Lesson Seven • Oaths
Pastor Josh Yates
If you have ever been in any relationship at all, you have been asked a question where you knew that if you told the truth, you just might find yourself in some hot water.
“Do you like my cookies?”
“What did you think of that presidential debate?”
“Do these pants make me look fat?”
(By the way, the answer to the last question is always an emphatic, “NO!”)
In these situations, it is usually better to care for the heart of the person that is speaking to you rather than to rip into them with the truth of the situation.
Telling the truth is so important. Yet, if we are honest, we find ourselves in situations where we are tempted to tell something less than the truth.
1. When are some times where you have struggled in telling the truth? (Talk about both funny and serious moments or situations.)
We are most tempted to “stretch the truth” when we have been caught doing something we know we should not have done. When we did not clean our room as a kid, when we took that piece of candy, or when we cheated on a test in order to get out of perceived consequences, we lie. We do not tell the truth.
I have told my girls that if they tell the truth, it will always be better than if they lie. If they have done something they should not have, there will be consequences, but if they lie to me, the consequences will be multiplied.
2. What are some consequences you have experienced when caught in a lie in your life?
I remember a time in my childhood when I had done something that I should not have done and I was going to get a spanking. My parents used a belt and I had decided that I would be smarter than my parents and hide it. My mom came and asked me where it was and I laughed at her. You can imagine the consequence. UGH!
We come to the passage that we are studying today in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has gone through the foundation of the sermon in the Beatitudes and is now going through specifics of how a Jesus-follower lives. He has covered our influence in the world, anger, lust, and divorce. It is not a coincidence that He now tackles telling the truth.
Read Matthew 5:33-37.
Jesus talks about oaths in this part of His message. Oaths are not something that we are used to hearing about today. We do not really use that word anymore.
3. What is the oath that Jesus is talking about here? What would be the equivalent today?
When I think of oaths, I think of government. The two sides of our government in America argue and fight over so many issues to try to come to a conclusion and make laws that will strengthen our society. During that process, there are many meetings where promises are made. From the look of things on the outside, those promises are hardly ever kept. In fact, politics seem to have perfected the art of lying.
The Chaplain of the Kansas Senate prayed this prayer over the chamber many years ago:
Omniscient Father:
Help us to know who is telling the truth.
One side tells us one thing,
and the other just the opposite.
And if neither side is telling the truth,
we would like to know that, too.
And if each side is telling half the truth,
give us the wisdom to put the right halves together.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
We live in days where the truth is hard to find. As I write this study, our world is in the midst of the COVID Omicron surge and truth is hard to determine. Are the numbers correct? What is really going on? No matter what decision anyone tries to make, it is seemingly based on half-truths.
4. How has a lack of truth around you or in you affected your life or decision-making?
Jesus begins this part of His message speaking of the way oaths were encouraged in the Old Testament. However, what was being encouraged in the Old Testament was not happening during the time that Jesus was speaking.
5. What kind of oaths or vows were encouraged in the Old Testament? (Take a look at Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; and Deuteronomy 23:21.)
6. What was expected of the oath-giver in these passages? What was the consequence if that expectation was not met?
Matthew 5:34-36 says, “Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.”
7. Discuss what Jesus is saying here. The Old Testament encouraged oaths taken by the name of God and Jesus seems to be saying not to take oaths. Why the change?
Do not continue reading before you answer the last question! (LOL)
Jesus was saying something different from what the rabbis of His day had been teaching.
The problem that Jesus was addressing is just as serious today as it was then. Rabbis had decided that if people made vows but did not use the name of the Lord or if another name was used, the vow did not have to be fulfilled completely. They had come up with a way to say you would do something but “cross your fingers behind your back” to get you out of that vow. In fact, Kent Hughes points out that the Mishna (Jewish rabbinical writings) devotes a whole section on oaths and where you can lie and when you cannot.
This sounds like us at times, huh? We can come up with so many reasons to not tell the truth, but those reasons are selfish. They are often for personal gain, saving face, or even covering up sin.
Jesus is saying that His followers do not need to swear by an oath in order to ensure that we are telling the truth. Jesus is not saying that we can never take an oath (in court or the like), but that His followers should be marked by the truth. His followers should be committed to telling the truth at all times.
8. Where do you struggle to tell the truth today?
9. Is there anyone in your life you have lied to that you need to ask for forgiveness?
10. How can you be more committed to the truth in your life as you follow Jesus?
Do not let your fish get bigger.
Do not get better the older you get.
Speak the truth in everything you do and live the truth in everything you say.
A life of truth points to the One that you follow, Jesus. When you can be trusted and are known for speaking the truth, you have more opportunities to help others see Him!
