Yes and No

N. T. #52 "Yes and No"

April 19, 2023 

Matthew 5-Part 22

Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. (verse 33)

LET IT GLOW

I shouldn't be surprised when our Scriptures deal with certain topics and the readers fall away. I know these are hard, for don't we all have some family members living in sins that Jesus touches on?  Aren't we to consider all that Jesus had to say important for our Christian growth and to apply in our life? So those of us who want to please our God will continue on, no matter if we are few. Hopefully they will return and remain faithful to our Savior. Thank you for staying faithful.

4. Oath-taking/truth telling

Numbers 30:2 says, 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. 

If we make a vow unto the Lord, then we are to keep it. Otherwise, we should not make it when we know we can't keep it. 

Forswear means to commit perjury. Perjury is false swearing.

Jesus goes into more detail. Do-not to swear by:

• heaven, for it's God's throne; (verse 34)
• earth, for it is His footstool; (verse 35)
• Jerusalem, for it the city of the great King;
• head, because we can't make one hair white or black. (verse 36)

We are to speak the truth all the time so others know we mean what we say and know we will do what we say we will do. Mean what we say and say what we mean-yes is yes and no is no. This is especially important as we raise our children.

A Christian should have a reputation not for exaggeration or lying often. People can't believe us on our word alone. Always be honest so others will believe our simple yes or no. by avoiding lies, half-truths, and omissions of the turth, we become known as a trustworthy person.

LET IT GROW

Jesus warns us against careless, profane, and flippant uses of oaths in everyday speech. An oath shouldn't be used to convince someone of the truthfulness of what we are saying; that might only be a cover-up for deception. Anything in creation that we swear by is under God's authority. So speak with truthfulness. (Tony Evans)

It is common in our day to use phrases like, "I swear by God," or "cross my heart, hope to die," or "on my mother's grave." However, we should not have a need to do so. Our reputation should be one that we keep our word, when we say yes or no, we follow through.

Some other verses on this subject are: Numbers 30:2, Deut. 23:21, Eccl. 5:4, Job 22:27, Ps. 50:14, 76:11

LET IT GO

Help us watch our words and commitments, Jesus.

May we keep our vows made.

Keep truth in our mouths and honor You, Father God.