Matthew 5:34-37

Jesus continues to talk about integrity here in His Sermon on the Mount. His message is that if I speak the truth, if I mean what I say, there is no need to back it up with an oath. Words like, “I swear to God,” or “I swear on my mother’s grave,” or “I swear on a stack of Bibles,” are tools used by liars to manipulate people.

Speak the truth out of a pure heart. If someone doubts you, let the truth speak for itself. Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no. Don’t say something. you think someone wants to hear, knowing what you say isn’t true. That makes you a liar.

I think God would much rather we live out the truth than argue for it. It’s not up to us to prove what is true. Speak truth and leave it at that. Now I know sometimes we get sucked into debates and arguments. But we often find ourselves trying to pick out the right words to get our point across. It becomes more about the words than the truth. And the one with the best words wins. God is warning against that.

Let your yes really mean yes and your no really mean no. Make sure what you are saying is really the truth and back it up with your life. Anything more than this is from the evil one. (vs 37).