An Incontrovertible Truth for a Nation of Pretty Little Liars – Compete Session Podcast Episode

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In Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus continues His expansion of Jewish law by addressing the issue of vows and oaths as seen in Numbers 30 and Deuteronomy 23. He reminds His listeners that it was said to the ancients that they were not to swear falsely and to always fulfill their oaths to the Lord. Then, in keeping with His previous discourses, He proceeded to expand what was said in the Law, by saying to not make any oath at all.

In the legal discussions that became the Midrash, Mishnah, and eventually the Talmud, the issue shifted from the vow itself to the manner in which it was presented and the guarantees of fulfillment offered up by the person making the vow. Swearing by heaven (instead of G_D) or swearing by earth (instead of G_D) or even swearing by your own life (instead of G_D) became accepted practices, or loopholes if you will, in making the oath more binding without actually naming the name of G_D. Jesus pointed out the foolishness in their efforts and told them to simply let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.” Anything more was unnecessary, and actually evil, because hedging your bets with some form of oath sullied the purity of truth demanded by the One Who is truth Himself.

We do the same thing today when we say things like, “I swear on a stack of Bibles” or “I swear on my Mother’s grave” or “As God is my witness” or “Cross my heart and hope to die.” We often say these things in jest, but that attitude in itself is more of an affront to God. At least the 1st Century Jews were trying to honor G_D in their statements. We just are flippant in our cute little oaths – nothing more than pretty little liars.

The solution? If you can’t speak the truth in love, don’t speak. In other words, if you can’t speak the truth – keep your mouth shut. “If you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you.” (Deuteronomy 23:22 – NKJ)

You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free if you abide in My word, because then you are truly My disciples. (John 8:31b-32)

Transcript

Boys and girls, today not an inconvenient truth, an incontrovertible truth. Okay, do you know what incontrovertible means? It’s absolutely true. But not only that, it is undeniably you cannot refute it. You cannot dispute it. You cannot prove it false. What’s going on here?

Being sworn in as president. Lyndon Baines Johnson being sworn in as president. Where is he?

He’s on Air Force One in Dallas, Texas. Okay. Um, do you know who any of the other people are that are around him?

Jackie Onasses Kennedy or Jackie Kennedy Onasis. Oops. Jackie Kennedy is to his left. Ladybird Johnson is to his right looking over his shoulder wondering why Jackie’s up there so close. Did I say that out? I didn’t mean to say that out loud, but it was the first thought that popped into my mind when I looked at this picture here. Anybody else? You know any of these other people? Okay. You don’t know who the uh the judge is?

No, it’s not. It was a district judge. It wasn’t a a Supreme Court justice. Okay. It was a a district court judge, I think. Uh Sarah Hughes. Sarah Hughes was her name. Okay. How about the lurch back there on the left? No. No. Wonderful guess. Good guess, but incorrect. Okay. You probably won’t remember him. I had to actually look it up and make sure that I I knew I knew who he was in the sense of what he did, but I couldn’t remember his name. Uh that’s Thomas, Albert Thomas, US representative here in Texas. I mean he was a from Texas representative from Texas and the guy over there the other one is another representative. Um the reason Thomas I knew who or I knew the connection there. It’s a little piece of history. We have the space center in Houston because of him. Okay. And no doubt the connection that he had uh he he made that happen. I thought that was kind of cool. Interesting. So uh he’s he’s taking the oath, the oath of office, right?

Does he close the oath of office with so help me God?

Do what? You think so? Is that phrase in the Constitution as part of the oath that the president must swear to? No. No, it is not. says, “I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will faithfully execute the office president of the United States and will do the best of my ability to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Full stop. However,

presidents for decades have always said at the end, “So help me God.” They’ve been asked to say it. I mean the whoever was administering the oath has said it. Hughes the lady who is giving the oath, she was of course handed a piece of paper, right? She was handed a piece of paper said here’s what you’re supposed to get him to say. Here’s the oath. And so she got to the end and she had the oath as it is in the Constitution. But she got to the end the Constitution of the United States. Constitution of the United States. So help me God. So help me God. He said it. She volunteered it. She just thought given the circumstances it was appropriate. Okay. So what’s his left hand on? Okay. So did he say Yes, he Yes, he said it. Yes, he said it. Every president I want to say hang on. No. Did I write that down? I don’t think I did. And it’s every I know every president since Truman has said so help me God. But the the process of saying so help me God started back in the 1800s. But I don’t know that all of them said it. I just know okay. Uh is his hand on a Bible.

Looks like it. Yeah. That’s what the aids thought too.

They were scrambling around looking for a Bible, right? What they found was a book that belonged to JFK that was filled with prayers. Okay. A missive. Okay. It had a cross on the front. His aid said good enough. Snatched it up. So he put his hand on on the missive, if you will, and uh took the oath of office. The oath was made. The oath was made. Right? We’re talking today about oaths. We’re talking about swearing oaths.

We’re in Matthew 5:33-37.

There Jesus begins with commands concerning vows from both numbers 30 chap 30 chapter of Numbers and Deuteronomy 23. He then moves in into a discussion of what I’m calling loopholes and then solemn oaths and impregatory oaths.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that some of you don’t know what impregatory is. Okay, I used one in the next statement.

