Straight Talk

James 5:12

August 13, 2000

 

James' text on "swearing" is often quoted but characteristically misapplied. Typically it is aimed at the legal requirement of taking an oath. The early Anabaptist leader, Menno Simons, insisted on refraining from taking oaths before legal authorities in light of our Lord's similar command, "But I say to you, make no oath at all" (Matt. 5:34). George Fox who was the first leader of the Society of Friends, better known to us as Quakers, also refused to take an oath. He was sentenced to prison for refusing an oath over the Bible. He rebutted the idea by saying: "You have given me a book here to kiss and to swear on, and this book which you have given me to kiss says, "Kiss the Son," and the Son says in this book "Swear not at all." Now I say as the book says, and yet you imprison me; how chance you do not imprison the book for saying so?" [Kent Hughes, James: Faith that Works, 248-249]. We can admire both Simon's and Fox's convictions and courage, but the modern version of oath taking has nothing to do with the context of either James' or our Lord's commands. Even Jesus spoke under oath before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin when the arrogant high priest commanded: "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ the Son of God." Such a statement was in the form of demanding an oath. Jesus responded by declaring, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN" (Matt. 6:63-64).

 

So this has nothing to do with the courtroom. Instead it has everything to do with daily conversation. "The appeal here," writes Curtis Vaughan, "is for reverence and honesty in everyday conversation" [Bible Study Commentary, 113]. I think that we can agree that the real test on our talk comes in the crucible of daily conversation and relationships rather than the courtroom. If our daily talk is straight then testifying under oath in a courtroom is a mute point.

 

Few of us will face the courtroom requirement of swearing "to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." Yet all of us face the daily demand of telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Lying, duplicity, deceit, and misrepresentation seem to be the standard content rather than truth. Dishonesty rules in our society. James reminds us: Christians must be characterized by straight talk rather than the duplicity of the world. The call upon Christians is the radical demand for integrity in our conversation. Why is this so vital for us? Let's consider James' instructions for straight talk among believers.

 

I. Trans-cultural issue

 

We recognize that there are some issues spoken of in Scripture that refer to particular cultural issues of the first century that may not be the same in our own day. In such cases we are able to discover the principles addressed and make appropriate application to our day. The women's head coverings and soldier's compelling someone to carry his load for a mile are examples of something we do not encounter in our culture so we must make appropriate application out of principle. Such is not the case in our text.

 

Here we have clear reference to a trans-cultural practice: swearing oaths in conversation. The early Jews might have exercised this practice a bit different from our own day, but the similarities allow for this command to transcend cultures to speak to a critical issue of our day.

 

James has spent a large portion of this epistle addressing the tongue. He spoke more about sins of the tongue than any other sin in this letter. He has exhorted these believers to be "slow to speak," to speak as one who will be judged by the law of liberty, and to avoid empty talk that professes good but delivers nothing (1:19; 2:12; 2:16). He explains that those who teach will be judged more strictly for the responsibility entrusted to them (3:1). He eloquently warns of stumbling in our speech comparing the tongue to a forest set aflame and to untamed beasts and a deadly poison (3:2ff). It is the lying tongue that displays arrogance and the quarreling tongue that creates belligerence in relationships (3:14; 4:2). So we are told not to speak against one another or to be presumptuous in our speech or to complain against one another (4:11; 4:14ff; 5:9). Now James declares, "But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath." By the phrase, "above all," James brings his teaching on the tongue to a culmination. This is the high point of his instruction on the tongue. Because of his reverence for the majesty of the Lord's name and the conscientiousness of integrity in the Christian life, he sets this exhortation above all the others. For if we learn to guard the tongue at this level, we will find it well preserved for the others.

 

1. The fine art of swearing

 

Both our Lord and James had a particular practice in mind that was common among the Jews of their day. The command, "Do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath," parallels Matthew 5:33-37:

Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD. But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes or 'No, no'; anything beyond these is of evil.

Telling the truth was at an all-time low during the first century. What a man said could not be depended on, so men resorted to oaths to give more validity to what they said. So they might be speaking of a business proposition or the weather or agriculture or even a religious matter and would seemingly enhance their statement by adding an oath to it. "By the temple of Jerusalem, I tell you that such and such will happen." By referring to the temple it was supposed that the statement was much stronger.

 

The bad part of this was that the Pharisees had so learned to split hairs when it came to obedience that they taught men how to get around their oaths! One could swear an oath by the temple and as long as he did not swear by "the gold" of the temple he could weasel out of carrying through with truthfulness. The same was true with swearing by the altar in the temple as opposed to the gift upon the altar. Jesus rebukes the Pharisees who taught the fine art of swearing without the intention of telling the truth (Matt. 23:16-22).

