1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,600 I had a conversation with a man years ago. 2 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:05,040 In our conversation, at some point he made this comment. 3 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:09,120 He said truth fears no investigation. 4 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:11,640 I've never forgotten that phrase. 5 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:16,800 The way he said it, truth fears no investigation. 6 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,920 Our title this morning is God's People Tell the Truth. 7 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:26,560 Someone once wrote, If you always tell the truth, you can 8 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:33,440 afford to have a short memory. The problem with telling lies is 9 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:37,000 that you may need another lie to cover the lie that you just 10 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,280 told, and then you need another lie to cover that lie, and that 11 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:45,720 lie, and on and on it goes. There's an old saying that goes, 12 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:50,360 Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to 13 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:54,440 deceive. Only the road of truth leads to 14 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,400 God. All other roads lead elsewhere, 15 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:03,320 not to God but away from God. There's only one way to God and 16 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:09,440 countless ways away from God. Living a life of truth is not 17 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:12,640 easy for our flesh. It means self denial and that's 18 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:14,760 why Jesus has take up your cross and follow me. 19 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:20,240 It can be very difficult and painful but in the end that is 20 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,400 the only living. That's that God wants us to 21 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:28,040 live, living the life of truth. Walking the road of truth is 22 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,760 often slow. It's hard, and sometimes it 23 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:33,920 seems there's not a lot of progress. 24 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:40,000 I read a quote one time that read while truth is still tying 25 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,800 its shoelaces. A lie will travel around the 26 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:46,080 world. The life of truth may be slow, 27 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:52,640 but it's steady. It is sure, it is solid and 28 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,280 contrast to that. A life of lies is quick. 29 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:00,760 It's flighty and shifty, chaotic and unpredictable, and in the 30 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:03,560 end just vanishes into nothingness. 31 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:07,720 Psalm 37, verse 20, The psalmist writes, But the wicked shall 32 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:11,039 perish, and the enemies of the Lord, like the splendor of the 33 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:13,400 meadows, shall vanish into smoke. 34 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:17,720 They shall vanish away. We're continuing our sermon 35 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:19,600 series this morning in the Sermon on the Mount. 36 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,720 We've been learning in our previous sermons how Jesus 37 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,440 repeatedly drew the attention of the crowd from what they had 38 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:30,800 been taught to what actually the meaning of it was. 39 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:32,640 What was the meaning of what they had been taught? 40 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:35,600 He would say, You've heard it said, but I tell you. 41 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,720 And then he proceeded to explain what they had been taught, but 42 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,920 then drew the whole thing into a higher level, to a higher 43 00:02:41,920 --> 00:02:44,520 standard. And I've said this before in our 44 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,400 sermon series, As human beings, as fleshly people, we're tempted 45 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:52,240 to kind of lower the bar, not only not keep it where Jesus had 46 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:54,560 it. We're seeing, well, can we maybe 47 00:02:54,760 --> 00:02:57,920 compensate for this and can we make an allowance here and some 48 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:02,080 acceptance and tolerance there? And so because it's hard and we 49 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,160 want to make it lighter than what God commanded, less 50 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,800 demanding, more convenient. But that's not the way of Jesus. 51 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:13,600 The question is not what is lighter, what's less work, 52 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,000 what's more convenient? Those are not the questions. 53 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,800 The question is what is true. That's the question, what is 54 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:26,200 true. In this morning's passage, Jesus 55 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,320 deals with the swearing of oaths and about being truthful. 56 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,280 And we may wonder, why did Jesus make such a big deal about 57 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,960 oaths? What is it about us and our 58 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:39,600 language that Jesus wanted to address? 59 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:44,200 Obviously, what Jesus knew God's standard was and what he saw 60 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,840 people doing that was not matching up, that was not lining 61 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,600 up, and so we addressed it. Jesus taught the people the 62 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,880 importance of honesty and integrity in speech. 63 00:03:55,640 --> 00:04:00,800 Jesus clearly teaches us not to use oaths and not to embellish 64 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:03,960 our comments, our phrases, and our commitments and our 65 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,440 promises. You see, when we make a promise 66 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:11,920 or a statement and then with words try to embellish it and to 67 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,000 reinforce it or short it up, so to speak, we hope to make it 68 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,760 more believable. Jesus says don't do that. 69 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,280 He says when we make a statement and then use for reinforcements 70 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:26,880 on that statement, we're indicating that something's 71 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,240 wrong. So instead of presenting our 72 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:32,160 words as strong and reliable, the more we add to them, the 73 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:34,280 more questionable the whole thing becomes. 74 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:37,600 We have a very interesting passage this morning in the 75 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:39,000 Sermon on the Mount. Let's read it. 76 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:45,200 Turning your Bibles to Matthew, chapter 5, verse 33 down to 37. 