“TRUTH TELLING IN A DISHONEST WORLD”

James 5:12

INTRODUCTION Diogenes was a philosopher in ancient Greece. He was said to have walked through the streets of Athens, carrying a lighted lantern in broad daylight in a futile search for an honest man. Did Diogenes ever find his honest man? As far as I know, he didn't. What about today, what would Diogenes find? Today lying, duplicity, deceit, and misrepresentation seem to be the standard rather than truth. Dishonesty rules in our society. Sadly we've come to expect and accept less then the truth from our politicians, salespeople, lawyers and even our friends, spouse and kids, and even in our churches. Two old English ladies were walking around an overcrowded English country churchyard and came upon a tombstone. The inscription said “Here lies John Smith, a politician and an honest man.” “Good heavens!” Said one lady to the other. “Isn’t it just awful that they put two people in the same grave?” That we live in a world of lies should not surprise us when scriptures tell us that unregenerate humanity are designated as “children of the devil-the father of lies” (John 8:44). But as we'll see today, there is a higher standard - and God has called us to it. It's called telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The call upon Christians is the radical demand for integrity in our conversation; a radical call to radical truthfulness. He does so by telling us first of all what not to do by exposing the many convenient distortions of truth in his time. Then he tells us what to do by setting before us God’s standard for truth.

I. AVOID COMPROMISING THE TRUTH IN RELATIONSHIPS James says in verse 12a, “Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else.” Even though this is only one verse, James sets this teaching in a primary and pervasive place by the usage of “above all”. 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 he says, “above all brothers” because everything we do and say is important because of who we claim to be, and because of the effect that we have upon others. So 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. But, what exactly is James getting at in verse 12? Can Christians make oaths? Is it wrong for Christians to make oaths? Well, the Bible doesn’t forbid oaths; in fact, it offers us many examples of those who took oaths. Abraham, David, Israel, and Paul all made oaths. In fact, the Old Testament required oaths, for example in Exodus 22:10-11 the Lord commanded that, “If a man gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep or any other animal to his neighbor for safekeeping and it dies or is injured or is taken away while no one is looking, the issue between them will be settled by the taking of an oath before the LORD”. Then we have God Himself, swearing an oath. In Hebrews 6:13 we read, “God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,”
Here’s a clue as to why someone would swear an oath. The purpose of an oath was to call upon someone, or something greater than yourself as a witness to the promise you were making. By calling on the name of God in an oath, you were saying that God was a witness to your promise and, therefore, you were seriously intending to keep that promise. So the Bible does not prohibit all oaths. Rather, it forbids both frivolous oaths and false oaths. Frivolous oaths are those that are so commonplace that they lose all significance or meaning. This would include taking an oath when it is not necessary or proper. When the drunken King Herod swore to the daughter of Herodias that he would give her up to half his kingdom because of her

dancing (Mark 6:23), it was a frivolous oath. When she asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter, Herod felt bad, but because of his oath, he was unwilling to refuse her (Mark 6:26). Or, Jephthah foolishly vowed to sacrifice the first thing that walked out of his door when he returned from battle. When it happened to be his only daughter, he foolishly kept the foolish vow. He never should have made it in the first place and he should have broken it when it meant killing his daughter. Sometimes we want to impress others with our spiritual commitment, and so we make a boastful vow. But vows should be reserved for the most solemn and important occasions, so that they really mean something when we make them. To take an oath in court, or to vow to be faithful to your mate at your wedding, or to vow to be faithful to the Lord at your baptism are examples of godly vows. Well, if oaths are allowed and even encouraged in some places in the Bible, what is James getting at in verse 12? James took this teaching directly from the lips of his elder brother Jesus, who had said virtually the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount. Both our Lord and James had a particular practice in mind that was common among the Jews of their day. The command of verse 12 parallels Matthew 5:33-37: “But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 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. But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes or 'No, no'; anything beyond these is of evil.”

