Speaking Truth and Keeping Vows

James 5:12
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, July 20, 2014
Copyright © 2014, P. G. Mathew

James 5:12 speaks about our need as God’s holy people to speak truth, to vow truthfully, to take oaths in God’s name truthfully, and to promise and pledge truthfully. The Lord does not delight in those who come into his presence and lie. We must do what we agreed to do, even if it hurts us. We can do so by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.

In this passage, James begins, “Above all, my brothers.” The first point is the divine priority. Then he says, “Do not swear, not by heaven nor by earth or by anything else.” That is divine prohibition. He continues: “Let your ‘Yes,’ be yes and your ‘No,’ no.” That is divine demand. Finally, he says, “or you will be condemned.” That is divine warning.

Only holy people can speak holy speech, which is speaking truth in accordance with reality. God is true, and the devil is a liar and the father of all lies. Therefore, anyone who habitually lies is a child of the devil, as Jesus himself said: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

Man speaks out of the abundance of his heart. All children of Adam are conceived in sin, born in sin, and daily practice evil. This is the total depravity of man. Natural man can only lie in regard to ultimate issues because he is like his father the devil.

Jesus came to give witness to the truth—the truth concerning God, creation, the devil, evil, man, sin, the Messiah, salvation, judgment, heaven and hell, and so on. The Bible alone is the book of truth. It is inerrant and infallible. It is the very word of God. It teaches what we must believe and how we must live to please God.

Jesus speaks truth because he is truth. John writes, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He prayed to his Father, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Jesus came to witness to truth. Pilate said to him, “You are a king, then!” And Jesus told him, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37). If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, you are on the side of the devil and you will lie, as John tells us, “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). Everyone who denies Jesus Christ is a liar. Such a person cannot speak holy speech; that person cannot speak truth.

There are only two classes of people in the world. The vast majority are children of the devil; thus, they lie. A minority of people are born of God. They are believers in Jesus Christ and so they speak truth. They are God’s new creation, the light of the world. They were darkness, but now they are light in the Lord. Such people regulate their lives by the holy Scriptures and are led by the Holy Spirit. They hear and do the will of God gladly, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. To such people Peter says, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). And Paul exhorts, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:1–2).

The whole world is under the control of the evil one. Therefore, unbelievers in Jesus can only lie. The Western Christian countries long ago repudiated the Christian understanding of reality and the moral law of the Ten Commandments. They embraced secularism, religious pluralism, subjectivism, and moral relativism. They rejected the Bible, the book of truth, and so they lie. The Bible says that all liars go to hell (Rev. 21:8).

How many people lie! Political leaders lie. Oh, they may take oaths while they kiss the Bible or put their hand on it, promising to do what is right. Do not believe them. They will disappoint you every day.

Unconverted Christian ministers also lie. In fact, they can only lie; they cannot preach the true gospel. Many of them preach Marxist liberation theology, among other things.

The problem is the human heart. The psalmist says, “Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies” (Ps. 58:3). The heart is our problem: not the environment or anything else. Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matt. 15:19). He also said, “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34). Such people are not able not to sin (non posse non peccare).

But true believers are God’s new creation, created in Christ Jesus to think, speak, and do the will of God. They are able not to sin (posse non peccare).

There are lies everywhere. The Supreme Court lies. The President lies. People all around us lie. They lie in political speech, religious speech, scientific speech, philosophical speech, economic speech, and so on. Look at advertisements. Look at the Internet. Listen to the radio. Watch television. Read the newspaper. All of these are full of lies, and we have embraced lies as a culture. We no longer expect anyone to tell truth.

Jesus and his brother James dealt with the issue of speaking truth always. Jesus spoke about it in Matthew 5:33–37.¹ In Matthew 23:16, 22 Jesus spoke about taking oaths, a subject that James his brother deals with in this passage.

 

Divine Priority

The first point is the divine priority. We read, “Pro pantôn de, adelphoi mou” (“But above all things”). That is the priority. James is speaking to believers in the church, to his brothers, not to pagans. James was addressing a serious problem: the believers themselves were lying. Some were behaving like the pagans around them. They were not being careful in their speech.

So James was telling them, “Speaking truth in all speech is a top priority for Christians, who are followers of Jesus Christ, who is truth incarnate.” They must obey the third commandment, which says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name” (Exod. 20:7).

These people had taken the Lord’s name when they confessed, “Jesus is Lord,” and were baptized into “the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, profanation of God’s name by speaking falsehood is a very high crime. God will surely punish those who do not speak truth.

James is saying, “Be very earnest. Do not lie—to God or to anyone else. Do not take the name of the Lord falsely.”

