Being People of Truth

I wonder if you've heard the joke about two men who one day found themselves walking through a graveyard.

! And the first man away in the distance spots a gravestone, and it's got some engraving on it.

And he turns to his friend and he says, what does it say?

So the second man runs all the way to the gravestone and slowly begins to shout it back to his friend.

Here's what it says.

Here lies a politician and an honest man.

The first man hears him, smirks to himself, laughs and replies, strange that, isn't it?

Why on earth would they bury two people there?

Clearly a good enough joke that I feel I need to explain it.

It's a joke about how you can't be a politician and an honest person.

But the thing is, if you search online, you will find those kind of jokes for, what did I write down?

Lawyers. I'm happy to take that. He's an ex-lawyer.

Car mechanics, social media influencers, estate agents, journals, and on and on it goes.

There are people in life who we find difficult to take them at their word and find difficult to trust their word.

And I just want to add on the fact that for many of us that will be really painful.

It's not a kind of joke that. It will be really, really painful.

And hang on in there for the good news of this passage that Jesus is going to give us.

But we find it in life difficult to trust some people and take them at their words.

A couple examples of that this week in the news, if you've followed it.

It is like a political drama that you see on Netflix playing out down in Westminster right now, isn't it?

I have lost count of who's in, who's out, who's standing for running against Keir Starmer, who's kind of supporting him.

Kind of lost track of the whole thing.

It's interesting, isn't it? People in circles saying things.

People distrusting, trusting people's words.

Playing out down south, isn't it, at the minute.

It's also playing out if you're into football.

I know it's a raw day to mention football.

But the Premier League playoffs, if you've noticed it down south, they're heading towards their final.

The semi-finals clouded in controversy.

To get to the final, they call it the £100 million game to get promotion to the Premier League.

Again, there was massive controversy this week because Southampton were accused of spying on their opponent, Middlesbrough.

A total breach of the fair play rules that they signed up to at the beginning of the season.

And I loved it.

And a bit of football banter, the Middlesbrough fans all turned up at the game with binoculars.

It was quite funny.

But we live in a world, don't we, where we used to talk about my word is my bond.

We used to talk about gentlemen's agreements.

But nowadays, no one really talks like that.

But friends in the U.S., the phrase that they always use is, now we live in a lawyer-up culture.

But that's the world out there.

But this passage today is going to ask us to take a much closer look at home.

And ask us whether people today would describe us as people of our word.

Are we trustworthy?

It's been well documented, hasn't it, that people today, what do they value?

They value keeping their options open until the last minute in case a better offer presents itself.

Can I give you a little example of this?

I was reading the latest book from Ramesh Ranganathan, you know, the Radio 2 DJ.

He's one of my favorite comedians.

And I've always kind of tracked his career because we're kind of, he's a few years older than me, but we're at the kind of same stage of life.

And I was reading over the Easter holidays his newest and very relatably funny book, which is all about his midlife crisis.

And about how he's noticed these growing behavioral patterns in his life that he now perceives.

And here's what he wrote about plans.

And I know the font is small, but I thought I'd give you the whole quote because I thought it was really funny.

See if his honest humor, call it like it is, connects with you.

He says this,

I became convinced for a while that I had a condition that has been dubbed cancellation ecstasy.

I love cancelling.

It's glorious.

You've arranged to go out for dinner or a night at the pub.

And as the time approaches, you start to dread getting ready and leaving the house.

You start thinking it feels more hassle than it's worth.

And then you start to resent the fact that you're having to go out at all.

A few hours before the event, you convince yourself that the right thing to do for your mental health is to not go out at all.

And you cancel.

Actually feeling noble because you are taking steps to protect yourself.

Now, how relatable is that?

I love what he called that particular chapter, just really simply flake.

But see, when you bring all that together, we are living what I read somebody described recently in the aftermath of the elections last week.

We are living today in a low trust culture.

And so Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount to his disciples about the shape of life in the kingdom of God,

who he's calling us to be as his saved people, saved by grace.

