Thinking About Integrity Like Jesus

Matthew 5, verses 33 to 37.

Matthew 5:33–37

And Jesus says this,

Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old,

You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.

But I say to you, do not take an oath at all,

either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

or by 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.

Let what you say be simply yes or no.

Anything more than this comes from evil.

This is God's holy word.

Tonight, we are carrying on with Jesus as He preaches His sermon on the Mount.

The last few weeks, we've been saying that Jesus is preaching,

He's speaking in a day when people are trying to minimize the reality of human failure.

And we're on these six commands that Jesus picks up on.

We're on the fourth tonight.

And we've said before, our idea maybe, just maybe,

is that these are just sets of rules.

Rules and more rules.

Or on the other side of that,

maybe perhaps we obsess over them,

and we'll say, you know, I'll be more Christian.

I will be more spiritual if I just keep these commands down to the letter.

Jesus comes to these two extremes, we've said the last few weeks,

evasion and obsession.

And He says it's neither.

This is just, for you, Christian, He says,

this is just about living the life that you have been given.

In a world full of disorder,

in a world full of, you know, what we said the last few weeks,

anger and lust and wrong desires,

broken relationships,

tonight a lack of trust.

In that world, God's ongoing work is to undo that.

And He will undo it at the new creation.

And you, if you are a Christian,

have been called to take part in that work.

We are called to support life,

to illustrate true, beautiful life,

as it's meant to be.

And tonight we're thinking especially about integrity

and keeping your word and being honest.

And with that, again, perhaps we stray towards evasion

rather than staying in the middle where Jesus wants us to be.

With the last three commands,

with the last three sections on anger and wrong desires

and having a correct view of marriage and relationships,

relationships, and tonight, meaning what we say all of the time.

The question is surely, surely we can relax a wee bit.

That's the story in the Screwtape Letters,

this book that Cody was mentioning earlier.

Satan comes and he says,

a little bit of bad is okay.

You don't need to do as Jesus says all the time.

It's attractive.

It's appealing.

Just a wee bit of bad is okay and you'll get by.

If you're a Christian,

you have been called to live this restored life.

And the only reason you have this life

is because Jesus kept his word.

I know some people here are Gavin Orland fans.

He's an American pastor and theologian

and he's got a great podcast.

And on his podcast he says,

you know, as Christians,

we are allowed to have happy thoughts.

We have been given happy thoughts.

And one happy thought is this,

that Christ, before time,

before creation,

the Son of God,

he knew your name.

He thought of you specifically

and he said he would go and die for you.

The plan of the triune God from before time

was to save sinful, broken people

and give them real, true life.

If you're a Christian,

you're called to that.

And the reason you're called to that

is because Christ kept his word.

He fulfilled what he said he would

and he saved you.

So, how do you support life?

How do you,

how do we fulfill our purpose in the world?

We do it by imitating Jesus.

We do it by keeping our word

and being people of integrity.

So, just two points tonight on that.

Two points from these verses that we read.

Firstly, we are,

every single person,

we are all in the presence of God

all the time.

And the second point,

how to mean what you say.

In light of being in the presence of God,

how to mean what you say.

So, firstly,

we all,

every single person,

all of us tonight

are in the presence of God

every single time we speak.

Jesus in this section is,

he's picking up on a serious issue in his day

and we read it there.

It seems like quite a foreign issue to us,

I think,

perhaps more so than the last three commands.

We don't usually swear oaths

or make vows

apart from in court

or at our wedding.

It's a pretty foreign idea.

Jesus is speaking in a day

when it's a big deal

and it's a big problem,

he says.

So, in verse 33,

he follows the same pattern

that we've seen the last few weeks.

You have heard it said,

he says,

you shall not swear falsely

but shall perform to the Lord

what you have sworn.

But I say to you,

do not take an oath at all.

Jesus is again,

for the fourth time in a row,

correcting this idea

that we can minimize

the reality of our human failure.

He tells him,

you know,

you think you can

but you can't.

