Verbal Integrity

Father, thank you, Lord, for today and all that you do and a chance to be together, and thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to read the Word. We love the Word of God, and it is that which instructs us, guides us, and leads us. But even more than that, Lord, it comforts us, it strengthens us, it even convicts us, Lord, but it stabilizes our lives that we might be secure in you.

The Word of truth is everything, and we are so grateful to be able to study it together. Our prayer tonight, Lord, is that you'd open our hearts and minds to behold just your beauty, that we might see your Word for us tonight, that we might grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ, our Lord. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

Take your Bible and turn with me to Matthew chapter 5, as we continue looking at this great sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. This really is the address of the king. In fact, you could call it the state of the kingdom.

If you want to have the state of the kingdom addressed, the king will give that to you. And so the king is telling us and showing us how it is to live like a child of the king, how to become a child of the king, and then how to behave like a child of the king. And so, he begins by talking about the spiritual identity of his children in verses 1 to 14.

And from that spiritual identity, he moves to their scriptural authority, their biblical authority. What is it they live by and why is it God uses his Word like he does? And because of that biblical authority, that reveals to us several things. One, it reveals to us our relational civility, our personal purity, our marital fidelity, and then tonight, our verbal integrity.

Whenever the Lord speaks about our words, our tongue, our conversation, it's absolutely essential that we listen very, very closely. In fact, this is what James says in James chapter 1, verse number 26. He says, if anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.

In other words, he doesn't have a true religion. He has a man-centered religion, but not true biblical religion, because he's not able to bridle his own tongue. He would later go on to say in James chapter 3, that if a man is able to bridle his tongue, he is as a perfect man.

He is a righteous man. Why? Because an unbeliever cannot control his conversation, but a believer has the power of God to be able to do so. And so, James makes it very clear that if someone says he's religious and yet cannot control his conversation, then that man's religion is worthless.

In fact, Paul would say to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4, verse number 12, let no man look down upon your youth. Let no man despise your youthfulness. Instead, be an example.

In the very first category of his example is his speech. Be an example, number one, in your speech, then in your conduct, right? Then in your love, your faith and your purity. But it begins with your speech.

Why? Because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So whatever is in the heart is going to exit through your lips. In other words, whatever you believe on the inside is going to manifest itself on the outside through your words.

And so the Bible says a lot about our conversation. It says a lot about our tongue. It says a lot about our words, because that is the first and clearest indicator of someone's condition.

In fact, Jesus said, by your words, you shall be justified. And by your words, you shall be condemned. How can he say that? Why would he say that? Because your words dictate what's on the inside of you.

Because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So the Lord makes it very clear that your words will condemn you or they will not, based on the condition of your heart. So here is Jesus, and he comes and he begins to address verbal integrity.

And the order is so unique. God in his providence has put together in this sermon exactly as it needs to go. He deals with personal purity, because he would say, if you have heard that it was said you should not commit adultery, and they would all say, yes, yes, that's true.

But he says, but I tell you, if a man looks upon a woman and lusts after her in his heart, he's already committed adultery. And then he moves from personal purity to marital fidelity, because personal impurity leads to marital fidelity, or infidelity, excuse me. And so he talks about divorce and remarriage.

And then he goes right from there to talk about vows, oaths, and swearing. Why? Because when you get married, you make a vow. You say an oath.

You make a covenant. You make a commitment. And so the order is very unique on how the Lord does what he does.

Forty years ago, this past August, I had the opportunity and the blessed opportunity to marry Laurie. And I had been married once before, and my first wife died, and she had cancer. And for 15 months, she suffered through that, and then the Lord took her home.

I met Laurie at the King's College. We got married, and I learned a lot through my first marriage about suffering and difficulty in the marriage with my first wife. And so when we got married on August the 9th, 1986, not 1886, 1986. For those of you who think I'm really old, I'm not that old.

These were the words I said to her. I said, Laurie, the psalmist has said that no good thing would the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly.

And although my walk with the Lord has not been perfect, he has blessed me with the most wonderful woman in the world. Because I believe that God in his sovereignty has chosen you for me, I will be eternally grateful. Those familiar words designed for days such as this, for better, for worse, for richer, for poor, in sickness and in health, till death do us part, are not merely words to me, but they truly are a reality.

Because they are, I submit myself to you as Christ did to the church by giving myself to love, honor, and cherish you. This, my love, is what I promise today and forever. Now those words are still true today.

I have not taken them back. I gave her a commitment. I made a vow.

