Laura J. Davis
  • Home
    • About
    • My Testimony
  • Bible Studies
    • Devotionals
  • Blog
  • Bookstore
  • Interviews & Reviews
  • Home
    • About
    • My Testimony
  • Bible Studies
    • Devotionals
  • Blog
  • Bookstore
  • Interviews & Reviews



​Unlocking God's Word

Are You Using God's Name in Vain?

7/17/2022

2 Comments

 
Picture
 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Matthew 5:33-37, NKJV
Continuing with our Bible Study of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, today, we take a closer look at oath-taking and its implications for Christians. Are we, for example, forbidden from swearing on a Bible in court?

In Exodus 20:7, we find this verse: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

​
So what does it mean to take the Lord’s name in vain? And what does that have to do with swearing an oath?
The word for “vain” in Hebrew is shav, meaning emptiness, vanity, falsehood, lying or worthlessness (of conduct). So “taking the Lord’s name in vain” was to use it in a false, empty way. Many have taken this to mean we shouldn’t curse using God’s name, and so we shouldn’t because it is using God’s name profanely, which is also wrong. And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord ((Leviticus 19:12). So we have two verses that warn us about using the Lord’s name in a false or profane manner (in vain). How does this relate to what Jesus was talking about regarding oath-taking? 

Deuteronomy 23:21 gives us an idea: When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you.

The word “vow” comes from the Hebrew word neder and means to promise or swear to do something. In this case, making a vow to God and not following through is considered a sin.

Each of these verses shows us that using God’s name to prove your statements are true is essentially using it in a false, empty and profane way.

In Old Testament times, oaths taken in the name of the Lord were considered binding. If you didn’t follow through with that oath or were never meaning to follow through, it was strongly condemned by Jewish Law. However, by the time Jesus came on the scene, the Jews had developed an elaborate system of oath-taking. They added to what the Lord had commanded, which often formed the basis of actual lying. In other words, there were stages of truth and thus falsehood within the system of taking oaths. Jesus alluded to this in Matthew 23:16-22.

According to Jesus, all such oath-taking was unnecessary if one were in the habit of just telling the truth. It’s so simple! Tell the truth, and you do not need to take an oath. Hence his command “do not swear at all.”

Jesus said, “Do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.” 

Again, the Lord is driving home the point that no one should use God’s name in vain because He is Holy. The creator of everyone and everything should be respected - not used to extract the truth or a promise from someone. Instead, we are to let our yes, be yes and our no, be no. Why? Because as Jesus said, “Whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”

This is why Christians will not and should not swear on a Bible in a courtroom or use God’s name to declare an oath or promise. Jesus is telling his disciples to speak the truth so that their “yes” means yes and their “no” means no. To make an oath or vow binding and using God’s name to cement that oath is, as Jesus says, “from the evil one.”
2 Comments
Michele Morin link
8/9/2016 06:59:06 am

I'm wondering how this works out practically for a believer who is required to testify "under oath" in our courts. I've always read the text to mean that we should live our lives in such a way that our words are taken at face value and that we don't need to go to extreme measures in order to be believed by others -- and from our perspective, everything we say is as earnest and transparently true as if we were under oath.

Reply
Laura link
8/9/2016 11:41:06 am

I think Michele, that is the point. Our yes, should be yes and our no should be no. Many courts today will allow Christians to forego swearing on a Bible and they allow them to say, "My yes will be yes and my no will be no." I think swearing on the Bible is an extreme measure most Christians will not do. To promise that your yes will be yes and your no will be no without the added measure of "swearing" is somewhat different. But yes, the text implies we should live our lives in such a way that our words are taken at face value. It's a difficult balance.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    October 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    July 2018
    June 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    Categories

    All
    Angels
    Baptism
    Beatitudes
    Bible
    Bible Study
    Blessings
    Book Of James Bible Study
    Confession
    Demons
    Ephesians
    Exhortation
    Faith
    False Prophets
    False Teachers
    Fasting
    God's Plans
    God's Word
    Healing
    Hope
    Jesus
    Knowing Jesus Series
    Lamb Of God
    Love
    Peace
    Practising Holiness
    Prayer
    Prophecy
    Repentance
    Satan
    Sermon On The Mount
    Serving
    Spiritual Gifts
    Submission
    Suffering
    Teaching
    Universalism

© 2014 Laura J. Davis. All Rights Reserved.
Photo used under Creative Commons from symphony of love