James 5:12 teaches that Christians should simply say "yes" or "no" without making oaths or vows to emphasize their words. The passage condemns casual oath-taking but does not prohibit all oaths, as seen when God and Jesus made vows. It aims to prevent Christians from flippantly invoking God's name. To obey, one must be a person of commitment who thinks carefully before promising, a person of integrity who says no to wrongdoing, and a responsible person who keeps commitments even when difficult.

2. HisWord
is
HisBond
James 5:12

3. A man of his word…
•You’ve heard the phrase, “a
man’s word is his bond”
•It still means the same for God–
He never breaks His promises
•Psalms 138:2 says, “I will worship towardYour holy
temple, And praiseYour name ForYour
lovingkindness andYour truth; ForYou have
magnifiedYour word, above allYour name.”
•Matthew 24:35 says, “Heaven and earth will pass
away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

4. “12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or with any
other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and
your no, no, so that you may not fall under
judgment.”
James 5:12, NASB

5. A.To tell the truth…
•Vs 12,
•Anyone remember this old tv
game show?
•The object of the game was for
the contestant to guess, which of the three
people on the panel, were lying
•In this verse, James is expounding on Jesus’
teaching about oaths in Matthew 5…

6. “33 “Again, you have heard that the ancients
were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT
SHALL FULFILLYOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’ 34 But I say
to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven,
for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for
it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem,
for it isTHE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. 36 Nor shall
you make an oath by your head, for you cannot
make one hair white or black. 37 But let your
statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything
beyond these is of evil.” Matthew 5:33-37, NASB

7. B.Truth about…what??
•How about what it’s not, first…
•It’s not condemning solid oath/
or vow-taking in court– like God
swore an oath to Abraham

8. “For when God made a promise to
Abraham, because He could swear by
no one greater, He swore by Himself…”
Hebrews 6:13 (NIV)

9. B.Truth about…what??
•How about what it’s not, first…
•It’s not condemning solid oath/
or vow-taking in court– like God
swore an oath to Abraham
•Or Like Jesus swore to Caiaphas…

10. “But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest
answered and said to Him, ‘I putYou under
oath by the living God:Tell us ifYou 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 26:63-64 (NIV)

11. B.Truth about…what??
•How about what it’s not, first…
•It’s not condemning solid oath/
or vow-taking in court– like God
swore an oath to Abraham
•Or Like Jesus swore to Caiaphas
•Or Paul…

12. “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 prayers”
Romans 1:9 (NIV)
“I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my
conscience also bearing me witness in the
Holy Spirit…”
Romans 9:1 (NIV)

13. B.Truth about…what??
•How about what it’s not, first…
•It’s not condemning solid oath/
or vow-taking in court– like God
swore an oath to Abraham
•Or Like Jesus swore to Caiaphas
•Or Paul
•Or any man before the Lord…

14. “…then an oath of the Lord shall be between
them both, that he has not put his hand into
his neighbor’s goods; and the owner of it
shall accept that, and he shall not make it
good.”
Exodus 22:11, NIV

15. B.Truth about…what??
•He’s really condemning flippant
use of oaths, like we hear all the
time, “I swear to/on …”, etc.
•When we want to emphasize something,
or convince someone of a position we all
to often throw out “I swear!”
•This is another way we can be guilty of
“Taking God’s name in vain!”

16. C. Practical application…
•Let’s remind ourselves of
v12 once more…

17. “12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or with any
other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and
your no, no, so that you may not fall under
judgment.”
James 5:12, NASB

18. “12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or with any
other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and
your no, no, so that you may not fall under
judgment.”
James 5:12, NASB

19. C. Practical application…
•To be a man that lives in
practiceV12, we must be,
or emulate the following
personality types…
1. Man of Commitment
•Think carefully before you make a
promise
•Some promises should be broken!!

20. “And do not fear those who kill the body but
cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who
is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell.”
Matthew 10:28 , NIV

21. C. Practical application…
2. Man of Integrity (honesty)
•If asked to do something
against your convictions,
say, “Sorry, no can do…”
•It’s easier to say “no” than to clean up
the mess later!
3. Man of Responsibility
• Even when things go badly…

22. Take Home!
•Three principles to live by
so I’m faithful to verse 12
1. Commitment
2. Honesty/ Integrity
3. Responsibility