These are so timely.

And they will make them, if we take them to heart, they will make us so distinct.

Really simply because he's encouraging his people to be people of their word.

And it comes in the context of Jesus' teaching about oaths.

It's not language that we use much these days, but hopefully you can kind of connect with that word.

And a bit like last week, before we read it together, here's the question.

Why does Jesus care so much?

So let's read it together while we, the words will go on the screen, but you follow along in your own Bible if you can.

This is Matthew 5, 33 to 37.

We'll pick it up at verse 33.

Jesus speaking to the crowd, to his disciples.

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.

Verse 34.

But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all.

Either by heaven, for it's 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 heads, 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.

And God will bless the reading of his word to us this morning.

So we pick up at verse 33.

Do you see it?

You have heard it said.

Now that's a phrase that Jesus has been using throughout this sermon.

And it's indicating to us once again that he's challenging the teachers of the law and the Pharisees.

Now what were they teaching?

We'll see it there at verse 33.

Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.

Now, strictly speaking, that is not a precise quotation of any one particular law of Moses.

So you won't find that exact phrase in the Old Testament.

But what it is, is an accurate summary of several Old Testament commands.

Ones where God's people were encouraged to make promises to God and follow through on and fulfill those promises.

Really simply make a promise to God and keep it.

Simple as that.

Give me a couple examples on the screen.

Here's one from Numbers 30.

When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word, but must do everything he said.

Do you see it?

Or here's another one.

You can scribble these down if you want.

Deuteronomy 23.

If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it.

For the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.

So the concept at verse 33, their quotation, is certainly an accurate one.

But the Pharisees and teachers of the law, as they teach the people, and remember in their day, their role, they're doing more than teaching the people.

They're also called to set the pace when it comes to holiness, godliness.

Just like they've done with divorce.

Remember this last week.

They're doing the same here.

They're demonstrating the fact that they're sticklers for the letter of the law, but totally missing the heart of the law.

Now we thought last week, if you get back into what's going on in this sermon, remember we've thought about this every single week.

The mistake is to think that this is a moral lecture from Jesus.

It's not that at all.

It is about what life inside his kingdom looks like.

And we thought last week that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, if you remember this, they're presenting to the people a botched version of the original.

And Jesus has come to restore it to its beauty and its original intention and to display that to his disciples, not just in his teaching, but in his life.

And somebody insightfully asked our growth group this week, as we consider that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.

Somebody asked, why are they getting it so wrong?

That's a good question, isn't it?

Why are they getting it so wrong?

And I think the answer, if you remember back to the first week, first couple of weeks we spent in the sermon on the night, the answer is that they are trying to make it easier to obey.

They are trying to drop the bar so low that anybody can feel like they've got over it.

Because who doesn't want to feel like we're all in God's good books?

So when it comes to righteousness, what they're trying to do is achieve it on the cheap.

When it comes to righteousness, they're trying to achieve it on the cheap.

And so when it comes to oaths, in an attempt to make it easier to obey, got to notice what's going on here, what they're doing.

They are just shifting the emphasis.

Hold with me, track with me.

Take that phrase, fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.

Now the emphasis is mine just for the purposes of this.

Take that phrase, fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.

Now it doesn't require too much thinking to realize that the emphasis in that sentence, where is the really important thing?

It's on the Lord, isn't it?

It's on the Lord.

This is about who the Lord is.

This is about who he is.

This is about what he has done.

This is about what he has said.

And it's in light of his character that we'll come back to in about 10 minutes time.

It's in light of his character that we want to obey.

So the stress is on the Lord.

However, in their day, what they've done is they've just switched the emphasis.

They've shifted the emphasis to the vow.

And they've come up with this elaborate scale by which people can assess the seriousness of the vow that they have made.

And maybe to get your head around what I'm talking about, this is a bit like, if you remember back to the playground at school.

Do you remember this?

Unless your friend would promise to do something and you would take them at their word.

Or maybe you were that person, I don't know.

Friend would promise something, you would take them at their word.