Cross my heart and hope to

to what? To die. An impregatory oath is swearing on your death. Okay, it’s saying, “May I die if I’m lying?” Okay, and then he concludes with the kiss principle. Yes or no? Keep it simple, stupid. Don’t need to embellish that, right? So, let’s take us let’s take a look at it in a little bit more depth. Making a vow to God. Jesus starts off. This is verse 33. Again, you have heard it said to those of old, “You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your vows to the Lord.” Specifically, this is what he was referring to. Numbers 30 and Deuteronomy 23. Okay, the wording is is a, you know, you kind of put them together to to come up with what Jesus was saying, but that’s part of the reason it’s it goes back to that midrash thing. They’re discussing this and they’re saying, “What does it really mean to make a vow, okay? They’re trying to nail it down because they want to make every they want to make sure that they’re doing everything according to the law. According to the law, want to, you know, dot every eye, cross every tea. I want to take care. I want to make sure I’m doing.” So, they go back and they start reviewing this stuff. Jesus says, “You’ve heard it said, you shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform your oaths.” And basically, that’s what that’s what we find here, right? Can you see that in in those statements? Yeah. Okay. A man makes a vow to the Lord, swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it. For the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you if you didn’t fulfill it. If you didn’t pay the, you know, or do whatever it is that you said you’re going to do. Okay. But what does Jesus do with all of these basic statements? He says, “This is what was said.” And then what does he say next? But I say to you, But I say to you, But I say to you, 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 foottool, by nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. You shall not, nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. Now you’re thinking, what? Yeah, those were some of the loopholes they were coming up with. You want to swear by God, that’s a big deal. If you’re going to go if you’re going to go to that link, that’s a big deal. And they said, “We need we need to kind of uh soften this a little bit.” So, they came up with some uh look at Isaiah 66, verse one. Look at Isaiah 66.

you there? Yeah. Isaiah 66 verse one. Heaven is my throne and the earth is the foottool of my feet. So you can swear by heaven. Why? That’s where God is. But it’s not as serious as swearing by God.

You can even swear by his foottool. I mean, guys, I know you think it’s it sounds crazy, but some of these rabbis were sitting around coming up with this stuff, saying you can swear by his foottool. That’s even a little bit lower down on the totem pole. You know, that’s not even swearing by the throne, which by the way, you could also do.

They had all of these loopholes built in. built in uh Psalm 48:2. Psalm 48:2,

it’s swear by Mount Zion, the city of the great king, Jerusalem. You see that they had all of these things built in and then they decided to put in you could swear on your life. That’s what the last one means. You could swear by your own life. Only he used the word head. When he in the scripture says head, that’s a loophole. Because if you’re swearing by your head, you lose your head.

You’re dead, right?

Loopholes. Very common common practice in the Middle East to swear by all of these different all of these different things. kind of makes sense that he would say all of that, doesn’t it? In light of the fact that those are the discussions that are taking place and and he’s saying you’re you’re pondering that stuff. You is wasting pers. If that’s what you’re pondering, that’s just a waste of ponders right there. So, do we ever do this?

You ever hear any of these? A stack of Bibles because one isn’t good enough.

I mean, yeah. No, no, no, no, no, no. You can swear on a Bible. You give me I swear on a Bible. No, no, no. Give me a stack of Bibles. I don’t swear on a stack of Bibles, guys. I don’t know whether y’all have heard any of these. I have literally heard all of these.

If I’m dying, if I’m lying, I’m dying. Actually, I’ve said that one.

And we do it kind of with a wink and a nod and a nudge nudge. You know what I’m saying? We, you know, it’s not like we’re saying we’re not late, but some people are really serious about it.

It’s common, isn’t it? It’s common. Those things those things are so common. It makes me kind of shudder because we take God so lightly.

Do you understand? Swear on a stack of Bibles. I’m with you, John. You know,

swear on my mother’s grave. I swear by all that’s holy.

I mean, come on. Come on, guys. But we do it. We do it. And we shouldn’t. And Jesus Jesus says, “Nope. You know what you need to say is let your yes be yes.” and you know be known for whatever you do above and beyond that that’s just from the evil one. You say that’s a little harsh, isn’t it? From the evil one. No, it’s true. And it has to do with truth. It has to do with integrity. It has to do with the purity that is the very nature of God.

Absolute truth.

You’ve you’ve heard these phrases before, I’m sure, too. You might not have heard this one. Actually, I just found this one. But I thought it was so good I just had to share it with you. But you’ve heard your word as your bond. Isn’t it you? Don’t you you know man is only as good as his word, right? I’ve told this story, but it’s been a while. So those of you that have heard it, go ahead and take a nap. Um, back when we were living down on Lake Houston, we had to have one pier on our pier and beam house fixed. Okay. So, I was calling up foundation people and getting bids and all this kind of stuff, you know, get that thing jacked up and leveled and all that kind of stuff and all of this. And I had had a couple of companies come out and they had given me their written bids with all of the details with all of the stuff, you know, and all that kind of stuff. Woo. And then I had one more house moving company that was going to come out and and give me a bid. Okay. And so I’m waiting for them, sitting out on the front porch, waiting for them to show up. Here they came in an old raggedy flatbed truck.

They’re getting out. They all have beards down to here, long hair, overalls, and all of them barefoot.