“Let what you say be simply ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Anything more than this comes from evil.” Jesus
“Do you like my cookies?”
“What did you think of that presidential debate?”
“Do these pants make me look fat?”
(By the way, the answer to the last question is always an emphatic, “NO!”)
In these situations, it is usually better to care for the heart of the person that is speaking to you rather than to rip into them with the truth of the situation.
Telling the truth is so important. Yet, if we are honest, we find ourselves in situations where we are tempted to tell something less than the truth.
1. When are some times where you have struggled in telling the truth? (Talk about both funny and serious moments or situations.)
We are most tempted to “stretch the truth” when we have been caught doing something we know we should not have done. When we did not clean our room as a kid, when we took that piece of candy, or when we cheated on a test in order to get out of perceived consequences, we lie. We do not tell the truth.
I have told my girls that if they tell the truth, it will always be better than if they lie. If they have done something they should not have, there will be consequences, but if they lie to me, the consequences will be multiplied.
2. What are some consequences you have experienced when caught in a lie in your life?
I remember a time in my childhood when I had done something that I should not have done and I was going to get a spanking. My parents used a belt and I had decided that I would be smarter than my parents and hide it. My mom came and asked me where it was and I laughed at her. You can imagine the consequence. UGH!
We come to the passage that we are studying today in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has gone through the foundation of the sermon in the Beatitudes and is now going through specifics of how a Jesus-follower lives. He has covered our influence in the world, anger, lust, and divorce. It is not a coincidence that He now tackles telling the truth.
Read Matthew 5:33-37.
Jesus talks about oaths in this part of His message. Oaths are not something that we are used to hearing about today. We do not really use that word anymore.
3. What is the oath that Jesus is talking about here? What would be the equivalent today?
When I think of oaths, I think of government. The two sides of our government in America argue and fight over so many issues to try to come to a conclusion and make laws that will strengthen our society. During that process, there are many meetings where promises are made. From the look of things on the outside, those promises are hardly ever kept. In fact, politics seem to have perfected the art of lying.
The Chaplain of the Kansas Senate prayed this prayer over the chamber many years ago:
Omniscient Father:
Help us to know who is telling the truth.
One side tells us one thing,
and the other just the opposite.
And if neither side is telling the truth,
we would like to know that, too.
And if each side is telling half the truth,
give us the wisdom to put the right halves together.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
We live in days where the truth is hard to find. As I write this study, our world is in the midst of the COVID Omicron surge and truth is hard to determine. Are the numbers correct? What is really going on? No matter what decision anyone tries to make, it is seemingly based on half-truths.
4. How has a lack of truth around you or in you affected your life or decision-making?
Jesus begins this part of His message speaking of the way oaths were encouraged in the Old Testament. However, what was being encouraged in the Old Testament was not happening during the time that Jesus was speaking.
5. What kind of oaths or vows were encouraged in the Old Testament? (Take a look at Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; and Deuteronomy 23:21.)
6. What was expected of the oath-giver in these passages? What was the consequence if that expectation was not met?
Matthew 5:34-36 says, “Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.”
7. Discuss what Jesus is saying here. The Old Testament encouraged oaths taken by the name of God and Jesus seems to be saying not to take oaths. Why the change?
Do not continue reading before you answer the last question! (LOL)
Jesus was saying something different from what the rabbis of His day had been teaching.
The problem that Jesus was addressing is just as serious today as it was then. Rabbis had decided that if people made vows but did not use the name of the Lord or if another name was used, the vow did not have to be fulfilled completely. They had come up with a way to say you would do something but “cross your fingers behind your back” to get you out of that vow. In fact, Kent Hughes points out that the Mishna (Jewish rabbinical writings) devotes a whole section on oaths and where you can lie and when you cannot.
This sounds like us at times, huh? We can come up with so many reasons to not tell the truth, but those reasons are selfish. They are often for personal gain, saving face, or even covering up sin.
Jesus is saying that His followers do not need to swear by an oath in order to ensure that we are telling the truth. Jesus is not saying that we can never take an oath (in court or the like), but that His followers should be marked by the truth. His followers should be committed to telling the truth at all times.
8. Where do you struggle to tell the truth today?
9. Is there anyone in your life you have lied to that you need to ask for forgiveness?
10. How can you be more committed to the truth in your life as you follow Jesus?
Do not let your fish get bigger.
Do not get better the older you get.
Speak the truth in everything you do and live the truth in everything you say.
A life of truth points to the One that you follow, Jesus. When you can be trusted and are known for speaking the truth, you have more opportunities to help others see Him!
