 Matthew chapter 5. We're going to be looking at the subject of integrity found in verses 33 through 37 here in Matthew chapter 5. As we've been going over the Gospel of Matthew, we've arrived at chapter 5. Jesus is beginning what we call the Sermon on the Mount. And we have now entered into a study of verses 33 through 37. These verses really relate to a single English word. They're really speaking concerning integrity, integrity in the body of Christ. So let's begin reading at verse 33. We'll read to verse 37 and get into our study of subject, integrity. Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. 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 these is from the evil one. Now in this portion of Jesus' sermon, he's teaching on what we would call the quality of integrity. He's speaking about having a heart that loves truth and desires to live with integrity on a daily basis. So Jesus is re-emphasizing God's intention for those who belong to him. Now we know that truth is respected in the United States, at least in principle, but it's not necessarily embraced by all as a way of life. Daniel Webster once said, there's nothing as powerful as truth and often nothing as strange. In our day, the quality of integrity, or truth in the inner man, needs to be rediscovered. I was reading something about this just this week, and somebody wrote, as religion and faith are being driven out of the public square, the Judeo-Christian ethical foundations that have sustained our country since its beginning are being lost and are being replaced with a humanistic amorality manifested by a self-centered pragmatic indifference that will ensure that our moral compasses will fail to point us in the right direction in the future. The quality of integrity, in other words, is being lost in the nation that we love so dearly. Somebody has to ask, what is integrity? What is a definition? Integrity is defined as wholeness or entireness. It is completeness. A person who has integrity is a person who does not have a divided heart. That person has their life put together and things are working together harmoniously. It is a heart of what we would call unforced truth because that heart has been made pure by the blood of Christ. You see, God's desire is for us to have undivided hearts. In Psalm 51 verse 6, the psalmist writes, Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. And so Jesus is speaking concerning this. He's speaking about having an undivided heart. He's speaking about having integrity. You see, in the Bible, the one who does not have integrity is referred to as double-minded. And a person who is double-minded is not to be trusted. James tells us in chapter 1 verse 8, a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. But on the other hand, the one who has integrity has what is called in Scripture singleness of heart. So the person with singleness of heart is the one who diligently pursues the Lord. Like it says in Psalm 27 verse 4, One thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. One thing have I desired that speaks of singleness of heart. Jesus in Matthew 6, 24 said, No one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he'll be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot serve God in earthly riches. Mammon was earthly riches. So you're to have a single heart, a unified heart. You're to have integrity. Notice how it begins here in verse 33, how Jesus begins by simply saying, Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. So he's referring to a tradition-laced teaching that relates to making oaths or vows in the name of the Lord. The practice of using God's name when making a vow is referred to in the Old Testament in Leviticus chapter 19 verse 12. It simply says, Do not swear falsely by my name. And so profane the name of the Lord, your God, I am the Lord. And so they would take their vows in the name of the Lord and God said, Do not swear falsely by my name. So using God's name when making vows was referred to in the Old Testament. The question has to be asked though, why would they use the name of God? Well, when they use the name of God, he gave a certain sense of seriousness and honesty to the oath or the promise that was being made. And God would allow his name to be used. And this is interesting because man by nature is prone to lying or just shading the truth by nature. I read something recently that was very thought provoking. Somebody wrote by age four, by age four, 90% of children have grasped the concept of lying and it gets worse from there. 90% of kids, not all kids at the age of four, but 90% or so of the kids who are four, they understand that they can shade the truth and get away with things. My granddaughter Stella, who's not even three years old yet, has learned to shade the truth a bit if she wants something. She will come and she will say to me, can I have this? And I'll say, have you asked your mama? And she will always say, oh, she says yes. She always does. She said yes. She loves gum. She loves gum. And her mama tells her, you cannot have gum. And she knows where I have gum in my office and she will come into my office and she will be aligned to the gum. And I will say, did your mama say to you you can have gum? Because Karen has said no, she can't have gum, dad. Because she chews it, she swallows it, puts it in her hair. You know, you can't, no, she cannot have gum. Every time you'll say yes, we have caught her in Marie's purse so many times. The other day, just a couple days