Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil, MAT 5:33-37.

MAT 23:2-3 are so applicable to our text, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not." To me this is such an important point in today's gospel. There is so much preaching from the Word of God, but how much preaching is there about walking in the tenderness of the fear of the Lord? How much preaching is there about true Godly fear? How many preach the necessity for true reverence for the will of God? Jesus says, "...they say, and do not."

Throughout the gospel the Lord Jesus Christ is bringing out this essential element of doing--not only hearing but doing His will. This doesn't mean we do God's will legalistically to earn or merit, but that our doing, our walking in His ways with a heart that is tender in His fear, is the reflection of the love we have in return for what He has done for us.

Our text is again relaying the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees. It tells of how they have so many do's and don'ts. They can swear this, but they cannot swear that; they can swear here, but they can't swear there. As we study our text, we will see the tremendous significance of what the Lord Jesus has revealed to us in His Word. When we earnestly study God's Word, we begin to see the blessedness of what Christ is telling us.

Our Saviour begins the principle of whether or not you can swear with, "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time...But I say unto you." What the Lord Jesus Christ is showing us is the distinction between the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and a true heart religion. Jesus was referring to the traditions and old teachings of the scribes and Pharisees, not those of Moses and the prophets. He was not saying that Moses and the prophets had said and prophesied other than what He was teaching. Jesus was pointing out the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees in how they had perverted the teachings of Moses.

MAT 5:17 says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." We must not limit Jesus' statement, "But to fulfill," to His fulfilling the law for His church. We must understand that He is teaching His church that they must fulfill the intent of the law by living in the spirit of the law and must not live only under the letter of the law. Jesus is saying that He didn't come to teach that the law is going to be forsaken or abolished, but He is saying that He came to teach that He wants us to live in the spirit of the law of love. The scribes and Pharisees lived a legalistic life under the letter of the law, but Jesus taught the need of living by the spirit of the law.

Teaching the spirit of the law is what reveals to us that the hatred in our hearts when we call our brother "Raca" is murder. Jesus taught that heart sins are sins before God as well as literal sins. Jesus is saying "I came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil." He came to teach the fulfilling of the spirit of the law.

This is what Jesus meant by saying in MAT 5:20, "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." He is saying except you learn to understand what it is to fulfill the intent of the law, until you come to have a heart's desire to reverence the will of God, until you understand what it is not only to hear His will, but to do His will, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Christ complains about the scribes and Pharisees not doing this in MAT 23:3, "All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not." Except your righteousness exceeds this, you shall in nowise enter into the kingdom.

Jesus was not teaching a legal religion as so many misunderstand these verses to mean. Jesus was not teaching that He came to fulfil the law to earn a pardon and abolish the law for His church. Jesus was not teaching in these verses that He came to fulfill the law so we could be free from the spirit of the law, neither is He teaching a legal religion. In other words, He is not teaching that we can have a pardon in the blood of Christ without a holy reverence for the will of God. We must have our hearts reconciled with the will of the Father. This means that the spirit of the law becomes the desire of our hearts, not out of merit, but its motivation of love reflects the fruit of the kingdom.

Jesus was teaching the spirit of the law in the sense that would promote true Godly fear, i.e., a holy reverence for the will of God, and a true evangelical repentance, a remorse and sorrow over having violated the will of God. The Lord looks upon the heart.

In Jesus' day, the scribes and Pharisees were considered very strict in their legalistic observance of the law. We must understand that all the people looked upon the scribes and Pharisees as being the strictest observers of the law. They were, in a literal sense, but they didn't do it out of love to the Lord. Jesus was revealing the shallowness of their strictness and the need for a heart religion.

In MAT 5:20 we read, "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." The Lord Jesus saw the thoughts and intents of the heart in this righteousness that seemed so strict before the eyes of men. I think this is brought forward so beautifully in MAT 23. It shows how they were as whited sepulchers. V28 says, "Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." In V:26 we read, "Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within...." The Lord is looking for a heart religion.