You've been trying to make it

really difficult

to mess up.

You say you're going to take oaths,

well, I'm telling you,

don't take any at all.

Why?

What's the problem

with taking oaths?

What's the point Jesus is making?

The practice of taking oaths properly,

according to the Pharisees,

is not built around any one command,

but it's a pulling together

of loads of different commands

in the Old Testament,

and you don't need to turn to them,

but I'll read just two or three.

Leviticus 19,

you shall not swear by my name falsely

and so profane the name of your God.

Numbers 30, verse 2,

Numbers 30:2

If a man vows a vow to the Lord

or swears an oath to bind himself

by a pledge,

he shall not break his word.

Ecclesiastes 5,

When you vow a vow to God,

do not delay paying it.

There are so many more,

but the one common feature

that you'll have heard

in each of these commands

is swearing an oath

in the name of the Lord.

You make a vow to God,

and Jesus is summarizing,

in this verse,

Jesus is summarizing

their interpretation.

Of the commands,

when he says,

You shall perform to the Lord

what you have sworn.

They're meant to be a sign

that your word is binding.

Vows were a sign

that in your heart

you really, really meant

what you said.

Swearing was a sign

that you were going to,

without question,

tell the truth

and stick to it.

And what did the Pharisees do?

They took all of these commands

and they said,

Well, only if you swear

in the name of the Lord

is your word binding.

Only if you use his name

when you say something

are you going to have

to follow through on that.

Documents and tracks,

loads and loads

have been found

outside of the Bible

from the time

that Jesus was speaking in.

And there are these reports

that oath-taking

was a part,

it was a big part

of day-to-day life.

So you could take an oath

publicly in front of many people,

you could take an oath

or make a vow privately

with just one person.

Swearing was the same

and books and tracks,

pages and pages

were written

by these religious rulers

to offer people loopholes

when they made these vows.

Formulas,

sets of rules

were created

by taking Leviticus 19

and Numbers 30

and saying that,

you know,

there are things

that you can say

that will mean

you don't really

have to keep your word.

You don't really

have to follow through on this.

If you follow this chart

and you read the verses there,

if you swear by heaven

or by Jerusalem

or by the hairs on your head,

then you're fine.

You don't have to keep your word.

Just as long

as you're not swearing

in the name of the Lord,

you don't have to

keep your word.

We see the problem.

I think God is identifying

a problem of the heart

in the Old Testament

when he gives these commands.

He says, you know,

people are deceitful.

But what do the Pharisees say?

What do they say?

We can work around it.

If we are deceitful

and that's an issue,

we can work around it.

Oaths are meant

to promote truthfulness.

Let's use them

to give us an opportunity

not to be truthful.

And so,

Jesus says,

if you swear

in the name of the Lord

and that's the only time

you're going to tell the truth,

don't swear an oath at all.

Don't make a vow at all.

That's Jesus' point.

Don't take them at all.

Why?

Why not take oaths?

You are always,

Jesus is saying,

in the presence of God,

whether you say it or not.

Heaven is his throne.

The earth is his footstool.

Jerusalem is the city of the king.

Even your head is not your own.

It's God who changes

one black and one gray.

He does that.

From the most public speech

to a relaxed conversation,

to the most careful language,

to the most careless,

flippant language

that someone really believes.

He hears it all.

You are always,

Jesus is saying to them,

in the presence of God

when you speak.

And every word you speak

is before him.

By his name

or by the hairs on your head,

you are speaking

before God.

And again,

we don't take oaths.

We don't make vows daily.

And we read these words

that Jesus is saying

and we think

that's a detached problem.

That's a foreign problem to us.

In verses 34 to 36,

Jesus is saying,

no,

this is a problem

for everyone.

This is a problem

for the heart,

for every person.

You might not swear

by heaven

or by your head,

but God hears

every word you say.

Do we speak well?

Do we mean everything we say?

We are always

in the presence of God.

Every word is before him.

We can put it another way.