 

So whether a person swears "by heaven or by earth or with any other oath," they are using something created by God as a means to prop up their own lack of truthfulness. It is this sort of verbal juggling that James and our Lord rebukes.

 

Is this a problem in our own day? I recall getting in a conversation with a teenager that I did not really know several years ago. I had passed along some information and the young fellow said, "Do you swear?" He did not know me and I did not know him. But the question he asked demonstrated to me that he was more accustomed to hearing lies than truth. Kent Hughes points out, "Oath-taking is popular because people are liars" [248]. He tells the way Helmut Thielicke, a German scholar and pastor during the era of Hitler, maintained his integrity:


Whenever I utter the formula "I swear by God," I am really saying, "Now I'm going to mark off an area of absolute truth and put walls around it to cut it off from the muddy floods of untruthfulness and irresponsibility that ordinarily overruns my speech." In fact, I am saying even more than this. I am saying that people are expecting me to lie from the start. And just because they are counting on my lying I have to bring up the big guns of oaths and words of honor [Hughes, 248].


2. The fine art of almost telling the truth

 

Little children struggle at times with telling the truth. So along the way someone devised the superstitious practice that you can lie rather than tell the truth as long as you have your fingers crossed. Somehow the juxtaposition of the fingers eliminates the responsibility of truthfulness and cancels out any effects of lying! It is the fine art of almost telling the truth that seems to dominate our own day.

 

James declares, "Do not swear...your yes is to be yes, and your no, no." Our conversation is not just to be believable it is to be truthful. Whether someone believes you or not is not the issue. What matters most is that as a Christian who is to be a reflection of the character of Jesus Christ we are to "speak the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15).

 

Truthfulness has been belittled in public life in the past several years. It has happened with the Christian televangelists who lied about finances, moral behavior, and ministry practices. We have seen it in the highest office in our land as our President denied before the nation actions that later proved that he lied. In doing so he carefully worded his statements so that he almost told the truth. As long as the nation believed it that seemed to be what mattered. Truth suffered yet again. Integrity took a backseat to situational ethics and moral juggling.

 

The problem with all of this is that we have gotten it in our minds that if we just come close to telling the truth then that suffices. We can play loosely with the facts and slide around honesty as long as the end suits our purposes. But such dishonesty betrays our Lord Jesus Christ who is identified as the Truth and who is recognized when he comes again as the one "called Faithful and True" (Rev. 19:11).

 

II. Integrity factor

 

The root issue in telling the truth is the integrity factor. The word refers to soundness or wholeness in a person characterized by honesty, sincerity, and uprightness in all one's dealings. A person of integrity can be counted on in what he says and in what he commits to do. The quickest road to losing personal integrity is through our words.

 

1. Problem of dishonesty

 

Why is dishonesty such a rampant problem? Has it always been a problem or are we just living in a more difficult timeframe for truthfulness? We might say that we get dishonesty honestly. By that I mean it is part of our nature. The natural condition apart from Christ is to bend, twist, sidetrack, ignore, and defy the truth. Paul wrote, quoting the Psalmist, "THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING, THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS; WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS" (Rom. 3:13-14). Kent Hughes was right when he stated, "The main reason there is a crisis in truth is that we are, in fact, congenital liars.... Our untruthfulness reveals our condition. No one had to teach us how to lie" [245]. For this reason James tells us, "but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment." Divine displeasure is certain for dishonesty.

 

I have yet to meet a parent who told me they instructed their children in the art of lying. Yet as parents we find ourselves aghast over our children, even young children, lying about school, friends, homework, money, and a thousand other things. But we should not be surprised for dishonesty characterizes our lostness. By the same token, and this is clearly what James is aiming for, truthfulness and integrity ought to characterize us as believers.

 

A few years ago the Naval Academy in Annapolis admitted that their cherished code of honor had been broken. A number of cadets were caught cheating on their exams. The story made national news and provided grist for editorials and lampooning by the media. The cadets were held to a certain standard of honesty and integrity that the general public was not willing to match. But when time came to criticize, fingers pointed blame, heads were on the chopping block, and action was demanded. Many of those who roared the loudest were surely guiltier than the cadets. Lying on their taxes, cheating in their relationships, manipulating business deals all fall in the category of dishonesty. But it is much easier to recognize dishonesty in someone else than in oneself. The Scripture reveals that all of us have the nature of dishonesty until Christ changes our nature.

 

2. Habit of covering one's tracks

 

The supposed reason for swearing is to cover one's tracks from the practice of deceit. To utilize the holy name of the Lord or to involve what he has created as a means of adding veracity to one's conversation is prohibited: "But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath." Do you have to prop up your words with some form of swearing, some flippant use of God's name, or some verbal concoction? It has become so common in our day that we may not even notice it happening. Last week we were listening to a college student give an explanation about her campus. In the course of her talk there were several times that she flippantly tossed in "God" to shore up her words. That profanes the name of the Lord. Why not just be honest and dependable in your conversation without resorting to a misuse of the divine name?