77 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,000 He says again, You've heard it said, heard that it was said to 78 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,160 those of old. You shall not swear falsely, but 79 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:55,560 shall perform your oath to the Lord. 80 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,400 But I say to you, do not swear at all. 81 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:02,480 Neither by heaven, for is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it 82 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,680 is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of 83 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,760 the great King. Nor shall you swear by your 84 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,280 head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 85 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:16,000 But let your yes be yes, and your no, no. 86 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:19,720 For whatever is more than these is from the evil 1. 87 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:24,280 Not only does Jesus now elevate swearing or oath making into a 88 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:27,760 higher level, he says stop, stop, don't do it. 89 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:30,880 It's interesting. All the other standards he 90 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:35,120 raised him, he clips this one. Don't swear, don't make oaths. 91 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,880 Now this is the fourth time in the sermon that Jesus is using 92 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:42,760 the words you've heard it said. And then he says, I say to you, 93 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,840 he raises the standard, for instance, the law on murder. 94 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:49,600 He says, well, murder is sin, but if you get angry at your 95 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:54,240 brother, that's equal to murder. So he elevated anger to murder. 96 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:57,840 He said he did that with lust. He said, well, you've heard that 97 00:05:57,840 --> 00:06:00,840 it said do not commit adultery. But I say to you, if you have 98 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:03,320 lust, you're already in the adultery level. 99 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,600 And he did it with marriage. He said he, he elevated the the 100 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:11,400 normal except the divorce principle and remarriage 101 00:06:11,400 --> 00:06:14,600 principle says that elevates you into adultery. 102 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:19,600 Now he gets to swearing in oaths and he says simply let your yes 103 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,640 be yes and your no be no. Anything more than that is from 104 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:25,520 the evil one. Wonder who that could be? 105 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:28,520 It's not God. The evil 1 is Satan. 106 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:34,680 Think about that for a moment. Every time we make an oath or we 107 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:39,720 start really emphasizing and and using language to really 108 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:45,080 emphasize what we just said, it's not yes, yes and no, no, 109 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:47,520 not something more in Jesus. That's from the evil 1. 110 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:51,320 Let's go through this verse by verse again. 111 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:53,560 You've heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not 112 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:57,040 swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. 113 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:01,680 They had not heard that they should not swear or make an 114 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:02,920 oath. They had not heard that. 115 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:05,440 They had heard. Just don't do it falsely. 116 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:09,800 They had heard that. Now Jesus takes this old law and 117 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:12,240 he raises the bar. Yes, he raises the bar, but in a 118 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:14,480 different way. That's point number one. 119 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,440 You see, in ancient times, swearing oath was very common. 120 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,880 People would swear oaths to each other all the time, promising 121 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:26,960 loyalty, commitment, allegiance, peace, faithfulness, and so on. 122 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:30,920 And it was not against the law. In the Old Testament, we find 123 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:33,520 God did it himself. He would swear an oath by 124 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,400 himself, and he instructed his people, if you're going to make 125 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:40,600 an oath, be careful. In the book of Genesis we find 126 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,280 God swearing an oath to Abraham that he would bless him. 127 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:46,280 God had told Abraham, take your son, your only son, Isaac. 128 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:48,080 Take him to a mountain. I will show you. 129 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:50,960 And then I want you to sacrifice your son Isaac to me as an 130 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:53,800 offering. Well, Abraham, off he goes with 131 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:56,200 Isaac. Some servants go to the mountain 132 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:57,520 and he had Isaac up the mountain. 133 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,040 He's going to kill us and he's got him tied, bound on the 134 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,000 altar. He's going to kill him and then 135 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,040 God stops him. It says in Genesis chapter 1522 136 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:08,640 verse 15, it says then the Angel of the Lord called to Abram a 137 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:13,080 second time out of heaven, and said by myself, I have sworn, 138 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,320 says the Lord, because you've done this thing and have not 139 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:20,160 withheld your son, your only son blessing, I will bless you and 140 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:22,920 multiplying, I'll multiply your descendant as the stars of the 141 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:24,800 heaven, as the sand which is on the seashore, and your 142 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,440 descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 143 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:32,320 God says by myself, I have sworn there was no one greater than 144 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:34,080 God himself whom he could swear by. 145 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,320 Then later on in the book of the Law, there were very careful 146 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,760 rules laid out on how people were to make promises to God. 147 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:46,000 Leviticus 19 verse 12 reads and you shall not swear by my name 148 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:50,160 falsely, doesn't say don't do it, don't do it falsely, nor 149 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:52,480 shall you profane the name of your God. 150 00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:55,840 I am the Lord. God was very serious about this 151 00:08:56,080 --> 00:09:00,080 going on to Numbers chapter 30. Then Moses spoke to the heads of 152 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:03,640 the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This 153 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:05,520 is the thing which the Lord has commanded. 