The other kind of oath that the Bible forbids is the false oath. A false oath is one that the person making it does not intend to keep, but he makes it either to impress or deceive others. Jesus and James were directing these commands toward these kinds of oaths. The Jews had elaborate rules, that if you swore by the temple, you weren’t bound by your oath, but if you swore by the gold of the temple, you were bound. "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! Jesus rebukes the Pharisees who taught the fine art of swearing without the intention of telling the truth in Matthew 23:16-22, “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, `If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say. `If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.' You blind men' which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred' Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and h% the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it." This was the situation behind Jesus’ command in the Sermon on the Mount and James 1:12, not to make any oaths at all, but to “let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’. In other words, the real issue was speaking the truth at all times. All of this produced a moral schizophrenia: "I'm really not lying, but I'm also not telling the truth." The use of oaths was like children's "I had my fingers crossed!" James’ point is that instead of oaths and vows being a mark of one’s integrity, they had become a mark of deceit. Instead of prompting confidence, they were prompting skepticism. And so these people, with all their oaths and vows, were quickly becoming nothing more than a society of liars. Swearing evasively became justification for lying. If people said what they meant and meant what they said, there wouldn’t be a need for any such oaths at all! The Jews of that day were just playing games with each other, but more importantly, they were not living with integrity on the heart level before God. You may be able to fool someone with a deceptive or misleading contract, where they don’t understand the fine print. But you didn’t fool God. He knows the thoughts and intents of your heart, and if you were practicing deception, the fact that you did it “legally” doesn’t matter to God! To sum up, the Bible does not prohibit all taking of oaths or vows, but it does restrict them to important occasions. When we do take an oath, we need to consider it carefully and prayerfully, and then we need to be conscientious to follow through. If we are unable to keep our word, we should confess it to God and to the person we have wronged. And, we should seek to make restitution in ways that reflect genuine repentance. Although we don’t find too many religious oaths and vows in today’s vernacular, the fine art of lying continues. We lie today for all kinds of reasons! There are a few ways that we can easily fall into deception and falsehood: (1) The half-truth: you tell the truth, but not all the truth. Abraham did this when he claimed that Sarah was his sister. She was his half-sister, but he didn’t mention that she also happened to be his wife! (2) The white lie: these are the “innocent” lies that “don’t hurt anyone.” You call in sick to work when you’re really well. (3) The lie to cover for someone else: “He’s not in.” (4) Exaggeration: stretching the truth to make yourself look better or to evoke sympathy for your cause. (5) The silent lie: the other person assumes something flattering about you that is clearly false, but you don’t speak up to correct it. (6) The cover-up lie: You hide your own wrongdoing with the rationalization that it would hurt the other person too much to find out the real truth. (7) The evasive lie: you change the subject or conveniently dodge the truth by not answering directly. If Abraham lied about Sarah and David lied about Bathsheba and Peter lied about knowing Jesus Christ, then none of us are exempt from temptation to this sin. (8) The well intended, but unfulfilled promise. I’ll be there. I’ll call you. I will do this. But when the time comes, you don’t come through, show up, or call. Do you trust people like that? Soon you don’t ask them to do anything nor do you expect anything from them. Truthful communication is essential for good relationships because truth is essential for trust. If you don’t trust someone, you’re not going to allow that person to get close to you. We have all kinds of reason to lie, but the truth is, when it comes right down to it, we lie because it is the easiest thing to do. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but the wrong thing is always seems to be the easiest thing. Satan is always tempting us with the easy way. The way of least resistance is usually a slippery slop to sin. Do you remember the fable of the little boy who cried wolf? He was supposed to take care of the sheep out at some distance from the village. He was given a horn to blow if a wolf came and threatened the sheep. But this little boy was bored and irresponsible and filled with himself, so in the middle of the night he blew the horn when there was no wolf. The townspeople lit their lamps and ran out breathlessly to the sheep, and he laughed, "There's no wolf. I just wanted to see you run out of your houses." A second time he blew the horn and out came the people, and there was no wolf. He did it a third time, and out came the people, and no wolf. Then a wolf came. The boy blew the horn-but no one came, and the boy and the sheep forfeited their lives. And in the same way, everyone who traffics in lies and manipulation will eventually run out of people who believe him or her. Is this striking a cord with anyone? God doesn’t call us to be a people interested in the easy way. He wants us to be a people interested in the right way—the way of honor and integrity. As a matter of fact, our effectiveness as Christians demands that we be a people of integrity. Edward R. Murrow, the famous media personality of last century once said, “To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful.” You and I will only be a pervasive light for Christ if we are truthful. In the midst of all these different types of dishonesty, James cries out, “Stop! Stop all of this!”

II. COMMIT TO SPEAKING THE TRUTH AS A WAY OF LIFE James says in verse 12b, “Let your ‘Yes’ be yes, and your ‘No,’ no, or you will be condemned.” James and Jesus command us to tell the truth everywhere and every time! The point he is making here is that as a child of God you need to have an inward truthfulness that doesn’t depend on an oath or vow at all. You are who you are: Either your 'yes" means "yes" and your "no" means 'no," or they don't. The phraseology you use, the intensity of your language, and the tears with which you make promises are not going to make you more or less likely to keep your word. You are a man or woman of character, or you are not. You are someone whom God is remaking within so that you are trustworthy, or you are not. As a follower of Christ, you are to be the type of person that when you say something, it can be counted on as true. Our “yes” will be a true “yes” whether spoken publicly or privately. We will not say one thing to a persons face and a different thing behind their back. We will not promise one thing and do another. When you promise something, you will keep that promise. We will not look for loopholes and excuses to evade the truth. We will not say what people want to hear in order to create a positive impression. We will say what we mean and mean what we say. A conversation with a child demands the same truthfulness as a conversation with God. Truth fosters trust and nurtures confidence. Most importantly, truth honors the God of all truth and exposes Satan, the author of lies and deception. Truth is sacred because God is a God of truth. He has nothing to do with falsehood. His word can be trusted absolutely. The Psalmist wrote that God desires “truth in your innermost being” (Psalm 51:6). God has never had any standard other than absolute truthfulness. Truth has no shades. A half-truth is a whole lie. A white lie is really black lie. God’s absolute, unchanging standard is truth, integrity, and sincerity in everything. We are to be a mirror of that kind of fidelity to the truth whether in oaths or the most routine of conversations. Paul says truthfulness is necessary for growth in the church: "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). We are to be literally truthing in love - speaking and doing truth to each other. How the church needs this! We are to tell the truth, do the truth, and live the truth. In so doing we will glorify, please and honor the God of truth.

CLOSING THOUGHTS Will Rogers once gave this choice word of advice: “Live so that you wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip.” James would agree with him. Say what you mean and mean what you say. It is just that simple. What I believe God is asking each of us to do this morning is to declare a war on lying in all its forms. William Barclay writes, “Here is a great eternal truth. Life cannot be divided into compartments in some of which God is involved and in others of which he is not involved; there cannot be one kind of language in the Church and another kind of language in the shipyard or factory or the office; there cannot be one kind of standard of conduct in the Church and another kind of standard in the business world. The fact is that God does not need to be invited into certain departments of life, and kept out of others. He is everywhere, all through life and every activity of life. He hears not only the words which are spoken in his name; he hears all words; and there cannot be any such thing as a form of words which evades bringing God into a transaction. We will regard all promises as sacred, if we remember that all promises are made in the presence of God.”