Jesus' Command #8 - Keep Your Word

In Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus seems to give us one command to keep our word, but with a few points to make along the way.

First of all He says, "Do not break your oath".  Clearly, we must understand the importance of keeping our word.  In verse 33 he references the Old Testament commands in Exodus 19:12 and Numbers 30:2.

He goes on to say, "Do not swear an oath at all."  People would (and still do) swear an oath 'by Heaven' or  'by Earth' or 'by their own head' and that would be their way of saying that they really mean it.  Jesus says 'You can't even make one hair on your head black or white, so how could you swear on that?'

So far He's made it clear that we shouldn't even make an oath, but if we must, don't swear by Heaven, or Earth, or by your own head.

Finally (and I think most importantly), He says that our word should be strong enough that all we need to tell someone is 'Yes' or 'No' and they will be confident that we will follow through with what we say.  There will be no need to say, "I promise".  If we have consistent character and always follow through with what we tell people, they'll never need to wonder whether we'll follow through with what we say.  No promise will be necessary.  Consistency of character will develop trust.

Up next: Jesus command #9 - Go the Extra Mile