You would act on what they said.

You would come back to them and say, why didn't you do what you said?

And they would say, oh, sorry, I made that promise all the time having my fingers behind my back.

So technically, it doesn't count.

And that's kind of what they're doing when it comes to the vows that they are making.

And see, later on in Matthew's gospel, you kind of get a worked example of this.

This is chapter 23.

Isaiah 23 · chapter mention

Jesus speaking.

I'll go on the screen.

He says, woe to you blind guides.

And that's strong language, isn't it?

You say, if anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing.

But if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, it's bound by the oath.

You blind fools.

Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?

You also say, if anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing.

But anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.

You blind men.

Which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

So can I give you the Shanks-inspired paraphrase of what's going on here, right?

They've created this bizarre distinction where somebody makes a promise saying, I swear by the temple, right?

I swear by the temple.

And when they don't follow through on that, they would say, ah, well, technically, technically, I only swore by the altar.

And so it doesn't count.

And so they've developed this whole system whereby your promises only count if you make them in a certain way and you make them according to a certain formula.

And the three examples, I think, in the text, I think that's what Jesus is saying to them.

Do you see them there?

Heaven, earth, and Jerusalem.

You can imagine that.

I swear by heaven.

I swear by earth.

I call upon Jerusalem as my witness.

You kind of get that, right?

And Jesus comes along and looks at this whole charade and says, what utter nonsense.

And two reasons it's nonsense.

The first one is implied in the text.

And it's what the very existence of the oath tells you.

Now, last week, if you remember last week, if you were here, we thought about the fact that the certificate of divorce with that,

Jesus was implying that it only exists because of the hardness of your heart.

This week, Jesus, I think, is implying with the oath.

Do you know what?

It only exists in the first place because of your untruthfulness.

I mean, if you're having to convince someone to trust you by appealing to an oath,

essentially saying to them, I really, really, really, really mean it this time,

then that doesn't reflect well on your character, does it?

You're having to convince somebody, beg somebody to trust you.

I mean, what kind of person has to twist someone's arm to get them to trust them?

Answer, an untrustworthy one.

So it's implied in the text.

Why do oaths exist in the first place?

Think about it.

But I think the second reason is, again, implied in the text.

And it's this.

Because commentators generally agree with this,

that what had happened here is that they had developed this system,

that if you use the Lord's name, then your vow is really serious.

But if you didn't use the Lord's name, it's not as serious.

And Jesus is saying, do you see the futility of thinking

that you can somehow keep God out of this by not using his name?

Do you see how that is utterly absurd?

This is how I've been thinking about it this week.

It's a bit like that constant theme in Lord of the Rings

when Frodo, any time he puts on the ring,

the all-seeing eye of Sauron kind of sees him and looks at him,

and all of a sudden he's got him.

And if he takes off the ring, he's invisible again.

It's that kind of thing that they're trying to do with the vows.

We mention the Lord's name, all of a sudden he sees.

But see, if we don't mention the Lord's name, he doesn't see.

That's the mindset.

Thinking if we just keep him out of it,

if we just keep him out of it

and try and get around the back door with our oaths,

then we're doing okay.

Because we still kept our oath,

because technically we swore over something else.

So technically we're okay.

Do you remember we said this last week,

they are looking for loopholes?

And just as an aside,

that was the precise logic of the famous atheist philosopher A.C. Grayling.

He talked about how society's reliance

on thousands of CCTV cameras in public places

was proof of the fact that people today

don't believe that a divine being is watching them.

So I've always found it interesting

why he thought that that proved the unreliability of God.

When I think actually all it does

is just show the unreliability of the human heart.

But you can make your minds up on that one if you want.

But Jesus is reminding his disciples here really simply

that God sees it all.

And it's a great time to remind ourselves,

every time we come up against this stuff,

remind ourselves who the Lord is.

I'll give you two words.

The Lord is the omnipresent one.

So that word omni just means all present everywhere.

He is the all everywhere one.

And he is the omniscient one, right?

Omni, again, all science, knowledge.