And in our book, God's Hope for Your Home, we have a section on the value of vows. Interestingly, I got a note this week from someone in our church who told me that in February of 2002, I preached on God's value on vows. She happened to be in the auditorium that night, and she said to me, those words rang so true to me that they changed my life and my marriage forever.

And later that year, she gave her life to the Lord. But she just wanted to write me and thank me about that. She's not knowing that I'm speaking about this this evening.

But you see, vows are very, very important. God puts a supreme value on oaths, on vows, on commitments, on covenants, a supreme value. Why? Because there's something about vows that confirm our loyalty, do they not? They confirm the fact that I'm going to be loyal to my God and to you from this day forward.

And not only do they confirm our loyalty, they truly clarify our responsibility. Because in my vows, I'm going to clarify what I'm going to be responsible to you for and responsible before God for. And then all vows celebrate God's sovereignty.

Because what God has joined together, let no man separate, let no man divorce, it celebrates the fact that God in His sovereignty brings two people together for the glory of His kingdom. Vows also communicate my priority. In other words, I'm going to prioritize my life based on my commitment to you.

And therefore, my priorities will be seen in our relationship one to another. Vows also challenge my spirituality. Because when you get married, the difficulties of marriage escalate in that relationship because Satan wants to destroy it.

But vows are valuable because they certify your integrity. In other words, there is nothing that will certify your integrity more than the words you say on the day you get married that says, I will never leave you, nor will I separate from you, nor will I divorce you, I am yours forever. Once someone divorces, you can never trust anything they're ever going to say again.

Because if they went back on their word in the most precious of all relationships, what makes you think they won't go back on their word in other relationships, right? And so the vows certify your integrity. And so when you stand at an altar, when you stand, maybe it's the justice of the peace, maybe it's at some kind of hotel in Vegas, I don't know. But when you get married, you are standing before God.

You're making a vow to the Lord. You're making an oath before the Lord. And the Bible says, be careful about what vows you make before the Lord.

In fact, vows are rooted in Scripture. It says in the book of Numbers, the 30th chapter, the 2nd verse, if a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

Do not violate your word. If you're going to make a vow, if you're going to have an oath, do not violate your word. And then it says over in the book of Deuteronomy, the 23rd chapter, the 21st verse, when you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you.

And the Lord your God will surely require of you. However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in you. You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God, what you have promised.

Psalm 76, verse 11, make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them. Ecclesiastes chapter 5, verse number 4, when you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it, for he takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow.

It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands? In other words, don't say you made a mistake.

If you make a vow before the Lord, you're making a deep, sincere commitment. When you make an oath, an oath is a binding element. An oath is a strengthening element.

In other words, when you make an oath and you invoke God, you are strengthening your word because God is behind the word. That's what an oath is. It means to bind or strengthen, and the way you strengthen an oath is you invoke God's presence and God's person in that vow, and it gives you the strength to commit that vow or that oath.

And so the psalmist says this in Psalm 15, 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. Verse 4, he swears to his own hurt and does not change. In other words, those who dwell in the holy hill of God are the ones who keep their vows to God and do not change.

God desires truth in the inward parts. God desires us to speak the truth and to live the truth. So Jesus is going to attack the religious system of his day.

That's why he says six times, you have heard that it was said by the rabbis of old, or you have heard that it was said by the ancients of old, but I say unto you, this is what you have been taught. This is what your religious leaders have told you, but I'm going to tell you the truth. I'm going to explain to you what the Bible actually does say.

So this is how you've been taught, but you have not been taught the truth. Therefore, I'm going to enlighten you and give you the truth. This is the king's address on how to become a child of God and how to behave like a child of God.

That's why he begins with their spiritual identity. And from that, everything else flows. And now he's talking about your verbal integrity.

Are your words true words? Are the things you say done, that is accomplished? The promises you make, do you keep them or do you renege on them? Very, very important. And that's what Jesus says in Matthew 5. Let's look at it together.

Matthew 5, verse number 31, 33, excuse me. 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 the hair white or black. But let your statement be or let your words be yes, yes, or no, no. Anything beyond these is of evil or is from the evil one.

Now you look at that and you think, okay, what's the big deal? Well, let me give you number one, the rabbinical tradition, because he outlined the same with all six illustrations, the rabbinical tradition, and then the biblical teaching, and then your personal transformation. We saw that earlier in the other illustrations. The outline still remains the same.

