MATTHEW
5:33-37
INTRODUCTION
In Boardroom
Reports (7/5/93), Peter LeVine writes, "When the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey ran a help-wanted ad for electricians with expertise at
using Sontag connectors, it got 170 responses; even though there is no such
thing as a Sontag connector. The Authority ran the ad to find out how many
applicants falsify resumes."
In The New
Doublespeak: Why No One Knows What Anyone’s Saying Anymore: author William
Lutz defines a few of the more creative doublespeak terms currently in vogue:
·
Meaningful downturn in aggregate
output (recession)
·
After-sales service (kickback)
·
Resource development park (trash
dump)
·
Temporary displaced inventory (stolen
goods)
·
Strategic misrepresentation (lie)
·
Reality augmentation (lie)
·
Terminological inexactitude (lie)
Copy Editor
(Oct/Nov 1996)
The
Sweet Soul Café newsletter included this list of “Top 10 Liars’ Lies”:
10.
We’ll stay only five minutes.
9. This will be a short meeting.
8. I’ll
respect you in the morning.
7. The check is in the mail.
6. I’m from
the government and I’m here to help you.
5. This hurts
me more than it hurts you.
4. Your money will be cheerfully
refunded.
3.
We service what we sell.
2. Your table
will be ready in just a minute.
1.
I’ll start exercising (dieting, forgiving) tomorrow.
I. THE PROHIBITION OF FALSE OATHS AND VOWS VV. 33-36
Jesus’ theme of greater righteousness continues but
this time He moves outside the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments). As with His
teaching on divorce, Jesus again forbids what the Old Testament permitted. The
question is this: “Has Jesus come to destroy the Law?” Has He come to abolish
the Law as some of the religious people might have charged Him? Let’s see what
the Law said about oaths and vows (Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2;
Deuteronomy 5:11; 6:3; 22:21-23; 23:21. The Mosaic Law forbade irreverent
oaths, light use of the Lord’s name, and broken vows. Once Yahweh’s name was
invoked, the vow to which it was attached became a debt that had to be paid to
the Lord. In their desire to get around the high demands of the Mosaic Law, the
scribes and Pharisees had classified certain oaths as binding and others as not
binding. They had come to deny as binding any vow, which did not mention the
name of God. Jesus, however, saw through this charade or deception and demanded
that a person’s word be good at all times. The real issue at stake is honesty
and integrity. In other words, when you become a disciple of Jesus Christ you
are under obligation to live the truth and speak the truth at all times. But
the scribes and Pharisees who paraded themselves as righteous were
circumventing the laws of God. Jesus offers a scathing denunciation of such
kind of circumventing of God’s laws (Matt. 23:16-22).
To
swear in verse 34 does not mean to curse or use bad words or language.
Rather, it means a person who affirms the truth of a statement while calling on
God to judge oneself if it is in fact untrue. Does verse 34 mean that Christians
should refuse to take an oath in a court of law? The Anabaptists refused to
take an oath in a court of law. The Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to take an oath
of law in a court of law. But this is not what Jesus is teaching in this
passage. If you and I are not guided by the Spirit of God and allow Scripture
to interpret Scripture we can twist Scripture to justify our own rebellion
against authority. There is nothing wrong in a Christian taking an oath or a
vow before a court of law to speak nothing but the truth. The Old Testament
teaches that God swore or took an oath (Gen. 22:16). Jesus was put under oath
by the high priest during His trial (Matt. 26:63-64). The apostle Paul took
oaths (Rom. 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:23; 1 Thess. 2:5; cf. Phil. 1:8). This is what Jesus
is saying: “If oaths designed to encourage truthfulness become occasion for
clever lies (white lies) and deceit, Jesus abolishes oaths (v. 34). If you do
not swear at all, then you do not swear falsely. Jesus insists that whatever
you swear by is related to God in some way, and therefore every oath that is
taken is implicitly in God’s name—be it heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and even the
hairs of your head are all under God’s sway and ownership (v. 36). There are
allusions here to Psalm 48:2 and Isaiah 66:1-2. Jesus is saying that you and I
who are citizens of His kingdom are to be so genuine, honest, and true that we
do not have to add any words of assurance to our promises. In the day of Jesus
oaths and vows were common, but Jesus is telling you and me and any of His
disciples for that matter that we are not to use oaths and vows to back up what
we say. He says that your word alone is enough. Are you known as a person of
your word? Are you known as a person of honesty and integrity? Truthfulness seems
rare that we think we must end our statement with “I promise.” If you are
person of integrity, you will have less pressure to back up your words with an
oath or promise.
We
live in a society where people don’t want you to speak or tell the truth. The
plain fact is that we don’t like the truth. Our credo is “You shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you squirm.” You want your bosses to like
you so you flatter. You call it polishing the apple. Jesus calls it a lie. You
want people to admire you, so you exaggerate. You call it stretching the truth.
Jesus calls it a lie. You want people to respect you, so you live in houses you
can’t afford and charge bills you can’t pay. You call it the American way, but
Jesus calls it living a lie. You see, “a lie is like a little pregnancy—it
doesn’t take long before everyone knows.”
II. THE PROMINENCE OF PRACTICING TRUTH V. 37
Let your yes
be yes and no, be no. This means that all words are binding
and words of Christians need no buttressing or support. Jesus says that any
addition to your words to sooth or sugarcoat what you have said does not
proceed from the Lord but the evil one. James, the brother of Jesus teaches the
same truth in James 5:12. Why is it difficult to speak the truth and practice
the truth? Mark Twain said, “A lie can travel half way around the world while
Truth is still lacing up her boots.” The problem with lies is that it finds its
source in the evil one, the devil. Jesus said the devil is the father of all
lies (John 8:44). Recall also that in the believers’ preparation for spiritual
warfare, the first armor that a believer has to put on daily is the belt of
truth. Therefore, if your life is made up of lies, then you are no threat to
Satan, in fact he considers you as one of his own because he is the father of
lies. Satan finds it impossible to tell the truth.
