In the sermon 'Lawful Oaths and Vows (Part 2),' Eric Bechler delves into the theological basis and scriptural mandates for taking oaths. The primary focus is on the importance of swearing oaths in the name of God alone, with holy fear and reverence, as supported by various scriptures including Isaiah, Deuteronomy, and Exodus. It is emphasized that swearing vainly, rashly, or by any other entity is sinful and abhorrent. The sermon outlines four categories where taking an oath is warranted: matters of weight and moment, confirmation of truth, ending strife, and imposition by lawful authority. Examples from scripture, such as Ezra, Jesus before the high priest, and Abraham's oath with his servant, illustrate these points. The sermon underscores the necessity of treating God's name with the utmost respect and the severe consequences of false oaths.
Our reading today from the second London Baptist confession of lawful oaths and vows paragraph 2 The name of God only is that by which men ought to swear and Therein it is to be used with all holy fear and reverence. Therefore, to swear vainly or rashly by that glorious and dreadful name or to swear it all by any other thing is sinful and to be abhorred. It has in matter of weight and moment for confirmation of truth and ending all strife, an oath is warranted by the word of God. So a lawful oath being imposed by lawful authority in such matters ought to be taken. We continue in our chapter on oaths and vows.
Our focus today is onto whom men ought to swear. Our confession begins with, the name of God only is that by which men ought to swear and Therein it is to be used with all holy fear and reverence Scripture tells us plainly that it is in God's name that we are to take oaths To swear an oath in His name. He who swears in the earth shall swear by the God of truth, Isaiah 65, 16. You shall take oaths in His name, Deuteronomy 6, 13, and Deuteronomy 10, 20. To me, every tongue shall take an oath, Isaiah 4523.
I found it interesting that in most of these passages wherein we are told to take oaths in the name of God, we find terms of God's attributes, His holiness, His omniscience, His omnipotence, in terms of reverence. So I'd like to look at those verses a little more fully than what I read to you just now. From Deuteronomy 6.13, you shall fear the Lord your God and serve him and shall take oaths in his name. We are called to fear and serve the Lord along with the command to take oaths in his name. From Deuteronomy 10 20 through 21, you shall fear the Lord your God, you shall serve him, and to him you shall hold fast and take oaths in his name.
He is your praise, he is your God and who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. We see in Isaiah 45 22 through 23, look to me and be saved. All you ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. I have sworn by myself. The word has gone out of my mouth and righteousness, and shall not return.
That to me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall take an oath." When we must take an oath, we must not be casual about it. We must take it with all holy fear and reverence. If you think about what we're doing, you're calling upon God Almighty Himself, the creator of the universe. Who is greater than God that you can call upon to act upon as a witness and a judge? Moses asks a similar question after crossing the Red Sea.
Who is like you among the gods, O Lord? Who is like you, majestic and holiness, awesome and praises, working wonders? Exodus 15, 11. David praises God, following the offerings for the temple. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty.
Indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth, yours is the dominion, O Lord, and you exalt yourself as head over all." First Chronicles 29, 11. Yes, if we are to swear an oath, we must swear in the name of our holy and fearful God. Our confession continues therefore to swear vainly or rashly by that glorious and dreadful name or to swear at all by any other thing is sinful and to be abhorred. There are two parts here to note, both being sinful and abhorrent. First, our confession tells us not to swear in God's name vainly or rashly.
In a court in Travis County A couple of weeks ago, my wife had to swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth for the acceptance of her testimony. Years ago, you would hear, so help you God. At the end of that phrase, they seem to have dropped it now. Yet even without naming God, it is to Him that we are calling to be our witness and our judge to tell the truth or to the truth of our testimony. To us this was a serious matter and we needed this settled by higher authorities and praise God that we're done with it and truth prevailed.
There are other serious matters where oaths are required. Presidential oaths of office, congressional oaths of office, doctors take a Hippocratic oath, military servicemen take oaths, New citizens take a naturalization oath of allegiance for our country. There are many other cases where we see a need for an oath. In contrast, think of people swearing. You all may not be familiar with this phrase, but I remember this.
People swearing on their mother's grave. Swearing by the moon and the stars in the sky if you're familiar with the 1990s hit on the radio. Or just trying to emphasize a point. I swear I didn't eat that last cookie or I swear I flossed this morning. These kind of oaths are unnecessary and irreverent at best.
Well what does Scripture tell us? We find in the third commandment, Exodus 27, 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. We're not to misuse God's name. His name should be treated with fear and with reverence. Matthew Poole comments on this verse in the name of the Lord, not only the proper name of the Lord, but any of his attributes, ordinances, or works by which God hath made himself known.
On the phrase in vain, either thou shalt not swear falsely by the name of the Lord or you shall not use the name of God either in oath or in common discourse lightly, rashly, irreverently, or unnecessarily without weighty or sufficient cause. In Leviticus God warns his people, and you shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God. I am the Lord. Leviticus 19 12. The second point raised here is that we are not to swear an oath by any other thing.
