Thoughts on this?
Discussing:
“Christians should not swear oaths, including in court.”
Thread starter's perspective:
I never thought about this before, but it got me thinking. What are the bounds of Jesus' command to "not take an oath at all" (Matthew 5:34)? How do we know if this is universal or particular in its application?
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RH
Never gave it much thought. But, considering our nature, it would make sense to avoid anything that binds us, either to do well or harm.
If you're setting yourself up for failure, do anything to avoid if. If you say, "I swear to never eat junk food again," then go on to eat junk food because that is your tendency, then maybe don't swear?
But if you're intention is to fulfill an oath, saying "I do" when getting married for example, then maybe your heart is in the right place and an oath is valid?
Makes me think of Matthew 5:27-30. Jesus says it's better to get into heaven without a bad hand or a bad eye (paraphrasing). But it seems like this does more than present a consequence or a fix to an issue. Perhaps more along the lines of "If you know you are weak around junk food, stay away from it." So, similarly, "If you know you can't be trusted, don't make any oaths and condemn yourself!"
And then you read a little more and you get Jesus saying, "all you need to say is simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one." (5:37). This makes me think of conditions! "Yes, I will do this thing you've asked, BUT ONLY IF..."
"I swear to not eat junk food, but only on xyz days." Then where's your heart?!
"I vow to love you unconditionally." (marriage oath) Boom, no ifs, ands, or buts.
Bottom line (from what I read/understand) don't set yourself up for failure with watered down oaths. Let your Yes be Yes and your No be No. Be wise and sincere in your 'Yes,' seeking guidance from the Spirit. Be confident and stern in your 'No,' again, with the same conviction. You are representing God in all your commitments or lack thereof.
TC
Tiger Craft633
I would say that this teaches to not swear oaths on things that are not yours to swear by, not that all oaths are forbidden.
MW
Matthew Ward1.5k
I'd love other's thoughts as well on Matthew 5:33-37 because I hadn't thought about it much until this year during a Bible study when it was brought up. Seeing as I was in the military and swore and oath, on the surface it seems like I was wrong, so I'm like hmmm.
After digging in some on it, it seems like there is a cultural/context aspect here and it's displayed even within the passage itself. People were often swearing by "things" that were incapable of holding them accountable and swearing by things they don't actually control. "for you cannot make one hair white or black".
So in short, it seems to me that the error in the oath is a result of a misplacement of where and how the oath is placed.
Deuteronomy 23:21-23 Is an interesting thing to consider because making a vow or oath to God is not seen as a sin, inherently. When Jesus elevates a standard he doesn't take something that is inherently not sinful and now makes it sinful. Instead he takes a standard of something that's considered sinful and then elevates that standard, exposing the heart or truth behind what makes it a sin. This is kinda beside the point but this passage shows that everything that comes out of our mouth as a promise, whether it's an oath or not, is "to the Lord" and so we must follow through.
I think there is more to this than what we may pluck out and say "Do not take an oath at all" is right there in the text so therefore any oath is wrong.
