Please stand to the portion of scripture that we read, James chapter 5. We read verses 1 to 12, and by the grace of God, we'll be looking at verse 12 this evening. We'll be looking at reverence and the use of God's name. Reverence and the use of God's name, verse 12. Jem says, but above all, my brethren, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, lest you fall into judgment. And you remember that James has been summing up, as it were, beginning there from verse 7. He has come to the end of his epistle. He's summing up, and he's endeavoring at this time to bring certain matters that he considers very important to the forefront. He wants us to remember. He wants to bring these points to our mind. He wants to place them before our minds. so that we'll remember them even having read the epistle, having considered the epistle. He wants us to consider these important matters that he has been speaking about. So he sums them up and he considers them and brings them before us and makes us consider them in the light of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He wants us to consider them in the light of the return of our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what he has started doing. And he has started looking at and making an appeal for patience on the trial. calling upon true believers, true Christians, who as it were will be facing trials in this world. And he has been calling them to patience. It is patience under trial. And we've been looking at that in verses 7 to 11. This is what he has been considering. And this patience, he has made us to see and to understand the kind of patience he is talking about. He is talking about that disposition that comes from God. It is not you looking into yourself, picking up strength and courage and trying to be macho as it were. This is not what he is talking about. He is talking about that patience that is a disposition from God to bear all that God has appointed for us without murmuring and without complaining, without thinking of retaliation. This is the kind of patience that James has been talking about. It is God-given. So that in times of trial, we are, James says, to patiently wait on God for the mercies that we need. When there's trouble, when difficulties come our way, we must wait upon the Lord for the mercies that we need from Him. And we must wait upon Him for the answers to our prayers. We must look to him and we must wait on him for the answers to our prayers. And you remember James uses a number of examples. He uses the farmer. He says, look at the farmer, look at the patience of the farmer. He begins, by the time he begins, what does he do? He trusts that the God who has started the rain will continue to give the rain. so that his friends will germinate, so that they will grow and become. And he has to learn to wait upon the Lord patiently. The Lord will bring the rain at the right time. And towards the end, he will also do the same. He is the one that will give the increase ultimately. So he learns to wait upon the Lord patiently. And not only that, he gives us the example of the prophets. who came were sent from God and they were known to be men from God speaking on behalf of God upon the authority of God they came to the people and the people did not want to hear the people rejected their messages but they had to learn to wait patiently upon the Lord they couldn't force their message upon the people they had to look to the Lord they had to wait upon him to bring his message to the people and at the end he gave us the example of Job in all that he went through and how he patiently waited upon the Lord. He sought the Lord and he waited for the Lord in spite of all the advice that he received from his friends. And having looked at that, we know that our Lord Jesus Christ, James doesn't give us that, but we know that our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should walk in his step, 1 Peter 2, verse 21, that this Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest example of patient waiting. He is the greatest example of patience that we can have and look upon. And God the Holy Spirit is the one indeed who is the agent of producing patience in true believers. Without his work in our lives, without the Holy Spirit himself working in us and helping us, we will not have that patience. We will not be patient with people around us. He works it out and he enables us to be patient in the times of trouble. Remember, we saw that this patience is a daughter of faith. Patience produced, as it were, by faith. So that it is only as we believe that God has appointed all the trials that come our way for our good and for his glory that we can truly be patient. So we have to believe. We have to trust. that God in his wisdom and his sovereignty has appointed all the trials and the sufferings that will come our way. And it is only as we believe that and trust in God that these trials have been appointed for by him and they are for our good and they are for his glory. It is only then that we will learn to be patient under those trials and sufferings and difficult situations. And this, James wants us to understand. He brings that out as it were. God-given patience produces contentment. When you learn to be patient, In all that God has allowed and appointed for you, you get to know what it means to be content. You get to understand what scripture means by godliness with contentment. We learn to be content, and God-given patience helps us to shut our mouth from complaining, from murmuring, It keeps us back and keeps our hearts back from seeking revenge. It is this God-given patience. And this God-given patience is very vital when it comes to self-discipline. Without it, there is no self-discipline. We need it for self-discipline. Now James comes to his second matter. And that has to do with reverence in the use of God's name. Patience on the trial. Now he wants us to learn to use God's name with reverence. To avoid irreverence when it comes to using the name of the Lord. And so he says in verse 12, but above all, my brethren, Do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, lest you fall into judgment. We're going to consider just two things here as we think of reverence and the use of God's name. We'll consider, first of all, reverence for God's name. And then secondly, we'll