ago, I was moving furniture and kind of sweeping up because my wife doesn't. And as I was doing that, I found gum behind the couch. Not just one piece, there were five pieces of gum that she had chewed up. No doubt somebody had walked in while she was chewing gum and she had dropped it. No doubt. So by the age of four, they're already learning to fabricate or shade the truth. A 2002 study conducted by the University of Massachusetts gives us some insight into this. They discovered that 60% of adults tested cannot have, listen to this, 10-minute conversation without lying at least one time. Those people in the study who did lie actually told an average of three lies. In 10 minutes, but they didn't realize they had lied until they watched taped, their taped conversations and they were all shocked at themselves. They were saying things that were not true and then busted themselves in the midst of a lie and didn't even realize that we were doing that. Now who gets lied to the most? The book The Day America Told the Truth gives statistics related to this. Parents are lied to the most with 86% lying to their parents regularly. Then you have 75% of your friends being lied to, 83% of your brothers or sisters being lied to and 69% of spouses. They are lied to regularly. It is estimated that 30% of internet users are looking for love on dating sites. A study by Scientific American found that 90% of people looking for a date online, I know this will shock you, lie in their profile. The biggest fib told by women. What do you think? Age? No, it's weight. Little tubbies you. Ladies claim to weigh 8.5 pounds less than they actually do. That's the average. They then try to use their profile to convince potential dates that they are taller, richer, and are better educated than they actually are. Now that's not news to us, is it? I mean, we all shade the truth in one form or another. At least that's what studies are saying. So the inclination to hide or shade the truth is part of the human nature. It's fallen because people don't necessarily always believe the person who makes the promise. And they know that it's human nature to present yourself in the best light possible. And again, that can be seen in a practical way when there's a conflict between two people. If you're having a fight or an argument with somebody, the human tendency is to shade the truth to favor our position. Which is interesting, but it's true. We say what we think people will gravitate to so they can see how right I am. But we won't give the other side of the argument in a fair way. Proverbs 18.17 says, the first one to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and questions him. In other words, there's always two sides to every story. So at this time using God's name enhanced their credibility. So they would use his name when they took an oath. Because the greater the name used to confirm the oath, the greater the credibility of your word. Even to this day, there will be people that you know who are not necessarily believers. But you will know people. I have encountered people this way. I used to do this before I got saved who will actually say, I swear. Or even they would use a phrase and you've heard it, they'll say, I swear to God. And that was another way of enhancing their own credibility. During Jesus's day, if somebody wanted to establish their sincerity, they would take an oath. And by invoking the name of God, they believe it added weight to what they were saying. It's like what it says in Hebrews 6 verse 16, men swear by someone greater than themselves and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Well, the question might be asked, why would God allow his name to be used in an oath? Well, one of the practical ways to understand that would be this. A person's character is exposed by the keeping or breaking of that oath. For some, even to this day, an oath is simply something that is said to make a point or to appear sincere. You're making that promise. But what happens is, if I made this promise and I'm actually going to have to sacrifice something to keep my word, I may not keep my word. It's interesting how in the book of Psalms, in Psalm 15 verse 1, a question is asked, the question being, Lord, who may abide in your tabernacle? Who may dwell in your holy hill? And then a series of answers are given to that single question, who may abide in your tabernacle, who may dwell in your holy hill? And in verse 4 we read, the one who's able to do this is the one who swears to his own hurt, who swears to his own hurt and does not change. Swears to his own hurt and does not change. I was reading an older commentator, and you can tell, and I'm going to read it verbatim, I usually just change it around to modernize the language when I use a quote, but let me read it to you as this one who wrote over 100 years ago concerning this one verse as he wrote it. When it says he who swears to his own hurt and does not change, if at any time he have bound himself by a solemn engagement to do so and so, and he finds afterwards that to keep his oath will be greatly to his damage, yet such reverence has he for God and for truth, that he will not change, be the consequences what they may. He is faithful also to his promises. His bare word will bind him equally with an oath. He that will not be honest without an oath will not be honest with one. It's when somebody swears to his own hurt, regardless of what the cost is going to be, a person with integrity will pay that cost. They'll