I call them the mountain men because they were mountain men. You understand? They got out and at first I’m sitting there waiting and I’m thought, “Oh man, I hope these guys don’t take long. I’ve got to hit and see my the people they’re coming to bid on.” It was them. They were coming to to make me a bid, right? And uh so they uh they got busy and all three of them crawled up under the house. All three of them crawled up into the house, looked around, came out, and about it was it was less than 10 minutes, I know that they were there. And they said, “So, what we’re going to do, we’re going to take we’re going to jack this up right here. We’re going to put this down here in the ground. We’re going to set this footing down here. And then we’re going to put that post in there. We’re going to solid it up. And then we’re going to pump underneath it. We’re going to pump some stuff, some concrete and stuff like that. We’re going to get it all set. It’s going to be all nice and level.” And he gave me a price.

It was a fourth of the lowest bid I had received.

And I said, “You know what?” I was impressed. I mean, they knew what they were talking about, right? I said, “You know what? I think we got us a deal.” I stuck my hand out and shook that man’s hand and he said, “We’ll be here on Monday.” And I said, ‘W wait, don’t you have some kind of contract or something like that we need to sign here? And he said, ‘We just shook on it, didn’t we? I said, yes, sir, we did. And he said, see you Monday.

But isn’t that a nice phrase right there? To keep your word is to weave a thread of gold into the fabric of your reputation. That’s what we’re That’s what That’s what we want, right? We want that reputation. But unfortunately, we’re a nation of pretty little liars. I had to ask Pam what that show is about. I’ve heard that the name of that show and apparently it’s about some mean girls in school. Yeah. Really pretty little liars. But the fact is we as a nation uh we are pretty little liars in general. Well, how often do you tell lies, including the small ones? Where do you fit in there? Look at that.

Several times a day. Well,

I love it. They get down to a certain point and it’s almost like they gave them an out. They give them several times, once a day, few times a week, few times a month. Less often than that. Yeah, less often than that. Gave him an out. Compared with most other people, do you think you tell lies more often or less often? Now you’re thinking about other people. You think you tell lies more often than other people or less often? Oh, you think you tell lies less often than most people? Right? You realize that all the rest of those people are putting you in that same category because they say I tell lies less than

right. I just thought that was kind of interesting. In other words, look, we look at ourselves, we say, “Nah, not me. Not me. Not me.” How about this one? Compared with most other people, do you think you are better or worse at telling lies? Oo, why are we obsessed with comparison? If you claim, this was a good safe answer there, but if you claim I’m better at it. I can I can beat them off. I’m better than most people. Yeah. When I tell a lie, it works, right? Okay. Telling someone the truth might hurt their feelings. Which would you be more likely to do? Ooh. You’re going to tell them the truth, but it’s going to hurt their feelings. Tell them the truth. about half the people and then they’re split here on what they’re going to do. But here’s the other one. Here’s the other one. If being told the truth might hurt your feelings, which would you prefer someone to do? Probably already know what the truth is. You probably already know. 82%. And yet that previous one we’re saying, I don’t know. I don’t know. When most people say, “Yeah, I’d really rather know.” Last one. In general, do you think telling small lies to try to spare someone’s feelings makes the relationship better or worse? It all depends. Really, here’s the thing. You tell that little lie thinking it’s going to make things better. They find out about it. All of a sudden, it’s a whole lot worse. It’s a whole lot worse. The thing is, folks, we are a nation of liars. We don’t believe politicians at all. I’m serious. I I I don’t When I hear a politician say something, I’m thinking, how did he just word that so that he could say that? Do you understand what I’m saying? How did he how did he phrase that so that he could get away with saying that? Jesus says just say yes or or no. Just say yes or no. Okay? No need to lie. And if you if you don’t take it from Jesus, take it from Proverbs. This all comes out of the same chapter. As a matter of fact, there’s one verse in the middle of it that I pulled out because it didn’t specifically mention liars. But the one that pulled that I pulled out was no harm comes to the godly, but the wicked have their fill of trouble. Well, if you lie, you’re going to have your fill of trouble. But here, he who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness deceit. There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes help. The truthful lip shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but counselors of peace have joy. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are his delight.

Truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the way, is that is that phrase still used in courts of law? It is. Okay. Are you required to swear on a Bible in a court of law? Not anymore. Not anymore. Okay. But you are required to tell the truth.

Right? So when Jesus says this, he highlights the deceitfulness of swearing an oath or making a vow and the foolishness of such efforts. That’s why it’s called that’s that’s why it says right here uh for whatever is more than these is from the evil one. Come on guys, that’s evil. You don’t need to do that. You don’t need to do that. In Deuteronomy 23, you remember we looked at Deuteronomy 23 earlier. That’s one of the places where Jesus was quoting. He didn’t quote this verse, but Deuteronomy 23:22 is the very next verse. And it says, “But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be a sin to you.” In other words, Jesus in the in the law in the Deuteronomy law, the law itself says don’t vow or if you do, make sure you vow and and follow through. The next verse says, “But if you abstain from vowing, it won’t be sin.” Well, hello. Jesus is saying something very similar, isn’t he? He’s saying, “You want to avoid sin, don’t make the vow, don’t swear.” Okay, going to wrap it up real quick here.