154 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:09,360 If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind 155 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:12,440 himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word. 156 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:15,440 He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 157 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:19,920 Or if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by some 158 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:22,720 agreement while in her father's house in her youth, and her 159 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,800 father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound 160 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:29,200 herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows 161 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,520 shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself 162 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:37,560 shall stand. But if her father overrules her 163 00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:40,600 on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her 164 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,800 agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand, and 165 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:47,720 the Lord would release her because her father overruled 166 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:49,440 her. It's an interesting dynamic in 167 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:54,000 the culture of Israel because a woman, if she made a vow, had to 168 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:58,920 do something, it would stand. Unless the man in her life, her 169 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:01,440 dad, her father, or her husband, would say, no, you can't do 170 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:04,000 that. He had the power to override her 171 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:06,920 vow. Other than that, it would stand. 172 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:10,760 But vows and oaths were binding commitments. 173 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:14,200 Using the name of God in speech was very serious to the people 174 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,560 they were They were to be very careful in how they used God's 175 00:10:17,560 --> 00:10:20,240 name. There are commentators and 176 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:24,480 scholars who say that over time this became so serious in the 177 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:27,600 nation of Israel that they would actually stop just pronouncing 178 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:29,760 God's name. They would just use an alternate 179 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:33,560 name to address God versus his real name because they didn't 180 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:36,800 want to mispronounce it and irreverence or make a mistake 181 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:38,600 and so on. And they would, instead of say 182 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:41,560 God, they would, they would would change it to, to something 183 00:10:41,560 --> 00:10:44,400 that you would say the Lord. For instance, God's name was 184 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:48,280 very much revered and they didn't want to, they didn't want 185 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,120 to misuse it. And so they would really be 186 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:54,080 careful instead of saying God or they would say the Lord. 187 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:56,360 It's kind of a different addressing God, but in a 188 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,160 different term. I have to say that and learning 189 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:02,960 that it was reminds me of some religious people claim to be 190 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:06,320 godly people, but then there's nothing godly about how they 191 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:09,520 live on Sunday morning and they go to church through the week. 192 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:12,720 Their lives don't line up with church or anything they profess 193 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,360 in church on Sunday. It's empty religion, but they're 194 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:17,840 sure careful about how they address God. 195 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:22,360 And then and I've heard phraseology, the man upstairs. 196 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,040 That's not right. And how would you like to be 197 00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:29,120 referred in some other term than you are? 198 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,160 And the Pharisees especially fit that description. 199 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:37,360 They would engage in all kinds of religious activity and go 200 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:38,480 there. And a little bit later in my 201 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:41,120 sermon, they looked very good outwardly. 202 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:43,400 Jesus talks about them cleaning the outside of the cup, but the 203 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:46,720 inside's dirty. And Jesus would constantly focus 204 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,600 on, look, guys, you're not real. Your performance is a show. 205 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,160 It sounds good without being good. 206 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:56,720 And so it happens everywhere. It happened in the Old 207 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:58,840 Testament, it happened during Jesus time. 208 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:00,600 It happens today. But let's go back to the Old 209 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,280 Testament a little bit more. Exodus 20 verse 7 says you shall 210 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:07,800 not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord 211 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:10,600 will not hold him guiltless. Who takes his name in vain? 212 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:14,160 You may wonder, well, how's that tied to making an oath? 213 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,440 Some I think, well did that not just mean don't take God's name 214 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:21,440 in vain as using it in a swear word and so on? 215 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:24,840 Of course, God's name should never be used as a swear word. 216 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:28,560 That is true, of course, and that's, that's, that's the way 217 00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:30,720 it is. But this is much, much bigger 218 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:32,680 than that. We're not to use God's name as a 219 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:34,040 swear word. That is true. 220 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,640 But again, it's much bigger. And the Old Testament was not 221 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:40,480 wrong to use the name of God and swearing an oath as long it was 222 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:42,960 not done false as was truthfully done, it was good. 223 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:47,000 There's a Jewish radio talk show host, and some of you may know 224 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,040 this person. His name is Dennis Prager. 225 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:51,360 Actually, he's sick right now. He's in bed, he can't move. 226 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,080 He's a Jew. He's not a Christian, but he's 227 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:58,360 very friendly towards Christians and Christianity. 228 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:00,560 I've heard about many years ago and I've listened to some of his 229 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:04,120 stuff. He's also a teacher, has taught 230 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:08,280 in a Jewish university, and he's very, very knowledgeable, very 231 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:10,160 educated. Now mind, of course I have 232 00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:11,920 differences with him because he's not a Christian. 233 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:13,200 I am. I believe in Jesus Christ. 