Let Us Tell Truth

Matthew 5:33-37
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, June 01, 1997
Copyright © 1997, P. G. Mathew

“Read my lips!” With these words, Mr. George Bush convinced this nation to elect him as president by promising not to raise taxes. And when he broke his promise and raised taxes, the American people refused to reelect him.

Like many politicians, Mr. Bush was practicing situational ethics–moral relativism–when he made that promise. And it is common today throughout our society that unless one is under oath in a court of law, one does not have to tell the truth. That is the sad condition in which we find ourselves.

In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said that unless our righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Then he gave six illustrations of what this righteousness meant. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:33-37, we find the fourth illustration which deals with the issue of speaking the truth.

God Is Truth

We must first understand that God is truth. To further understand that, read the article, “The Sanctity of Truth,” by Professor John Murray in his book, Principles of Conduct. Truth is that which is absolute, ultimate, eternal, permanent, and complete. And this God who is truth sent his Son to this world to testify to truth. Remember how Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” Jesus himself had already declared that he was the way, the truth and the life, and so he told Pilate that he was born for the purpose of testifying to truth. Yet because Pilate was not of the truth, he did not believe in him.

God is truth, and so the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth. Jesus Christ is full of grace and truth, and when we believe in him, we become Christians. And the Bible tells us that because God is truth, he desires truth, not falsehood, in our inward parts.

The Bible clearly states that all lies are of the devil. Jesus said that when the devil lies, “he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of all lies” (John 8:44). When we lie, we are not speaking by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, but by the inspiration of the devil.

The first lie in the Bible came from Satan’s lips when he said to Eve, “You will not surely die. For God knows when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4,5). As Professor Murray says in his book, the devil accuses God of deliberate falsehood and deception because he is jealous of God’s own exclusive possession of the knowledge of good and evil. But God alone is truth.

What Is Man?

So we know that God is truth and his word is truth, and salvation comes to us through the knowledge of this God who is truth and through his word of truth. But what about man? He is by nature a liar. Those who are Christians love the truth, but all who deny God’s word are of the devil.

The Bible, which is God’s word, reveals the supreme truth to us. What is it? Jesus Christ is the Savior. The consummate message of the Bible is Jesus Christ; therefore, according to the apostle John, one who denies Jesus is the Christ is a liar. In fact, John says that a person who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. The greatest lie in the whole world is to deny the supreme message of the Holy Scriptures that Jesus Christ is the Savior.

If a liar is the one who denies the truth that Jesus Christ is Savior, who is a truthteller? One who confesses with his mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believes in his heart that God raised him from the dead. Such a person is of the truth and speaks truth, and such a person is saved by God. So I ask you to consider as you read this study: Are you a liar in this ultimate sense, or do you speak truth?

The Miracle of Truthtelling

The truth is, every person is a liar. In Psalm 58:3 David says, “Even from birth the wicked go astray, from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.” And Psalm 5:9 tells us, “Not a word from their mouth can be trusted. Their throats are open graves, their tongues practice deceit.” And in Jeremiah 17:9 we read, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.”

But how can a person who speaks only lies from his heart tell the truth and confess that Jesus is Lord? A miracle must take place. Otherwise, it is an absolute impossibility. Jesus said, “You must be born again, born of the Holy Spirit,” and by the miracle of new birth, a man or woman is changed and enabled to confess and believe in Christ–Christ who is truth, Christ who is eternal, Christ who is absolute, Christ who is complete, Christ who is permanent, Christ who is reality, Christ who is substance over against shadow.

Have you been born again in this way? What about your children? Some of you have told me that your children lie, and now you know the reason: If they are not born again, they can only lie. Therefore, we must examine ourselves and our children to see if we have been born again. We must ask if we have natures that are divine and love the truth of the triune God and his holy word.

Pharisaical Oathtaking

So this section of Scripture, Matthew 5:33-37, speaks about truth. And here Jesus gave the correct interpretation of the third and ninth commandments which deal with truthtelling: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name” (Ex. 20:7) and “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor (Ex. 20:16).

But there was a different interpretation of these commandments prevailing at the time when Jesus taught this to his disciples. The scribal, Pharisaical view of these commandments was found in a tractate in the Mishnah called M Shebuoth in which the scribes and Pharisees taught about oathtaking. They said that there were two kinds of oaths–oaths that are binding and those that are nonbinding.