In other words, can’t speak the truth, just keep your mouth shut. Again, Proverbs echoes this over and over and over again. He who guards his mouth preserves life, but he who opens his lips shall have destruction. Whoever guards his mouth and keeps his tongue from keeps his soul from trouble. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace. When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive. It’s kind of that take on Abraham Lincoln’s thing. Better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you’re a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt, right? I mean, this is biblical, people. Keep your mouth shut. You don’t need to go on and on and on and on and on and say, “But I got to prove I got to prove to you that I’m right. I got to prove to you that I’m right.” No, you don’t. You don’t got to prove nothing.

Many people could not handle the truth that Jesus told. Uh, look at John 8. Go ahead and look at John 8. I’d like for you to have it open. I’m going to give you some of the verses up here, but I’d like for you to just have the whole thing open. In John 8,

Jesus is talking with a group of people who take exception to some of the things that he says. Okay.

The first one I want to point out is this. He says, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Do you see that? It’s in verses 31 and 32. 31B and 32. However, is mine different than yours? I flipped the order. Yes, I flipped the order. Why did I do that? Because we love to say the truth will set you free, but we never say what comes before that. Another way of saying what Jesus said in those two verses is you will know the truth. The truth will make you free if you abide in my word because then you are truly my disciples. See, that’s not what it says. Is it you will know the truth and the truth will make you free is what we hear all the time. I mean you say that all the time. You’ll know the truth and the truth. I said it to my kids. You will know the truth and the truth will make you free. But the thing is we are ignoring the fact that the truth Jesus is talking about is himself.

The truth that Jesus is referencing is the truth, the way, the life. Right. It’s not just, yeah, you’re going to know the truth about, you know, whether or not the Cowboys or the the Texans are going to win today. You’re going to know the truth about that. No, that that don’t mean nothing, man. That don’t mean nothing. Well, the Texans are going to win, but still that don’t mean nothing. You understand? No. What means something is Jesus is the truth. And if you know him, if you are his disciple, ooh, then you’re set free because he sets you free. That’s the whole thing about what he was saying here. If you if you drop down to verses 37 and 38, what he said was then you’re going to be free. And they came back and they said, “Well, we’re free. We’re Abraham’s kids and we ain’t never been enslaved.” Which was a lie to begin with. I mean, they were enslaved in Egypt. I mean, do they not even know what happened back then? You know, but they say, “We have never been enslaved.” He said, “No, no, no, no, no. I know that you’re Abraham’s seed. Yet, you are seeking to kill me because my word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with my father. Therefore, you also do the things that you have heard from your father, like trying to kill me for speaking the truth. Wow. Wow.

And then he says, you belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language.

That’s his native tongue right there. For he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell you the truth, you don’t believe me.

Guys, the fact is when Jack Nicholson said truth, you can’t handle the truth. Now, there’s a lot of this world that can’t handle the truth. There’s a lot of this world that can’t handle the truth. But the fact But the fact is that if we know Jesus, we not only can handle the truth, we know the truth. Ain’t that right? Ain’t that right? Take that, Jack.

You can’t handle the truth. Father, we thank you that you have given us your truth that supersedes all of the the silly notions that we we proclaim as truth. Father, thank you that in your wisdom we can know the truth, even your son, Jesus Christ. And we can know the truth of your gospel. We can know the truth of your salvation. We can know the truth of your love. And Father, help us to rightly handle that truth. So many don’t know it. So much of the world does not know the truth. So many of our friends, co-workers, neighbors, relatives, so many people do not know the truth. Help us, Father, to proclaim the truth that is Jesus Christ. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

An Incontrovertible Truth for a Nation of Pretty Little Liars – Session Overview Podcast Episode

/ Bob / Leave a comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus continues His expansion of Jewish law by addressing the issue of vows and oaths as seen in Numbers 30 and Deuteronomy 23. He reminds His listeners that it was said to the ancients that they were not to swear falsely and to always fulfill their oaths to the Lord. Then, in keeping with His previous discourses, He proceeded to expand what was said in the Law, by saying to not make any oath at all.

In the legal discussions that became the Midrash, Mishnah, and eventually the Talmud, the issue shifted from the vow itself to the manner in which it was presented and the guarantees of fulfillment offered up by the person making the vow. Swearing by heaven (instead of G_D) or swearing by earth (instead of G_D) or even swearing by your own life (instead of G_D) became accepted practices, or loopholes if you will, in making the oath more binding without actually naming the name of G_D. Jesus pointed out the foolishness in their efforts and told them to simply let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.” Anything more was unnecessary, and actually evil, because hedging your bets with some form of oath sullied the purity of truth demanded by the One Who is truth Himself.

We do the same thing today when we say things like, “I swear on a stack of Bibles” or “I swear on my Mother’s grave” or “As God is my witness” or “Cross my heart and hope to die.” We often say these things in jest, but that attitude in itself is more of an affront to God. At least the 1st Century Jews were trying to honor G_D in their statements. We just are flippant in our cute little oaths – nothing more than pretty little liars.

The solution? If you can’t speak the truth in love, don’t speak. In other words, if you can’t speak the truth – keep your mouth shut. “If you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you.” (Deuteronomy 23:22 – NKJ)

You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free if you abide in My word, because then you are truly My disciples. (John 8:31b-32)

Transcript

Pip: From The Back Porch, where the porch light is on and the truth is apparently non-negotiable — which, as Bob points out, is a higher standard than most of us are meeting.

Mara: This episode follows a Bible study on oaths, vows, and why Jesus told his listeners to drop the elaborate swearing rituals and just say what they mean.