pay the cost. You signed a contract. You said you would pay your student loans. You pay them back. You bought a home. You signed a contract. You said you'd do your best to pay it back. That's what a person with integrity does. You pay it back. My dad was of such character even as a non-believer, and I realize I speak of a man from a different era, but my dad was of such character. He taught us character. Lessons I learned later in life, not as early as I should have. But my dad was the kind of man that if he agreed to make a payment or to do something, he would make that payment or he would do what he agreed to do, even to his own hurt. There are times when my dad would have a bill to pay or he could provide a little extra for us for dinner, and I guarantee you my dad would pay the bill. And we would get whatever we had left over. We would get those. I used to speak about how my dad used to make, my mom used to make my dad something for dinner, and my mom called it potato pancakes. And I don't even know if that's a real thing, but that's what mom used to call it. I used to call it, ugh. I didn't like them. It was mashed potatoes that she would actually make into pancake shapes and she would cook it, and that would be what very often we ate for dinner. And I always perceived it as being because my mom had been ill when we were kids and went to the doctors quite often. Dad would pay the doctor's bills, and so on one occasion I was sharing and I was saying, you know, we ate potato pancakes quite often. And I said, you know, it's because I grew up in a family that didn't have a lot of money. And my dad walks up to me afterwards and he says, David, do you know why I ate potato pancakes so often? And I said, yeah, because we were poor. He says, no, I like potato pancakes. So it's another reason to disrespect my father. Those things were terrible. I'd take him and you could throw him. You'd say, pull and you'd shoot him with a shotgun. But my dad was the kind of man, and thank God for this kind of man in my life, who he would pay his bills before he fed his children. My dad had integrity. I saw that growing up. The importance of your name and keeping your name unsullied is very important. So keeping your oath reveals that you are a child of God. Why? Because God hates lies. Now a problem resulted because people began to simply make frivolous oaths. As a matter of fact, insincere oaths during the time of Christ were so common that people would not even take the oath that was being made seriously. So the rabbis, the teachers of that day, tried to solve the problem by saying, vows to the Lord must be kept. That's what you see in verse 33 here in Matthew 5, where he says, you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord. So the rabbis were saying that vows made to the Lord were to be kept. So this meant breaking vows not made in God's name would be allowed. And that gave rise to simply swearing in the name of God with insincerity. And the result, it's always this God, God's standard of moral excellence is lowered. Now, Jesus is correcting this. Once again, verse 33, you have heard that it was said to those of old. But in verse 34, he shows us his authority. But I say to you, and so with authority he says, 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. So he basically gives to us some insight into this. He's establishing himself as the authority. Now as he does so, I want to point something out. It's very practical here because in verse 34, when he says do not swear at all, that can be a very confusing portion of Scripture. And I'm going to develop this with you and show you something in just a moment. But it's not saying that you cannot take an oath or that making an oath is forbidden by God. He's not saying that. You go to a court here in the United States and there was a tradition in courts where you would actually place your hand on a Bible and you would raise one hand and you would say, I solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. You know that. You've heard that before. Some of you have actually done that. I will tell the truth. It's interesting how it's not just I solemnly swear that I will tell the truth. That should by itself be enough, but the fact that they have to make it longer than that shows something about human nature. I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth actually deepens that oath, because some people can shade the truth or give only portions of it. Son, I told you not to go to Bill's house because I don't like you hanging around with Bill. Did you go to Bill's house? No, Dad, I didn't. I know you didn't because you went to Jim's house and Bill showed up over there. Well, Dad, you said not to go to Bill's house. I didn't go. I told you the truth. So the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And that's why they actually have that built into the oath, because we will shade it by nature to give our best perspective. A doctor takes what is called the Hippocratic Oath. When people enter into political office, they will solemnly swear to uphold the duties of that office. You're actually making an oath to the Lord when you have a dedication service for your children. On third service, when we do our baby dedications and Mom and Dad come up here or the parent comes up here, they're actually making a note to the Lord. They're saying, I will raise this child in the ways of God. When you got married, if you're married, when you got married, you made an oath. You didn't make