Jesus is pointing out in our text, as He did in V:31, that the scribes and Pharisees would omit the central point of the law to establish their traditions and commandments of men. Jesus quoted the scribes and Pharisees in MAT 5:31, "It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement." This teaching was based upon DEU 24:1, "When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her...." This last, central point is what they omitted. The Lord Jesus says in MAT 5:32 "...saving for the cause of fornication...." a man should not give his wife a writing of divorcement. The Scripture says, "because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house." Notice the word then; it means not any other reason. The law is not being altered in the teaching that the Lord Jesus is bringing forth, but He is showing how the scribes and the Pharisees perverted that law. Jesus is pointing out that they left out the central motivating issue of the law, "because he hath found some uncleanness in her." They worded it, "...and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes,--then let him write her a bill of divorcement." They worded it to suit themselves to make their own legalistic doctrine.

In our text Jesus is giving an example of how the scribes and Pharisees are perverting the intent of the law regarding lying and taking an oath. Again they are perverting the real intent of the law. Jesus' quotation of the scribes and Pharisees "Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths," is not found in the Old Testament. He is quoting this as one of their traditions. This teaching of the scribes and Pharisees was arrived at from passages such as: EXO 20:7, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain," LEV 19:12, "And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD," and DEU 23:21, "When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee."

The scribes and Pharisees were using the word forswear to say that the only time it was wrong to lie was when you were under oath. In effect, their teaching permitted them to lie whenever they were not under oath. The scribes and Pharisees summarized these teachings by saying, "Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths." If you didn't have an oath unto the Lord, you didn't have any obligation.

This word forswear, is used only once in the New Testament. It is taken from the Greek word epiorkeo which means "perjury;- forswear thyself." Perjury is when you lie under oath. The scribes and Pharisees were in fact teaching that you are not allowed to lie if you are under oath, if you have sworn in the name of the Lord. If you have taken the name of the Lord to swear to tell the truth, you are then bound to do so, but if you swear by anything except the Lord, you are not bound to tell the truth.

This was their hypocrisy. Perjury is to lie under oath; this statement is true. The perversion of the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees came through their legalistic emphasis placed upon the law of God which missed the spirit of the law. They were legalistically abiding by LEV 19:12, "And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD." What they taught is to never lie if you have taken an oath.

DEU 23:21 says, "When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee." The scribes and Pharisees taught that if you did not make the vow in the name of the Lord, you're free; it means nothing; you are not bound. The result of their teaching was that lying was not forbidden as long as it was not under a binding oath taken in God's name.

One entire section in their Mishna, or Talmud, was devoted to the question: What were binding or non-binding oaths? The Mishna gave the exact formula. They taught that to be a binding oath it must be an oath unto the Lord, in the Lord's name or what was considered a valid substitute for God's name. If the substitute for God's name was not valid, it was not a binding oath. This legalistic teaching led to a denial of God's teaching of honesty in speech and promise. It led to a denial of the need to be honest and upright before God and before men in everything you said.

Jesus sharply rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for this double standard in what they considered as a suitable substitute for God's name. In MAT 23:16 we read, "Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!" In other words, they said that to swear by the temple meant nothing, but swearing by the gold was supposed to be a suitable substitute for swearing in the name of the Lord!

Verses 17-18 continue, "Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty." In other words, if you want to use a strong expression to really emphasize that you are telling the truth, you can take an oath in the name of the altar, but they say it is nothing. You can impress people with it, but you are not bound to the Lord by that oath. Why? "...but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty." They said the gift was a suitable substitute for the name of God. If you took an oath by the gift upon the altar, you were bound because that reflected God.

Jesus, however, says in V:19-21, "Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein." In other words, He is saying you and all your distinctions are hypocrisy. If you swear, you swear. If you swear by the temple, you are swearing by the temple and by Him that dwells therein.

Have you ever heard someone use the expression, "For heaven's sake?" Do you know what they are doing? They are swearing by heaven. V:22 says, "And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon." In other words, Jesus is saying that they were wrong to think they were free by not using their "suitable substitutes." They felt that swearing by heaven put greater power in their language. It was an expression used to emphasize the sincerity of what they said, but they thought it was a non-binding oath as far as God was concerned.