That's where we get science from if you're into that.

Omni, he is the all-knowing one.

So he's the all-seeing one.

He is the all-knowing one.

He is the holy one.

He is the one who's so far above the things of this earth.

And they have reduced him to,

he only sees when we kind of bring him into the equation.

And Jesus says, how wrong, how twisted.

How twisted.

How foolish.

And I think what Jesus is getting at here

is what the Puritans used to talk about

using that Latin phrase, coram deo,

meaning always in the presence of God.

Always in the presence of God.

All of life, always in the presence of God.

And that's what Jesus is encouraging in his disciples,

I think here.

Now, remember that shift in emphasis?

The Pharisees seeking to make it easier to obey,

dropping the bar.

They're seeking to put the emphasis not on the Lord.

They're seeking to place it on the vow.

I think really simply, if you want to understand this,

Jesus here is just seeking to shift the emphasis back.

And so here's his simple conclusion and plea to his disciples,

verse 37.

All you need to say, remember,

in light of everything he's just said,

in light of who the Lord is,

all you need to say is simply yes or no.

Anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Now, what is he seeking to create in the hearts of his people?

I take it really simply, truthful speech.

People whose words can be trusted.

Now, listen, you might hear that and think to yourself,

well, listen, I never come out with lines like,

I swear on my auntie's dog's grave, right?

Or as God is my witness.

I never come out with lines like this in my life.

But Jesus won't let us off the hook so easily.

He loves us too much for that.

Because so often we do this in subtle ways.

Can I ask you four questions that as this passage has had me

in a headlock this week and wrestled with me,

that I've freshly realized that I am so guilty of

and sometimes I don't even notice it?

And try these on for signs and they all begin with over.

See if they connect.

Friends, are you guilty, first of all, of maybe over-promising?

Right?

Saying that you'll make sure that something definitely happens

and then being casual on making good on those words.

Some of my biggest regrets in life

and some of my biggest pains I've received in life

are all to do with that.

Hurt people by the things that I promised would happen

and never happened.

Or was led up the garden path to think that something was going to happen

and it never happened.

Really hurtful.

But Jesus is saying,

are you prone to over-promising?

Secondly, are you prone to over-committing?

Saying you'll take something on,

saying that you'll be at something

and then realizing that you've written a check

that you can't cash?

Just, oof, find this really hard.

Third, these are really quick.

Are you prone to over-egging?

Exaggerating stories for effect?

Using superlatives?

Replaying conversations in your mind

where you're always the one who comes off 100% in the right?

Maybe fourth, are you prone to over-speaking?

Pretending you have answers

when really you have no answers?

You know, our phones,

I think this happens all the time in my life.

My phone tricks me into thinking

that I'm the one who's omniscient.

All-knowing.

So all I need to do is just go on Google

and I can find out answers to things.

And all of a sudden,

I can be an expert

in any kind of things.

Horticulture, politics, anything.

I can be an expert

and give me five minutes

and I can rustle up a conversation.

That combined with social media

and feeling the pressure

to be an expert in everything,

to give your hot take,

to give your opinion

and the speed of the news

that comes at us these days

in our 24-7 news channels

that says you need to be informed

on everything.

You know, friends,

can I tell you the lecturers at uni

that made the biggest impact on me

were the ones who I could tell

were the cleverest people in the room.

I mean, their knowledge.

I cannot begin to even fathom

the things that they know, right?

But here's the thing.

When they were quizzed on something,

when we used to have a Q&A

at the end of class,

it's 10 minutes Q&A,

anyone got any questions?

And they got asked a question

that they didn't know.

So instead of waffling an answer,

they would just humbly say,

do you know what?

I don't know,

but great question.

I want to find out.

I think we feel the pressure,

don't we, sometimes,

of having to know everything.

But friends,

see when you bring

those four things together,

over-promising,

over-committing,

over-egging,

over-speaking,

I think here's what

we need to see.

Is that a great question

to be asking

with these four things?

And there's lots more

we could have said, right?

