Be Real Together:
Take a few minutes to catch up, tell stories, and laugh together. Trust and friendship take time to build. If you’re launching a new DNA, one person should tell their story — what do we need to know about you? Next week, have another person in your DNA share their story.
Read Together:
Matthew 5:33-37 CSB
33 Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 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 swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Grow Together: Observe and Apply
We are called to be truth-tellers, people who declare what’s true about God, what’s true about the human condition, and what’s true in our own heads and hearts. We crave honesty and are desperate for the truth. Unfortunately, honest people are honestly hard to come by.
As we read through Matthew 5:33-37, let’s not just focus on the Jewish leaders’ shortcomings, but let’s truly examine our own hearts. Are we the trustworthy ones people seek out? Are we living examples of the integrity Jesus embodied? Are we living lives that draw people into the light of the Kingdom?
1. The Problem: The Promise-Keeping Loophole
Matthew 5:33 // Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break our oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’
For context, Jesus is speaking to a predominantly Jewish audience in the first century. Much of the religious landscape of that time was dictated by the Jewish scribes and pharisees - these were the theologians and pastors of the day. Unfortunately, these spiritual authorities had coached the people in how to navigate their way around speaking the truth and created an elaborate system for how to “technically” keep the commandments. Here’s what the scribes and pharisees did – they created a loophole.
As it went, providing a person didn’t take the LORD’S name in vain, provided they didn’t make an oath invoking the LORD’S name, they could make an oath under another name and it would count as a lesser promise. In other words, as long as the promise made wasn’t to God, then it wouldn’t matter as much if someone held up their end of the agreement.
Have you ever tried to get out of telling the truth on a technicality?
2. The True Standard: There Is No Loophole
Matthew 5:33-36 // Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.
We can’t swear by heaven, earth, or our bodies. All belong to God. That’s why the assumption for Jesus’ audience that oaths that didn’t invoke God’s name weren’t legally binding, was a fallacy. Just as ridiculous as crossing your fingers behind your back when telling a lie. The fact is, as believers, our lives are intended to be lived unto an audience of ONE. Our lives are judged by one entity and one entity only, and that is God.
Daniel Akin // Everything you say, do, and think takes place before the watchful eye of an omniscient and sovereign God, who takes with the greatest seriousness the words that come out of your mouth. The Lord hears every single one of them.
Would your life change very much if you had to stop living by loopholes?
3. Clear-Cut Application: Keep It Simple by Simply Keeping Your Word.
Matthew 5:37 // All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
If our life is consistently inconsistent and we lack integrity in what we say, then we are a poor representative of Christ at best and, at worst, not a disciple of Jesus at all. Honesty matters so much to Jesus that if our words aren’t consistent with our actions and we have to make grandiose promises to convince people to trust us, then we’ve been influenced by Satan and lack integrity. God’s word calls us to be people of integrity, which means we should make it our aim to be such people, because integrity is a mark of faithfulness. In all situations and circumstances, be a person who speaks the truth. It reflects the character of God and the Kingdom to which you belong.
Your actions, words, lifestyle…it all holds weight.
Do you think the things you say and the way you live matter? Or do you live as a pauper in the Kingdom, thinking you can float through life unseen and unheard?
Pray Together:
God, thank you for this reminder of your faithfulness to us.
Help us to be faithful representations of you as we are faithful to others, living with integrity, trustworthiness, and a strong character built on your word.
As our world falls farther into sin, help us to not be caught in the snares.
Help us to, instead, be the examples of Your Kingdom come.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.