What is the rabbinical tradition? That's the question you got to ask, because when you read verse 33, you think that everything that is said is good. Look what it says. Again, you have heard that the ancients were told you shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.

That sounds good, but if Jesus is addressing it, there's something wrong with the statement. The question is, what is wrong with verse 33? What's wrong is that it's a combination of three different verses from the Old Testament, and this statement is nowhere said, spoken, or written of in the Old Testament. So what the religious leaders did was take excerpts from three different sets of verses and come up with a religious system that allowed them to live the way they wanted to live, that is, live by living a life of lies.

Remember, they were their father, Satan, who was the liar, who was the liar from the beginning and the murderer from the beginning. And in John 8, Christ tells them, you are of your father, the devil, and he is the father of lies. And these religious leaders were masters at lying, masters at fooling other people by talking to them about making a vow, making a promise, making a covenant based on everything other than the Lord.

And they would leave certain things out. That's why he says, unto the Lord, the phrase that's there. You see, if they made a vow unto the Lord, they had to keep it.

But if they made a vow unto heaven, or they made a vow unto earth, or they made a vow unto the temple, they would not have to keep that because there was no guilt in that. And so they can invoke the temple, they can evoke earth or heaven, and Christ would condemn that. Why? Look at Matthew 23 for a moment.

Matthew 23. On Matthew 23, you're on Wednesday of Passion Week. And Christ is preaching in the temple.

He is contradicting everything that the religious establishment taught. And eight different times, he pronounces a curse upon the religious establishment. He uses the word woe, which is cursed.

And look what he says in verse number 16. Woe to you, or cursed are you, blind guides, who say, whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing. But whoever swears by the gold of the temple, they're obligated.

You fools and blind men. Which is more important, the gold or the temple? That sanctified the gold. And whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing.

But whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated. You blind men, which is more important, the offering or the altar? That sanctifies the offering. Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.

And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by him who dwells within it. And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. In other words, God is all in, in all.

But you see, they tried to compartmentalize their vows. That if they could say a vow or make an oath or make a covenant under something that sounds really religious, like the altar or the temple or heaven, okay, they think that they could say that and get away with not keeping their word or keeping their promise. And God is saying, no, that's not the case because God is present not only in the altar, but in the sacrifice.

God is not only present on earth, but the footstool because earth is the footstool. Or he's also present in heaven and on his throne. He's present everywhere.

So you can't give a vow outside the presence of God because whenever you make an oath or a vow, you must make it unto the Lord. But they didn't do that. And they would make their vows and their covenants and their promises on everything except the Lord.

Because when they made a vow unto the Lord, they had to keep it. That's the rabbinical tradition. So the biblical teaching is this.

Christ says, but I say to you, make no oath at all. Now, Christ is not saying don't make an oath, don't make a vow, don't make a covenant. He's not saying that.

He says, don't make any oath like these ever again. Okay? Like what? He says. He says, by heaven, because it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it's 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 the hair white or black.

In other words, you've got to realize that God is everywhere. But you've compartmentalized God to such a degree that you can say he's on earth, or he's not on earth, so you can make a vow that way because God is not present everywhere, but he is. And so whenever you make a vow, you're invoking God automatically.

You're asking God to strengthen your commitment. You're asking God to verify your words. You're asking God to support all that you're saying when you make an oath, when you make a vow as unto the Lord.

So the Lord is saying, don't make oaths like these. Why? Because they're wrong. And all you're doing is proliferating all kinds of lies over and over and over again.

Someone would come to a religious leader, he'd say, well, you know, I swear to you by heaven. I swear to you by earth. I commit to you according to the altar.

And someone would say, well, you're a religious leader, you must be speaking the truth. And after all, the altar is sanctified, so therefore you must be telling me the truth. But then they could renege on that commitment and not feel any guilt because they did not do it as unto the Lord.

So here's the teaching. Jesus, number one, is going to reinforce the Scripture. Number two, He's going to rebuke their system.

And number three, He's going to require total sincerity in every word you speak. Number one, He's going to reinforce the Scripture. He's not forbidding, swearing, or taking an oath.

He wants them to understand that oaths, excuse me, are rooted in the Old Testament. In fact, God made an oath. Hebrews chapter 6, remember this? Hebrews chapter 6, verse number 16 says, for men swear by one greater than themselves.

And with them an oath given as confirmation is an end to every dispute. In the same way, God desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed or guaranteed with an oath. In other words, God can swear by no one greater than Himself because He's God, right? If man wants to settle a dispute, he will swear by someone greater than himself, and therefore the dispute then will be over.