Pip: Simple instruction. Apparently not simple enough.

Mara: Let’s start with what Matthew 5 actually says about all of it.

When Yes Means Yes and No Means No

Pip: The setup here is Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, picking up where Jewish law left on vows — and then pushing past it entirely. The question the post is really asking is why we keep reaching for bigger, louder oaths when a plain yes or no should be enough.

Mara: The post frames it this way: “Swearing by heaven or swearing by earth or even swearing by your own life became accepted practices, or loopholes if you will, in making the oath more binding without actually naming the name of G_D. Jesus pointed out the foolishness in their efforts and told them to simply let your yes be yes and your no be no.”

Pip: So the rabbinical tradition had essentially built an elaborate escape hatch system — swear by the throne, not the one sitting on it — and Jesus called the whole architecture unnecessary.

Mara: Right. And the post connects that ancient workaround directly to modern habit. “I swear on a stack of Bibles,” “cross my heart and hope to die,” “as God is my witness” — the post names these as the same impulse dressed in contemporary clothing.

Pip: We’ve upgraded the loopholes, kept the dishonesty.

Mara: The post cites survey data on this. Most people rate themselves as lying less often than other people — which is a statistical impossibility, and the post notes the irony plainly.

Pip: Everyone is below average at lying, apparently.

Mara: The post also makes a careful distinction about a verse that often gets quoted in isolation. The full passage from John 8:31b-32 reads: “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free if you abide in my word, because then you are truly my disciples.”

Pip: The point being that “the truth will set you free” is everywhere — bumper stickers, courtrooms, graduation speeches — but the conditional clause usually gets left in the parking lot.

Mara: Exactly. The post argues the truth Jesus is referencing is not factual accuracy in general but Jesus himself — and that stripping the verse of its subject changes its meaning entirely.

Pip: And the practical conclusion is almost blunt in its simplicity: if you cannot speak the truth, the post says, keep your mouth shut. Deuteronomy 23:22 is cited directly — “If you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you.”

Mara: Which the post frames as the law itself offering the cleaner path. Don’t make the vow at all rather than make one you’ll hedge or break.

Pip: Less oath-taking, more actual truth-telling. The Sermon on the Mount as a call for plain speech in a culture that has made an art form of the technically-not-a-lie.

Mara: The thread running through all of this is integrity — not as an abstract virtue but as the daily practice of meaning what you say.

Pip: Say yes, say no, stop swearing on things. Turns out the incontrovertible truth is pretty short.

An Incontrovertible Truth for a Nation of Pretty Little Liars

/ Bob / Leave a comment

In Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus continues His expansion of Jewish law by addressing the issue of vows and oaths as seen in Numbers 30 and Deuteronomy 23. He reminds His listeners that it was said to the ancients that they were not to swear falsely and to always fulfill their oaths to the Lord. Then, in keeping with His previous discourses, He proceeded to expand what was said in the Law, by saying to not make any oath at all.

In the legal discussions that became the Midrash, Mishnah, and eventually the Talmud, the issue shifted from the vow itself to the manner in which it was presented and the guarantees of fulfillment offered up by the person making the vow. Swearing by heaven (instead of G_D) or swearing by earth (instead of G_D) or even swearing by your own life (instead of G_D) became accepted practices, or loopholes if you will, in making the oath more binding without actually naming the name of G_D. Jesus pointed out the foolishness in their efforts and told them to simply let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.” Anything more was unnecessary, and actually evil, because hedging your bets with some form of oath sullied the purity of truth demanded by the One Who is truth Himself.

We do the same thing today when we say things like, “I swear on a stack of Bibles” or “I swear on my Mother’s grave” or “As God is my witness” or “Cross my heart and hope to die.” We often say these things in jest, but that attitude in itself is more of an affront to God. At least the 1st Century Jews were trying to honor G_D in their statements. We just are flippant in our cute little oaths – nothing more than pretty little liars.

The solution? If you can’t speak the truth in love, don’t speak. In other words, if you can’t speak the truth – keep your mouth shut. “If you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you.” (Deuteronomy 23:22 – NKJ)

You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free if you abide in My word, because then you are truly My disciples. (John 8:31b-32)

Transcript

Boys and girls, today not an inconvenient truth, an incontrovertible truth. Okay, do you know what incontrovertible means? It’s absolutely true. But not only that, it is undeniably you cannot refute it. You cannot dispute it. You cannot prove it false. What’s going on here?

Being sworn in as president. Lyndon Baines Johnson being sworn in as president. Where is he?

He’s on Air Force One in Dallas, Texas. Okay. Um, do you know who any of the other people are that are around him?

Jackie Onasses Kennedy or Jackie Kennedy Onasis. Oops. Jackie Kennedy is to his left. Ladybird Johnson is to his right looking over his shoulder wondering why Jackie’s up there so close. Did I say that out? I didn’t mean to say that out loud, but it was the first thought that popped into my mind when I looked at this picture here. Anybody else? You know any of these other people? Okay. You don’t know who the uh the judge is?

