Ministry of Grace Church

But before all things, my brothers, do not swear, neither by heaven nor by earth nor with any other oath. But let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your "No," "No," that you might not fall under judgment.

Truth to Learn

We are not to swear an oath just to prove our word is truth.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “swear” is the Greek word omnuō, which means “to take an oath or declare on an oath.” It does not refer to what we call cussing or cursing; it simply refers to taking an oath as one would do in a court of law.

The word “oath” is translated from the Greek word horkos. This word, according to James Strong in Strong’s Greek Dictionary, is derived from herkos, meaning “a fence.” It refers to a limit or a restraint, such as that which is the result of a sacred oath. Hence, the word has come to mean “an oath.”

In the phrase, “let your yes be yes,” the verb “let … be” is translated from the Greek word ētō, which is a form of the verb “to be.” It is expressed here in the imperative mood, indicating that it is a command. James is not suggesting that we allow our “Yes” to be “Yes.” He is commanding us to make our “Yes” be “Yes.” In other words, declare the truth all the time and you will not need to swear an oath to convince others.

“Judgment” is translated from krisis, is the noun form of the verb krinō, meaning “to separate” or “to distinguish between good and evil.” Thus, krisis refers to an judgment that is made.

 

Meaning Explained

James is now going to bring his letter to a close. Here he is following a common practice in such letters to close with a few snippets of information, not necessarily related to the former subject matter.

In Lev 19:12, the Jews were warned about falsely swearing by the name of the LORD.

And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you pollute the name of your God: I am the LORD.

To get around this, it became the practice to swear by the temple, by one’s own head, by heaven, by Jerusalem, or by the earth. These so called oaths became part of daily conversation and were not binding in the eyes of first century Jews, so that the whole concept of swearing an oath lost its impact. In fact, it was said by one of their teachers (Rabbi Akiba), “a man might swear with his lips, and annul it in his heart; and then the oath was not binding.” Such action is nothing short of hypocrisy. Jesus himself taught:

But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, because it is God's throne; nor by the earth, because it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, because 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 these is from the evil one. (Matthew 5:34-37)

Instead of swearing an oath, Jesus (and here James) taught that our word should be rock solid without swearing at all. What James is teaching here is that in our everyday conversation we should do what we say we are going to do and we should not do what we say we are not going to do. It’s as simple as that!

 

Application

We Christians are charged with spreading the good news of Jesus Christ throughout the world. As bearers of the Word of truth, all things that we say should simply be true, no exceptions! Is your “word” as solid as that?