But with God, He cannot guarantee anything any higher than Himself. God knowing that man is a sinner and that man needs to be bound by a strong word strengthened by God would make an oath about the new covenant with Abraham and He would swear unto Himself. He would make an oath with Himself.

So God made an oath. Jesus, He clarified the oath of Caiaphas when Caiaphas said, I adjure you in the presence of God, swear to me that you are the Son of God. And Christ confirmed the oath to Caiaphas.

Abraham made an oath. David made an oath. Jonathan made an oath to David.

Isaac made oaths. Jacob made oaths. Why? Because oaths are rooted in the Old Testament.

And so Jesus is going to reinforce the Scripture by taking them back to the truth to help them understand that when you say yes, when you make a vow, you do it as unto the Lord. And so if God is going to give an oath by swearing by Himself, if Jesus is going to confirm the oath that Caiaphas challenged Him with, if Old Testament saints make oaths, then Jesus is going to reinforce the Scripture and say, look, oaths are valid. Incurring and invoking God to be a part of your conversation is a valid thing.

It's a very valuable thing. Why? Because you want others to know that you're speaking the truth. But He also rebukes their system.

He rebukes their system because they compartmentalized God. And they refused to believe that God was everywhere and in everything and about everything. They were denying the omnipresence of God.

They were denying the fact that God was everywhere and that God was all in all and that God would reign over everything, that God was providentially in control of everything, even the hairs on their head, whether they were white or whether they were black. God controlled the number of hairs on their head and the color of the hair on their head, because God's in charge of all that. And so they forgot all about that and did not want to be held accountable for the words that they said.

And so when you make a promise, all promises are made in the presence of God. And then Jesus would require total sincerity. He said, but let your statement or your words be yes, yes, and no, no.

Anything beyond this is of evil or from the evil one. He says, listen, whether you make a vow or don't make a vow, every word you speak should be yes, yes, or no, no. In other words, what you say should be your bond.

Your words should be your commitment. When you speak, you should always speak truth. When you open your mouth, what comes out of your mouth should always be fulfilled.

Whether you invoke God in it or not, you're standing in the presence of God. God hears all, God sees all, and therefore God holds you accountable for every word that comes out of your mouth. So what's our personal transformation? Number one, acknowledge the lies that you have told.

Have you ever done that? Have you ever acknowledged the lies that you have told? We candy coat them. We call them half-truths. We call them white lies.

We call them, I didn't mean to say this, but I said that. And so we try to excuse ourselves by the words we use. But have you ever admitted the fact that you lie? You ever notice a baby when they can begin to talk and begin to walk and begin to communicate that babies by nature are liars? Did you know that? You have to teach them to tell the truth.

They don't by nature just tell the truth. They hide the truth. They lie because they're born liars.

That's what's in their nature. And so we have to teach them to tell the truth. By the time you're your age and my age, we should know what the truth is.

And yet so many times we refuse to acknowledge the lies that we tell. And we tell them all the time. In fact, our whole society is built on lies.

Could you imagine if everybody in the world told the truth in one day and nobody lied? Our world would collapse. Our government would collapse. Our government is based on lies.

And everything they do is lies. And yet if you tell the truth, well, then what happens? All those lies are exposed and the real man's revealed. So you got to be careful about that.

But it should be that we as Christians should be truth tellers, always speaking the truth. When you talk to people in the church, do they tell you the truth? Or do they tell you half truths? Or they tell you what you want to hear? Or they tell you absolute truth? The Bible says in Psalm 51, verse number 6, that God desires truth in our innermost being. Proverbs 6, God hates a lying tongue.

Proverbs 12:22, they who lie are an abomination unto God. Because falsehood abounds in the world, it should never abound in the church, in your family. You should always know husband to wife, wife to husband, children to parents, parents to children, to always speak the truth.

But so many times we tell lies. Before there were cell phones, there was just usually one or two cell phones in a home. And someone would call the home and mom or dad would say, if it's for me, tell them I'm not here.

Can't do that today because everybody's got their own cell phone. So if you don't want to answer, you just push the red button, you don't answer. But the bottom line is that we get away with so much falsehood without ever speaking the truth to let people know exactly what the Word of God says and what's really in my heart for the glory of God.

So in order to be personally transformed, I must acknowledge the lies that I have told. Are you truthful with your husband and with your wife? Do you speak the truth to them? Do they know that when you're telling them where you've been or what you've done or where you're going, that they can trust your words? Not that you are giving them an oath, you're letting your yay be yay and your nay be nay, but you are speaking to them the truth because you don't want to deceive them. You don't want them to think something different than what is really true.