“Let what you say be simply ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Anything more than this comes from evil.” Jesus
Lesson Seven • Oaths
Pastor Josh Yates
If you have ever been in any relationship at all, you have been asked a question where you knew that if you told the truth, you just might find yourself in some hot water.
“Do you like my cookies?”
“What did you think of that presidential debate?”
“Do these pants make me look fat?”
(By the way, the answer to the last question is always an emphatic, “NO!”)
In these situations, it is usually better to care for the heart of the person that is speaking to you rather than to rip into them with the truth of the situation.
Telling the truth is so important. Yet, if we are honest, we find ourselves in situations where we are tempted to tell something less than the truth.
1. When are some times where you have struggled in telling the truth? (Talk about both funny and serious moments or situations.)
We are most tempted to “stretch the truth” when we have been caught doing something we know we should not have done. When we did not clean our room as a kid, when we took that piece of candy, or when we cheated on a test in order to get out of perceived consequences, we lie. We do not tell the truth.
I have told my girls that if they tell the truth, it will always be better than if they lie. If they have done something they should not have, there will be consequences, but if they lie to me, the consequences will be multiplied.
2. What are some consequences you have experienced when caught in a lie in your life?
I remember a time in my childhood when I had done something that I should not have done and I was going to get a spanking. My parents used a belt and I had decided that I would be smarter than my parents and hide it. My mom came and asked me where it was and I laughed at her. You can imagine the consequence. UGH!
We come to the passage that we are studying today in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has gone through the foundation of the sermon in the Beatitudes and is now going through specifics of how a Jesus-follower lives. He has covered our influence in the world, anger, lust, and divorce. It is not a coincidence that He now tackles telling the truth.
Read Matthew 5:33-37.
Jesus talks about oaths in this part of His message. Oaths are not something that we are used to hearing about today. We do not really use that word anymore.
3. What is the oath that Jesus is talking about here? What would be the equivalent today?
When I think of oaths, I think of government. The two sides of our government in America argue and fight over so many issues to try to come to a conclusion and make laws that will strengthen our society. During that process, there are many meetings where promises are made. From the look of things on the outside, those promises are hardly ever kept. In fact, politics seem to have perfected the art of lying.
The Chaplain of the Kansas Senate prayed this prayer over the chamber many years ago:
Omniscient Father:
Help us to know who is telling the truth.
One side tells us one thing,
and the other just the opposite.
And if neither side is telling the truth,
we would like to know that, too.
And if each side is telling half the truth,
give us the wisdom to put the right halves together.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
We live in days where the truth is hard to find. As I write this study, our world is in the midst of the COVID Omicron surge and truth is hard to determine. Are the numbers correct? What is really going on? No matter what decision anyone tries to make, it is seemingly based on half-truths.
4. How has a lack of truth around you or in you affected your life or decision-making?
Jesus begins this part of His message speaking of the way oaths were encouraged in the Old Testament. However, what was being encouraged in the Old Testament was not happening during the time that Jesus was speaking.
5. What kind of oaths or vows were encouraged in the Old Testament? (Take a look at Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; and Deuteronomy 23:21.)
6. What was expected of the oath-giver in these passages? What was the consequence if that expectation was not met?
Matthew 5:34-36 says, “Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.”
7. Discuss what Jesus is saying here. The Old Testament encouraged oaths taken by the name of God and Jesus seems to be saying not to take oaths. Why the change?
Do not continue reading before you answer the last question! (LOL)
Jesus was saying something different from what the rabbis of His day had been teaching.
The problem that Jesus was addressing is just as serious today as it was then. Rabbis had decided that if people made vows but did not use the name of the Lord or if another name was used, the vow did not have to be fulfilled completely. They had come up with a way to say you would do something but “cross your fingers behind your back” to get you out of that vow. In fact, Kent Hughes points out that the Mishna (Jewish rabbinical writings) devotes a whole section on oaths and where you can lie and when you cannot.
This sounds like us at times, huh? We can come up with so many reasons to not tell the truth, but those reasons are selfish. They are often for personal gain, saving face, or even covering up sin.
Jesus is saying that His followers do not need to swear by an oath in order to ensure that we are telling the truth. Jesus is not saying that we can never take an oath (in court or the like), but that His followers should be marked by the truth. His followers should be committed to telling the truth at all times.
8. Where do you struggle to tell the truth today?
9. Is there anyone in your life you have lied to that you need to ask for forgiveness?
10. How can you be more committed to the truth in your life as you follow Jesus?
Do not let your fish get bigger.
Do not get better the older you get.
Speak the truth in everything you do and live the truth in everything you say.
A life of truth points to the One that you follow, Jesus. When you can be trusted and are known for speaking the truth, you have more opportunities to help others see Him!