This week,

the next seven days,

when you think about

the people

that you're going to meet with

and the things

that you'll probably say to them,

you will not be able

to measure

the truthfulness

of your words.

There are no levels

to truthfulness,

one preacher says.

whether you

really,

really mean something

or you just say it flippantly

and the person believes you,

there is no difference.

You know,

you could be in a court,

you could be swearing

that you'll tell the truth.

You can say to your friend,

yes,

I'll be there.

Do you tell the truth

about the most serious things

and relax a bit

on gray areas?

Do you tell

your friend

or your flatmate

or your husband

or your wife

or your child

or your parents

that you'll do something

for them,

that you'll buy them

this gift

or whatever it might be

and never do it?

Do you speak

with people

in confidentiality

and you know

it's confidential

and they ask you

not to say anything

and yet you go out

and speak about it

anyway?

Jesus says

there are no levels

to integrity.

There is no level

whatsoever to truthfulness.

You can't swear

by the Lord

for one thing

and your head

for another.

It's not at all

about sticking to your word

in one sense

and not in another.

No,

everything you say

is before God.

Everything you say

is by His name.

you can think

about any crime

or police drama

that you watch on TV

or Netflix

or wherever it is

and in almost all of them

one key character

has all the vital information

about this case

that's being investigated

and they say

yes,

I will tell you the truth

as long as I'm not

on the record

and so they meet

in some dim,

shady lit street

or they go to the station

and the cameras

are turned off

and maybe whatever

is said is true

in the program

but it's not

a recorded truth.

It's not under oath

and so,

you know,

it usually means

you get five more episodes

out of this show

because the police

have still got to prove it anyway.

Jesus is making the point

that,

you know,

we can look at it

in the same way.

Jesus is making the point

that

recorded or not recorded truth,

the meaningfulness

of your words

he is saying

does not depend

on the situation.

Your words

are always meaningful.

Your words

outside the court

are as real

and as binding

as your words

in the court.

The Pharisees,

you know,

they can't use formulas

to escape that

and nor can we.

One more thing here

and we'll go on

to the last point.

Words are a big deal.

Jesus makes that point

over and over

and over again

in Matthew

and in the other Gospels.

Paul and James

constantly bring us

back to that

in their letters as well.

Words are a big deal

and

you think,

okay,

you think,

you look at the news

and you think

on an international level

there is constant scrutiny

between countries

or between a leader

and his country

or his people

today

and throughout history.

bring that down

to a personal level.

Bring that down

to you and your sibling

or your parents

or your family

or social group.

Where does tension

come from?

Does it come from

your words

to one another?

Promises maybe

that you don't keep?

Good things

that you speak about

but never follow up on?

Not being honest?

Why?

Why is there such a breakdown

on a social

and an international scale?

Because words

are important.

Words

are deep

and we don't

always mean what we say.

We hide the truth

and we're dishonest.

Jesus says,

don't

treat your words lightly.

There is no level

to integrity.

You are always

before God.

You are constantly

in his presence

and everything you say

is before him.

everything you say

leads to joy

or leads to breakdown

in your relationships.

Do we mean

what we say?

Will we be people

of honesty?

He's asking.

Will we be people

of integrity

with his kingdom life

that we've been given?

Secondly then,

in light of that,

in light of being

in God's presence

all the time,

how to mean

what we say?

Jesus doesn't

complicate it

at all

in this passage.

Let what you say

be simply yes

or no.

Anything more than this

comes from evil.

Mean what you say,

Jesus says.

You don't need oaths.

Just think about

what you're going to say

and mean it.

It's probably

helpful

at this point

to give a couple

of situations

where we don't

follow up on this.

There are quite a lot

but just a couple.

There are

circumstances

where you can't

keep your word.

You know,

emergencies come,

things happen

and you can't

follow through

on what you're

saying you'll do.

Other factors

impact on what

you've said.

Altogether,

apart from the

99% of the time

that you can keep

your word,

there are genuine

reasons why we

can't follow through.

And we know that.

Another thing,

we take oaths

in the courtroom.