234 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,080 He doesn't believe Jesus is the Messiah, but he knows the Old 235 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:19,000 Testament verse by verse. He's taught it and it's 236 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,720 interesting listening to him explain the third commandment. 237 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:27,920 He has a very interesting way of doing it and he makes this 238 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:29,560 comment. He says in modern Bible 239 00:13:29,560 --> 00:13:34,160 translations in America, the commandment says do not take the 240 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:36,320 name of the Lord your God in vain, or do not misuse the name 241 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:39,960 of the Lord your God and so on. And while that is accurate, he 242 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:43,640 says there's a better translation or a deeper, deeper 243 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:46,680 meaning behind it then our English words convey. 244 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,400 He says the real meaning or the real intent of that commandment, 245 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:53,280 do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 246 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:58,800 The real intent is in the Hebrew is do not carry, do not carry 247 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:00,880 the name of the Lord your God in vain. 248 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:04,800 Then he goes on to interpret it. He says do not carry God's name 249 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:09,000 for the purpose of evil. In other words, do not use God's 250 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:11,360 name as a cover for something that is wrong. 251 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:16,880 But how often is that not done? That is deep. 252 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:20,120 He says this is the sin that Moses is talking about in the 253 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,280 commandment. The consequence is also given. 254 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,200 What will happen to the person who does carry God's name in 255 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,960 vain for evil? He says God will not hold them 256 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:30,080 guiltless and he believes that and I believe that too. 257 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:34,360 Prager then went on to explain that there are people who carry 258 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:38,800 out intentional evil and they do it behind a cloak or a religious 259 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:40,760 front. Think of old history, the 260 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:42,760 Crusades. If you Google the Crusades in 261 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:45,840 the medieval times, wasn't that the case? 262 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,960 Or even in modern times, nations will fight wars on based on 263 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:52,320 truth because God's for us. Really. 264 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:54,560 Is that why we go kill each other? 265 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:58,000 Because God's for us. We have to be very, very careful 266 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,520 what we're doing because so much of it's self motivated and 267 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:03,800 retaliatorial. And next Sunday we'll hear some 268 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:05,800 of that about should we take revenge? 269 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:10,040 Should we, should we get even and, and should we pay back 270 00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:13,400 those who do wrong to us? Not speaking against justice, 271 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,120 but where's it coming from? What do we cloak it in? 272 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:19,480 What's the garb? People do this all the time. 273 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,960 It happens at all levels of life and politics and communities and 274 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,560 business and church and families and everywhere. 275 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:30,520 Children do it, people do it. Intentions appear good. 276 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:31,840 Read it. Just a cloak. 277 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:36,080 Dennis Prague is right in that he says God's name is used for 278 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:38,320 anything other than glory. It's the wrong reason. 279 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,480 And again, I have my theological differences with him as a 280 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:43,520 practicing Jew myself being a follower of Jesus. 281 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:47,280 But he's correct in that when people make a promise or a 282 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,600 commitment, but with ulterior motives, meaning that what they 283 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:55,360 say is not what they're going to do, that is wrong, then they add 284 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,520 a false front to it. Yet that makes it doubly wrong. 285 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:01,640 Hey, I'm doing this because I love God. 286 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:05,640 No, you don't, because you want to get away with sin or 287 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:10,800 something wrong. Just think for a moment, how 288 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:15,560 would you feel if your name got used as a false front for 289 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,080 somebody's nefarious, malicious activities? 290 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:22,960 How would you feel to carry out something that you knew was 291 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:28,120 wrong, but you know the person has ulterior motives or maybe 292 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:32,400 even evil motives, lying and deceptive, but uses your name? 293 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:36,640 We must be so careful how we use God's name. 294 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:39,160 Do we use it truthfully and honesty? 295 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:43,680 If we're a follower of Jesus, then everything we do must be 296 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:46,720 done with God in mind. As in, how will this represent 297 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:49,360 God's name to this person, to this case? 298 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,520 So when it comes to using God's name in our commitment promises, 299 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:55,120 how should we do? Well, let's go further. 300 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:59,480 Jesus says do not swear at all. Let's read verse 34 to 35. 301 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:02,840 He says, But I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by 302 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,000 heaven, for it's God's throne, nor by the earth, for it's his 303 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,119 footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it's the city of the great King. 304 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:11,640 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make 305 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:16,440 one hair white or black. He says, do not swear at all. 306 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:18,720 Meaning in God's name then he qualifies it. 307 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,440 People in Jesus, they were swearing by different things. 308 00:17:22,599 --> 00:17:24,319 Someone might say, I swear by heaven. 