Non-Binding Oaths

What does it mean to take an oath? When one swears or takes an oath, he is making a solemn declaration or statement with an appeal to God to bear witness to the truth of what he is affirming, denying, or promising. He is calling upon God to be witness, judge, and revenger if he is not speaking truthfully, and by taking an oath, he is guaranteeing the truth of his affirmation, denial, or promise. We read about this in Hebrews 6:16, “Men swear by one greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.” In a promissory oath, one appeals to God to witness to one’s sincerity of heart and faithfulness of purpose. And if one fails to fulfill the promise, God is called upon to judge and punish him (self-malediction).

Now, God commanded his people in several places in the Scripture to take oaths in his name. For example, Deuteronomy 10:20 tells us, “Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.” But the scribes and Pharisees devised ways of taking oaths that deceived others. In the Christian world this is called casuistry.

When the scribes and Pharisees made nonbinding oaths, they were acting like President Bush did when he said, “Read my lips.” They took oaths that appeared to guarantee truthfulness, but, in fact, were deceptive and surreptitious. They said that if people took oaths or made vows in the name of a creature, such as heaven, earth, Jerusalem, temple, altar or their own heads, such oaths were considered nonbinding. But if people took oaths to the Lord in the name of the Lord Jehovah, they were bound by their oaths.

All Oaths Are Binding

Jesus taught his disciples that their righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, and if it did not, they could not enter the kingdom of God. Thus, when he spoke about taking oaths, he was speaking about the importance of truthfulness in the heart rather than the legalistic, surreptitious, deceitful, casuistical interpretation of oaths by the scribes and Pharisees.

Jesus declared that all oaths, even those taken in the name of a creature, are binding. Why? All creatures point to God and are owned by him. Thus, when we speak about heaven, we are speaking about the God who created the heavens. All oaths and vows taken in the name of a creature are taken in the name of God himself, and, therefore, all oaths are binding. It is absolutely impossible to take “nonbinding” oaths, as the scribes and Pharisees did, and get away with it. To do so would be to practice deception, and Christian cannot practice deception. A Christian must tell and practice truth always.

The Seriousness of Oathtaking

Oathtaking is serious. Why? It is an act of worship. When we swear, we are invoking God to witness our affirmation, denial, or promise. Exodus 20:11,12 and Numbers 5:19-21 tell us that all oathtaking takes place before God.

In this passage Jesus underscored the seriousness of oathtaking by speaking against all frivolous and evasive oathtaking. God requires sincerity, truthfulness and forthrightness of speech. Our affirmations and our denials must always be true. Our “Yes” must be “Yes” and our “No” must be “No.” We must never say “Yes” and “No” at the same time. Why? If we did that, we would be guilty of practicing moral relativism and speaking in the language of the modern world.

All deception, flattery, exaggeration, and embellishment are from the devil. Therefore, as Christians we must carefully speak the truth and perform what we speak.

Is Moral Relativism Biblical?

Were the apostles moral relativists? No. In Ephesians 4:25 Paul wrote, “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” And in James 5:12, probably in reflection on this teaching of Jesus, James wrote, “Above all, my brothers, do not swear–not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your ‘Yes’ be yes, and your ‘No,’ no, or you will be condemned.”

Now, we read in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians that some people in Corinth accused him of being a moral relativist. In his denial of the charges, Paul defended himself by citing his practice of telling the truth. In 2 Corinthians 1, beginning with verse 18, we read, “But as surely as God is faithful”–which also means God is truthful– “our message to you is not ‘Yes’ and ‘No,'” meaning Paul did not practice moral relativism and situational ethics among the Corinthians. And then Paul gave his reason: “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No,’ but in him it has always been ‘Yes.'” In other words, Paul was saying that Jesus Christ was not a relativist, but the truth, and therefore, as Christ’s apostle, Paul was also not a relativist. Paul could not speak “Yes” and “No” at the same time.

Not only that, Paul told the Corinthians that God the Father himself is not a moral relativist. In the same passage we read, “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” (2 Cor. 1:20). Paul was reminding the Corinthians that the promises God the Father made in the Holy Scriptures were fulfilled when he sent Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. Thus, Paul argued his case: God the Father is not a moral relativist and Jesus Christ is not a moral relativist. Paul was an apostle of this God and Christ so, therefore, Paul was not a moral relativist. So he told the Corinthians, “I am not ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’ My ‘Yes’ is yes, my ‘No’ is no. My affirmation is truth, my denial is truth, and my promise is truth.