Do we not often hear people use strong language? What is their reason for it? Isn't it to impress you with "I know I'm a liar, but this time I'm telling the truth!" Have you ever thought about that? Every time you hear a person swearing, he is taking a sworn oath in a confirmation that, "Now, I'm telling the truth!" Isn't he really telling us, "If you don't hear me swear, take for granted I'm lying."? The Lord Jesus is telling us that this was the philosophy and the principle of the scribes and Pharisees. They felt that swearing by heaven put greater power in their language. It was an expression used to emphasize the sincerity of what they said, but it was a non-binding oath as far as God was concerned. Do you see the hypocrisy?

Instead of promoting the spirit of the law, i.e., truth, honesty, and reverence for God in daily speech, these perversions led to dishonesty and all types of irreverent expressions. Such irreverent expressions generated from their interpretation of God's law. Look at the irreverence when they could say without feeling bound to God, "I swear by the altar, I swear by heaven," and so on. Look at the irreverence and the dishonesty it promoted. The emphasis of the scribes and Pharisees to be sure to tell the truth and fulfill your vows when you swear by God's name gave the negative implication that truth and honesty were not necessary when they used a non-binding oath.

Jesus said in our text, MAT 5:34-37, "But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." When you stop and think about it, this is a tremendous truth. What have you proven when you swear by your head when you can't make one hair white or black? What are we doing anytime we start to make strong language using expressions that confirm with an oath? Such words proceed from evil; they proceed from the evil hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

Jesus is cautioning against swearing blasphemously using God's name in vain and making all these hypocritical distinctions; He is also cautioning against swearing needlessly in daily conversation. There is a time to take an oath, but Jesus doesn't want us to needlessly take an oath to confirm a lie, nor does He want us to take an oath to confirm a truth if it is just common conversation. Jesus Christ is saying rather "...let your communications be Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."

The spirit of the law is that our communication should be perfectly trusted without vainly using God's name to confirm what we say. The Lord is teaching that our "Yea" must be yea. In other words, we must not say what is not true; our communications must not need confirmation. We must not take words upon our lips that are a white lie or will have a tendency to deceive or distort the truth. Jesus is saying that you must tell the truth! The essence of what the Lord Jesus is telling us is that, under the spirit of the law, our communications should be perfectly trusted without vainly using God's name to confirm what we say.

A person who uses stronger language than "Yea, yea; Nay, nay," implies that he is a habitual liar, but now he is going to use strong language with an oath because this time he is going to tell the truth. He expects you to question the truth of what he says. If you have a reputation for honesty, you don't need strong expressions, much less oaths, to impress anybody that you are telling the truth. You don't have to confirm what you say by saying "By God" or "By Golly" or "By George." You don't have to take an oath and swear by anything. You are not to swear at all! You are to just say "Yea, yea; Nay, nay."

Needless, strong, and commonly used expressions such as: "I promise you," "I guarantee that what I'm saying is true," "This is a fact," "I'm positive of that" violate the spirit of the law. Have you ever noticed when a person thinks you may be questioning what he is saying, he adds, "I promise you," "I guarantee you," "that is a fact," etc. Everyone of those expressions are swearing because they add needless confirmation to what you are saying. You are to build a reputation that you never speak anything but the truth. The very fact that you have spoken should be taken as the truth.

The promises are yea and Amen in Christ. Do you know what that means? It means they are unquestionable. Our statements must be unquestionable; they must be truth. If you start putting the emphasize of strong language with your conversation, you are telling them "I know you are questioning what I am saying." Do you see what Jesus was teaching? Jesus was saying to always tell the truth; don't ever tell anything that is not true, He said, "Swear not at all [it is needless]...let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." To do otherwise leans toward that evil tendency of strong language to confirm partial truths or white lies.

You see, many people will tell a partial truth and then speak a strong expression to confirm it, but it is still only a partial truth. They are lying or telling a white lie--whatever you call it.

Strong language does not add trust to the words of a liar. Think about this. When you hear a person who uses such outlandish, strong language to confirm what he says, does that add to your confidence in what he is saying? No, it does not, but it causes the words of an honest man to be doubted. You can be an honest man whose yea is yea and nay is nay, but if someone hears you use some strong expression to confirm what you say, it will generate doubt that you are a honest man.

Jesus is teaching that the words of one who is trustworthy can be trusted with "Yes, yes; No, no," because his reputation gives weight to his claim. It doesn't take strong language; it doesn't take an oath when your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. Your claims come from the upright heart of an honest and trustworthy person. We then become known by our fruits. We don't need to confirm things with an oath.