309 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,720 They wouldn't swear by God the proper name, or I swear by the 310 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,520 temple or I swear by the state of Jerusalem or I swear by my 311 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,160 head. It's interesting what kind of 312 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,520 oath taking they did different levels of truth telling. 313 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:41,040 Jesus confronted the Pharisees at one point with this in a very 314 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:43,440 serious way. In Matthew 23, verse 16, he we 315 00:17:43,440 --> 00:17:47,960 read, he says, woe to you blind guides who say, whoever swears 316 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:51,600 by the temple, it is nothing. But whoever swears by the gold 317 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:54,560 of the temple, he's obliged to perform it fools and blind. 318 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,360 For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies 319 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:00,120 the gold? And whoever swears by the altar, 320 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:02,720 it is nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that's on it, 321 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:05,040 he's obliged to perform it fools and blind. 322 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,040 For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the 323 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:09,920 gift? Therefore, he who swears by the 324 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:14,040 altar swears by it and by all things on it, He who swears by 325 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:17,080 the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it, and he who 326 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,080 swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who 327 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:22,280 sits on it. He confronted these people about 328 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:25,400 that. Do we have levels of truth 329 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:30,480 telling, levels of honesty and levels of integrity? 330 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:35,800 We may not have a temple like they did or an altar like they 331 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:39,400 did, but nonetheless, we still do it in different ways. 332 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:44,320 And sometimes you hear absolute bad stuff. 333 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:47,160 I swear in my mother's grave. What's that about? 334 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:53,040 Or I swear in a stack of Bibles. That's a giveaway. 335 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,360 This person really has a truth issue. 336 00:18:57,800 --> 00:18:59,720 All of this does not mean that swearing doesn't happen. 337 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:03,120 It does happen and and even in our government circles, for 338 00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:05,920 instance, in the court of law, there's a swearing in process. 339 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,480 Someone has to testify and the statement is read that goes 340 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:10,360 something like this. Do you swear to tell the truth, 341 00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:12,440 the whole truth or nothing but the truth to help you God? 342 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,320 And the person says I do. And then the proceedings begin. 343 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:18,200 And then of course, when it gets tough, the person's reminded in 344 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,760 between, remember you're underoath as if there's 345 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:22,360 different standards. Now you have to be more honest 346 00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:25,840 if you're Underoath. And if you're not Underoath, I'm 347 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,920 not speaking here in judgment of our of our judicial system. 348 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:30,760 I kind of know where they're going at. 349 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:34,760 But when we get to the truth, we are not supposed to have 350 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:37,560 different levels of truth. And what I'm thankful for in our 351 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,520 country, we have a provision for people for whom swearing is an 352 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:42,920 issue. For me, it is. 353 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:47,000 And but a lot of churches, pastors, believers, it's not 354 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:48,560 that kind of swearing. They say it's not a problem. 355 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:50,120 I won't get into that here this morning. 356 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,120 I just want to say that in our government circles, I've had to 357 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:56,080 go to court and they say you can affirm to tell the truth, OK, 358 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:57,280 don't have to swear. So that's good. 359 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:00,880 But the whole point is we should not have different standards and 360 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:02,920 different levels and categories of truth. 361 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:07,560 The Jews in Jesus time would swear by this and that and the 362 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:10,080 other and then, OK, this swearing didn't really matter. 363 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:11,800 And that swearing was more important than this swearing. 364 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:18,800 That is not good. The whole idea was how true is 365 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:19,920 it? Well, he swore by that, so it's 366 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:21,720 more true than if he swore than if he swore by that. 367 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,920 Ecclesiastes writes about this Ecclesiastes chapter 5, verse 368 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:28,360 one. The guy, the writer says walk 369 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:32,520 prudently when you go to the House of God and draw near to 370 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:36,200 here rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do 371 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:42,040 not know that they do evil. There was ignorance back in the 372 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:44,840 Old Testament time and there was ignorance in Jesus day and 373 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:48,440 there's ignorance in our day too, but our desire for truth 374 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:52,000 should rule all the time. He says in verse 2, do not be 375 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:56,360 rash with your mouth and let not your heart utter anything 376 00:20:56,360 --> 00:21:02,400 hastily before the Lord, before God, for God is in heaven, 377 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:04,760 you're on earth, therefore let your words be few. 378 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:06,880 Some of us could really learn from that. 379 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:11,280 It's far better to be quiet and not speak than speak and wish 380 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:13,920 you'd been quiet, says in verse 3. 381 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:17,640 For a dream comes too much activity and a fool's voice is 382 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:22,720 known by his many words. Then in verse 4, when you make a 383 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,240 vow to God, do not delay to pay it, for he has no pleasure. 384 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:30,720 And fools pay what you vowed. Better not to vow than to vow 385 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:34,400 and not pay. He's talking here about Jesus, 386 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:38,200 what Jesus saying to to the Pharisees in Matthew and Jesus 387 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,440 raises the bar. He eliminates, cuts out all 388 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:43,640 different levels and categories of truth telling. 