consider honesty in conversation. Reverence for God's name. then honesty in conversation. So, first of all, reverence for God's name. Now, A lot of commentators and many who have studied the scriptures and studied the history of Israel and studied so much more concerning the Jewish religion will tell us. And we read from them and we understand from them that especially at this time when James was writing at the end, when you are writing at the end of the letter, especially a Greek letter because he was writing in Greek, When you are writing at the end of a Greek letter, one is expected, as it were, to kind of swear an oath at the end of the letter, certifying and confirming that what you have written is true. So in many Greek letters at this time, when you write, you kind of swear an oath at the end to confirm and to ascertain, to tell everybody that what you have written is the truth. and nothing but the truth, so that everybody will understand that you are truly writing the truth. But instead of doing that, now that James has come to the end of his letter, James now reminds his readers of the sayings of our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew's Gospel, there in chapter 5 of Matthew's gospel in verses 33 to 37 Matthew chapter 5 verses 33 to 37 our Lord Jesus Christ speaking he says again Matthew 5 from verse 33 again you have heard that it was said of to those of old you shall not swear falsely but shall perform your oaths to the Lord and But I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your yes be yes, and your no, no. For whatever is more than this is from the evil one. So he remembers the words of the Savior and he reminds his readers that it was not necessary for him to swear at the end of a letter. And as believers, they should do the same. Not necessary for them to do that. Now in order to understand what is going on here, we need to look carefully at the context. Because if you look at the other side of it, Oaths, taking of oaths were part of Jewish life. It was part and parcel of the Jewish life. It was the normal thing in Israel. In Hebrews chapter 6, and there in verse 13 of Hebrews chapter 6, we read of God. We are told There, Hebrews 6.13, for when God made a promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no other greater, he swore by himself. So we're told there that God swore, and that God does swear, and we see that in the Old Testament. Because there was none greater than himself, of course he swore by his own name. He is above all. There is none greater for him to swear by. So he made an oath, as it were, to Abraham, swearing by his name. And we read of the Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians, in 2 Corinthians, and there in chapter 1 and verse 23, we read of the Apostle Paul swearing, as it were, as he writes, and this means taking an oath, making an oath. And it's important to remember the difference between what we call swearing, using the name of the Lord anyhow outside, and calling bad names, and using bad language. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about taking an oath in this particular case. And here in 2 Corinthians, and in chapter 1, we see the apostle Paul in verse 23. saying to them, moreover, I call God as witness against my soul that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. He is calling upon the name of the Lord. He is swearing as it were, taking an oath, assuring them, guaranteeing to them what he has done, calling upon the name of the Lord against his soul. this point in time and again in Galatians chapter 1 and there in verse 20 of Galatians chapter 1 again the Apostle Paul now concerning the things which I write to you indeed before God I do not lie before God I am not lying he wants them to be sure that he's telling the truth and he's doing that before God And he's calling the name of the Lord at this time to confirm to them what he is writing is true. And we find many other examples in the Old Testament of men of God taking oaths as it were in the Lord himself swearing by himself to assure his people. So we have that in the Jewish culture and in Jewish system. But what has happened? Why did the Lord Jesus Christ say what he said in Matthew's gospel there in the Sermon on the Mount? And why is James saying to them here, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. And when you see the details given by our Lord and hear by James, you know a problem must have occurred. For remember, what our Lord Jesus Christ says in Matthew chapter 5. When you swear, when you take an oath, it should be with the name of God, the name of the Lord. That is it. That's what it should be. There shouldn't be any other thing. There shouldn't be any other substitute, if you like. But here the Lord says to them, I say to you, do not swear by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is God's footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. Why will people be swearing by Jerusalem, by their head? by all these other places. Something has gone wrong. A problem has occurred. And this is what the Lord was dealing with here, and this is what James is dealing with here, as he writes to the people. This taking an oath, as we have seen, has always been in the system, the Lord himself doing the same, men of God showing the same, but On one hand, it had become so frequent in Israel and so abused that it lost its value and its significance. In almost every little thing, they were swearing, taking an oath. Almost every little thing. Now, on the other hand, we had others who divided this taking of oath into an oath that was binding and others that were not binding. If you take an oath by the name of the Lord, you know that is binding. You cannot play with that. So, how do you go around it? You take an oath with the throne of God. Take an oath with Jerusalem, the temple, God's seat. So you use other substitute because you clearly did not have the intention of fulfilling your promise. You know that you were not completely telling the truth. And you didn't want to be held accountable before God or responsible to God. So you find substitute. You find ways of circumventing your responsibility to the oath that you have taken. You look for ways of going around it. You swear by other names. So that something, the taking of oath, that had always been