First Order (F)
A continuation of "First Order (E)"
Terry Dashner (www.ffcba.com)
Exodus 20:7 says, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" (KJV)
Unreality, vanity, and vain are associated with the meaning "in vain." Empty, insincere, or frivolous attitudes and actions should never accompany an oath in God's name. For example, to use the name of God in a promise or pledge without the intention of keeping it is taking the name of God in vain. To swear an oath in God's name and then break the promise because it is inconvenient or too uncomfortable to keep, is to take it in vain. Sadly, I have broken this commandment many times over the course of my life. I thank God for His forgiveness and grace in Christ Jesus. How about you?
When one reads Matthew 5:33-37, Jesus warns against taking oaths. He insists that a "yes" or "no" is all that is necessary. Why? In the time of Jesus there were Jews who were masters of evasion. If they did take an oath in the name of God, they would keep it, but they did everything possible to avoid doing so. They would swear by heaven, or by earth, or by Jerusalem, or by their own heads, and they would feel themselves quite free to break such an oath, because it did not actually include the name of God. God, so to speak, had not actually been made a partner to the transaction by name, and therefore the transaction was quite breakable (William Barclay, The Ten Commandments, Westminster John Knox Press 1998, p. 14).
Jesus declares that heaven is God's throne and earth is God's footstool and Jerusalem is God's city. The point that Jesus is making is that you cannot possibly keep God out of any transaction, for God is everywhere present, and, whether his name is mentioned or not, he is there present when any promise is given or taken. All promises and pledges are made in the presence of God, just as all places are in the presence of God, and therefore an oath in the name of God is unnecessary, for God is there anyway (Ibid., p.14).
Then again there are times when an oath is proper. Jesus himself did not refuse to be put upon oath when he was before the High Priest. He was asked a question under oath and he answered it without comment (Matthew 26:63). Paul himself gives his sworn pledge to the Galatians (Galatians 1:20) that he is telling the whole truth. It is true that an oath is never necessary for the Christian, but clearly there are times when it should be taken-- such as in a court of law.
Allow me to conclude this topic of study by listing some valid pledges before the Lord.
(1) The marriage vow is spoken before God and witnesses. It is not to be broken, except in death or infidelity. It is a valid pledge before God.
(2) There is the pledge of baptism in which parents pledge themselves to bring up a child in the knowledge and the love and the fear of God.
(3) There is the pledge of the sacrament. The word Sacrament has many meanings. Its simplest is that the word sacramentum is the standard Latin word for a soldier's oath of loyalty to his general and to his emperor. When a believer comes to the sacrament of the Lord 's Supper, he or she should renew his and her loyalty to Christ as Saviour and King (Ibid., p.16).
Pastor T.
A continuation of "First Order (E)"
Terry Dashner (www.ffcba.com)
Exodus 20:7 says, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" (KJV)
Unreality, vanity, and vain are associated with the meaning "in vain." Empty, insincere, or frivolous attitudes and actions should never accompany an oath in God's name. For example, to use the name of God in a promise or pledge without the intention of keeping it is taking the name of God in vain. To swear an oath in God's name and then break the promise because it is inconvenient or too uncomfortable to keep, is to take it in vain. Sadly, I have broken this commandment many times over the course of my life. I thank God for His forgiveness and grace in Christ Jesus. How about you?
When one reads Matthew 5:33-37, Jesus warns against taking oaths. He insists that a "yes" or "no" is all that is necessary. Why? In the time of Jesus there were Jews who were masters of evasion. If they did take an oath in the name of God, they would keep it, but they did everything possible to avoid doing so. They would swear by heaven, or by earth, or by Jerusalem, or by their own heads, and they would feel themselves quite free to break such an oath, because it did not actually include the name of God. God, so to speak, had not actually been made a partner to the transaction by name, and therefore the transaction was quite breakable (William Barclay, The Ten Commandments, Westminster John Knox Press 1998, p. 14).
Jesus declares that heaven is God's throne and earth is God's footstool and Jerusalem is God's city. The point that Jesus is making is that you cannot possibly keep God out of any transaction, for God is everywhere present, and, whether his name is mentioned or not, he is there present when any promise is given or taken. All promises and pledges are made in the presence of God, just as all places are in the presence of God, and therefore an oath in the name of God is unnecessary, for God is there anyway (Ibid., p.14).
Then again there are times when an oath is proper. Jesus himself did not refuse to be put upon oath when he was before the High Priest. He was asked a question under oath and he answered it without comment (Matthew 26:63). Paul himself gives his sworn pledge to the Galatians (Galatians 1:20) that he is telling the whole truth. It is true that an oath is never necessary for the Christian, but clearly there are times when it should be taken-- such as in a court of law.
Allow me to conclude this topic of study by listing some valid pledges before the Lord.
(1) The marriage vow is spoken before God and witnesses. It is not to be broken, except in death or infidelity. It is a valid pledge before God.
(2) There is the pledge of baptism in which parents pledge themselves to bring up a child in the knowledge and the love and the fear of God.
(3) There is the pledge of the sacrament. The word Sacrament has many meanings. Its simplest is that the word sacramentum is the standard Latin word for a soldier's oath of loyalty to his general and to his emperor. When a believer comes to the sacrament of the Lord 's Supper, he or she should renew his and her loyalty to Christ as Saviour and King (Ibid., p.16).
Pastor T.