389 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:47,480 He says there's only one. Yes means yes and no means no. 390 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:51,400 Well, some here this morning, maybe this here sitting or 391 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,640 listening online. OK, well what if, what if I know 392 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,080 there's what ifs? What if you make a promise you 393 00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,360 could not keep? You said you would visit on such 394 00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:01,160 and such a day and you can't keep that promise. 395 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:03,200 Now what? What then? 396 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:06,320 Perhaps you promised someone you'd go for coffee. 397 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:08,160 An emergency happens. Now what? 398 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:10,920 Now you have to let the other party know you cannot keep your 399 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:13,280 commitment. That's not what Jesus is talking 400 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:15,360 about here. Or you make a promise to do 401 00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:18,480 something only to learn if you follow through, it's going to 402 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:22,480 create serious hardship and then you need to go to ask the other 403 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:25,200 party if they're OK. If you renegotiate or make a 404 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:29,080 deal, that's fine. What it's driving at here is be 405 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:32,800 honest, be open, be transparent, be true. 406 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:35,840 No shady deal. I'll say this, but do that. 407 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:37,360 And I hope he doesn't find out I did this. 408 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:38,520 I hope he doesn't hear I said that. 409 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:42,920 That's what he's against. It's about open, transparent 410 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:47,360 truth, honest living. I had a conversation with a 411 00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:51,240 businessman one day and he told me he had hired a secretary and 412 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:55,080 she was new at the job. And so he's sitting in his 413 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:57,920 office and a few cubicles down his secretary and the phone 414 00:22:57,920 --> 00:22:59,240 rings. And it's her job to pick up the 415 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:02,240 phone. He hears her pick up the phone, 416 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,400 Hello. And and then he knows what's 417 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:09,160 going on through the one side of conversation, his response, her 418 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:11,480 responses. And then she said, well, the 419 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:14,440 boss named him. He's not in right now. 420 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:17,120 But and then she carries on. And he said, I heard that. 421 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,920 He said after she hung up, I said to her, don't ever do that 422 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:23,880 again. He said, when I'm in, you tell 423 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:27,520 them I'm in. I don't have time right now, but 424 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:29,480 I'm in. Don't lie to the people. 425 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,280 And she had been accustomed to wherever she had come from. 426 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:34,480 Just tell him he's out. Just tell him whatever. 427 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:39,040 That is so common in our time. It is absolutely sad. 428 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,000 And when I hear people say, you know, I just called in sick and 429 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,520 then they went and did something else, that's not truthfulness. 430 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:50,920 I found a cartoon many years ago and I was tempted to put it on 431 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,320 the PowerPoint slide through AI but decided not to. 432 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:56,360 But it's a very funny one. But interesting 1. 433 00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:00,480 So man calls in sick that he can't come into work. 434 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,960 He's sick. And just as he's walking out 435 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:07,160 this door with this fishing rod and tackle box, guess who walks 436 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:09,560 up his front sidewalk? His boss. 437 00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:12,200 I know you're sick in bed. You told me so. 438 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:13,960 But hey, I need the keys for the office. 439 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:18,800 You will get caught one day, and if you don't, your conscience 440 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:20,920 still will plague you because you were dishonest. 441 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:24,880 You're not truthful. These passes are dealing with 442 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:29,800 how we interact with people. Are we honest? 443 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,000 Are we truthful? Or do we say one thing but then 444 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,120 do another? Do we lie to people? 445 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,760 He says in verse 37. So clearly let your yes be yes 446 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:44,280 and your no no, for whatever's more than these is from the evil 447 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,160 1. You see, truth comes in only one 448 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:52,440 form, but lives come in countless forms. 449 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,640 You can. There's no end to the digit 450 00:24:55,640 --> 00:25:00,800 number that lies can be told. There's only one way to tell the 451 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:04,160 truth. Now this does not mean that all 452 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:08,520 truth always has to be told. Years ago, the founding pastor 453 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,200 of this church, Peter Rhymer, made the comment once. 454 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:13,120 Always stuck with me. Says not everything true in this 455 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:16,440 life has to be told, but everything that is told must be 456 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,920 true. And he's right before God. 457 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:21,760 A statement is either true or it is not. 458 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,360 God knows our heart and sometimes we share information 459 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:27,600 that later we find is not true. So we have made a mistake. 460 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:30,800 We didn't lie because we were not aware, but we can then go 461 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:35,880 fix it. Jesus says let your yes be yes 462 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:39,000 and your no, no. Anything more than that is from 463 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,880 the evil one. We're only left with one thing 464 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:46,160 and that is honesty. There's no options. 