“Let what you say be simply ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Anything more than this comes from evil.” Jesus
“Do you like my cookies?”
“What did you think of that presidential debate?”
“Do these pants make me look fat?”
(By the way, the answer to the last question is always an emphatic, “NO!”)
In these situations, it is usually better to care for the heart of the person that is speaking to you rather than to rip into them with the truth of the situation.
Telling the truth is so important. Yet, if we are honest, we find ourselves in situations where we are tempted to tell something less than the truth.
1. When are some times where you have struggled in telling the truth? (Talk about both funny and serious moments or situations.)
We are most tempted to “stretch the truth” when we have been caught doing something we know we should not have done. When we did not clean our room as a kid, when we took that piece of candy, or when we cheated on a test in order to get out of perceived consequences, we lie. We do not tell the truth.
I have told my girls that if they tell the truth, it will always be better than if they lie. If they have done something they should not have, there will be consequences, but if they lie to me, the consequences will be multiplied.
2. What are some consequences you have experienced when caught in a lie in your life?
I remember a time in my childhood when I had done something that I should not have done and I was going to get a spanking. My parents used a belt and I had decided that I would be smarter than my parents and hide it. My mom came and asked me where it was and I laughed at her. You can imagine the consequence. UGH!
We come to the passage that we are studying today in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has gone through the foundation of the sermon in the Beatitudes and is now going through specifics of how a Jesus-follower lives. He has covered our influence in the world, anger, lust, and divorce. It is not a coincidence that He now tackles telling the truth.
Read Matthew 5:33-37.
Jesus talks about oaths in this part of His message. Oaths are not something that we are used to hearing about today. We do not really use that word anymore.
3. What is the oath that Jesus is talking about here? What would be the equivalent today?
When I think of oaths, I think of government. The two sides of our government in America argue and fight over so many issues to try to come to a conclusion and make laws that will strengthen our society. During that process, there are many meetings where promises are made. From the look of things on the outside, those promises are hardly ever kept. In fact, politics seem to have perfected the art of lying.
The Chaplain of the Kansas Senate prayed this prayer over the chamber many years ago:
Omniscient Father:
Help us to know who is telling the truth.
One side tells us one thing,
and the other just the opposite.
And if neither side is telling the truth,
we would like to know that, too.
And if each side is telling half the truth,
give us the wisdom to put the right halves together.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
We live in days where the truth is hard to find. As I write this study, our world is in the midst of the COVID Omicron surge and truth is hard to determine. Are the numbers correct? What is really going on? No matter what decision anyone tries to make, it is seemingly based on half-truths.
4. How has a lack of truth around you or in you affected your life or decision-making?
Jesus begins this part of His message speaking of the way oaths were encouraged in the Old Testament. However, what was being encouraged in the Old Testament was not happening during the time that Jesus was speaking.
5. What kind of oaths or vows were encouraged in the Old Testament? (Take a look at Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; and Deuteronomy 23:21.)
6. What was expected of the oath-giver in these passages? What was the consequence if that expectation was not met?
Matthew 5:34-36 says, “Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.”
7. Discuss what Jesus is saying here. The Old Testament encouraged oaths taken by the name of God and Jesus seems to be saying not to take oaths. Why the change?
Do not continue reading before you answer the last question! (LOL)
Jesus was saying something different from what the rabbis of His day had been teaching.
The problem that Jesus was addressing is just as serious today as it was then. Rabbis had decided that if people made vows but did not use the name of the Lord or if another name was used, the vow did not have to be fulfilled completely. They had come up with a way to say you would do something but “cross your fingers behind your back” to get you out of that vow. In fact, Kent Hughes points out that the Mishna (Jewish rabbinical writings) devotes a whole section on oaths and where you can lie and when you cannot.
This sounds like us at times, huh? We can come up with so many reasons to not tell the truth, but those reasons are selfish. They are often for personal gain, saving face, or even covering up sin.
Jesus is saying that His followers do not need to swear by an oath in order to ensure that we are telling the truth. Jesus is not saying that we can never take an oath (in court or the like), but that His followers should be marked by the truth. His followers should be committed to telling the truth at all times.
8. Where do you struggle to tell the truth today?
9. Is there anyone in your life you have lied to that you need to ask for forgiveness?
10. How can you be more committed to the truth in your life as you follow Jesus?
Do not let your fish get bigger.
Do not get better the older you get.
Speak the truth in everything you do and live the truth in everything you say.
A life of truth points to the One that you follow, Jesus. When you can be trusted and are known for speaking the truth, you have more opportunities to help others see Him!
“Let what you say be simply ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Anything more than this comes from evil.” Jesus