What is a lie? A lie is a false statement that is made with the intent to deceive. The New York Times did a survey and found that 91% of Americans confess that they regularly don’t tell the truth. And 20% admitted that they cannot get through the day without telling conscious, premeditated white lies.
In Boston, a minister noticed a group of boys standing around a small stray dog. “What are you doing, boys?” he asked. “Telling lies.” one of them replied. “The one who tells the biggest lie gets to keep this dog.” The minister was shocked and said to them, “When I was your age, I would never have thought of telling a lie.” The boys looked at each other, seemingly a little disappointed. Finally one shrugged, pointed at the minister, and said, “I guess he wins the dog.”
Jesus talked about the importance of honesty in Matthew 5:33 “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.’ 34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. An oath is a solemn, formal declaration or promise to fulfill a pledge, often calling on God, or a sacred object (like putting your hand on a Bible) as witness. When we hear Jesus say “Do not swear at all” it sounds like he is forbidding us from taking any kind of oath. But that is incorrect. Throughout the Bible men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David took solemn oaths. God himself sealed some of his promise with an oath. Jesus testified under oath. God commanded his people to take their oaths in his name. Deuteronomy 10:10 Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. So Jesus is not forbidding the use of an oath. He is forbidding the abuse of an oath. The Pharisees were guilty of three offences regarding oaths.
1. The Pharisees were guilty of limiting lying to perjury.
2. The Pharisees were guilty of frivolous swearing –They took oaths when it was not appropriate or necessary. They used oaths to substantiate simple statements in common conversations e.g., “I swear to God that I was late for work because I had a flat tire.” Taking an oath should be reserved for solemn occasions (like a wedding or a court hearing) where the gravity of what is being promised needs to be witnessed by God.
3. The Pharisees where guilty of evasive swearing – Notice that they swore by different things. They swore by heaven or the earth or
Jerusalem or by their own head and they play games with the truth. If they swore by certain things it meant nothing. If they swore by other things they were bound by an oath. Some oaths actually enabled them to lie. Jesus rebuked them for this in Matthew 23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.
Negatively, Jesus said that the Pharisees were wrong on each of these points: evasive swearing, frivolous swearing, and confining lying to perjury. They used the name of God to manipulate people. They abuse their oaths in order to lie and get what they want.
Positively, Jesus said in Matthew 5:37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Jesus expects his disciples to be people of integrity. They don’t need to invoke the name of God to buttress what they say in common conversations. All they need to say is “Yes” or “No” because and because they are honest.
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