Biblical Truthtelling

Whatever God promises, he fulfills. All the promises of God are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. What about us? As Christians and born-again people of God, do we fulfill what we promise? I hope that we do.

Do you remember Peter? He heard this teaching about speaking truth. But what did he do in Matthew 26? Peter denied the Lord Jesus Christ three times. But after Peter was converted, he wrote his first epistle to the church and said, “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God” (1 Peter 4:11). Peter learned that when we speak, we must speak as God would have us to speak.

We are speaking all the time, are we not? We might see a person and say, “Oh, you look so beautiful.” But why do you say that? Did you get into that person’s heart to find out what type of person he or she really is? Oh, no. You are just speaking the language of Hollywood and judging a person on external appearance. That is nonsense, isn’t it?

We must be careful in our speech. Examine what you are talking about. Why? Because God, our Father, is truth, and we are his children. God is not man that he should lie; rather, he is immutable, unchangeable. That is what his truthfulness means. God’s nature is that he cannot lie or deny himself.

Therefore, as children of God we must speak truth. We must avoid flattery, exaggeration, embellishment, and equivocation. We must avoid saying “yes” and “no” at the same time, moral relativism, situational ethics, speaking just to get something, promising something and then changing our mind. Why? None of these things are part of Christianity. We must avoid mimicking the deceptive speech of politicians and advertisers and be always conscious of the fact that God will judge every idle word.

How Can We Speak Truth?

But we have a problem. None of us can speak truth with our mouths unless our hearts are full of truth. In Matthew 12:34 Jesus addressed the Pharisees as “You brood of vipers. . .” meaning, “You children of the devil.” And then Jesus asked, “How can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”

What is our problem? By nature our hearts are not good, and thus, we cannot speak good things. James refers to this when he says, “No man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). The poison of a man’s evil heart flows out of his mouth in deceptive speech and lies.

So Jesus says in Matthew 12:35, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” If we want to speak truth, we have to become good and store up good things in our hearts. When we do that, it will be very simple to speak truth. When a good man stores up good things in his heart, it overflows into truth-speaking.

You Must Be Born Again

How can a liar speak truth? Jesus said, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good.” But how can an evil man become good? To become good, we must be born again. The importance of new birth cannot be underestimated.

Why did Jesus Christ come into this world? To save us from our sins, including all our lies and deceptions. By his death and resurrection Christ accomplished salvation, and the Holy Spirit applies that redemption to sinners. He takes evil men with evil hearts and makes them good. He regenerates them, comes to dwell in them, and enlightens them so that they love the word of God and store up his truth in their hearts. (PGM) And after God has done all these things, when his people speak, their speech will be good. Why? It will simply be an outflow of what they have stored up. The Holy Spirit will be controlling their hearts and causing them to speak that which is good. No one can control his own speech unless his heart is first changed and then controlled by God.

What is this good speech? We read about it in Acts 2:4, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” And we are told very clearly in verse 11 what these people were saying: “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues.” For the first time in their lives these evil people were made good when the Spirit of God came upon them. And for the first time in their lives these people spoke about the glory of God.

Paul also describes good speech in Ephesians 5. “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another,” Paul instructs. “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything” (Eph. 5:18-20).

Good speech is a miracle. God must make us good and help us to store good things in our heart. When that happens, good speech will flow out of what is stored in us. So I encourage you to be born again and filled with the Spirit. I encourage you to store good things in your hearts when your minds are working.

God-Conscious Living

Christians should be ever-conscious of the fact that they are speaking in God’s presence. In Genesis 39:9 Joseph was tempted continually by Potiphar’s wife. But what did he tell her? “How can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Joseph was conscious that God was watching him. He lived before God and feared him. And because of his consciousness and fear of God, Joseph refused to sin.

During the time of the prophet Malachi there was great apostasy. Many people did not fear God, but there was a remnant of people who did. In Malachi 3:16 we read, “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other. . .” meaning that in their ordinary conversation, in their daily speech, they were discussing the things of God and how to serve him. And what happened? “The Lord listened and heard.”