No, it’s not. It was a district judge. It wasn’t a a Supreme Court justice. Okay. It was a a district court judge, I think. Uh Sarah Hughes. Sarah Hughes was her name. Okay. How about the lurch back there on the left? No. No. Wonderful guess. Good guess, but incorrect. Okay. You probably won’t remember him. I had to actually look it up and make sure that I I knew I knew who he was in the sense of what he did, but I couldn’t remember his name. Uh that’s Thomas, Albert Thomas, US representative here in Texas. I mean he was a from Texas representative from Texas and the guy over there the other one is another representative. Um the reason Thomas I knew who or I knew the connection there. It’s a little piece of history. We have the space center in Houston because of him. Okay. And no doubt the connection that he had uh he he made that happen. I thought that was kind of cool. Interesting. So uh he’s he’s taking the oath, the oath of office, right?

Does he close the oath of office with so help me God?

Do what? You think so? Is that phrase in the Constitution as part of the oath that the president must swear to? No. No, it is not. says, “I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will faithfully execute the office president of the United States and will do the best of my ability to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Full stop. However,

presidents for decades have always said at the end, “So help me God.” They’ve been asked to say it. I mean the whoever was administering the oath has said it. Hughes the lady who is giving the oath, she was of course handed a piece of paper, right? She was handed a piece of paper said here’s what you’re supposed to get him to say. Here’s the oath. And so she got to the end and she had the oath as it is in the Constitution. But she got to the end the Constitution of the United States. Constitution of the United States. So help me God. So help me God. He said it. She volunteered it. She just thought given the circumstances it was appropriate. Okay. So what’s his left hand on? Okay. So did he say Yes, he Yes, he said it. Yes, he said it. Every president I want to say hang on. No. Did I write that down? I don’t think I did. And it’s every I know every president since Truman has said so help me God. But the the process of saying so help me God started back in the 1800s. But I don’t know that all of them said it. I just know okay. Uh is his hand on a Bible.

Looks like it. Yeah. That’s what the aids thought too.

They were scrambling around looking for a Bible, right? What they found was a book that belonged to JFK that was filled with prayers. Okay. A missive. Okay. It had a cross on the front. His aid said good enough. Snatched it up. So he put his hand on on the missive, if you will, and uh took the oath of office. The oath was made. The oath was made. Right? We’re talking today about oaths. We’re talking about swearing oaths.

We’re in Matthew 5:33-37.

There Jesus begins with commands concerning vows from both numbers 30 chap 30 chapter of Numbers and Deuteronomy 23. He then moves in into a discussion of what I’m calling loopholes and then solemn oaths and impregatory oaths.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that some of you don’t know what impregatory is. Okay, I used one in the next statement.

Cross my heart and hope to

to what? To die. An impregatory oath is swearing on your death. Okay, it’s saying, “May I die if I’m lying?” Okay, and then he concludes with the kiss principle. Yes or no? Keep it simple, stupid. Don’t need to embellish that, right? So, let’s take us let’s take a look at it in a little bit more depth. Making a vow to God. Jesus starts off. This is verse 33. Again, you have heard it said to those of old, “You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your vows to the Lord.” Specifically, this is what he was referring to. Numbers 30 and Deuteronomy 23. Okay, the wording is is a, you know, you kind of put them together to to come up with what Jesus was saying, but that’s part of the reason it’s it goes back to that midrash thing. They’re discussing this and they’re saying, “What does it really mean to make a vow, okay? They’re trying to nail it down because they want to make every they want to make sure that they’re doing everything according to the law. According to the law, want to, you know, dot every eye, cross every tea. I want to take care. I want to make sure I’m doing.” So, they go back and they start reviewing this stuff. Jesus says, “You’ve heard it said, you shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform your oaths.” And basically, that’s what that’s what we find here, right? Can you see that in in those statements? Yeah. Okay. A man makes a vow to the Lord, swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it. For the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you if you didn’t fulfill it. If you didn’t pay the, you know, or do whatever it is that you said you’re going to do. Okay. But what does Jesus do with all of these basic statements? He says, “This is what was said.” And then what does he say next? But I say to you, But I say to you, But I say to you, 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 foottool, by nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. You shall not, nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. Now you’re thinking, what? Yeah, those were some of the loopholes they were coming up with. You want to swear by God, that’s a big deal. If you’re going to go if you’re going to go to that link, that’s a big deal. And they said, “We need we need to kind of uh soften this a little bit.” So, they came up with some uh look at Isaiah 66, verse one. Look at Isaiah 66.

you there? Yeah. Isaiah 66 verse one. Heaven is my throne and the earth is the foottool of my feet. So you can swear by heaven. Why? That’s where God is. But it’s not as serious as swearing by God.

You can even swear by his foottool. I mean, guys, I know you think it’s it sounds crazy, but some of these rabbis were sitting around coming up with this stuff, saying you can swear by his foottool. That’s even a little bit lower down on the totem pole. You know, that’s not even swearing by the throne, which by the way, you could also do.

They had all of these loopholes built in. built in uh Psalm 48:2. Psalm 48:2,

it’s swear by Mount Zion, the city of the great king, Jerusalem. You see that they had all of these things built in and then they decided to put in you could swear on your life. That’s what the last one means. You could swear by your own life. Only he used the word head. When he in the scripture says head, that’s a loophole. Because if you’re swearing by your head, you lose your head.

You’re dead, right?

Loopholes. Very common common practice in the Middle East to swear by all of these different all of these different things. kind of makes sense that he would say all of that, doesn’t it? In light of the fact that those are the discussions that are taking place and and he’s saying you’re you’re pondering that stuff. You is wasting pers. If that’s what you’re pondering, that’s just a waste of ponders right there. So, do we ever do this?