 

Perhaps you have found yourself in some sort of trouble with your parents, spouse, school, or work. Rather than being honest when questioned about your actions, you quickly resort to swearing that what you are saying is true, when you know very well that it is not true. You seek to cover your deceitful tracks by swearing. You justify it by reckoning that it is not worth the trouble to face up to the truth. My friend, you must learn to heed the simple words of this text: "But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath."

 

3. Sin of duplicity

 

This kind of conversational gymnastics is the sin of duplicity, i.e., the hypocrisy of being double-minded, of saying one thing then contradicting it by another. It involves double-dealing in conversation and lifestyle. It is the problem of "yes" meaning "maybe" and "no" meaning "perhaps." The duplicitous person does not talk straight, but weaves his words around his own self-centered intentions. To this James demands, "But your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment."

 

Do we see the certainty of divine judgment for such double-talk? This is why James calls special attention to the matter of integrity with our speech. We are helped by David's description of a kingdom citizen focusing primarily upon the tongue. Hear his words:

O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; he swears to his own hurt and does not change; he does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken (Ps. 15).

He "speaks truth...does not slander...nor take up a reproach...he swears to his own hurt," all of these things refer to the tongue being used to faithfully demonstrate a life of integrity.

 

Are you a person of your word?

 

III. Christian distinction

 

The aim James has in mind is for Christians to live distinctly different from the world about them. This has been true throughout the epistle, but even more so with the matter of our daily conversation. Our tongue reveals our heart. You can try to hide an unrepentant heart, but before long your own deceitful tongue will betray you before others. You can try to hide behind your lies and swearing and broaching the truth, but the discerning ear will catch the insight on your heart. If you are a believer, then you must be serious minded in your conversation and speech.

 

1. Relationship means everything

 

James repeats the phrase, "my brethren," throughout the epistle. He speaks of strong things but does so with the consciousness that he addresses his fellow believers, those who are in relationship with Jesus Christ. For James, the relationship to Jesus Christ and the consequent relationship to the body of Christ mean everything. What does he imply when he uses such an endearing title?

 

To be brethren to this man went beyond the kinship of race and culture. It is clear that he continues to point to brothers in Christ by his language (1:2, 2:1, 2:14, 3:1). The context refers to Christian brethren encountering trials for their faith, gathering into the assembly of the saints, making a claim to faith in Christ, and becoming teachers. All of these emphasize the Christian context of his present exhortation. You are "brethren" only when you are in Jesus Christ. And you are in Jesus Christ only when you have trusted in him as your Redeemer and Lord.

 

We use this title of "brethren" quite loosely in our day. We talk about Baptist brethren and Southern brethren and fraternity brethren. But none of these explain what James has in mind. You are not part of the "brethren" by geographical association or by acknowledging a few facts about Christianity or because you have Christian parents. You are in the "brethren" when God the Spirit has regenerated you, bringing you to life to see your own sinfulness and separation from God, and awakening you to the sufficiency of Jesus Christ in his redemptive death and resurrection. Are you one of the "brethren"?

 

2. Responsibility follows relationship

 

If you are part of the "brethren" then you have responsibilities. As a matter of the larger context of James, that is one way that you know you are a believer when you take seriously the commands of Christ. John explained that we demonstrate our love for Christ by obedience to him. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome" (I John 5:3). This is precisely the argument of James in chapter 2 when he deals with "faith without works is dead." Redemption through Jesus Christ awakens us to see that all of life is under his Lordship and direction. I do not hesitate to be so bold as to declare that if you have no interest in walking with integrity in your conversation and lifestyle, then you are not a believer in Jesus Christ. It matters not how much you crow about being a Christian. Knowing Christ liberates you from enslavement to the world and delivers you to the joyous responsibilities of the family of God.

 

James' commands are two-fold: "do not swear" and "your yes is to be yes, and your no, no." We've considered the meaning of each of these commands in this study. Now the question before us is whether you will obey. These were not nice suggestions to make you feel better, but commands that demonstrate your love for Christ and that identify you as part of the body of Christ. You can go to church, preach sermons, sing hymns, pray, and do all sorts of acts of service, but if you are loose with your tongue you have no reputation whatsoever as a Christian. The profane talk and duplicitous conversations James warns of will keep anyone professing to be a Christian from being taken seriously.

 

Conclusion

 

Our study of this text calls for heart-searching today and evaluation of our own speech. Does your speech call attention to Jesus Christ as your Lord? Or does it put question marks to any spiritual reality in the ears of those listening to you? Do you give care for the tongue? May the Lord grant that we not only live like "brethren" but talk like those who are born of God.

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