When I hear someone “swear” something is true, I wonder if I’m the only one who begins to wonder if it REALLY IS TRUE! For some people, it’s almost as if swearing to something becomes necessary because people inherently don’t believe them. In Jesus day, people had the same human nature as we still have today, and they made a habit of swearing to bigger and better things to make their oath seem stronger. Jesus wasn’t impressed and He said as much when he exhorted them (and us) not to swear to anything (a mandatory courtroom appearance might be a necessary exception) but to simply let our character speak for itself. It goes without saying if your character doesn’t speak to the truthfulness of what you say, then you’ve got a larger problem indeed.
“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 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.” Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 5:33-37
In Christ,
PastorJimKilby @Kilbin8er Jim@JamesKilby.com
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