that promise to the pastor and you weren't making that promise to those witnesses who were there, the best man made of honor. You weren't saying that in front of just a congregation. You were making an oath to God. And so he's not saying that you don't make oaths because our whole society is filled with oath-taking. When I went into the army, I had a real problem with this one because I had read, the Bible, I read this and it says, do not swear at all. So I had a real problem because you have to take an oath when you go into the military. And I still remember standing there and I was thinking, I don't know how I can do this because I'm a new believer and I believe in God and Jesus says, do not swear at all. And so when they gave the oath, I can tell you the oath, this is what I said when I went into the army. I, David Rosales, do solemnly swear or affirm. So I used the word affirm because I didn't know exactly what Jesus was talking about but I certainly didn't want to break his word if he said not to do something. So when they said or affirm, I loudly said I affirm, I, David Rosales, do solemnly affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God. So oaths are part of our society. Courts and Hippocratic oath, political office, promises to the Lord, vows when you get married. What is Jesus speaking about here? We are commanded not to make insincere oaths. William Hendrickson writes, what we have here is the condemnation of a flippant, profane, uncalled for, and often hypocritical oath used in order to make an impression or to spice daily conversation over against that evil. Jesus commands simple truthfulness in thought word indeed. Somebody says, well, I'm still not convinced. It says here very clearly, do not swear at all. Then we need to just remember the apostle Paul because he made oaths. And it's in Scripture, Galatians chapter 1, verse 20. Paul said, now the things which I write to you, behold, before God, I lie not. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 5, for neither at any time used we flattering words as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness, God is witness. And what he was saying there is, as I am making a vow, I am making an oath, I am saying this in the name of the Lord, that these things are true. So Jesus is teaching us that we're to have integrity. It would seem here that Jesus is appealing to the Old Testament standard of oath taking. Oaths must be in God's name. They must be kept or do not take one at all. Notice with me how he says, do not swear at all, neither by heaven, it is God's throne, by the earth, for it is his footstool. Nor by Jerusalem, it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you swear by your head because you cannot make one hair white or black though you can, but the white comes back and we know that. So oaths must be in God's name and they must be kept or do not take one. Though heaven, earth, Jerusalem or your own head may be great things. They are less binding than God's name is what he is saying. So in verse 37, let your yes be yes and your no, no. For whatever is more than these, he says is from the evil one. God is the God of truth. Your word alone should be good enough if you're a Christian. My dad taught me lessons sometimes when he wasn't even intending to. He would just tell me things on occasion that I would register, I would listen and I would learn from my dad. Something my dad said to me when he was a member of this church when the church had maybe just begun within a couple of years of our existence here as Calvary Chapel within two years of us planting the church. I'll never forget what my dad said and I don't want this to come up in any way to sound like I'm saying anything that might make you personally feel in any way, shape or form that I am becoming a self-righteous, arrogant man as I speak. It just taught me something I never forgot. I hope it comes off that way. My dad said to me this because my dad had had somebody from the fellowship do some work for him at the house and the person who had done the work at his house didn't finish the work and didn't do it properly. My dad paid him to do it. My dad came to speak to me as well as in the church did it. He said it cost me X amount of dollars. He didn't do it right. He says come and drive in front of my house and look at the fence and you'll see that it isn't level. He says I brought that to his attention and he said oh I'm sorry and that's it. And my dad said to me I get better guarantees from Sears than I get from brothers in the Lord and I've never forgotten that little statement my dad made. I get better guarantees from Sears than I get from my own brothers in the Lord. And that cut my heart. It cut my heart. Well one this brother was a member of our fellowship and I loved him dearly and two my dad was right. Because often times believers will say well I tried I couldn't make it or I'll be there and they don't show up they are no big deal. The problem is when we have a habit of doing that son I'll be taking it to practice today don't worry about it just be ready and we don't show up. Or I'm going to take you to do this or we're going to be there or I'll see you at and we don't show up. No our yes must be yes and our no must be no. In Proverbs 22 verse 1 a good name is more desirable than great riches to have a good name a good reputation to be known as a person of integrity that matters. Have I failed? Yes I have many times over the years do I want to know in this room no sometimes