 

Divine Prohibition

Then James gives a divine prohibition: “Do not swear, not by heaven nor by earth nor by anything else.” The Greek, “mê omnuete,” is a present imperative. James says, “Stop this practice, your habit of swearing.” In this context, swearing does not mean using bad words or curse words. Rather, it refers to taking oaths, and making vows, pledges, and promises. God prohibits doing these falsely with no intention of fulfilling them.

James intends to ban only all oaths and vows that have the purpose of deceiving or avoiding absolute truthfulness. He prohibits taking oaths flippantly, frivolously, and falsely. That is what some people do when we baptize them. But Jesus is Lord. He will go after and destroy those who make such a confession without intending to fulfill it all the days of their life.

Such evil practices must be stopped immediately, says Pastor James. God desires truth in our inward parts. Friends, James and Jesus did not prohibit oath taking in such places as courts of law. But James is saying, “Don’t be a hypocrite.” He prohibits all oaths taken in the name of created things like heaven, earth, the city of Jerusalem, the temple, the altar, the gifts on the altar, one’s head, or we can say, one’s beard, or one’s mother’s grave.

Swearing by creatures was a way of making the oath or vow non-binding because the oath was not taken in the name of the Lord. This was pure hypocrisy and blatant deception. All creatures exist because of God. God created all things ex nihilo. So as far as Jesus and James are concerned, oaths taken in the name of creatures are taken, in fact, in the name of God, who created all things.

Additionally, all human speech is in the presence of God. The Hebrews writer says, “The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:12–13). We all stand before God naked. We cannot hide anything from him; we live in his presence.

God does not accept our casuistry arguments of binding and non-binding oaths. Such specious and subtle arguments designed to mislead ignorant people must be stopped. Swearing by a creature is swearing by the name of God, who created all and sustains all.

Rabbis taught that an oath or vow is only binding when God’s name is used, but not binding when made in the name of a creature. Friends, because people are liars, evasive swearing or vow-making has always been popular.

Jesus and James prohibit oath-taking in daily discourse to prove one’s integrity. Consider what the Lord said to the prophet Jeremiah: “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city. Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ still they are swearing falsely” (Jer. 5:1–2). And in Malachi 3:5 the Lord declares, “So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me’ says the Lord Almighty.”

God will judge everyone who violates his Ten Commandments. Oaths are used to make some speech seem more true than some other things we say. But the demand of Jesus and James is absolute truthfulness in all speech—nothing more and nothing less.

 

Divine Demand of a Godly Lifestyle

The third point James makes is the divine demand of a godly lifestyle. He says, “Let your ‘Yes’ be yes, and your ‘No,’ no.” James also uses a present imperative in the Greek.

Truth-speaking ought to be our lifestyle. Christ always spoke truth; so also Christians ought always to speak truth. Paul says we should speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). The ninth commandment states, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor,” or simply put, “You shall not lie” (see Exod. 20:7).

In Romans 10:9 we read, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” That is what happened to many of us. But when we said, “Jesus is Lord,” were we intending to live by that confession all our life?

Elsewhere we read about the importance of taking oaths. For example, in Ecclesiastes 8 we read, “Obey the king’s command, I say, because you took an oath before God” (Eccl. 8:2). We also read, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. [God] has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not [say] . . . , ‘My vow was a mistake’” (Eccl. 5:4–6). I have heard such things. Some people are very glad to think their vow was a “mistake.” In their minds, that gives them license to sin. Such people are mocking God

There are many scriptural references to vows. “When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said” (Num. 30:2). “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin” (Deut. 23:21). The psalmist says, “I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you—vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble” (Ps. 66:13–14). He also speaks about the one “who keeps his oath even when it hurts” (Ps. 15:4). Paul warns, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:7–8). We must not mock God. If we do so, he will come after us, and we will be judged.

We are to make oaths, vows, and promises without reservation or purpose of evasion. For example, consider the baptismal confession, “Jesus is Lord.” We are to live all of our lives, not just that moment, by that confession. Jesus said, “Be faithful till death and I will give you a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). What about our church covenant confession? We agreed to the covenant we made, and we confessed it. We said yes, and we were in our sound mind when we did so. What about our marriage covenant? We agreed with God and God’s people, and he heard the confession and covenant we were making. What about our child dedication covenant? We agreed to raise our children in godliness. What about the promises we make to people? They should all be fulfilled.

God does not say “Yes” and “No” at the same time. God’s “Yes” is yes, and his “No” is no. And we are to be like God, who is unchangeable in his being, and who fulfills his word, as we read in Joshua: “Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. . . . Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed (Josh. 21:45; 23:14).

