A Covenant Community Communicates Clearly Series

In the run up to the 1988 Presidential Election, Vice President George H.W. Bush famously said “Read my lips: no new taxes.” He was running on a platform of consistency. He sought to take the policies and success of the Reagan years into a new term. He, in essence, swore an oath, made a promise to American citizens that if they would elect him, he would keep taxes as they are.

I think he said those words with every intention of fulfilling them. As a result, he was elected president that year.

Two years into his presidency, budget shortfalls placed pressure on the economy and on the government’s ability to operate properly. In addition to that, pressures in the middle east were mounting as Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait. War was on the horizon. President Bush had to go back on his word and sign into law a spending bill that raised several taxes. His promise was broken. While that was not his plan, it was the result.

When the next election came around, his opponents and various pundits refused to let him live that down. “Read my lips” became a source of mockery. It became a meme that infused distrust. As a result, President Bush was limited to one term in office.

If you have your Bibles, open them to James 5:12. In this brief verse, James addresses this idea of making promises or swearing oaths. He essentially raises the issue of communication.

James 5:12 ESV

"But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation."

James’ comments here mark what some commentators have noted as the beginning of the end of the book. He uses the word “above all” and then follows it up with teaching on oaths or communication, prayer, and care. Over the next three weeks, we’ll conclude our series and the book with reflections on these three final instructions from James.

Each week week we will reflect on these from the vantage point of being a covenant community. It is important to remember that…

As a covenant community we are family.

Over the course of this book, James has used the Greek word “adelphos” some 14 times. This word is used to describe a close group of people. Literally and figuratively it refers to someone like a brother or a sibling. Some translations use the phrase “brothers and sisters” to encompass the full application of that word.

The fact that James uses this word so much speaks to the familial nature of his audience, a church. We are more than a collective group of people with a common organization. We are more than members of a social club. We the people ARE the organization.

We are family.

A church is not the building, but the people who share a common confession and allegiance with each other. We are family with or without a building. We are a covenant community with or without an address.

As the Apostle Paul writes, we are “members of one another” (Romans 12:5; Ephesians 4:25).

How does this apply to us?

In many ways, this has been a part of the entire letter as James frequently refers to brothers and sisters in his instruction. James’ message is likely to a group of people in a specific locale or multiple groups in various locations, if this letter was intended to be circulated.

The point being is that this letter is intended for the people who are hearing it who are believers in Jesus Christ - who are essentially part of a covenant community - a church.

We are in this walk together. Our faith is not a lone-ranger faith - it’s a collective, communal faith intended to be lived with each other and expressed toward one another.

One aspect of that covenant community is communication.

In a covenant community…

Honest communication is crucial.

Our communication has an impact on each other and on our outward witness. In the verse we’re considering today, James is speaking specifically about oaths or promises. His words here are very similar to the words that we read earlier from the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5:34–37 ESV

"But I say to you, 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. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil."

In the midweek email I mentioned that as kids we would make promises but we would cross our fingers, meaning that it didn’t count. Some people in Jesus’ day would swear oaths by various things in order to ensure that they be trusted, but then would renege on that because the oath wasn’t made on the right thing. Shortly before going to the cross, Jesus gave various religious leaders this warning.