you over promise sometimes you say I'll do my best and you can't. That's why we need the grace of God but that's also why we need to be aware of what the Lord would have for us. Our word should be our bond our yes should be yes our no should really mean no. You see God intends us to be people of integrity people who keep our word because in keeping our word that reveals that we really know the Lord because the God we worship does not lie. There was a book written I bought it many years ago now it was written by Warren Wearsby it's called the integrity crisis and Warren Wearsby wrote for 19 centuries the church has been telling the world to admit its sins repent and believe the gospel today in the twilight of the 20th century the world is telling the church to face up to her sins repent and start being the true church of that gospel he writes we Christians boast that we are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ but perhaps the gospel of Christ is ashamed of us it's a powerful prophetic word perhaps the gospel of Christ is ashamed of us listen if you say yeah I'm going to do something and don't intend to do it I see so much of that today it's just wrong don't make promises you don't intend to keep don't give your word that you're going to do something when you really know you're not going to don't make up excuses just be honest and learn to speak honestly with love that can be kind of tough the guy calls you up asks you for a date you don't want to go out with him so you say oh I'm sorry I've got to go someplace you're not intending to go or I'm going to wash my hair and he says well you know if you're going to wash your hair on Saturday let's go out on Monday no I'm sorry I think on Monday I have to take the dog to the vet just be honest just say you know I like you I think you're nice but I ain't going out with you just be honest before I married Marie if I asked a young lady to go out and she made an excuse it was unfortunate I didn't appreciate the excuses I could handle the truth no you know Dave I don't like you as a matter of fact I don't even want to eat a free dinner with you I could handle that I can handle that but to say oh I've got to and you know the excuses that are coming it's just wrong just be honest how do you do it just say you know I appreciate it I appreciate the invitation that is honest and it's truthful and I've always appreciated honesty and truthfulness like that just be honest of all people in the face of this earth aren't we supposed to be the most honest of course ask the Lord purify my heart Father I desire to have a good name so work hard do the best that you can to provide for your family pay your bills and pay them on time for your husband or your wife be faithful to your kids work in an honest fashion resist the temptation of taking what's not yours don't take long breaks don't show up late don't leave early learn to be generous learn to give when you'd rather get don't act as if somebody owes you anything don't push yourself ahead of other people treat others with respect treat them with humility seek the Lord we're Christians to be Christlike and because that's true the church is now suffering because we've lost our credibility and many people lie about the little things and if we lie about little things who's going to believe us when we share the gospel with them there are some who will say I won't go to church because it's just too filled with there are so many hypocrites there somebody once said the church is like Noah's Ark if it weren't for the judgment on the outside you could never stand the smell on the inside well I think that hypocrisy is an intent to pretend you're one thing and not actually be that it's what the hypocrite the word the hypocrite was the actor who would put on a mask of comedy or tragedy and so the word hypocrite spoke of an actor and an actor intentionally deceives I think that we sometimes can make promise or an agreement that we that moment would like to keep but we find ourselves having to choose between that and something else and it's possible just to say I just won't do that and I'll do the other thing the problem with that is if you gave your word to do something make the habit of doing it even to your own hurt have the habit of keeping your word you see Jesus said whatever is more than these is from the evil one God is righteous, God is holy so as people live holy and honest lives and anything less than this is unacceptable to him because it is of the evil one that's why we need to seek God for his righteousness that's why we need his power and that's why we need his grace Jesus is pointing out that the Pharisees when they come into contact with something that's difficult have found ways to help you get around doing it and he's saying no what God requires is truth in the inward parts, in the inner man and seeing that that reveals to us that we're incapable of doing those things that we so greatly desire and long for that's what points us to the grace of God where we say God be merciful to me because as much as I desire to do that the power to perform that which I desire is not in me so God I need your help so that I might walk in your grace and that I might learn to speak the truth in love and when we can learn to do that we will have an impact we can pray as it says in Psalm 86 1 teach me your way oh Lord and I will walk in your truth give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name Psalm 86 11 teach me your way I will walk in your truth