“Liar, Liar”
Matthew 5:33-37
The term “ethic” refers to moral principles which govern the behavior of a person or a group.
The root word is “ethos” which is the Greek word for “character”.
A person or group is characterized by the principles which govern their behavior.
Most of us have become very familiar with the term “Judeo-Christian Ethic” as it has become increasingly popular in the media.
When someone uses this term, it is typically an attempt to describe people who use the Bible as the normative guide for their morals.
Ethics are a valuable part of what make any belief system, and they are foundational within the Christian faith.
The Christian life is a life of principles.
It is a life which is supposed to be marked by certain behaviors which separate it from the world.
This is not to say that Christianity is merely a list of “dos and don’ts” - it is much more than that.
But there are principles which underlie the idea of what it means to be “Christian”.
In fact, it wasn’t too long ago that Christianity was so associated with certain types of virtuous behavior, that it was used as a synonym.
People would say, “That’s very ‘Christian’ of you” if someone did something positive or noble.
Likewise, people would say, “That’s not very ‘Christian’” if a person was doing something negative or sinful.
Unfortunately, like most things, these terms began to be misused.
People began labeling things they did not approve of as “unchristian” and soon everything under the sun fell into that category.
Everything from dancing to going to the movies was deemed “unchristian” by some, and eventually the term lost its meaning.
But beloved, there s a very real and true Christian ethic - there are things which should characterize Christians, and things which should not.
Whether we call these things “Christian or Unchristian” or simply “right or wrong”, they are standards which we are called to live under as followers of Christ.
In our modern world, these standards are often mocked or outrightly rejected.
And this is not only by the world, but also by the church.
There are movements of “christianity” which have abandoned the biblical ethic and replaced it with a moral relativism.
This culture is called antinomianism, which means that they refuse to be bound by the ethical principles of Scripture.
They say rightly that “nobody is perfect” and use this as an excuse to live in any way they please.
In short, they choose to “continue in sin” in hopes that “grace will abound”.
Beloved, such an attitude is both dangerous and unbiblical... and might I add “not very christian”.
Once we have given up our pursuit of Christian character, our ethical principles, we have given up our pursuit of godliness.
As believers, this is not an option.
In the Sermon on the Mount, which we have been studying for the past few months, Jesus is providing for us an exposition of Christian Ethics.
He is exposing the false understandings of the Jewish teachers of His day, and providing a proper view of them.
And in doing so, He is establishing the “Ethics of the Kingdom” for all of His followers.
This is what Christianity looks like:
Its not enough just to not murder, we must also avoid unrighteous anger and words which tear down and destroy.
Its not enough to not commit adultery, we must avoid looking at a woman with lustful intent.
Marriage is to be held in high esteem, and divorce is a corruption of God’s original intent for marriage.
These are all part of the Christian Ethic that we have seen so far.
Jesus is not here expounding every single law, but is providing us with examples of how God’s laws are more than mere “rules to live by” but they are principles upon which to base our lives.
Today, we are going to see how Jesus continues to expand His teaching in regard to Christian Ethics, as He moves into the subject of truthfulness.
READ: Matthew 5:33-37
Years ago, a film was produced entitled “Liar, Liar”.
The story of the film was based on a boy named Max whose dad was a talented, but very deceptive lawyer. On his birthday, Max made a wish that his dad would be forced to tell the truth for an entire day. And, by the power of hollywood magic, the wish came true. The whole day, the father is unable to tell a lie and it results in him alienating co-workers, insulting his neighbors, and frustrating his family.
The movie was attempting to be humorous, but it did shed a light on a very serious issue in our world... the issue of our willingness to lie.
In fact, the film’s protagonist says at one point, “Sometimes adults HAVE to lie.”
Interestingly, this feeling which was conveyed by the character is not far off from the way many people - including Christians - often feel about the subject of lying.
People are experts at trying to find ways to circumvent the truth.
Pamela Meyer, author of the book Lie Spotting, gives some interesting statistics about people’s willingness to lie. Here are some interesting quotes from her research...