Our conversation is to be a light to the world. This is very important. The bride of Christ must win the unbelieving by their chaste conversation. Think about this. We read in 1PE 3:1 how the wives will win an unbelieving husband, one that does not obey the Word, by a chaste conversation. The bride of Christ, the church, must win the unbeliever. How? It is done with a chaste conversation. Yea must be yea and nay must be nay; the conversation of the believer must be true and genuine.

Many blaspheme God's name because those who profess Christianity have proven dishonest! If they are the bride of Christ they must understand 1PE 3:1-2, "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; [Who is the Husband of the church?] that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear," i.e., coupled with a holy reverence for the will of God. It is the need of every member of the body of Christ, everyone who claims to be the bride of Christ, to have a conversation that is yea, yea, and nay, nay. They must not waver from the truth.

Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees in JOH 8:44, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." Every liar confirms who his father is by his conversation. Whose Kingdom is he walking under? When a person is known to be a liar, he is publicly proclaiming that he is walking under the kingdom of darkness.

God is the Father of truth; if He is our king, swearing is needless. People with whom we deal will know us by our fruits. We don't need to vainly swear in the name of God to confirm what we are saying if we are walking under the kingship of God who is the Father of truth.

The scribes and Pharisees had their suitable substitutes for God's name, such as, swearing by the gold. Satan also has his substitutes for God's name for professed Christians to use. We must deal with these because it is important. When we understand this, it is very important that we advise our fellow Christians; they are caught in the snare of Satan if they use these substitutes.

As an expression of surprise, a professed Christian would not use God's name because that would be swearing, but how often they will use Satan's substitute and say "Oh, for heaven's sake!" This is supposed to be a suitable substitute, but Satan uses it to trap Christians into swearing blasphemously. Jesus says, "Swear not...by heaven; for it is God's throne," and if we swear by the throne, we are swearing by Him that sitteth thereon!

Speaking of holy things in vain such as using the expression, "Holy smoke," is swearing. Have you ever heard people use this expression? It is swearing; it is blasphemy. As an expression of surprise a professed Christian would not use the name of Jesus because that would be swearing, but how often they will use Satan's substitute and say, "Gee." If you look up the word "Gee" in Webster's dictionary, it will tell you that it is the Christian's substitute for using the name of Jesus in swearing. It is not the Christian's substitute in reality; it is Satan's substitute! How often do we hear people say, "Oh, gee!"; they are just abbreviating the word Jesus.

A professed Christian would not use the words "hell" or "damn" in a profane way because that would be swearing, but how often they will use Satan's substitute and say, "heck" or "darn." Have you ever heard people say, "Oh, heck yeah," or "You're darned right."? These both are very common phrases. Again, if you look these words up in Webster's dictionary, you will find that "heck" is the Christian substitute for the word "hell," and "darn" is the Christian substitute for the word "damn." We have a Christian slur that we can add, but we are still swearing. It is just as blasphemous in the spirit of the law before the Lord as if we took Jesus' name in vain, as if we used the words "damn" and "hell."

Those who openly use God's name in vain often do so out of habit, without any motive, and so do professed Christians use Satan's substitutes without any intention to blaspheme. I once asked a man, "Why do you take God's name in vain?" He said, "I don't take God's name in vain!" He become upset that I had accused him of it, and while he was debating the issue with me, he used it again, most blasphemously. He stopped in his tracks in shocked amazement and said, "I do, don't I!" I saw him a month later, and after talking to him for about an hour, he said, "Did you notice that I have stopped taking the Lord's name in vain?" I said, "Yes, and I appreciate that." He went on to say, "I never realized I was doing that, and when you brought it to my attention, I went all out to break such a horrible habit."

People often swear out of habit without realizing what they are doing. They have not any motive for it; in their own mind they are not really doing it to confirm what they are saying. It is just a habit. Do you know that professed Christians use Satan's substitutes without any intention of being blasphemous? I know a lot of people who profess Christianity and say "By golly" in many sentences they speak. "Golly" is Satan's substitute for God; in the eyes of the Lord, it is just as blasphemous as if they swore "By God" every time they spoke. They are taking God as witness that what they say is true. They are swearing falsely, needlessly, and with hypocrisy.

