Truthfully Speaking
# 15 Sermon on the Mount 9/23/90
Text: Matt. 5:33-37 E.B.C.
TRUTHFULLY SPEAKING
INTRODUCTION
A. In one of the more strategic battles of the First World War Great Britian's fate hung in the balance. Everyone fearfully awaited word of the outcome. Late that night the signalled message was seen flashing the sky, "Wellington defeated." This news demoralized even the most optimistic observer as its impact sunk home - all was lost. But to everyone's surprise and gladness, the next morning they received word that far from Wellington being defeated he had in truth been victorious. You see, only a partial message was received that night due to the mist and fog. In its entirety the message sent was, "Wellington defeated the enemy." Isn't it amazing the difference it makes to receive the truth as opposed to that which is only the half-truth, or worse, even an outright lie?
B. We as Christians never have the problem of speaking half-truths or lies do we? Let me see. What about the farmer who only has to overstate his crop loss by one or two percentage points to receive thousands of dollars of crop insurance payments. What about the family who continues to order meals from the children's menu at, let's say, Bonanza, when the age limit is clearly stated and their child is over the limit. Are we really truthful people? What kind of message are we sending?
I. WE CAN NOT DEAL SUPERFICALLY WITH THE NEED FOR TRUTHFULLNESS (v. 33).
Some have concluded that the primary message Jesus is giving here has to do with not taking oaths. Sadly, this is a superficial approach to Jesus' words. Jesus does not forbid all oathtaking in this passage.
A. When one considers the overall tenor of Scripture, regarding oathtaking, one is forced to conclude that Jesus must have had something other than the prohibition of oathtaking in mind. We find that the scriptural teaching regarding the taking of oaths is positive, not negative.
1. As far back as Dueteronomy 10:20 we hear Moses commanding the people, "You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by Him."
2. Jeremiah speaks on behalf of God when he commands not only Israel, but all Gentiles as well, to swear by Jehovah: "Then it will come about that if they will really learn the ways of my people, to swear by My name, 'As the Lord lives,' even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of My people. But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it, declares the Lord" (Jer. 12:16,17).
3. In the New Testament Paul often swears by the Lord using God as his witness. "For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness..." (Rom. 1:9), "But I call God as my witness to my soul..." (2 Cor. 1:23), "For God is my witness..." (Phil. 1:8), "For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed -- God is witness--" (1 Thess. 2:5), "You are witnesses, and so is God..." (1 Thess. 2:10).
B. We find that even God takes oaths. Throughout the Bible we find God swearing never to destroy the earth again with a flood (Gen. 9:9-11), swearing to send a redeemer (Luke 1:68,73), swearing to raise His Son from the dead (Ps. 16;10; Acts 2:27-31), swearing to preserve and eventually bless Israel (Isa. 49:15-18), and many other things. Why does God do this? The author of the book of Hebrews tells us why. "In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, in order that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul" (Heb. 6:17-19).
C. The writer of Hebrews also gives a clear description of what oathtaking really is all about: "For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute" (Heb. 6:16).It was not the taking of oaths, themselves, which Jesus condemns, but the dishonest fashion in which they were being used.
II. WE MUST TAKE SERIOUSLY OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR TRUTHFULNESS (vv. 34-37).
A. If it is true that the taking of oaths is approved throughout the Bible, why is it that the Lord commands us: "make no oath at all"? The answer is that in Jesus' day the taking of oaths had greatly been abused, and this practice was actually weakening the cause of the truth rather than contributing to it.
1. One of the ways in which the practice had become distorted was by people participating in Frivolous swearing. Oaths were used in many places where it was not appropriate thus the most solemn statements appeared to be on this level as well.
2. Another way in which oathtaking had become distorted was by evasive swearing. Many had come to believe that providing they did not swear falsely by God's name, they could swear falsely by any other name. In such cases they thought that they were not bound to telling the truth. Some would swear by their own life or health, some would swear by the king, the earth, heaven, the Temple, or Jerusalem.
B. Jesus teaches that we are to speak the truth in every situation. He condemns those who see it otherwise. "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whoever, swears by the temple that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated. You fools and blind men; which is more important, the gold, or the temple that sanctified the gold? And Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering upon it, is obligated. You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar that santifies the offering? Therefore he who swears, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. And he who swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it" (Matt. 23:16-22).
1. Some contemporary examples of selective truthfulness would be the Bible smuggler who intentionally misleads the person asking about the contents of his cargo. Or the man fleeing the communist country who is asked to produce a foreign passport and says, "Do you think I would have come this far without permission to leave?" Thereby giving the impression that he possessed travelling papers. Is this not selective honesty? Is this not exactly what Jesus condemns by saying, "...let your statement be, 'yes, yes' or 'no, no'; and anything beyond these is of evil"?
III. LET US SPEAK TRUTHFULLY (v. 37)
A. Someone might say, "Yes, I hear you Jesus, but we have some bad examples regarding honesty in Scripture." People like Abraham (Gen. 12,20), Rahab (Joshua 2), and David (1 Sam. 21) and they are all commended in Scripture for their undying faith in God (Heb. 11:9,31,32). There is a hermenuetical principle which goes like this: the exception proves the rule. Because Abraham, Rahab, and David are shown to have committed the sin of lying only serves to prove that man is a sinner and highlights the truthfulness of Jesus' teaching.
B. We must begin our quest for honesty by recognizing that speaking the truth happens as we control our heads and minds. Me must be, as Paul says, "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).
C. We must, secondly, be mindful of every word which comes out of our mouths for God is listening. Long ago Malachi said, "Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written..." (Mal. 3:16).
D. Thirdly, we should not dispair as in God's strength all things are possible. Remember the episode of "Cheers" where Woody laments the fact that he has intentionally misled his friends and before he knows it he lies again and he cries, "There I go again, I lied for the second time. I'm out of control. Nobody will be able to trust me again." Fortunately we don't have to feel this way because Jesus gives us hope. Regarding the difficulty of the rich man getting into heaven, Jesus said, "The things impossible with men are possible with God." (Lk. 18:27).
CONCLUSION
A. As I think about Jesus' words in this passage I realize that probably many of us will never even be asked to make an oath in our entire lives. So, we could very easily here Jesus' words regarding fulfilling oaths and assume they need not apply to us. But when we understand that Jesus' real concern is that we speak honestly in every situation, suddenly this passage takes on a totally different perspective.
B. I went to the Phone Center to pick a different phone the other day. When there, I discovered that, because the church line was on commercial rate it would cost extra money. I could easily have stated that it was for my residential phone and would have saved the money. But that would not have been honest. Then my "no" would not have been "no" and my "yes" would not have been "yes" and that, according to Jesus, would be evil.