And this has

historically been

where a lot

of Christians

come and they say,

well,

Jesus says we

can't take oaths

so we're not

going to be in

the court.

When Jesus says

take no oaths

and simply let

your yes be yes

and your no be no,

he's not saying

you can't take oaths

at all.

The whole reason

oaths exist is

because humans

are prone to

dishonesty

and the world

knows it.

So, you know,

telling the truth,

telling the truth

in the court

is a serious

issue.

And unfortunately,

you know,

you can't just

walk into the

court and say,

can you just

believe me?

Here, I'm a

Christian.

You know,

I'm going to

tell my truth

all the time.

No, you shouldn't

need an oath

as a Christian,

but the external

world asks that

you would take

one.

He's only

telling you,

Jesus is only

telling you

not to use

them for

loopholes.

It's simply

a case of

being truthful

or not.

There are many

more,

but Jesus'

point is

not to

throw them

out.

You know,

he takes one

before he dies.

Paul takes

them in his

letters.

Jesus doesn't

throw them

out, but he

just says,

you're meant

to be honest

all the time,

no matter who

you're speaking

to.

Okay,

apart from

that,

apart from

that,

Jesus says,

let your

yes be

yes and

your no be

no.

Are you

speaking to

your children

and you

promise them

something?

When you

say yes

and you are

completely within

your power to

follow through

in that,

are you

serious about

that,

Jesus asks.

You know,

when you phone

into work sick,

and you

say you

can't come

in,

is that

really a

yes?

Or are you

fit for

everything else

in the day?

When you

say to

someone,

I'll be

praying for

you,

will you

be praying

for them?

What's the

difference?

Your child,

your boss,

your friend

in church,

you know,

it feels

like keeping

your word

has more

or less

impact in

each of

these situations.

No,

no,

Jesus says,

there are

no levels,

there are

no levels

to

integrity.

There's

no point

in swearing

by heaven

or by the

earth or

Jerusalem

or your

head.

Your words

are always

serious.

It doesn't

matter who

you're speaking

to.

All your

words are

before God.

They're all

binding,

like your

yes,

be yes,

and your

no,

be no,

he says.

Be a

person of

truth,

be a

person of

integrity,

and fulfill

your purpose

as a

Christian

in the

world.

One more

thing,

and then we

can finish

more positively,

I think.

To mean what

you say,

to speak with

integrity,

to be upright

and honest

about what

you're going

to do.

It's about

bringing joy

into other

people's

lives.

joy and

not hurt

into your

relationships.

In Hebrews

6,

the writer,

he's reminding

us what God

has promised

to Abraham,

and what he's

promised to

his offspring,

that they

would be

blessed.

And it

says,

God swore

this would

happen.

By

myself,

I have

sworn,

God says.

And,

you know,

we've said

that taking

an oath,

saying I

promise,

making a

vow is a

signal that

us humans

aren't always

good at

keeping our

word.

And so,

if God

cannot lie,

why swear?

Why swear by

his own

name?

When we

swear,

you know,

we're saying

that we're

dishonest.

We're saying

that our

words are

weak.

When God

swears,

he's saying

that our

faith is

weak,

not his

words,

but our

faith.

And in

pursuit of

our

encouragement

and joy,

even this

week,

in pursuit

of building

you up in

your faith,

in pursuit

of our

hope that

we will one

day be with

him forever

and ever,

God says,

I swear,

I swear that

will happen.

He knows

our faith is

weak,

and he says,

you can

really believe

the promises

that I've

made.

to all of

Abraham's

descendants,

to us,

to the

church,

you can

really believe

these promises.

He keeps

his word,

he swears,

God means

what he says

to us.

We mentioned

at the start

this covenant

that was made

by the triune

God before

time,

the covenant

of redemption

has been called.

God promised

before time

to save

his creation

and the

people who

would reject

him.

In John

10,

Jesus speaks

about this

charge that's

been given

to him by

the Father

to die

and rise

again.

It was an

agreement.

It was a

word that

Jesus kept.