Now, I want to explain something else: any expression we use which includes the word "by" means we are swearing by something, such as "by George." The Lord Jesus says swear not at all. We don't swear "by George"; we don't swear "by Golly"; we don't swear "by God." Why? We don't because Jesus said, "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."

Satan still desires to destroy God's work; this is why he still wants the jewel of God's creation to blaspheme God and His name. Satan will come in such subtle and cunning ways to get the Saints of God to use a slur that brings reproach upon the name of God. Jesus is teaching us the spirit of the law when He teaches that our yea should be yea and our nay should be nay. A yea or nay doesn't need confirmation; it is the truth because we won't say anything but the truth. We must not be using words that need confirmation. We must not be saying things that are doubtful and need to be confirmed even a little.

Satan promotes darkness, but Christ and His righteousness are the light of heaven. In REV 21:23-24, "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it." See, the Lord Jesus Christ is light! Righteousness is light, and when the kings of the earth walk in righteousness, they bring honour onto the righteousness of Christ.

Those who are dishonest will not come to the light. Anybody who needs to confirm what they say with an oath, anybody who has to swear "by God" or "by His throne" or any other substitute Satan may have, will never enter the light. They are not willing to come into the light. In JOH 3:19-21 we read, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." Those who do evil hate righteousness; they hate Christ; they hate the kingdom of Christ. Those, however, who doeth truth don't need to confirm what they say with an oath; they have nothing to hide; they "...cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."

God's Word illustrates the fruit of the Spirit of Christ formed in a believers heart in PHI 4:8-9, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; [Do you see the fruit of a true Christian?] if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." Isn't it beautiful how the words keep compounding, i.e., what is truth, what is honest, and what is just--whatsoever things are pure and so on. Do you see the Spirit of Christ that manifests itself in the heart of a Christian? It manifests itself unto the world. The Lord says in 1JO 3:8-10 that the children of God and the children of the devil are made "manifest" because, "...whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God." This word "manifest" means as obvious as a light shines in the dark.

Now, "...Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do [The apostle is saying 'I have set you an example to follow, do these things'] and the God of peace shall be with you." We may think that salvation is in being pardoned in the blood of Christ, and how we live is irrelevant, but that is pharisaical. That is how the scribes and Pharisees thought; their doctrine was that it was all right to tell an untruth as long as it was not in God's name. The apostle is saying that people will see these things "...seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."

Our language needs to be noble, God honouring. Everything that is Godly builds God's honour because man was created in the image of God. Everything we say should be honorable and noble because we are reflecting the image of God in which we were created. We must reflect that Spirit of Christ or we are none of His. Satan will promote just the opposite. Satan has lured fallen man into confirming corrupt statements with an oath in God's name. You hear by the language they use that Satan's servants confirm what they say by taking an oath in God's name, but how often we hear the substitutes of Satan used by professed Christians. It is so important that we understand our yea is yea and our nay is nay.

Satan will promote anything that will deface and destroy the image of God, anything that defiles the temple of the Holy Spirit. He will promote all filthy language. We have so much filthy language in the world today, and it is so satanic. It is defiling that blessed temple of God. There are what are called dirty jokes. Are they really jokes; are they really funny? No, they are not. Dirty jokes mock the temple of God. Satan will promote anything which is dark or degrading.

I have often thought of what is called the funny papers. Often in cartoons they have drawn a picture of a man in a deformed manner which is supposed to be funny, but it defaces the image of God. Comic books are really a horrible thing when they deface the image of God.

We read in EXO 20:7, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." How often is God's name used in vain unwittingly, even in prayer? Have you ever noticed while laying a prayer before the Lord many people will get to a point where they are using the name of God as a by-word. They'll come to a place where they are trying to decide what next to say, and they keep saying "Oh, Lord, oh, Lord." They are using the Lord's name in an empty way! They are not addressing Him by name at that point; they are only using His name as a fill-in. It is vain. Oh, how often God's name is used in vain without realizing it: even in prayer!

This Scripture does not teach that it is wrong to use God's name to take an oath of office. It is important that we understand that there is nothing wrong in calling God to witness the taking of an oath such as when a man takes an oath of office. I will show you why.

