Swearing

“I Swear,” But Should I?

What do people usually think of when they hear the word “swearing”?
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Deuteronomy 6:13-13 Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.

Hebrews 6:16 16 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. (NIV)

According to these verses, how do you swear?
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Whose name do we use to swear by?
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What is the purpose of swearing?
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Swearing is using GOD’S name to assure someone that we are telling the TRUTH.

Examples of swearing in the Bible:

Genesis 22:16-17"I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies.”

What is the situation behind this text?

Who swore in this instance?

How could God swear, since no one is above Him?

What did God swear to Abraham?
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Matthew 26:63-64 The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." 64 "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.

Who swore?

What was the situation behind this oath?
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Up to this point, Jesus remained silent. Why did he finally give an answer?
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Acts 18:18-18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. (NIV)

Who swore?

Why did he swear?
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Balge: Paul had his hair cut off to mark the fulfillment of a vow. We are not told what the vow was in connection with which he had let his hair grow. It may have been a vow of thanksgiving for God’s protection in a city that had seemed hostile to the gospel. He expressed his faith by following certain Jewish customs. According to the custom he would take the hair with him to Jerusalem and burn it “in the fire that [was] under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering” (Numbers 6:18). (201)

Even though we don’t know why Paul swore here, what does this example prove?
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Galatians 1:20 gives us another example of Paul giving an oath - to establish the fact of salvation by faith. “I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.” Luther explains this kind of oath ~ An oath is in place in every proclamation of threats or of promises that comes from a Christian preacher, whether he is bringing fear to the hardened heart or comfort to the timid.

So when is it permissable to swear?
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When do we swear?
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Why are these permissable?
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The Sermon on the Mount

Read vs. 33. What was the old law that had been handed down?
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This is taken from Numbers 30:2 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.

Does this still apply today?
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What are some examples of when this happens today?
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Jim said that he was going to quit his job after seven months, even though he promised his boss that he’d be there three years at least. Bill told him, “you can’t do that. Then you would be breaking your oath that you made to him.” Jim said, “I’m only quitting because he didn’t keep his promise to give me a raise after a half year.”

Was Bill right? Is Jim bound to his oath to his boss?
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How does Jim’s excuse occasionally get used in couples who are getting divorced?
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Why doesn’t this float with God?
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Read the marriage promises on page 141-142.

How does the groom promise to love the bride?

How does the bride promise to submit to the groom?

Is this possible? Should it be in the vow, then?
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Luther explains how the Pharisees had interpreted this law: If someone were to swear by heaven or by Jerusalem or by his head, those would be little oaths and not very binding - just so long as he did not invoke the name of God. So far had they progressed in this that a mere yes or no meant nothing, and they maintained that it did not matter if they failed to do something which they had not sworn to do. (LW 21:100)

So according to the Pharisees interpretation of the law, what did swearing result in?
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This is similar today. People who swear a lot, are usually the ones who lie the most. They wouldn’t say, “I swear” if they were really trustworthy in the first place. Like the other laws which were being misinterpreted, Jesus goes on to show the true meaning of the law.

So Jesus explained the law for them. Read 34-36.

A correct distinction is necessary for the correct understanding of the text. Christ has no intention of interfering with the secular realm, nor of depriving the government of anything. All He is preaching about is how individual Christians should behave in their everyday life. Swearing should be though of as forbidden in exactly the same sense as killing or looking or looking at a woman.

Is killing right or wrong?
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Is looking at a woman with desire right wrong?
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Therefore, can we say all swearing is right or wrong?
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When Christ said here “Do not swear at all,” what was he referring to?
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Why shouldn’t we swear by heaven?
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By earth?
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By Jerusalem?
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What was Jesus’ point?
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Why shouldn’t we just swear by our “head?”
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What did Jesus mean by this?
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A popular song goes like this, “I swear, by the moon and the stars in the sky, I’ll be there. For better or worse, till death do us part, I’ll love you with every beat of my heart. I swear.”

Is anything wrong with this song?
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Should we allow our children to sing this song or listen to it?
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What are common examples of how people break this law every day?
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What happens when this expression is abused?
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Read vs. 37. What did Jesus say we should do instead of swearing?
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If you do any more than that, where do such expressions come from?
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John won a contest to have a free dinner with Brett Favre. He told his brother, “Brett Favre is coming here for supper.” But his brother wouldn’t believe him. He told him again and again, but his brother wouldn’t come. He didn’t want to swear, but he didn’t know what else to do. So he said, “I swear by God’s name, Brett Favre is coming for dinner!”

Was this the right thing for John to do?
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How do we determine what matters are important enough to swear over?
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What could John have done differently to convince his brother?
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What if he couldn’t have convinced him?
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James 5:12 repeats what Jesus was saying. 12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear -- not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned. (NIV)

Luther: His conclusion, “Let what you say be simply yes or no,” is obviously addressed to those who have neither authorization nor need for swearing. As we have said, no one should swear on his own authority at all. But the addition of these two elements, either a command or a necessity, means that you are no longer swearing on your own authority. You are not doing it on your own behalf, but on behalf of him who demands it of you - your government or your neighbor’s need or God’s commandment. (LW 21:104)

Any questions?