But a great question

to be asking

is always,

why do I do it?

Why do I do it?

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

What is the heart motivation

in these things?

Have you ever thought

last week about

so often the devil

tempts us to think

that red flags

are actually bunting?

And friends,

can I suggest

that these things

might just be warning lights

that are going on

in our hearts?

Can I give you

my honest answer

why I so often do it?

I so often do it

because I think

I want people

to think better of me

than I actually am.

And our words

really are

windows into our hearts.

A great question

to ask yourself

with these things

is what's going on

in my heart.

Again,

as my American friends

used to say,

you've got to learn

in life to pop the hood.

What's going on

in the heart?

And so why are we

to be truthful people,

right?

How are we going to change?

Because I take it

none of us are sitting here

thinking,

do you know what?

I love lying.

But it comes so naturally

to us.

I think this is why

Jesus is speaking

into this area.

It's like we're born

with the seeds

of deceptiveness

in our hearts,

isn't it?

It's what happens

in Genesis 3.

And Jesus has come

to woo us back

to life in the light.

How are we going

to change?

Well, I take it

it's a bit like

what environmentalists

will tell you

about water pollution.

It is in a way

pretty futile

to spend your time

cleaning up

the actual river.

In actual fact,

what you need to do

is go way back

to the source.

And I'm convinced

this is what Jesus

is doing in this sermon.

We often get

focused on the river.

But he's saying

he wants,

if we're going to change

and he longs to change us,

he will take us

right back to the source.

What's the problem

with murder?

It's the evil thoughts,

angry thoughts

in your heart.

What's the problem

with adultery?

It's the lust

that exists in your heart.

So don't,

this is bad,

but this isn't

where the problem is.

The problem is here.

And sometimes we need

to go way further upstream.

And I think this is

what Jesus is doing here.

And here's somebody

who puts it way better

than I will.

This is a man

called David Gibson

up in Aberdeen

in his book

called Radically Whole.

And can I just recommend

that you get it?

It's on the book of James,

but it is

so applicable here.

Try this quote on for size.

Never try to fix your words

by mending your mouth.

Instead,

the heart needs to change.

Since the tongue

is the hinge

on which the door

of the heart turns,

we need to open

our hearts to God,

first of all.

And then,

when we open

our mouths,

things will be

different.

And the answer,

I think here,

that Jesus is

wooing us towards

is knowing

who the Lord is.

That's what's upstream.

Not our words,

not our truthfulness.

We don't start there.

We start by getting back

and knowing the Lord

who loves us

and has saved us.

Remembering his character.

Remembering the Lord,

the one who is faithful.

Remembering that the Lord

is one who never

changes his mind.

There is no shadow

due to change

with him.

Remembering that the Lord

is the one who always

delivers

on his words.

He is the one

who speaks

truth.

He is the one

who is outside

of time.

And on and on

and on we could go.

It's by remembering

who the Lord

is.

Friends,

when I use my words

to improve

what others

think of me,

it shows

that I've forgotten

that the most

important

and defining

thing about me

is what God

says is true

of me

in the gospel.

When I live

for the praise

of others

instead of his praise,

that's exactly

what it shows

me in you.

And remembering

the Lord,

remembering what

is true of us

of the gospel.

What is true?

And so often

what this gathering

is,

we gather every week

as one body

is all about

remembering

what the Lord

has said

is true.

What is true

of us in Christ,

of our,

and you might be

here feeling like

it is a mustard

seed faith I have

in Christ.

Seems to me

that the tenderest

words of Jesus

for people

are those in the

gospels for whom

that is true.

If I can just

touch the hem

of his garment.

Lord,

I believe,

help my unbelief.

It is those people.

But what is true

of us

that God declares

over us

in Christ

because of our

faith in him?

The Christ who

went to the cross,

the Christ who

came and lived,

the Christ who

is risen,

and as we sang

at the start,

who has our names

graven in his hand.

What is true

of us?

We are a new

creation.

The old is gone,

the new has come.