You want them to know what you're doing, where you're going, who you've been with, what you've said, so they are not caught by surprise or off guard because they put their trust in your words. And truly we should trust the words that we say. If you're married and you have given your vows and you made your vows at the altar, you invoked the presence of God in those vows.

And when you make an oath, you are not only invoking God in those vows, you are asking God to punish you if you break those vows. That's what an oath is. And how many times do people go through situations where they break their word and then their lives are absolutely miserable because they did not tell the truth.

They did not hold to their vow that they had made. If you're a husband or wife this evening, you need to make sure that the vows you gave to your wife or to your husband, however many years ago it was, that you're going to fulfill those vows. You're committed to fulfilling them for the honor and glory of God and for the love that you have for your spouse.

Acknowledge the lies you have told. Number two, appropriate the life of Christ. Our Lord is the Lord of truth.

Christ said, I am the truth. In John 18, he said he testified to the truth. In John 1, he was full of grace and truth.

Everything about our Lord is true. In Ephesians chapter 4, verse number 25, it says, therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you with your neighbor. Speak truth with your neighbor.

In other words, because God is the God of truth, we want to appropriate his life. If you lie, you align yourself with the father of lies. If you tell the truth, you align yourself with the God of truth.

So who do you want to align yourself with? The God of truth. But whenever you lie, you are aligning with Satan because he is the father of lies. And the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one anyway, right? So we want to begin to appropriate the life of Christ.

We serve a God who is truthful. And therefore, the words that we say should be true words. And then activate the language of love.

Why? Because you're supposed to speak the truth, according to Ephesians chapter 4, in love. You can't speak in love without truth. You speak truth in love.

You show love by speaking truth. And therefore, you activate the language of love by speaking truth, by making sure that what you say, you will fulfill. The promises you made, you will keep.

The vows that you have said, you will fulfill because you truly love the person you are speaking to and with. And lastly, apply the lessons of Scripture. The Bible says in Psalm 119, verse number 29, remove the false way from me.

Psalm 119, 163, I hate and despise falsehood, but I love thy law. The Bible says in Psalm 120, verse number 2, deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. John 17, sanctify them in truth for your word is true.

Do you speak the truth? Do you tell the truth? Remember Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5? They lied. The funny thing about it was, is that they were asked how much they had sold their land for. And they lied about it.

They could have told the truth, nothing to hide, but they decided not to tell the truth about how much they sold their land for. So when Peter asked Ananias, he didn't tell the truth and God killed him in church. And so they had just dragged his body out of the church and in comes Sapphira, the wife.

So Peter asked her, how much did you sell your land for? And she said, for such and such, the same as what her husband said. And Peter said, you have lied to the Holy Spirit. And she dropped dead in church.

Would it be that every time we told a lie, we dropped dead in church? Think about that. Could you imagine that? Our churches probably would be more than half empty every Sunday. People would be afraid to come.

In fact, that's exactly what happened. Great fear came upon the church and great fear came upon the city of Jerusalem because of what God did by dropping people dead because they did not tell the truth in church. Why? Because God has got a truth.

He wants his people to speak the truth, not just live the truth, but speak it. And my prayer for you and for me is that we would be truth tellers all the time. And that when people come to us and ask us a question, we would always tell them the truth.

Never hold things back. Always just speak forth the truth in love that we might be able to explain to people our yea and our nay. That which is true versus that which is false.

How about you? I would trust that that's the way you are today. Let me pray with you. Father, thank you, Lord, for tonight and a chance to briefly look at your word.

We're grateful, Lord, that you say what you say because you are the God of truth. We thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness. We thank you, Lord, for the conviction that comes our way.

When we begin to realize, Lord, that you are serious about the words that we say, there was a whole religious establishment that was built on a system of lies where they believed they could get away with whatever they wanted to get away with without consequences. But when you came, you set everything in order. You spoke the truth.

You told them exactly how you felt and what was wrong with what they said, and yet they did not change. I pray that that would not be us, Lord. That we would be a people who change based on what your word says.

That we would appropriate the life of Christ and that we would activate the language of love because we speak the truth in love. And that, Father, we acknowledge where we have lied, confess our sins, repent of our ways, that we might speak the truth, that we might honor Christ in our language, not just tonight, not just tomorrow, but until you come again, as you most surely will. In Jesus' name, amen.