in the name of the temple in the name of Jerusalem and all the rest was never ordained of God and so our Lord's words are a condemnation and a prohibition of oath taking after the fashion of the scribes and of the Pharisees and so in this passage our Lord is prohibiting all outward profanity light use of the name of God he is prohibiting all swearing and oath taking by created things the temple, even our own heads and I told Mrs. Martin I couldn't help but chuckle as I saw this passage coming up our Lord says thou canst not make one hair white or black and there are a lot of ladies out to prove him wrong and I couldn't resist saying that but our Lord is teaching in this passage that we are not to swear by any creature or any created thing but only by the God of truth whom we call as witness to our statements and then our Lord is prohibiting all oath taking in simple conversation now what does he tell us to do what's the practical solution to this much of this I know has been heavy plotting this morning

The Practical Solution: Let Your Yes Be Yes and Your No Be No

33:20 I didn't know any other way to present it than this but now we come to the place where I trust this will take on some practical implications with all of this fact behind us what does this say to me the key to the Lord's message to our hearts is found in verse 37 but in contrast to the scribes and Pharisees who took an oath for everything let your communication your conversation be yea yea and nay nay for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil what's our Lord saying I believe he's saying this in all your speech be perfectly candid and honest let yes mean yes you see the Roman Catholics have a doctrine of mental reservation that under certain circumstances you may say yes to a question but you're saying yes with a little mental reservation you see really your yes doesn't mean yes your yes really means no if there were no other passage in the Bible to utterly strip naked of its sophistry and show the ugliness of that doctrine this would be it let your yes mean yes

34:45 this touches our social lives there's a lot of lying done in the name of just social politeness our Lord would deliver us from this he would bring us into a context of speech in which we're absolutely honest now you husbands it may hurt your wife sometimes but let your yes mean yes and your no mean no if she comes prancing into the room and she just thinks that dress is well it's just the next best thing to having gone to Paris for a weekend and gotten fitted out with some international designer and she says to you honey don't you think this is wonderful excuse me I'm gonna cough and go on in the other room if you can't answer honestly let your yes mean yes now this is just a simple thing and I'm using a silly illustration to bring into focus what I'm driving at many times in the little affairs of life we destroy people's confidence in our word because our yes means something other than yes and our Lord said if we would learn to speak candidly and honestly as subjects of his kingdom we would call God to witness to the truth of our statement as Christians we should so live in the realm of truth that our truth itself is just as valid as if an oath were enjoined upon that statement so he says let your yes

36:13 mean yes and then he says let your no mean no may I give an application or two of this it applies in the same areas of our business ethics and our social lives and our family lives I've never heard someone say to his child if you don't straighten up so help me you're going to get a beating now that so help me really is a form of an oath what you're really saying you're just leaving out the word but it comes from the phrase so help me God what you're doing is taking an oath in the presence of your child saying if you don't straighten up so help me you're going to get a licking I've never yet seen a person who took an oath to beat his child who ever did he's trying to scare me and the child knew there's a lot of verbal blow that's all it is any parent who's got to take oaths to threaten his child into line has a child who basically doesn't respect the parents no or have confidence in the parents yes so you as parents let your no mean no and when your child comes for something and you say no let your no mean that with no mental reservations don't say well no you shed so many tears they know if that's the reservation you have and so they'll shed x number of tears if they can change your no to yes

37:40 or maybe your children aren't like mine

37:48 do you see how this applies to the matter of the effectiveness of our child training if our children grow up in a home where no has lost its meaning and yes has lost its meaning they have absolutely no confidence in our words and as the children of God who live in fellowship with the God of truth and indwelt by the spirit of truth then let us learn to cultivate this frank candid speaking of our yeses and of our no's it's interesting that in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 24 and 25 where we're told to put off the old man which is corrupt according to deceitful lust and to put on the new man the first thing mentioned about the new man is speak truth lie not one to another we can lie by a look we can lie by the statement made with the mental reservation but God's word to us is let yes be yes and no be no for whatsoever is more than this cometh of evil you see the very fact that men ever had to take oaths is an indication that man's a fallen creature for if sin had never entered man would speak nothing but truth the very presence of God the presence of oaths is an indication that man is a fallen creature he's lost confidence in his fellow man

39:15 because of deceit and chicanery and so our Lord says the moment we revert to this area of feeling we've got to take an oath for everything we say we're just indicating our lack of confidence in one another and in the climate of God's people in the fellowship of his church this should be entirely foreign we should never have to say what little kids do I don't know if they say it anymore do they still say it you fellas and girls tell me afterward will you do they still say cross my heart and swear to God do you still do that I remember doing that as kids we'd say something and always we usually said it when we were most wrong and trying to really dress up our lie real well this wasn't airtight and somebody might see through what we've done what we had done that was wrong and so we had to kind of chuck up that little hole in our argument or in our alibi with some kind of an oath cross my heart and the rest this should be entirely foreign you fellas and girls your parents you who profess to know the Lord Jesus your parents ought never to have to ask you are you really telling me the truth they should know that your yes means yes

Conclusion: The Heart of the Matter

40:43 your students you pass in that paper it's your work your faculty members should have absolute confidence that it is your work that when it's presented yes this is my work that the yes means yes it's not mine and half somebody else's and let your no be no for whatsoever is more than this cometh of evil as we conclude our study in this this morning I think it brings us back to where we've come every single morning in our studies the breadth and length of God's holy law we realize that we've come back again to the basic problem which is a problem of the heart isn't it the Psalmist prayed in Psalm 51 create in me a clean heart for thou desirest truth where in the inward part thou desirest truth in the inward part if we don't allow the spirit of God to make us true in the inward part we'll be given over to our natural disposition which is a disposition of lying for we read in the Psalms that they go astray from the womb speaking lies long before our children can talk and verbalize their lies they're lying all the time by their actions they'll just look like they're dying

42:12 and whooped and holler and scream and you'd think for sure that something's terribly wrong but just touch them and go to pick them up and suddenly everything's fine again and some attention and we see the perversity of the human heart evidencing itself even before our children can verbalize their lies it's the problem of human nature fall in Adamic nature and only the renovating transforming power of the spirit of God can meet that need scripture tells us that all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone we don't need to be the kind of liars that can be indicted in court just be those who give ourselves over to the natural untruthfulness of the human heart and fail to experience that operation of divine grace which gives us a desire for truth in the inward part God says this condemnation hangs over our head all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone ye have heard that it was said thou shalt not forswear thyself but perform unto the Lord thine oaths but I say unto you swear not at all but let your communication be yea yea and nay nay and then if you're called into court as a witness don't feel that you're being disobedient

43:39 to take an oath of honesty our Lord is not dealing with these instances in which an oath is necessary in civil matters and in the courts of our land and there may be times when like Paul because you're making a statement not based upon the word of God I never need to take an oath in proclaiming God's word for that's immutable but when I'm making a testimony of some attitude of my heart as Paul said I bring God to witness that when I tell you of my burden for the Jews I'm not lying I'm not exaggerating this is the state of my heart there may be times when we should bring God in as a witness to some statement we make as the children of God but in the general run of our conversation and in our everyday intercourse with men and women then let our yea be yea and our nay be nay for whatsoever is more than this cometh of evil let us pray