We are forgiven,

we are chosen,

we are loved,

we are adopted,

we are sealed

with his spirit,

and we have a

glorious future

ahead.

That's what's

true of us,

and the call

here is to

take that truth

about who the

Lord is

and have that

impact and change

our words.

And we're going

to think more

about this

next week.

that the Lord

is transforming

his people

into those

who increasingly

reflect something

of his character

to the watching

world.

And in this

case,

what is that

truth?

It is his

truthfulness and

faithfulness.

Do you see how

that changes

any little

lies,

little exaggerations

we are tempted

to tell,

ways that we're

tempted to promise

things,

and all

these things,

we can glorify

God in those

smallest of

moments.

The call here

is to make

your words

matter.

And we can

build our

lives there

on who the

Lord is.

You know,

just as we

close,

I've got my

grand's funeral

on Wednesday

next week.

You can pray

for us with

that funeral.

She was 95

when she

died.

Suffered

from vascular

dementia the

last season

of her life.

got a

funeral

Wednesday.

And my

dad this

week,

or the

tail end

of last

week,

was cleaning

out her

flat,

thinking what

on earth

are we going

to do for

the funeral?

And as it

turns out,

a lot of

people like

her in that

generation,

she'd written

the funeral

plan before

she died,

but she

didn't just

write it a

week or

even a month

before she

died.

She wrote

this thing

12 years

before she

died.

And she

was still

fit as a

fiddle.

And he

sent us

a screenshot

of it,

and she's

written this,

she was like,

I would love

to use this

funeral director.

The funeral

director is not

going anymore,

right?

I would love

to use this

minister,

my minister.

I had to

drag the

guy who

retired

late 80s

to come

and do

the funeral.

It's fine,

so we're

having a

joke about

the things

in this

that have

totally

changed.

But then

we start

reading,

I want

these

readings,

things,

and I

want these

hymns,

and these

to be

themes that

come out

of my

funeral,

and all

of a sudden

you're laughing

at the

things that

change,

but the

whole thing

is built

upon the

things that

don't

change.

The whole

thing,

our whole

life is

built on

the fact

that the

Lord is

truthful,

he's

faithful,

and we

can stake

everything.

It doesn't

matter how

long in

advance you

want to

plan the

end,

the Lord

is saying

the end

is written,

it's done,

it's sealed,

and you

can live

your life

backwards.

So it

doesn't

matter how

much of a

running you

have to

the end,

how many

days,

hours,

weeks,

months we

have left

on this

planet,

by God's

grace,

you can

stake it

all in

the fact

that I

am truthful

and not

going to

change.

So do

you see

how that,

knowing that,

knowing who

the Lord

is,

it impacts

friends.

Our

words.

It impacts

our words.

Here's the

words of

Isaac Watts,

and I love

this quote,

and we'll

end with

this.

I believe

the promises

of God

enough to

venture an

eternity on

them.

Let me

pray.

And so

Father,

we pray

today for

just a

greater view

of you.

thank you

that you

have not

left

yourself

without

witness.

Thank you

that we

can look

around,

we can

see,

and we'll

think a

bit more

about this

next week,

we can

see your

goodness

in

creation,

we can

see your

power in

creation,

we can

turn,

though,

to the

pages of

the Bible,

we can

see your

plan,

your

purposes,

your

track

record,

and we

can look

at Christ

and see

perfectly

who you

are.

Father,

thank you

that you

have not

left

yourself

without

witness.

And we

pray,

Lord,

that we

would leave

here today

having

increased in

our knowledge

of who

you are,

and may

you in

turn,

continually,

day by

day,

moment by

moment,

and word

by word,

turn us

into a

people who

increasingly

display your

truthfulness to

a watching

world.

Father,

we thank

you for

your love

for us

this morning,

and I

pray,

Lord,

for all

of us,

wherever

this has

landed,

that they

would be

both conviction,

and comfort.

Lord,

we leave

here with

an increased

desire to

live for

you,

and we

pray all

of these

things in

Christ's

precious name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.