“Last year saw 997 Billion dollars in corporate fraud. That’s an eyelash under a trillion dollars.”
“On a given day, studies show that you may be lied to anywhere from 10-200 times. Granted many of those are white lies. But in another study it showed that strangers lie three times within the first ten minutes of meeting each other.”
“People lie more to strangers than we do to co-workers. Extroverts lie more than introverts. Men lie 8 times more about themselves than they do about other people. Women lie more to protect other people. The average married couple lies to one another in one out of every ten interactions.”
“Lying is complex. It is woven into our daily lives. We are deeply ambivalent about the truth.”
“Babies will fake a cry, stop to see who’s coming, and then go right back to crying. One year olds learn concealment. Two year olds bluff. Five year olds lie outright; they manipulate via flattery. Nine year olds are masters of the cover-up. College students lie to their mothers in one out of every five interactions. By the time we enter the workforce, we enter a world which is cluttered with spam, fake digital friends, partisan media, ingenious identity thieves, world class pansy schemers, .... it is a deception epidemic.”
NOTE: Those who believe in evolution actually teach that deception is beneficial to our species, as it is a result of evolutionary progress.
Its survival of the fittest, and the fittest are those who “do what it takes” to succeed.
Deception aids in dominating others and becoming the leader of the pack.
Thus, deceitfulness is understood by the world to be a part of “doing business”.
Think about it...
When we hear that a politician has lied to the people, are we shocked anymore?
When we hear about a corporation defrauding its investors, are are scandalized as a people anymore?
When we hear about pastors fleecing their flocks and using the funds to finance lavish lifestyles, are we amazed anymore?
NO! Outright deception has become so commonplace that it no longer has the capacity to surprise us.
One author said we live in a “post-truth society”.
But what does Christ have to say in regard to the truth?
For the Christian, and the Christian-Ethic, truth is paramount.
It is the foundation upon which all of our belief system is built.
And if we are not people of the truth, then we are not Christians.
In our text today, Jesus is addressing the issue of the taking of oaths, and how that relates to speaking truth.
Something I want to point out is that this passage has been misunderstood by many in my opinion.
There are those, such as the Anabaptists and the Quakers, who believe this passage to be rejecting any and all oaths outrightly.
As a result, they are unwilling to participate in any activity wherein an oath is stated such as pledging allegiance to their country, or taking an oath in a court of law.
And it is easy to see how a basic reading of just this passage alone can cause someone to come away with that idea.
However, the Bible is not supposed to be read in single verses, but as a cohesive unit.
We have to compare Scripture with Scripture to ensure we are coming to the proper interpretation of any text.
If all oaths were condemned, then we would have to take issue with the apostle Paul, who used the language of oaths often under the direction of the Holy Spirit...
Galatians 1:20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!)
2 Corinthians 1:23 But I call God to witness against me—it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth.
Philippians 1:8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.
We would also have to take issue with Christ, who submitted to being “under oath” before the Sanhedrin.
QUOTE: D. Martin Lloyd Jones said, in regard to Jesus being under oath, “He did not denounce it on such an occasion, but seemed to regard it as perfectly legitimate.”
But, most convincing is that God Himself also promised by an oath, and it is recorded for us in Hebrews...
Hebrews 6:16-18 “For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”
Based on these accounts, it is obvious that Jesus is not here condemning all oaths outright, but instead He has a specific type of oath in mind.
A simple comparison of all that the bible says about oaths shows us that Jesus is not condemning all oaths, but is instead condemning a practice which was being taught by the Pharisees of His day.
The oaths Christ is repudiating were the ones which were conniving attempts to deceive; ones wherein the person making the oath had no intention to fulfill.
Matthew 5:33 “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.’
First of all, this is not a direct quote from the Old Testament Law, but is a paraphrasing of various quotes from the Old Covenant.
Leviticus 19:12 “You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.”
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. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”
Deuteronomy 23:21 “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.”
