DO NOT SWEAR!

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by Heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.

James 5:12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Nestled within the Ten Commandments is this one, one that doesn’t receive the attention it should. God demanded this:

“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.” Exodus 20:7

Think about this and then ask yourself how many times a day that someone breaks this mandate.

I don’t curse but unfortunately I have been around a lot of people who were very good at it. Twenty-eight plus years in the military will expose you to a steady diet of profanity, that’s for sure.

One of the more common profane statements that come out of the mouths of people pair the name of God with the matter of damnation, damnation directed toward someone or something. The spirit of the foul language suggests that a mere human sinner has the power and authority to tell God to do something, to damn someone or something in this case. The mere thought of this exposes the sheer folly in it as well as the blatant violation of His charge to not misuse His name, a violation that will invoke a response as God promised to “not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name”.

Now, maybe you will say, “I have never said something like that, ever.” To that, I say, “Thank you” and pray you will never say it in your lifetime. If you have, today is the day to repent, receive God’s forgiveness of your sin, and then recommit to never misuse His name again.

With this covered, let me discuss another thing that people say all the time, a statement that just as much violates the commands found in the scriptures as the profanity we just looked at. Here’s what you will hear a lot:

“I swear to God!”

These four words are typically proclaimed when someone wants to make it very clear that they are telling the truth and so they reinforce what they said by adding God to somehow gain more validation and believability.

You may be interested to know that this obviously happened in biblical times as well because we find Jesus speaking on the matter during His famous Sermon on the Mount. Here’s what we find in the fifth chapter of Matthew:

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by Heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Matthew 5:33-37

Did you catch what Jesus said?

In a classic “do not” statement found all over the Bible, He makes the following demand:

“...do not swear an oath at all: either by Heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.”

In other words, keep God out of it when you say something.

If what you’re saying is really true, then it’s true whether or not you bring God into it. Just say it and leave it alone. Ditto for the opposite, if you’re saying something isn’t true. If it’s genuinely false, then it’s false.

This same principle applies to a person making a promise or oath. If the promise is legitimate, then it’s legitimate. No need to bring God into it so people might accept your promise more readily. Let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no”, “no”. Stay true to your word, whatever that word is.

As we look at our scripture verse for today from James, chapter 5, we find James echoing the earlier teaching of his brother. He writes:

Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by Heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned. v. 12

The expectation is consistent with the original command of God. No one is to swear and misuse the name of the Lord God Almighty. Period. To honor this, let us allow the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and speech before we say or do anything. For if we do, we can always be assured we’re respecting our Lord with the words we use and living in a way that is pleasing in His sight.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.