Think about this. Not only does God hear our prayers, but he also hears all our conversations. We must always keep that in mind and speak in such a way that the Lord will rejoice as he listens to our speech. Do you want to bring glory to God through your speech? Store up good things in your heart. Then, as we read in John 7, “Out of your innermost being,” meaning out of your heart, “shall flow rivers of living water.”

God-honoring speech is evangelism. Do you need to be a professional evangelist to speak about God to others? No. As Christians drink of God and store up good things in their hearts, these good things will flow out in their speech. We always speak what we are filled with and what we believe.

Can Christians Take Oaths?

Now we must ask the question: Can this section of Scripture be interpreted to mean that Christians should not take oaths? Absolutely not. What Jesus was opposing in these verses was the practice of the scribes and Pharisees of taking frivolous, evasive, deceptive, casuistical oaths. When Jesus said, “Swear not at all,” he meant that we should not make such legalistic, surreptitious, manipulative vows. He was reinforcing his statement in Matthew 5:20 that our righteousness must exceed the legalistic righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees that approved such deceptive oathtaking. But God is not abrogating true oathtaking in this passage.

Now, throughout history up to the present time members of some religious groups and some Christians believe that they cannot take any oaths in a court of law because of this scripture. But if that is true, then we create a lot of problems trying to reconcile that view with the rest of Scripture. Why? First of all, God himself swears in the Scriptures. In Psalm 132:11 we read, “The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke. . .” and in Psalm 110:4, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind.” And when we read Isaiah 45:23, Hebrews 6:13-17, and so on, we find God swearing. He cannot swear by someone greater than himself, so he swears by himself to confirm and guarantee his truth to emphasize that we can rely upon what he is saying. So God himself made oaths.

Second, Jesus himself agreed to be put under oath. In Matthew 26:63-64 we read, “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.'” What did Jesus do? Putting himself under oath, he replied, “Yes, it is as you say.”

Third, what about the apostles? Did Paul interpret Jesus’ teaching to mean he should never swear? No. Paul often put himself under oath. In 2 Corinthians 1:23, Paul wrote, “I call God as my witness. . .” and in Philippians 1:8 he said, “God can testify. . .” In 1 Thessalonians 2: 5, 10 backed up his points by saying God was his witness. And in Galatians 1:20, he said, “I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.” What was Paul doing? He was calling upon God to be his witness to this statement.

Fourth, not only do God, Jesus, and the apostles swear, but God himself commands his people to swear in Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20. Therefore, if Jesus were saying that we cannot swear at all and never take an oath, then he would be contradicting all of Scripture. Jesus Christ, the author of Scripture, would never do that.

Interpreting This Passage

We must not interpret this passage to say that we should never swear at all. In Matthew 5:37 we read, “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be Yes’, and your ‘No’, No.'” And Professor John Murray makes the point that if we are going to interpret verse 34 literally when it says “Do not swear at all,” then we also have to interpret verse 37 literally. I know people who do this. When I ask them something, all they will say is, “Yes,” “No,” “Yes,” “No.” That is all. But certainly Jesus Christ is not asking us to interpret that literally. What he is saying is that our affirmation must be true and our denial must be true. We should not be evasive, deceptive, surreptitious, legalistic, and Pharisaical.

Therefore, this Scripture is not teaching that Christians cannot take an oath in a court of law. Not only that, the Holy Scriptures do not forbid us from taking voluntary oaths when necessary to confirm and guarantee the truthfulness of what we affirm or what we deny. Paul himself did this, as we mentioned before.

However, this Scripture does teach us that as Christians we must put away all falsehood and speak truth to one another. Why? We are members of one body, people who are born of God and indwelt by his Spirit in whom the word of God is stored up. As people of God, we are led by the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of truth.

Finally, this passage does not teach us to make a vow to do what God forbids or to take a vow to hinder a duty that God commands us to perform.

How to Speak the Truth

Let us, then, consider some practical applications of speaking the truth.