seen as a sacred thing and has always been treated as something serious among the Israelites, and it was considered something very serious to take an oath, now it was being treated with contempt, and had become a farce, it had also become a disgrace. And so James, writing to believers, now says, when it comes to your conduct, when it comes to your attitude, you must note this. You cannot be like others. You cannot continue to swear like others. You cannot continue to take oath like others. You must not do that. And in times of crisis, in times of pressure, in times of hardship, when tempers are easily frayed, when true believers, especially at that time, will be tempted as it were to swear in order to get out of hardship, to get out of difficulty, to get out of persecution. Christians may think it is right to swear by these other names, get out of the difficulty, get out of the persecution, become free of the trial and the trouble, and then you just ask God to forgive you because he didn't use his name anyway. You use other names. And when other names are taken, it was assumed that it doesn't have to be binding. It doesn't have to be that serious. So James says, Christian attitude must be clarified. It is very important. that when it comes to believers, this is what you must do. But above all, my brethren, he says, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. Don't do that. Avoid the temptation. Wait patiently upon the Lord. Do not use his name irreverently, even if it means that will get you out of difficulty. Even if it means that will get you out of persecution. Don't use his name irreverently. As Christians, you cannot and you must not do that. So he says, there must be reverence. for the name of the Lord in the first place. On the other hand, avoid all those other so-called abiding taking of oaths. Secondly, he says, let there be honesty in your conversation. Let there be honesty in your conversation. But let your yes be yes and your no, no. Let it be that simple, that straightforward. Let your yes be yes. Let your no be no. James is saying, let your simple yes be simple yes. Let your no be a simple no. You don't need to swear by anything or anybody to confirm the truth of your word. You shouldn't. If you're a Christian, if you're a believer, James is saying here to them that in your everyday conversation, in your everyday dealings with your fellow man, be him a believer or a non-believer, in everything, in your interactions with other people, you are supposed to be honest. Honesty must be your motto. And if you are honest and straightforward, then you don't need to swear to confirm the truth of your words. Your life must be lived honestly. You are supposed to be honest before God and before others. That's why you're Christians. You are not like others in the world. You don't pretend to be what you are not or you don't pretend to mean what you don't mean. No. Let your simple yes be yes. Let your no be simple no. Your life, your conduct should be able to talk for you. ascertain for you. You don't have to swear. You don't need to swear. You shouldn't swear. It is not necessary for you to do that. When you give your word, let it be your word of honor. When you say yes, then it must be yes. You say no, it must be no. There should be no need at all for you to underline your words by such expressions as, what they say, is it cross my heart or something like that. And people want to avoid using the name of the Lord. Oh, cross my heart. Sometimes they talk about Boy Scout honor and such things. Touch wood, whatever things that they use in the world. A believer should never do that. A Christian should never talk like that. Let people know you for who you are, for your honesty in everything that you do. There should be no reason why those you're talking to should doubt you in whatever way. If you have lived a consistent Christian life, and if people have come to know you as a man, as a woman of your word, you don't need to take an oath. You don't need to swear by any name. You don't need to underline the certainty of what you are saying. You don't need to underline the truthfulness of what you are saying. You should never lie. The devil is a liar. And as our Lord Jesus Christ has already said in John's Gospel, He is the father of lies. You are not the children of the devil. So you should not be involved in lying. When you say yes, it must mean yes. When you say no, then it should mean no. So that your yes or your no should be beyond any kind of doubt whatsoever. As Curtis Verne puts it, He says, one's mere word should be as trustworthy as a signed agreement attested by legal witnesses. Your mere word as a Christian should be as trustworthy as a signed agreement attested by legal witnesses. That's how your word should be. And at the end of verse 12, James says, any other course of action, to follow any other direction actually, is to run the risk of falling under judgment. Look at verse 12 again. But let your yes be yes, and no be no, lest lest you fall into judgment. You must avoid it. Your truth, your yes must be yes, your no must be no. To do otherwise will place you under the judgment of the Lord. And remember how the Hebrew writer puts it, it is a sinful thing. to fall into the hands of the Lord. It is a fearful thing. And this reminds us of Exodus chapter 20. And there in verse 7 of Exodus chapter 20, there the Lord is giving the commandments to Moses. And he says, Exodus chapter 20, And there in verse 7, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. So when it comes to all this, do not swear, do not take an oath, but you also know that that means you must not use God's name in vain. We must not call God's name anyhow and in every simple circumstance. We must not rush to use God's name in whatever we do. It's important that our yes is yes and our no is known to be no. We don't need to swear to underline that. Now, when it comes to application, it's important to remember these few things. When James says, above all, my brethren, it is because he considers flippant oath-taking and thoughtless use of God's name as very, very serious. For anybody to flippantly use the name of God in order to confirm something that he knows is not true, something that he knows to be wrong, just because he wants to get away with it, It's a very, very serious