The truth, and nothing but the truth - so help me God!

Within the church we have to make sure we never develop a credibility gap. We, of all people, should mean what we say and say what we mean. If truth cannot be expected from us, then it can be expected from no one.

Everything that a Christian does and says is important, because we are representatives of the Lord, Jesus Christ and we are being watched by and have an impact on others. It is especially important because all of life is lived in the presence of God and under his watchful eye.

In Matt 5: 34 - 37 Jesus tells us that our "tes" should be yes and our "no" should be no. Words should not come too easily out of our mouths or too quickly from our lips. We should always speak the truth.

I The Law of Moses
The law of Moses speaks a number of times about the words of our mouth:
(Ex 20:7) "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."
(Ex 20:16) "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
(Lev 19:12) "'Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD."
(Deut 6:13) Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.
What is the purpose of these statements?

The main intent of these verses, is to restrain lying and broken promises. One of the greatest problems Moses had to deal with was the tendency of people to lie to one another and to deliberately say things that were not true. Life was becoming chaotic because people could not believe one another's words or statements.

Experts agree we lie – and are lied to – much more than we think. One recent survey showed 91% people lie routinely.
A two-year study of nearly 9,000 people, more than two-thirds of whom were in high school or college, found significant numbers of the students engaged in or willing to engage in lying, cheating and stealing.
* More than a third of the students claimed they would lie on an application or resume if necessary to get a job; 16 percent of the high-school group and 18 percent of the college crowd admitted that they had done so. And 21 percent of the students approved of falsifying a report if needed to keep a job. Of the older group of students, more than a third also said they have lied to bosses and customers during the past year.
The law of Moses attempts to control and check such lies. When we cannot depend on each other's words then we cannot trust each other. And when we cannot trust each other then community becomes almost impossible.

Another purpose of the law of Moses was to restrict oath-taking to serious and important matters. Oath-making is a serious matter; it should only be done in unusual situations and for serious matters. After all, when all of life is lived under the eye of God, all our words – and not just those under oath – must be faithful and true.

II The Teachings of the Pharisees
What did the Pharisees say? Jesus sums up their teaching in verse 33:
(Mt 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.'
The Pharisees, as we have seen before, are more concerned with the letter of the law than with the spirit. As long as they could persuade themselves – and others – that they were keeping the letter of the law they were perfectly happy. They fooled themselves into thinking that as long as they kept certain kinds of oaths they were righteous, even though their lips were full of lies and their mouths were used to twist the truth.

The trouble with the Pharisees and the scribes was that they were legalists. And, in their legalism they reduced the law's meaning. They reduced the law's entire meaning to perjury. To say a lie in a Court of Law was to them a very serious and solemn matter; it was a terrible sin and they condemned it. Any other time, however, you could twist words, lie about the facts, and distort the truth and you were not guilty before the law as long as you did not commit perjury.

One final point about the Pharisees. They drew a distinction between oaths. You could swear by heaven, by the earth, by Jerusalem, or by your head. All these oaths, according to them, are not equal. Some are much more serious than others. They said, for instance, that swearing by the temple did not mean a thing, but swearing by the gold of the temple was very serious; in that case you were bound by your oath. If you took an oath by the altar you need not keep it; but if you took an oath by the gift on the altar then it was absolutely binding. Such distinctions make a mockery of oaths and oath-taking.

III The Teachings of Jesus
Let us turn now to the teachings of Jesus. What does he say about the words of one's mouth? Listen again to the words of our text:
(Mt 5:34-37) 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.

What Jesus is saying is that oath-taking must be restricted. It must be used in unusual circumstances and on solemn occasions. Jesus forbids all oaths in ordinary conversation. There is no need to take an oath during an argument and you must not do so. In fact, oaths should never be necessary among believers. "Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'"
Jesus' point is that if all of life is lived under God, then all our words are binding and to them all of us must be faithful and true. God's children, you see, know that they are always in the presence of God. They confess that they live in fellowship with him. Therefore, when they deal with each other an oath is not necessary. It's understood that their simple "yes" and "no" are spoken with God as their witness. They realize that before God their "yes" and "no" has the value of an oath.

If all our words are said in the presence of God, if all of life comes under him, why then are oaths sometimes required? Jesus answers this when he says, "anything beyond this comes from the evil one." We live in a corrupt world, a world of sin. Swearing by the Name of God is sometimes necessary because of the fact of sin. Fallen people cannot be trusted or believed so sometimes we have to ask them to swear in God's name that they are telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

We must not lie. We must mean what we say and say what we mean. Our "yes" must be "yes" and our "no" must be "no." Our talk should not be cheap. Words should not come too easily out of our mouths or too quickly from our lips. We must never forget that all of life is lived in the presence of God and under his watchful eye.