You ever hear any of these? A stack of Bibles because one isn’t good enough.

I mean, yeah. No, no, no, no, no, no. You can swear on a Bible. You give me I swear on a Bible. No, no, no. Give me a stack of Bibles. I don’t swear on a stack of Bibles, guys. I don’t know whether y’all have heard any of these. I have literally heard all of these.

If I’m dying, if I’m lying, I’m dying. Actually, I’ve said that one.

And we do it kind of with a wink and a nod and a nudge nudge. You know what I’m saying? We, you know, it’s not like we’re saying we’re not late, but some people are really serious about it.

It’s common, isn’t it? It’s common. Those things those things are so common. It makes me kind of shudder because we take God so lightly.

Do you understand? Swear on a stack of Bibles. I’m with you, John. You know,

swear on my mother’s grave. I swear by all that’s holy.

I mean, come on. Come on, guys. But we do it. We do it. And we shouldn’t. And Jesus Jesus says, “Nope. You know what you need to say is let your yes be yes.” and you know be known for whatever you do above and beyond that that’s just from the evil one. You say that’s a little harsh, isn’t it? From the evil one. No, it’s true. And it has to do with truth. It has to do with integrity. It has to do with the purity that is the very nature of God.

Absolute truth.

You’ve you’ve heard these phrases before, I’m sure, too. You might not have heard this one. Actually, I just found this one. But I thought it was so good I just had to share it with you. But you’ve heard your word as your bond. Isn’t it you? Don’t you you know man is only as good as his word, right? I’ve told this story, but it’s been a while. So those of you that have heard it, go ahead and take a nap. Um, back when we were living down on Lake Houston, we had to have one pier on our pier and beam house fixed. Okay. So, I was calling up foundation people and getting bids and all this kind of stuff, you know, get that thing jacked up and leveled and all that kind of stuff and all of this. And I had had a couple of companies come out and they had given me their written bids with all of the details with all of the stuff, you know, and all that kind of stuff. Woo. And then I had one more house moving company that was going to come out and and give me a bid. Okay. And so I’m waiting for them, sitting out on the front porch, waiting for them to show up. Here they came in an old raggedy flatbed truck.

They’re getting out. They all have beards down to here, long hair, overalls, and all of them barefoot.

I call them the mountain men because they were mountain men. You understand? They got out and at first I’m sitting there waiting and I’m thought, “Oh man, I hope these guys don’t take long. I’ve got to hit and see my the people they’re coming to bid on.” It was them. They were coming to to make me a bid, right? And uh so they uh they got busy and all three of them crawled up under the house. All three of them crawled up into the house, looked around, came out, and about it was it was less than 10 minutes, I know that they were there. And they said, “So, what we’re going to do, we’re going to take we’re going to jack this up right here. We’re going to put this down here in the ground. We’re going to set this footing down here. And then we’re going to put that post in there. We’re going to solid it up. And then we’re going to pump underneath it. We’re going to pump some stuff, some concrete and stuff like that. We’re going to get it all set. It’s going to be all nice and level.” And he gave me a price.

It was a fourth of the lowest bid I had received.

And I said, “You know what?” I was impressed. I mean, they knew what they were talking about, right? I said, “You know what? I think we got us a deal.” I stuck my hand out and shook that man’s hand and he said, “We’ll be here on Monday.” And I said, ‘W wait, don’t you have some kind of contract or something like that we need to sign here? And he said, ‘We just shook on it, didn’t we? I said, yes, sir, we did. And he said, see you Monday.

But isn’t that a nice phrase right there? To keep your word is to weave a thread of gold into the fabric of your reputation. That’s what we’re That’s what That’s what we want, right? We want that reputation. But unfortunately, we’re a nation of pretty little liars. I had to ask Pam what that show is about. I’ve heard that the name of that show and apparently it’s about some mean girls in school. Yeah. Really pretty little liars. But the fact is we as a nation uh we are pretty little liars in general. Well, how often do you tell lies, including the small ones? Where do you fit in there? Look at that.

Several times a day. Well,

I love it. They get down to a certain point and it’s almost like they gave them an out. They give them several times, once a day, few times a week, few times a month. Less often than that. Yeah, less often than that. Gave him an out. Compared with most other people, do you think you tell lies more often or less often? Now you’re thinking about other people. You think you tell lies more often than other people or less often? Oh, you think you tell lies less often than most people? Right? You realize that all the rest of those people are putting you in that same category because they say I tell lies less than