465 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:48,960 Honesty and that's it, nothing else. 466 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:54,240 So #3 Be careful with your language in using God's name. 467 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:56,680 We must be careful that we respect God's name. 468 00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:00,240 Not only do we use it in making promises, but in our 469 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:03,080 conversation. Not only do we not use it in 470 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:06,400 swearing and oath taking, but in our conversation and 471 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,600 interactions with people. We must never use God's name in 472 00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:12,440 a way that will make people think less of God or lead people 473 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:14,400 to believe God is not that important. 474 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,720 How would you like if your name was thrown around as a swear 475 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:24,320 word or your name was in a derogatory way mentioned 476 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:29,120 casually in conversation? When someone uses God's name as 477 00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:33,800 a swear word, that is sin. And this applies where Moses 478 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:35,720 says God will not hold him guiltless. 479 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:40,240 God's name should never use as an expletive or as a curse word 480 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:42,560 or an expression. Oh my God or God, that's 481 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:44,000 awesome. Or God, it's cold. 482 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:50,360 That's not right. Lying, swearing, foul language 483 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:53,880 is rampant our time, and we're getting desensitized to it. 484 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:56,280 In other words, we're getting used to it. 485 00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:00,080 Remember many years ago reading a story of a prison warden that 486 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:03,840 was hired brand new on the job while they interviewed him for 487 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:07,080 his job as a prison warden? And he was a very sincere, 488 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:11,800 devout Christian man and he wanted so badly to do the job 489 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:13,600 well. He wanted to be a good godly 490 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:15,280 prison warden. Now, some people have to serve 491 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:16,600 time in prison for whatever reason. 492 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:20,360 And so he wanted to do his very best and be a God fearing man of 493 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:23,720 God in that environment. So he asked the person who's 494 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:27,040 interviewing and says, OK, what powers do I have or what, 495 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:29,320 where's my boundaries and what can I do? 496 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:32,360 And, and the guy who was talking to him said, well, you pretty 497 00:27:32,360 --> 00:27:35,440 much can do what you want. You have a lot of power and 498 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,960 control in this place. Well, the new warden said that 499 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:41,640 one thing I want to do here is clean up the language in this 500 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:44,360 place. It's so foul and just swearing 501 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:47,400 and cursing while the other person in that case, well, 502 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:49,160 you're going to cut 1/2 the language in this place. 503 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:54,120 People had gotten so used to using foul language, almost 504 00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:57,360 everything they said was mixed with with with rotten language, 505 00:27:57,960 --> 00:27:59,600 God's name in it and all the rest. 506 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:02,640 This Christian prison warden wanted to make his prison a 507 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:05,120 clean place. No more swearing, no more foul 508 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:06,880 language. Don't know how it turned out, 509 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:09,160 but how? Is it where you work? 510 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:11,880 What language is there? Is it clean? 511 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,520 Is it edifying? Is it what builds relationships? 512 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:17,960 Is it healthy? Or is it rotten and foul? 513 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:20,880 Are you living a truthful life there? 514 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:23,800 But you know how rotten, foul language stops. 515 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,160 It stops when the heart changes. So let it begin with us as a 516 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,560 Christian community. Jesus says what the heart is 517 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:33,640 full of, full of the mouth will speak. 518 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:39,360 It behooves us as believers to be diligent and take note. 519 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:42,280 What do we feed ourselves? Because what we feed ourselves 520 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:44,200 conditions us. What conditions us will 521 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:48,920 eventually come out. Proverbs 2123 says Whoever 522 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:52,120 guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles. 523 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:57,920 In the Gospel of Matthew, again, we repeatedly find Jesus talking 524 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,720 with the Pharisees and they were always on the lookout, trying to 525 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:03,040 trap him with what he said or what he did. 526 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:05,920 And sometimes Jesus would just speak out. 527 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:10,680 He says in verse 12, verse 35, Matthew 1235, a good man out of 528 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:13,760 the good treasure, out of his heart brings forth good things, 529 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,200 but an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil 530 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:19,800 things. But I say to you that for every 531 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:23,520 idle word that men may speak, they will be held give account 532 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:26,440 of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you'll be 533 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:30,080 justified, and by your words you will be condemned. 534 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:34,240 Jesus knew the hearts of these men were not right with God. 535 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:38,960 And it was later the religious leaders who did exactly that. 536 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:42,800 In the name of goodness for the nation, in the name of doing the 537 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:46,040 will of God the Lord, they arrested Jesus. 538 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:50,720 And it was their God-given duty to crucify this Nazarene, this 539 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:53,920 Galilean rabbi, and nail him to the cross, because that's what 540 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,280 justice calls for. In the name of God, they 541 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:00,320 crucified the Savior. Well, we would never go that 542 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:03,360 far. Maybe not, but let's not get in 543 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,440 that direction. What they portrayed themselves 544 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,920 to be was not true. It was wrong. 