Ecclesiastes 5:4 “When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.”
All of these verses had been combined to form the directive which Jesus is addressing.
Matthew 5:34-36 “But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.”
These oaths which Jesus is here referring to were ones which the leadership had attempted to “compartmentalize” and decrease their ability to “bind” an individual.
Some of these compartmentalized oaths involved God, and some did not.
And thus, there were ones which were more binding than others.
Some were not very binding at all.
QUOTE: B. Schwertely “According to the teaching of the ancient rabbis, swearing by heaven and earth meant to swear by the hosts of heaven and the hosts on earth (Mishna, Shebuot, c. 4. sect. 13). The Jewish writer Philo says it refers to the sun, stars and the whole earth. Since the Jews regarded these things as part of the created realm and not God Himself, they did not look upon such a promise as a binding oath. Violating such an oath was not considered wrong (Maimon. Hilch. Shebuot, c. 12 sect. 3).”
The issue which Christ is addressing is an attempt to circumvent the responsibility of keeping one’s word.
By creating these “unbinding oaths”, the Pharisees had created a method whereby a person could willing defraud another with impunity.
Jesus addresses these again later in Matthew...
Matthew 23:16-22 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.”
In this passage, Jesus is fleshing out the problem with the Pharisee’s logic.
They were teaching that to swear by the Temple was different than swearing by the gold of the Temple... and that swearing by altar was different from swearing on the gift on the altar.
Again, their problem was that they wanted some oaths to be “more binding” than others.
To this, Jesus has a very simple and succinct answer...
Matthew 5:37 “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”
This is the Christian ethic - ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH.
For the Christian, it is not so much that oaths are strictly FORBIDDEN, it is that oaths are UNNECESSARY!
We do not need to pepper our language with words of oaths and promises... our yes should be yes, and our no should be no.
Lies and deceit should not be things which describe the Christian character.
They are the opposite of what we are called to - we are called to be:
- Lovers of the truth
- Proclaimers of the truth
- Followers of the truth.
Our Savior called Himself the way, THE TRUTH, and the life.
Christianity is founded and reliant upon a commitment to the truth.
Lying and being a liar is the antithesis of what a Christian is supposed to be.
When we lie, we are not following the example of Christ.
Instead we are following the very ways of Satan himself.
Consider what Jesus told the Pharisees, when they claimed to be children of God...
John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
How was Satan a murderer from the beginning?
He did not physically kill Adam and Eve.
But he did kill them by his deceit.
His lies to Eve tempted her down a path of destruction, which lead to the entire human race being plunged into total depravity.
When a person lies, he is not emulating Christ.
The Bible says that He never, ever told a lie.
1 Pete 2:22 “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”
Instead, when a person lies, he is emulating Satan, the father of lies.
And a life which is filled with lies is a life which has not been converted to the truth.
This is why John can confidently say these words...
Revelation 21:8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
CONCLUSION: It is interesting to me that “truthfulness” is one of the few ethics within Christianity which the world does respect - at least partially.
Not many people are pleased to be thought of as liars or untrustworthy.
Often people get very angry at the very insinuation that they have lied.
Even people who confess to the most heinous crimes will often say, “At least I didn’t lie about it!”
I mention this because - even though our world is consumed by deceit - there is something within all of us which knows that naturally deception and lying are wrong.
We all know that deception is wrong... God has written this truth on our hearts.
Yet, with every day that passes, lies continue to increase.
Deception is rampant...
In politics
In advertising
In relationships
And sadly even in the pulpit.
And beloved, it should not be so with us.
Truthfulness is foundational to the Christian Ethic.
It begins with us who call ourselves the Church... the body of Christ.
We must be known as people of integrity... as people of the truth.
And people who can be counted on to stand by our Word.
Our yes MUST be yes, and our no MUST be no.
The terms liar... deceiver... swindler... conniver... cheat...
These are all terms which aptly describe Satan and his followers...
They should never be used to describe the ambassadors of Jesus Christ.
And that is what we all are called to be.