1. We must be careful in our speech. There is a confession in the Bible that people make when they profess Christianity: “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” (Romans 10:9). We must be careful when we make that confession. When we say, “Jesus is Lord,” are we really thinking about what that means? Or are we just speaking, and then walking out and living in a way that demonstrates that Jesus Christ is not our Lord? Let me assure you, we made that confession in the very presence of God. God heard it and he has no delight in fools. God will judge those who, after confessing Jesus is Lord, change their minds and live however they want. The first place we want to be careful in is in our speech. If we don’t mean business when we say “Jesus is Lord,” then we are lying. We are only making that confession in order to be accepted by the church, to become part of the body of Christ, and to experience all the privileges of church membership without paying the price.
2. We must realize God hears us. When people confess Jesus is Lord, they must understand that God himself is listening to them and this God does not like fools and liars. God is a judge, a witness, and a revenger. We must keep these things in mind.
3. God holds us responsible when we dedicate children. When people bring their children for dedication to the Lord, I ask certain questions of them and they voluntarily oblige themselves to train these children in the fear, nurture, and admonition of the Lord. What happens if they walk out of the church and live without performing that? God will hold them responsible. Why? Again, God does not have any delight in fools. God who is truth watches us and hears our vows. The almighty God will hold us responsible to what we say before him.
4. We must keep our marriage vows. During a wedding, a couple agrees to certain things before God and before the assembled witnesses. What happens if they walk out and begin to live as though they do not have to keep their vows? What is one person in the marriage says to the other, “I changed my mind. I am very sorry but I changed my mind.” Such people should know that God does not delight in fools. If there were no God, we could do whatever we want without any problem. But there is a living and true God who witnessed our marriage vows. And not only is this God the witness, but he is also the judge and the revenger.
5. We must keep our vows to the church. When people join this church, they agree to certain propositions and sign a document to indicate their agreement. What will happen if you forget all about the covenant commitment to the body of Christ that you made? Let me tell you once more, God has no delight in fools. He will hold us responsible to what we professed before him.
6. We must keep our ordination vows. What about the preachers and elders? They are supposed to confess certain things when they are ordained. Can they walk out and forget all about the vows they made to God? No. God is watching. He will judge and punish.
7. We must keep our vows to other people. What about promises and obligations we enter into as Christians with other people? We have an obligation to fulfill our promises just as God fulfills his. In Exodus 22:11 we read, “The issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the LORD. . .” We must always remember that our oaths are taken before the Lord. He is the witness, judge, and revenger.

In Leviticus 19:12 we read, “Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God.” Whenever a person swears falsely, he or she is speaking profanity before God. And in Exodus 20:7 we read “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” Why? “The Lord will hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” If you use the Lord’s name to give authority and guarantee truth to your promises, but you do not perform what you promise, God will not hold you guiltless. Deuteronomy 23:21,22 tells us that he will demand what we vow and we will be guilty of sin if we do not perform. And Numbers 30:2 tells us, “Do not break your word. You must perform everything.”

Fulfill Your Vows

How serious is this business of taking oaths? In Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 we read, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He 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” Breaking a vow is sin. “And do not protest to the temple messenger, ‘My vow was a mistake.'” In other words, don’t say, “I changed my mind. I came into new reality now.” Why? “Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?”

God is angry when people speak profanity by making vows and forgetting about them. Why? God is truth, and his word, therefore, is truth. God cannot lie, nor can he deny himself.

God’s Promises Are True

Let us examine one more glorious truth about telling the truth. If it is true that God’s words alone can be trusted completely, then his promises can be trusted completely. And in Matthew 11:28 he says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” You can trust and rely on that word. You can come to God and receive rest. Why? God is immutable, unchangeable.

God is truth! And so when he says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved,” you can count on it. When he says, “If you confess that ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved,” you can count on it. When he says, “Be not anxious, be not afraid” and “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be granted unto you,” you can rely on these words. Why? God himself is speaking.

God’s Threatenings Are True

However, not only are God’s promises absolutely true, but his threatenings are also true. God does not speak as fools do, so we must listen to his threatenings. In 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 Paul says the Lord Jesus Christ “will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction. . .”

What is the eternal destination of liars? In Revelation 21:8 we read, “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.” That has to be true. If God is truth, he cannot let any liar into his heaven. This is serious business.

Will You Tell Truth?

Who is a liar, in the maximal sense? It is the person who denies Jesus is the Christ. Why? It is the greatest lie one can make. It is the unpardonable sin. Therefore, my question to you is: Will you repent and believe? Will you confess today that Jesus is Lord? If you do so, you will be saved. Amen.