545 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:14,560 They were evil men. Later on in the book of Acts the 546 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:19,680 church started and these issues continued and James the Apostle, 547 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:21,800 he writes to the Christians and he says this. 548 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:25,480 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we 549 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:28,680 shall receive stricter judgment, for we all stumble in many 550 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:30,560 things. If anyone does not stumble in 551 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:34,400 Word, he's a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 552 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:39,080 Indeed, we put bits and horses mouths that they may obey us and 553 00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,320 return their whole body. Look also at ships, Although 554 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:46,000 they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they're turned 555 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:49,000 by a very small rudder, which wherever the pilot desires. 556 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:52,080 Even so, the tongue is a little member in both great things. 557 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:55,040 See how great a forest a little fire Kindles, and the tongue is 558 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:58,560 a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our 559 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:01,600 members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the 560 00:31:01,600 --> 00:31:06,440 course of nature, and itself is set on fire by hell. 561 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:10,000 For every kind of beast and bird, or a reptile and creature 562 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:13,120 of the sea is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 563 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,800 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of 564 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:19,520 deadly poison. With it we bless you, our God 565 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:21,080 and Father, and with it we curse. 566 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:23,960 Men who have been made in the similitude of God out of the 567 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:25,760 same mouth perceive blessing and cursing. 568 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:28,480 My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 569 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:32,680 Does a spring send forth freshwater and bitter water from 570 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:35,040 the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, 571 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:36,920 bear olives, or a Grapevine bear fakes? 572 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:40,000 Thus no spring yields both salt and freshwater. 573 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:42,760 By our fruits people will know us. 574 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:45,880 Do people know us by the truth, or don't they? 575 00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:49,360 Do we tell the truth? Do we say it like it is? 576 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:54,120 Do we speak words that are up building and edifying? 577 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,040 James 512 he says. But above all, my brethren, do 578 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:02,680 not swear either by heaven or by earth, or with any other oath, 579 00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:08,040 but let your yes be yes, and your no, no, lest you fall into 580 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:11,360 judgement. When we think of it, so much of 581 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:14,440 A life is connected to words. Jesus told his audience, you've 582 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:17,520 heard it said do not swear falsely, but I tell you, do not 583 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:21,480 swear at all. Jesus raised the standard of 584 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:24,280 truth telling. He simplified it, took out 585 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:26,560 everything else except just left truth alone. 586 00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:30,160 God wants open, honest, transparent relationships with 587 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:31,960 us. He wants us to have it with each 588 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:34,600 other. And again, as I said before, 589 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:38,880 Jesus raised the bar every time for the Jews at this point, and 590 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:41,000 it's for us as well. No swearing at all. 591 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:46,560 Jesus told him their oaths were of no value because they did not 592 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:49,320 have any power to impact any of what they were swearing on, not 593 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:50,880 even change the color of their hair. 594 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:54,440 Jesus reminded them that his this teaching but keeping their 595 00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:56,960 oaths to God. Those promises are not what God 596 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,000 calls for. God's not asking oath of anyone. 597 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:04,640 He's just simply telling us tell the truth, be honest. 598 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:08,200 We don't need to emphasize it and buttress it up with all 599 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:11,120 kinds of things. So this week, are we going to be 600 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:13,280 honest people whose word can be trusted? 601 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:15,960 Are we going to be people who are honest with each other? 602 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:19,520 Are we going to be honest with our employers, our employees, 603 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:24,320 our spouses, our fellow workers? The Bible is very clear. 604 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:28,760 We need to be committed to being truthful, and we need God's 605 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:31,240 grace to help us. Maybe there's some here who have 606 00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:33,760 not lived up to the standard we can do so today. 607 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:37,280 We've used the Christian label to do things we know are wrong 608 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:39,720 and we feel convicted. We can repent. 609 00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:43,200 There's grace, there's hope, there's forgiveness. 610 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:46,040 And I would encourage us as believers to follow Jesus with 611 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:49,240 our whole being, our heart, soul, and mind, and everything 612 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:55,720 we say and do Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, for Your word 613 00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:58,920 to us that teaches us the importance of integrity in every 614 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:02,320 aspect of our lives. And I pray, Lord, that your name 615 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:05,080 will be honored by each one of us this morning and through the 616 00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:08,400 day and through the week and the coming weeks and months and our 617 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:10,480 full life. May each one of us walk with 618 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:13,920 you, Be close to you. May it be when people get to 619 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:17,239 know us that it will be a bit more like getting to know Jesus. 620 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:19,080 Help us to that end. And your name we pray. 621 00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:19,800 Amen.