God is the God of truth. So we read in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” And Paul says, “Let God be true, and every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4). In 2 Corinthians 1:17–20 He also declares, “When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’? But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’ For the Son of God, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No,’ but in him it has always been ‘Yes.’ For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” And Paul says that we have “a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus 1:2).

There is no need to take an oath if our word is as utterly trustworthy as a signed legal document. A Christian’s word ought to be his bond. Our word reflects our character and our being, just as God’s word is a reflection of his holy being.

 

A Divine Warning

Finally, James gives a divine warning. In the Greek it is, “Hina mê hupo krisin peseta” (“that you may not fall into judgment,” or “that you may not come into condemnation”). We need to heed every warning from God. What James is saying is that holy people must speak truth; otherwise, they will come to the crisis (the Greek word is krisin) of condemnation.

If people habitually lie, they are not Christians. Such people will fall under the condemnation of Christ. James already told us in James 5:9 that murmuring against fellow believers is a sin to be judged by the Lord of the church. He stands at the door to punish the unrepentant. Even so, Christ the Judge will condemn all the Ananiases and Sapphiras of the church. They lied to the Holy Spirit and died.

Judgment is waiting for all liars, especially liars in Christ’s church. So be warned: Do not lie. If you do, you will be judged according to this text.

God has books on all liars. John writes, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. . . . And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books” (Rev. 20:11-12). We can lie all we want; but God knows everything we did. He never forgets anything unless he wants to, which is what forgiveness means.

There will be a day of judgment. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. . . .Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Matt. 25:31, 41).

God knows all we did and all we do. We must give an account to him for every lie we spoke. Jesus said, “I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken” (Matt. 12:36). This is not just human judgment. Christ himself judges us for all the idle words and lies we spoke and for every broken promise.

We are familiar with the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “What is the chief end of man?” I would like to add a question: “What is the chief end of God?” The answer is: The chief end of God is to maintain his own glory.” He does so both in his work of salvation of his people and in his work of his judgment of the wicked. God himself spoke of this: “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD. . . . I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen” (Exod. 14:4, 17–18).

The first commitment of God is not to save us or judge us; it is to gain glory for himself. And God will not tolerate our mocking him. Paul warns, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Gal. 6:7). What we sow we will reap, in history and beyond history.

So Paul writes, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Our every word is spoken in his hearing. He knows our every thought, and he condemns everyone who lies or fails to perform any covenant obligation freely entered into in God’s name and in God’s presence. (PGM) If we do not fulfill our oaths or vows, we are profaning God’s name and incurring divine condemnation on ourselves.

Be warned, therefore, how we should then live. We must believe truth, speak truth, and do truth, because God is truth, and his word alone is truth.

 

Oath-taking Is Biblical

We want to make two observations in reference to what we learn from this text. First, the Bible does not teach God’s people that they should never take an oath in God’s name. We can demonstrate that truth by the following:

1. God himself took oaths. The psalmist says, “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek’’” (Ps. 110:4). The writer to the Hebrews explains, “When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself. . . . Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath” (Heb. 6:13, 16–17).

2. Jesus Christ took an oath. In Matthew 26 we read, “Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’ ‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied” (Matt. 26:63–64).

3. The Old Testament commands oath-taking in certain situations. So we read, “If a man gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to his neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking, the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the LORD that the neighbor did not lay hands on the other person’s property. The owner is to accept this, and no restitution is required” (Exod. 22:10–11).

4. God himself encourages us to take oaths in his name: “Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name” (Deut. 6:13).

5. The Old Testament did not prohibit oath-taking, Instead, God demanded that a person be true to the oath he had taken. Leviticus 19:12 begins, “Do not swear falsely.” This applies when you are baptized, when you join the church, when you dedicate your children, when you are married, and so on. So the Lord says, “Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.” That means he will deal with us.

6. The Old Testament condemns the breaking of oaths or vows. So we read, “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. . . . Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth” (Deut. 23:21, 23).

7. The apostle Paul took oaths. It was not Paul’s understanding that Jesus taught we should never take oaths in God’s name. In fact, he writes, “I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth” (2 Cor. 1:23). He speaks similarly of calling God as his witness in Romans 1:9.

8. The holy angels swear by God: “And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, ‘There will be no more delay!’” (Rev. 10:6).

Therefore, it is wrong to say in a court of law that we do not want to take an oath because the Bible says, “Don’t take an oath.” We must not interpret the Scriptures that way. There are times when absolute negation is relative; this is one of those times. It is like Jesus saying, “Don’t call anyone teacher” (Matt. 23:10). That is an absolute negation. But God himself gave us pastors and teachers (Eph. 4:11). It is like the saying, “Don’t call anyone father.” That is an absolute negation. But you are supposed to call your father, “Father.” So we have to learn how to interpret Scripture and go to a church where the pastor is both pious and learned.

