Keeping Your Word

I. Introduction:

II. Text: Matthew 5:33-37

III. Recent study of lying

IV. The child of God is to avoid dishonesty.

A. Proverbs 23:23 – “Buy the truth, and do not sell it.”

B. Proverbs 6:16-19:

C. He hates a lying tongue. He hates “a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.”

D. Ephesians 4:25 – Christians are to put away lying and speak truth.

E. Lies are of the devil

F. He is the father of lies, John 8:44. He is the deceiver of the whole world, Revelation 12:9. If we are of God, we must be of the truth.

V. The punishment of liars

A. Eternal punishment

B. Revelation 21:8, 27 – specifically mentioned twice with condemnation. Proverbs 19:5: “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who speaks lies will not escape.”

C. Damaged reputation of the liar

D. When a person is caught in a lie, it may be a long time—if ever—before he can be trusted again. People learn if they can depend on you; if your word is your bond.

VI. Types of lies

A. False teachers

B. 1 John 2:21 – No lie is of the truth. Romans 16:18 – False teachers who desire to deceive the simple.1 Timothy 4:1-3 – False teachers speaking lies in hypocrisy.

C. How to respond

D. Revelation 2:2 – We must test teachers to see if they teach truth.2 Timothy 2:24-26 – Teach them in humility.

E. “White” lies

F. The Bible knows nothing of “white” lies, only of true and false.“White” lies are lies told with good intentions, to spare someone’s feelings or for a greater good. This is a rationalization of man, not the teaching of God. The “little white lie” is a deception in itself. Matthew 12:36-37 – We will be judged by every idle word.

G. False impressions

H. David’s deception of Achish, King of Gath, 1 Samuel 27:8-12. Genesis 20:1-12 – Abraham and Abimelech These great men of faith, when their faith was weak, deceived others.

I. False promises

J. Matthew 23:16-22 – The hypocritical oaths of the Pharisees

K. Matthew 5:33-37 – Jesus says not to swear at all.

L. Our “yes” must be “yes,” and our “no” must mean “no.” James 5:12 says the same thing, we must be trustworthy. An oath is a fence that figuratively restrains a person to keep what was promised.

M. Some feel they must swear to prove what they are saying is true.

N. Hebrews 6:16 – An oath is the end of all dispute. Matthew 26:72 – Peter denied Jesus with an oath (of course his oath was a lie!) Under the Old Law, oaths were binding, Numbers 30:2. Under the New Law, we are to always be truthful so that others depend on our word. I do not think that legal oaths are here considered since one must affirm before the court that he will only speak the truth as part of the court system (though one may affirm that what he is saying is true).Among acquaintances, if one is constantly saying “I swear this is true…” doesn’t that leave the impression that other things that I say may not be true?

O. A phrase that should not be used by Christians, “I swear to God.”

P. I have heard Christians use this in regular conversation and it implies that the person is otherwise dishonest. The phrase is also taking the Lord’s name in vain. The Lord wants us to be truthful, period.

Q. Lie to oneself and God

R. 1 John 2:4 – He who claims to know God and does not keep the commandments is a liar.1 John 4:20 – He who claims to love God and hates his brother is a liar. We can lie to ourselves, claiming to be servants of God, and be unacceptable in His sight, Matthew 7:21-23.

VII. How to avoid lying

A. Do what you have promised.

B. Do what is expected.

C. Do not put yourself in a situation (bad company, etc.) where you will be tempted to lie.

D. Make it known that you will not lie for whatever reason.

E. Phone call “I’m not here.”

F. Be courageous to speak the truth, trust God.