The society in
which we live sometimes compels us to lie, but we should know whose we are.
Sometimes our spouse or family wants us to lie. Listen to this story about a
husband and his wife:
“A husband
received a call from his wife just as she was about to fly home from Europe.
“How is my cat?” she asked. “Dead.” “Oh, honey, don’t be so honest. Why didn’t
you break the news to me slowly? You’ve ruined my trip.” “What do you mean?”
“You could
have told me he was on the roof. And when I called you from Paris, you could
have told me he was acting sluggish. Then when I called from London, you could
have said he was sick, and when I called you from New York, you could have said
he was at the vet. Then, when I arrived home, you could have said he was dead.”
The husband
has never been exposed to such protocol but was willing to learn. “OK,” he
said. “I’ll do better next time.” “By the way,” she asked, “how’s Mom?” There
was a long silence, then, he replied, “Uh, she’s on the roof.” The fact is that
we don’t like the truth. Those who court friendship with falsehood (lying) find
it difficult to pronounce words like confession and repentance.
Ananias
and Sapphira represent just how much we humans do not trust the truth. They
sold a piece of property and gave half the money to the church. They lied to
Peter and the apostles, claiming that the land sold for the amount they gave.
Their sin was not in holding back some of the money for themselves; it was
rather in the misrepresenting the truth. Their deceit resulted in their deaths.
Luke the Physician, the author of Acts writes, “The whole church and all
others who heard about these things were filled with fear” (Acts 5:11).
Does your tithes and offering reflect the income that you make? Some people
refer to Ananias and Sapphira’s episode with a chuckle and say, “I’m glad that
God doesn’t still strike people dead for lying.” I am not sure He doesn’t. I am still certain that the wages of deceit
is still death. Not death of the body, perhaps, but the death of:
ü A
marriage—Falsehoods are termites in the trunk of the family tree.
When you went to marry the lady you told
her you were a doctor, but when she came she found out that you were a cab
driver.
ü A
conscience—the tragedy of the second lie is that it is always easier to tell
than the first.
ü A
career—Just ask the student who got booted out for cheating or the
Employee, who got fired for embezzlement
if the lie wasn’t fatal.
ü Faith—the
language of faith and the language of falsehood have two vocabularies.
The most tragic death that occurs from
our deceit is our witness. That is why many Christians cannot share their
faith; they cannot tell what Christ has done in them, for them, and is doing
through them, because they have not parted company with deceit or lying. The
court won’t listen to the testimony of perjured witness. Neither will the
world. Do you think your coworkers will believe your words about Christ when
they can’t even believe your words about how you handled your expense account?
Even more significantly, do you think God will use you as a witness if you
don’t tell the truth?
Many years ago a man conned his way
into the orchestra of the emperor of China although he could not play a note.
Whenever the group practiced or performed, he would hold his flute against his
lips, pretending to play but not making a sound. He received a modest salary
and enjoyed a comfortable living.
Then one day the emperor requested a
solo from each musician. The flutist got nervous. There wasn’t enough time to
learn the instrument. He pretended to be sick, but the royal physician wasn’t
fooled. On the day of his solo performance, the impostor took poison and killed
himself. The explanation of his suicide led to a phrase that found its way into
the English language: “He refused to face the music.” The cure for deceit is
simply this: face the music. Tell the truth. Some of you are living in deceit.
You have never given your life to Jesus Christ, but because you have learned
how to pray, how to sing, how to speak the Christian lingo, how to pretend, you
have assured yourself that you are a candidate for heaven. I have news for you.
You can pretend and deceive me and everybody, but on that day I will not be the
one standing at the entrance of heaven, and if you are not covered with the
blood of Jesus and you don’t have the seal of the Holy Spirit on you, guess
what? The door to heaven would be slammed at your face.
This is a test that you can take about
lies and deceit. Ask yourself, “Will God bless my deceit? Will He, who hates
lies, bless a strategy built on lies? Will the Lord, who loves the truth, bless
the business of falsehoods? Will God honor the career of the manipulator? Will
God come to the aid of the cheater? Will God bless my dishonesty and my lack of
integrity?” I don’t think so. Perhaps the secret to the unanswered prayers of
many Christians finds its root in the practice of falsehood. Examine your
heart. Ask yourself some tough questions. Am I being completely honest with my
spouse and children? Are my relationships marked by candor? What about my work
or school environment? Am I honest in my dealings? Am I a trustworthy student,
an honest taxpayer, a reliable witness at work? Why do you have to swear to
support any statement that you make? Don’t be like the man who came to his
pastor and complained: “Everyone thinks I am a liar; the pastor replied, I
don’t believe it.” Do you tell the truth always? If not, start today. Don’t
wait until tomorrow. The ripple of today’s lie is tomorrow’s wave and next
year’s flood. Start living and telling the truth today. The Bible says that all
liars will not inherit the kingdom of heaven, because their names are not found
in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Be just like Jesus. Tell the truth, the whole
truth, nothing but the truth.
*If the messages from this blog have been a blessing to you and you want to give to support this ministry, you can write your check to:
KENADARKWA LLC
Kennedy A. Adarkwa, PhD
6402 Redding Court
Arlington, TX 76001
*If the messages from this blog have been a blessing to you and you want to give to support this ministry, you can write your check to:
KENADARKWA LLC
Kennedy A. Adarkwa, PhD
6402 Redding Court
Arlington, TX 76001