 

How Can Liars Speak Truth?

Second, we must ask: How can born liars speak truth? Our hearts are the problem. Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matt. 15:19). He also said, “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34). How can those who are born liars, whose hearts are evil, speak truth or keep a word, an oath, a vow, or a pledge? There are four steps we must consider.

1. We must be born again. God must give us a new heart through the divine miracle of regeneration, which is the direct, unilateral action of God’s Holy Spirit upon our hearts. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). This is the life of God in the soul of man. We need a new heart, a new mind, a new will, and new affections. Paul describes it this way: “If anyone is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17). He also says, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has foreordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

2. We must be controlled by (filled with) the Holy Spirit. James tells us, “No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (Jas. 3:8). The Holy Spirit must control our tongue, as he controlled the tongues of the disciples on the day of Pentecost: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” Acts 2:4). When the Holy Spirit takes control of our tongue, we will speak truth. So Paul exhorts, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:18–19). What happens when we are persecuted, arrested, and brought before governors and all that? Jesus himself said, “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matt. 10:19–20).

3. We must be filled with the Scripture. A true Christian cannot exist without the word of God read and taught. A true Christian will want to worship God at home daily, morning and evening. So we must be filled with the Scripture. Paul exhorts, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16). Jesus encouraged us, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart” (Luke 6:45). That is what I do. And when we store up God’s word in our hearts for many years, then out of the abundance of our hearts we will bring out truth.

Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37–38). That is why you should not go to an ignorant person for counsel. Go to the man of God who has stored up the word of God in his heart, and he will tell you what to do, if you are humble.

4. We must be ruled by King Jesus. Paul says, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 3:16-17). Christ dwelling in our hearts means Christ ruling as King in our hearts. He tells us what to think, what to say, what to do, where to go, and where not to go. Jesus Christ is Lord! Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). A wise man is indwelt by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and indwelt by God’s word.

 

Application

 

Finally, let us consider ten points by way of application:

 

1. The Scriptures do not forbid us from taking oaths when oath-taking is necessary to confirm the veracity of what we affirm or deny. Thus, when the court calls, we must go and testify to the truth.
2. We must remain faithful to our baptismal confession, “Jesus is Lord,” until death. The Lord tells us, “Be faithful till death, and I will give you a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). Ours must not be an emotional, momentary confession. When we say, “Jesus is Lord,” we are saying he is the King of kings and Lord of lords. We are also affirming that he is our King, and promising to obey him from this day forward till death. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). If we are not faithful to this confession, God will surely punish us, both here and hereafter. Remember the third commandment: “Do not take the name of the Lord in vain; he will not hold you guiltless.” That means he will surely punish those who take his name in vain.
3. We must keep our marriage vows until the death of our spouse. God hates divorce and will punish all covenant breakers.
4. We must keep the covenant obligations to God’s church. God will surely punish liars who join the church, agreeing with the covenant they make without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
5. We must keep the vow we made to God and his church when we dedicated our children to bring them up in godliness.
6. If we are preachers, we must fulfill our ordination vows to preach the gospel and live godly lives based on God’s infallible word. We are not only to preach, but to live by the gospel.
7. We must keep all the promises we have made to people, especially in business dealings, even when it hurts (Ps. 15:4).
8. We must never make a vow that God forbids or that hinders our duties to God.
9. We must not delay when fulfilling a vow; God has no delight in fools (Eccl. 5:4). A fool is the one who says there is no God.
10. We must be ever conscious of the fact that we are speaking in God’s presence. God is a witness to our oaths, our vows, and all our speech. We read, “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard” (Mal. 3:16). And, remember, God has books in which he records what we say and do. We conveniently forget what we said. When a man marries, he says he will love his wife. But then he divorces her. Or a woman promises to be faithful “in sickness and in health,” but leaves her husband when things get hard. Almighty God is against such people because they spoke their vows in his name.

 

May God have mercy on us sinners and give us a new heart and a new nature. May he fill us with the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures, and may Jesus Christ, God’s Son, rule us, that we will not do anything unless it is the will of God. May we read the Bible, not only to understand what it says, but to do what it says, so that we will not be surprised by hell (Matt. 7:21–23). May God give us a sound mind that we will think God’s thoughts, will God’s will, and feel the way he feels about anything. Amen.

 

¹ For an expanded treatment of Matthew 5:33–37, see The Wisdom of Jesus by P. G. Mathew (Davis, CA: Grace and Glory Ministries, 2009), 141–150.