Tonight,

if you are

wondering why

telling the

truth and

being people

of integrity

is such a

big deal,

if you are

not a

Christian

and you

wonder why

honesty is

so important,

it was

because of

the integrity

of Jesus.

It was

because of

him keeping

his word

and leaving

his perfect

home and

living out

this life

of tears

and loss

and mocking

and abandonment

and death.

It was because

of that.

It was because

he kept

his word

that you

can be

saved.

Knowing

God,

knowing God

tonight and

being forgiven

for every

broken word

or promise

you've made,

having real

joy in

your soul

is possible

because Jesus

kept his

word.

Truth,

honesty,

integrity

is at

the heart

of God's

relationship

with man.

Will you

believe in

him?

Will you

trust him?

And if you

have done,

do you

believe tonight

if you're a

Christian that

God keeps

his promises

every single

day?

I wasn't

sure if I

had time

at this

point,

but this

afternoon I

just looked

at a list

of all

God's

promises,

or not all

of them,

but many

of them

in the

Bible.

And there

are so

many.

I'm just

going to

list a

few here

that were

helpful to

me as I

look to

this.

1 John

1 John 1:9

1,

verse 9,

if we

confess our

sins,

John says,

he is

faithful and

just to

forgive us

our sins

and to

cleanse us

from all

unrighteousness.

This week,

think about

Matthew 11,

Jesus'

words,

come to

me,

all who

labor and

are heavy

laden,

and I

will give

you rest.

Take my

yoke upon

you and

learn from

me,

for I

am gentle

and lowly

in heart,

and you

will find

rest for

your souls.

Matthew

Matthew 11:9

11,

verse 9,

if you

then,

though you

are evil,

know how

to give

good gifts

to your

children,

how much

more will

the Father

in heaven

give good

gifts to

those who

ask him?

Revelation

Revelation 21:4

21,

verse 4,

one day,

one day,

he will

wipe away

every tear

from their

eyes,

and death

shall be

no more.

Neither

shall there

be mourning,

nor crying,

nor pain

anymore,

for the

former things

have passed

away.

2 Corinthians

1,

20,

for all

the promises

of God

find their

yes in

Christ.

God

pursues

your

encouragement

and your

joy and

faith every

week.

He will

do it

this week

by keeping

his word.

He brings

lost people

home and

he keeps

them there.

He means

what he

says.

His promises

are all

yes in

Christ.

A few

things just

to think

about this

week and

we'll be

done.

Just four

things you

can ask

yourself.

Do you

treat your

words more

or less

seriously

depending on

who you're

talking to

or what

the situation

is?

Is your

speech

flippant

or idle

in some

place and

more serious

with someone

else?

Do you

make the

effort to

really mean

what you

say?

If you

say you'll

do something

for your

boss or

your friends

or your

children,

will you?

If someone

asks you to

pray for

them,

will you?

Is your

yes a yes

and no

no?

Will you

remember that

keeping your

word and

being honest

and being

a person

of integrity

is about

building up

joy in

other people's

lives?

No matter

how young

or old.

Will you

remember that

it's about

being a

faint picture

of Jesus

and helping

others see

him?

Will you

remember

that God

is a God

who keeps

his promises?

promises.

We are

all oath

breakers,

the Bible

says,

but Jesus

will never

cast any

out.

We heard

that at

the start.

There is

forgiveness

with him

for every

broken word

said to

all who

trust in

him.

He will

never turn

any away.

Will you

this week

hold on

to his

promises?

Let's

pray.

Lord,

we ask

that you

would help

us to be

people of

our word.

Help us

as we

think about

this kingdom

life that

you've

given us.

Faint

pictures of

Jesus.

Help us

to be

people of

integrity,

people who

keep our

word and

mean what

we say.

Help us

above all

Lord to

hold on to

your promises

to us.

That even

tomorrow as

we get up

we will

know that

we are in

the arms

of a loving

Father.

Help us

and be

well as

we ask

for Jesus

sake.

Amen.