Matthew 5:33-37

http://biblehub.com/parallelgospels/The_Sermon_on_the_Mount.htm

Honesty is a basic standard of discipleship and another part of the Law of Moses that had been altered and tampered with through interpretations that religious leaders had used to put a spin on what should have been a very straight forward principle.  We have the same tendency today to try to convince people of our honesty.  Instead of saying: “I’ll do it,” we might say “I promise I’ll do it,” or “I swear I’ll do it,” or even “I swear on my mother’s grave I’ll do it.”  This kind of reputation is not what God wants us to have.  As followers of Jesus we are to have a reputation for being honest.  People ought to be able to trust what we say is true simply because we have said it.

VARIOUS VOWS: The Pharisees taught the importance of keeping vows.  However, they made up a series of levels of vows that made the vow more serious.  Making a vow by heaven was more binding than a vow made by earth.  Swearing by the city of Jerusalem or swearing by one’s own head were other common means of making one’s vows more serious.  Jesus tells His listeners that these kinds of vows are not pleasing to God and that there should not be a need for this kind of thing.  The fact that there was a system defining the seriousness of a vow demonstrated that there were vows that were considered easily broken.  These kinds of gymnastics with honesty is not pleasing to God and is therefore not becoming of a disciple of Jesus.  He simply says not to make vows.

TELLING TRUTH: The truth is important to God.  He is truth and has revealed the truth to us in His Word.  His desire for those who follow Him is that they also be known for their truthfulness because we are called to reflect His character.  When we say “yes” it should be trusted as being “yes” and when we say “no” it should be trusted as being “no.”  Anything that we try to do beyond that is simply a means of taking away trust in what we are saying.  We need to be known as people of our word.  God is pleased by the truth.  If people cannot trust what we say in our normal daily lives; why should they trust what we say about the Gospel.  Dishonesty in our business or in our day to day conversations makes all that we say and teach from God’s Word have less credibility.  God wants our word to be like His Word: completely trust worthy.  We must simply tell the truth no matter what the situation and the consequences might be.

APPLICATION: Don’t make vows in an attempt to convince people that we are telling the truth.  Be honest with people in our speech.  Don’t try to justify excuses for telling lies.  Demonstrate the reliability of the Gospel by the reliability of our own word.