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So Help Me God: A Biblical View of Oaths

  1. "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth..."

  2. "I take thee to be my lawful wedded wife and I do promise and covenant before God and these witnesses to be thy loving and faithful husband, in sickness and in health..."

  3. "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States..."

  4. Weddings, Inaugurations, court rooms, etc.

  5. What does the Bible teach about honoring our oaths?

Oaths Defined

  1. Oath = promise, a promise or agreement between 2 people

  2. Appealing to God to avenge the failure to keep this promise

  3. Includes – bride and groom at wedding; courtroom, enter a contract

The Third Commandment

  1. Not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain

  2. Many assume this means – don't curse, use profanity

  3. “Name of the Lord” - not a literal name; but to God Himself

  4. “In vain” - literally means “falsely”

    1. Do not swear (utter) the name of God to a lie

    2. Do not swear (utter) the name of God falsely

  5. Do not appeal to God to confirm a falsehood.

  6. It also includes other irreverent uses of God's name

In Defense of Oaths

  1. Does this command forbid ALL oaths?

    1. Matthew 5:33-37

    2. James 5:12

  2. Caution: Not all oaths, but all unlawful (unbiblical) oaths

The General Context

  1. We are commanded to swear by the name of God.

    1. Deuteronomy 6:13

    2. Isaiah 65:16

  2. Swearing is a part of confession and worship

    1. Deuteronomy 10:20

    2. Confess that God exists

  3. Examples of those who swore

    1. God himself – Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7:21; Hebrews 6:13

    2. Christ – Matthew 26:63-64a

    3. Paul – Romans 1:9; Philippians 1:8; 2 Corinthians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:27

The Particular Context

  1. Matthew 5:33-37

  2. Created situations where lying was OK

  3. Speaking beyond “yes” and “no” is “of evil”

Biblical Guidelines for Oaths

  1. We must distinguish the lawful from the unlawful oaths

  2. The Bible does this for us

Should You Take An Oath?

  1. Here are some Biblical guidelines

    1. The object of the oath must be Biblical

    2. What you promise must be true, you must keep what you promise.

    3. The oath must be necessary

    4. You must be ready to abide by the oath – no matter what

What Should Be the Content of Your Oath?

  1. The oath must appeal to God alone.

  2. The language of the oath must be clear, unequivocal, unambiguous

  3. Helpful to reduce the oath to writing

Breaking Oaths

  1. Violates the 3rd commandment

  2. Don't make excuses – As much a humanly possible, keep the oath

Wrong Reasons for Breaking Oaths

Change in Circumstances

Oath Which Is Impossible to Perform

  1. Know it is impossible – don't make it

  2. May become impossible by circumstances (next section)

Violation of An Oath Negates the Oath

  1. Even today – fail to pay for a car, repossessed, sold – you will still owe any remaining balance

  2. Failure to keep a vow does not do away with the vow.

Oath Involuntarily Imposed by Legitimate Authority

  1. Government may require an oath – court, official documents, etc.

  2. As long as the oath does not promise what God forbids

Oath Made to Unbelievers

Oath Made Under Distress

Legitimate Reasons To Break Oaths

  1. If the oath is sinful:

    1. In Russia – Orthodox promised to light candles, say prayers, etc.

    2. Herod – promise to kill John the Baptist was sinful, violate this promise

    3. Jepthah – sacrifice daughter

  2. If the oath becomes impossible to complete:

    1. Promise to mow a lawn and you suffer a stroke and are paralyzed – now it is not possible to keep the promise.

    2. Promise to attend a wedding – have a heart attack and are in ICU

Conclusion

"Where an oath is falsely taken," warns R. L. Dabney, "it is a heaven-daring attempt to enlist the Almighty in the sanction of the creature's lie and is thus, either the most outrageous levity, or the most outrageous impiety of which he can be guilty."

Adapted from - http://www.reformed.org/webfiles/antithesis/index.html?mainframe=/webfiles/antithesis/v1n1/ant_v1n1_oaths.html




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