Many take the first part of V:34 "But I say unto you, Swear not at all" to argue against any oath even when being sworn to tell the truth in a court hearing. They are wrong. Two very important rules must be followed in unfolding Scripture. First, we must compare Scripture with Scripture to come to its meaning. The second is to hold it in its context. We may not take a verse out of context and draw a conclusion.

First, when we compare our text with Scripture, we find that Abraham took an oath of Eliezer. Scripture gives several examples where men of God took an oath, so we may not take V:34 to mean that you never take an oath. When comparing V:34 "But I say unto you, Swear not at all" with Scripture, we realize Jesus did not mean it is never proper to take an oath.

Abraham took an oath in GEN 24:2-3, "And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the LORD [Is this taking an oath? Absolutely, this is taking an oath!], the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell." Abraham caused his servant to take an oath in the name of God.

Joseph made his brothers swear that they would carry his bones up out of Egypt in GEN 50:25, "And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence." What did Joseph perform by making that oath? He demonstrated his faith in the promise of God that He would deliver Israel out of Egypt. By taking this oath, Joseph demonstrated an act of worship of the Lord.

This is not only in the Old Testament. The Apostle Paul took an oath as he wrote to the church at Corinth. We read in 2CO 1:23, "Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth." He called God for a record, in other words, he called God to witness. Is this not taking an oath? Certainly, it is. Thus by comparing Scripture with Scripture, we find that Jesus did not mean it is wrong to reverently call God to witness in an oath under appropriate circumstances. This is the key: under appropriate circumstances. It cannot be used as a by-word. It cannot become a hypocritical maneuvering where you tell yourself, "Now I can get by with lying because I did not quite use God's name to swear an oath" This is what Jesus was revealing.

The second rule is to interpret Scripture in its context. When we interpret V:34 in its context what do we see? Jesus was teaching the hypocritical nature in which the scribes and Pharisees were teaching the use of swearing. Jesus was saying that you do not needlessly, hypocritically, or irreverently swear. Jesus is telling us that swearing is to be done only in appropriate circumstances with reverence.

When we swear or take an oath in a solemn and reverent manner, it is to officially confirm the truth, to officially end all strife, or to confirm a person into a public office. These are the places where we can properly take an oath. When an oath is taken properly, reverently, and on the proper occasion, the taking of an oath is an act of worship. Does it not express a belief in God? When you stand before the court and hold your hand up saying, "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God," this is making a public profession of a belief in God. "So help me God" is praying or asking for God's help to tell the truth. It is a confession of our own inability to fully tell the truth and is calling upon God to help. This is a worship of God.

Taking an oath in God's name demonstrates a belief in the omniscience of God who is all knowing. When we take our oath in the name of God, we are calling Him to witness, knowing that He knows the thoughts and intents of the heart. Are we not saying that He will know if we are trying to speak a partial truth or a lie? When we call Him to witness in a public hearing such as a court hearing or by laying our hands on a Bible to take an oath of office, we are confessing the omniscience of God. Taking an oath is an act of worship; it expresses a belief that God is almighty and will righteously judge those who are dishonest and lie. When we take an oath before a court to tell the truth, we are calling for God to judge and to pass judgment upon us if we lie. This is why we are ordered by a court to take an oath. Look what a worship of God this is. It is a powerful thing, and it is not excluded by Jesus' statement, "swear not at all," because in the context in which He speaks, Jesus is talking about the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.

Taking an oath of office is an act of worship showing a reverence for His Word by laying the right hand on the Bible to administer the oath. Isn't that showing the almighty nature of God and a reverence for His Word? Taking an oath is a confession that we know the Lord, who knows the thoughts and intents of the heart, wants honesty from the heart. Taking an oath is a worship if it is done reverently, under appropriate circumstances. Therefore, it is not excluded at all by MAT 5:34 where Jesus says, "But I say unto you, Swear not at all..." because here He is referring to the hypocritical circumstances under which the scribes and Pharisees manipulated the swearing of oaths. He is saying in your day by day conversation do not swear. Taking what Jesus said in the context in which it is written, He said that in our common, everyday language, we must use yea, yea and nay, nay. Amen.

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