matter. And James is underlining that, that this is very, very serious. Flippant oath taken and faultless use of God's name is very serious in the sight of the Lord. When you take the name of the Lord irreverently, that is an irreverent oath taken, and you swear anyhow in ordinary conversation It tells something about you. It reveals something about your heart. For it tells and reveals the fact that you are impatient, you are in a hurry to make people believe what you are saying. Now, why should you be in a hurry to make people believe by using the Lord's name? Perhaps you are lying. If you are rushing to use God's name to confirm what you say, then something is wrong somewhere. Why must you be rushing to confirm that? Say it as it is, leave it to them to believe you or not. But if they know you for who you are, and they know you for what you stand for, then they will know that your yes is yes, and they will know that your no is no. When you rush and you flippantly use the name of the Lord, it tells something, it reveals something of your impatience, especially on the trial, especially on the affliction. But on the other hand, it also shows something very important. You have lost the fear of God in your heart. See it as the fear of God is the beginning of true and genuine godly wisdom. And when you begin to lose that fear of God in your heart, you are beginning to lose it all. But when you think you can call the name of the Lord and use the name of the Lord anyhow, flippantly, it means you have no fear. No fear of the Lord. And that shows that your heart is in the wrong place. It's completely removed, as it were. Isaiah speaking about the children of Israel, he says in Isaiah chapter 29, and there in verse 13, concerning the children of Israel, he says, therefore the Lord said, inasmuch as these people draw near me with their mouth, and honor me as it were with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from me. And their fear toward me is taught by the commandment of men. And some of us in this day and age have fallen into that. Our fear of the Lord is dictated by the attitude of the world. And that must never be. That should not be. Not at all. so that believers suffering affliction must be especially on the guard. They must guard their hearts. They must guard their mouths. When it comes to that, they must not rush to make their persecutors believe what they are saying, so that they will get off from the affliction and from the suffering. Let them be known for men of their words, women of their words. When they say yes, everybody knows they mean yes. And when they say no, everybody knows they mean no. But in the second place, it's important to note this, that James is not forbidding the taking of oath in a court of law. This is not what James is dealing with, as we have been seeing even from the context. James is not forbidding the taking of oath in the court of law. It is the abuse of oath-taking that James is dealing with. The flippant use of God's name to guarantee our statements as being true or otherwise, that is what James is dealing with. And that's what we must remember. If all things were well, if all things were equal, as it were, there will be no need for any man or any woman to take an oath, even in the court of law. But we live in a fallen and a sinful world. That's where we live in. This is the reality of our world. So that where the legal structure of oath-taking has been put, it has been put, remember, with sanctions. There are sanctions for anybody who takes or who swears falsely. Sanctions of perjury. in the court, because even in the court of law, even in this sinful world, they know that they are dealing with sinful, fallen men who are bound to lie in order to get away with murder. They will do that. So there is this sanction that I place so that if a person swears falsely and it is found out that he has done so falsely, there are consequences, even in the world there. It has become necessary to guard the accuracy of the testimonies of sinful men. That's what we have. As we have seen, it was the norm even in the Old Testament. Even in the New Testament, we saw the Apostle Paul taking an oath to confirm to those he was writing to, the truthfulness of what he was writing. When it comes to the court of law, It is necessary and essential there for them to ask you to swear either in the name of the Lord or whatever others believe, because we live in a fallen and a sinful world. The words of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 12, those words bring out very clearly that is given by James here. It brings out what the Lord and what James will have us to understand very very clearly. In Matthew chapter 12 verses 34 to 37 and I'll finish with that. Our Lord Jesus Christ speaking says, this is Matthew 12 from verse 34, Brood of vipers, how can you being evil speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth good things. And an evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth evil things. But I say to you, that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned. This is the warning. It is about the use of the tongue. It is about speech, how we use our tongue in either honoring or disrespecting the name of the Lord in our lives, especially as believers. May the Lord help us to understand and to do that which is right and honoring in the sight of our God, for his name's sake. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we truly thank you for your word here. We bless you, Lord, for your servant of all, even James. And we thank you, Lord, for this warning that he has given to us. Help us, O Lord, to remember not to use your name not to take oaths easily and anyhow. There shouldn't be any need for any of us to seek to confirm what we say by swearing or by taking an oath. Help us, O Lord, to guard against that. May our yes be yes and our no be no. And help us, O Lord, to live lives that show clearly that we are who we say we are, and we are what we say at all times. Have mercy. Bless us, O Lord. Part us with your blessings tonight. Keep us throughout this week, O Lord. Look into the Lord Jesus. And we ask, O Lord, that you bless us throughout the rest of this evening and tonight, and that throughout the week, we will walk with you and know that you are with us in every way. In Jesus' mighty name, amen.