We see Joshua warning the people of Israel in this specific sin in Joshua 23 6 through 7. Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them. You shall not serve them, nor bow down to them." Well, what will God's response be if this happens? God tells his people through Jeremiah, how shall I pardon you for this?
Your children have forsaken me and sworn by those that are not God's. When I had fed them to the full, Then they committed adultery and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots houses, Jeremiah 5 7 God is asking for what reason should I pardon you? How can I let such offenses go unpunished? God is holy God is a holy righteous and just God His righteousness righteousness demands justice for such offenses To swear an oath to anyone or anything other than God is sinful and abhorrent. Abhorrent meaning to hate extremely, which I would put up there with being an abomination.
Again, we read from Deuteronomy, you shall fear the Lord your God and serve him and shall take oaths in his name. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the people, the peoples who are all around you, for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you. Lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth." Deuteronomy 6, 13 through 15. God does not take this lightly, nor should you. So maybe it's better just to avoid swearing oaths altogether.
That would be fine, but circumstances in life have a way of placing us in positions where the taking of an oath is useful or warranted. Our paragraph today lists four situations where we should take an oath in God's name. As we go through some examples of each, we'll find that there are actually some overlapping examples here across these categories. First, in matters of weight and moment. As mentioned before, examples such as a presidential or congressional oath of office, a doctor's oath, serviceman oath, naturalization oaths, and others are serious pledges that are taken for specific people and for special moments.
Court trials can also fall into the category of matters of weight and moment. Now let's turn to scripture. When the people of Israel had intermarried with their neighbors, Ezra commanded the people to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them in Ezra 10.3 to separate themselves from the Gentiles regardless of how difficult and traumatic it would be. We read, then Ezra rose and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear an oath that they would do according to this word. So they swore an oath." Ezra 10.5.
When Jesus was before the high priest, after being betrayed, we read, and the high priest arose and said to Jesus, do you answer nothing? What is it these men testify against you? But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to him, I put you under oath by the living God. Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus said to him, it is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming on the clouds of heaven." Matthew 26 62 through 64. Elijah swears an oath to call down judgment on the land for Israel's rebellion and apostasy in first King 17 one and Elijah the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand there shall not be due nor rain these years except at my word." The second category here is for confirmation of truth. In Exodus 22, 10 through 11, we read of the use of an oath of the Lord to confess the truth of one of the party's innocence. If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, or a sheep, or any animal to keep and it dies, is hurt or driven away, no one seeing it, then an oath of the Lord shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into the neighbor's goods, and the owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good." We see also from Paul, who is unknown in the Church of Rome personally and who himself had not been there offered an oath in the name of God as confirmation that what he writes is actually true.
We read from Romans 1 8 through 10. First I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayer, making request if by some means now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. The third category to end all strife in Hebrews 6 verses 13 through 16 for when God made a promise to Abraham because he could swear by no one greater he swore by himself saying surely blessing I will bless you and multiplying you I will multiply you And so after he patiently endured he obtained a promise for men indeed swear by the greater and oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Matthew Poole comments, In this special part of God's worship, God is called in as a co-witness of the truth of what is sworn, and as a judge and avenger of it.
If it be otherwise, and so the oath becomes a confirmation of faith and confidence of men, one in another, and of love accompanying the same. So that if strife, doubt, suspicion, or jealousy arise among them about either words or deeds, he calls in God by an oath as co-witness with whom it is supposed he would not break his interest nor invocate him against himself by declaring what is false. On this all strife and contradictions is to be decided among men and to cease, and so the controversy to be determined. Finally, the category four, and as an imposition by a lawful authority, we see Abraham, who was the head of his household, required that his eldest servant take an oath swearing by the Lord to get a wife for his son Isaac. This oath was made with even greater solemnity since he placed his hand under Abraham's thigh.
We read from Genesis 24, 2 through 4. So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house who ruled over all that he had, please put your hand under my thigh and I will make you swear by the Lord the God, the God of heaven and the God of earth that you will not take a wife for my sons from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell but you shall go to my country and to my family and take a wife for my son Isaac." As governor of Jerusalem, Nehemiah had many difficult tasks to complete and reforms to make. When he saw the intermarrying of the Jews with their neighbors, he put a stop to it and required oaths from the people confirming their commitment. We read in Nehemiah 13 23 through 25, In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon and Moab, and half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people. So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair and made them swear by God saying, You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves." In these conditions an oath is warranted by the word of God and ought to be taken.
In these times we must take care to only swear by the name of God, not anything or anyone else. There is no better witness to the truth. God is truth. There is no better judge. God is our righteous and perfectly just judge.
If our oaths are false, God will not be slack in bringing judgment upon us. Our oaths must be taken with holy fear and reverence, not falsely nor lightly. Amen.