right. I just thought that was kind of interesting. In other words, look, we look at ourselves, we say, “Nah, not me. Not me. Not me.” How about this one? Compared with most other people, do you think you are better or worse at telling lies? Oo, why are we obsessed with comparison? If you claim, this was a good safe answer there, but if you claim I’m better at it. I can I can beat them off. I’m better than most people. Yeah. When I tell a lie, it works, right? Okay. Telling someone the truth might hurt their feelings. Which would you be more likely to do? Ooh. You’re going to tell them the truth, but it’s going to hurt their feelings. Tell them the truth. about half the people and then they’re split here on what they’re going to do. But here’s the other one. Here’s the other one. If being told the truth might hurt your feelings, which would you prefer someone to do? Probably already know what the truth is. You probably already know. 82%. And yet that previous one we’re saying, I don’t know. I don’t know. When most people say, “Yeah, I’d really rather know.” Last one. In general, do you think telling small lies to try to spare someone’s feelings makes the relationship better or worse? It all depends. Really, here’s the thing. You tell that little lie thinking it’s going to make things better. They find out about it. All of a sudden, it’s a whole lot worse. It’s a whole lot worse. The thing is, folks, we are a nation of liars. We don’t believe politicians at all. I’m serious. I I I don’t When I hear a politician say something, I’m thinking, how did he just word that so that he could say that? Do you understand what I’m saying? How did he how did he phrase that so that he could get away with saying that? Jesus says just say yes or or no. Just say yes or no. Okay? No need to lie. And if you if you don’t take it from Jesus, take it from Proverbs. This all comes out of the same chapter. As a matter of fact, there’s one verse in the middle of it that I pulled out because it didn’t specifically mention liars. But the one that pulled that I pulled out was no harm comes to the godly, but the wicked have their fill of trouble. Well, if you lie, you’re going to have your fill of trouble. But here, he who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness deceit. There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes help. The truthful lip shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but counselors of peace have joy. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are his delight.

Truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the way, is that is that phrase still used in courts of law? It is. Okay. Are you required to swear on a Bible in a court of law? Not anymore. Not anymore. Okay. But you are required to tell the truth.

Right? So when Jesus says this, he highlights the deceitfulness of swearing an oath or making a vow and the foolishness of such efforts. That’s why it’s called that’s that’s why it says right here uh for whatever is more than these is from the evil one. Come on guys, that’s evil. You don’t need to do that. You don’t need to do that. In Deuteronomy 23, you remember we looked at Deuteronomy 23 earlier. That’s one of the places where Jesus was quoting. He didn’t quote this verse, but Deuteronomy 23:22 is the very next verse. And it says, “But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be a sin to you.” In other words, Jesus in the in the law in the Deuteronomy law, the law itself says don’t vow or if you do, make sure you vow and and follow through. The next verse says, “But if you abstain from vowing, it won’t be sin.” Well, hello. Jesus is saying something very similar, isn’t he? He’s saying, “You want to avoid sin, don’t make the vow, don’t swear.” Okay, going to wrap it up real quick here.

In other words, can’t speak the truth, just keep your mouth shut. Again, Proverbs echoes this over and over and over again. He who guards his mouth preserves life, but he who opens his lips shall have destruction. Whoever guards his mouth and keeps his tongue from keeps his soul from trouble. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace. When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive. It’s kind of that take on Abraham Lincoln’s thing. Better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you’re a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt, right? I mean, this is biblical, people. Keep your mouth shut. You don’t need to go on and on and on and on and on and say, “But I got to prove I got to prove to you that I’m right. I got to prove to you that I’m right.” No, you don’t. You don’t got to prove nothing.

Many people could not handle the truth that Jesus told. Uh, look at John 8. Go ahead and look at John 8. I’d like for you to have it open. I’m going to give you some of the verses up here, but I’d like for you to just have the whole thing open. In John 8,

Jesus is talking with a group of people who take exception to some of the things that he says. Okay.

The first one I want to point out is this. He says, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Do you see that? It’s in verses 31 and 32. 31B and 32. However, is mine different than yours? I flipped the order. Yes, I flipped the order. Why did I do that? Because we love to say the truth will set you free, but we never say what comes before that. Another way of saying what Jesus said in those two verses is you will know the truth. The truth will make you free if you abide in my word because then you are truly my disciples. See, that’s not what it says. Is it you will know the truth and the truth will make you free is what we hear all the time. I mean you say that all the time. You’ll know the truth and the truth. I said it to my kids. You will know the truth and the truth will make you free. But the thing is we are ignoring the fact that the truth Jesus is talking about is himself.

The truth that Jesus is referencing is the truth, the way, the life. Right. It’s not just, yeah, you’re going to know the truth about, you know, whether or not the Cowboys or the the Texans are going to win today. You’re going to know the truth about that. No, that that don’t mean nothing, man. That don’t mean nothing. Well, the Texans are going to win, but still that don’t mean nothing. You understand? No. What means something is Jesus is the truth. And if you know him, if you are his disciple, ooh, then you’re set free because he sets you free. That’s the whole thing about what he was saying here. If you if you drop down to verses 37 and 38, what he said was then you’re going to be free. And they came back and they said, “Well, we’re free. We’re Abraham’s kids and we ain’t never been enslaved.” Which was a lie to begin with. I mean, they were enslaved in Egypt. I mean, do they not even know what happened back then? You know, but they say, “We have never been enslaved.” He said, “No, no, no, no, no. I know that you’re Abraham’s seed. Yet, you are seeking to kill me because my word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with my father. Therefore, you also do the things that you have heard from your father, like trying to kill me for speaking the truth. Wow. Wow.

And then he says, you belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language.

That’s his native tongue right there. For he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell you the truth, you don’t believe me.

Guys, the fact is when Jack Nicholson said truth, you can’t handle the truth. Now, there’s a lot of this world that can’t handle the truth. There’s a lot of this world that can’t handle the truth. But the fact But the fact is that if we know Jesus, we not only can handle the truth, we know the truth. Ain’t that right? Ain’t that right? Take that, Jack.

You can’t handle the truth. Father, we thank you that you have given us your truth that supersedes all of the the silly notions that we we proclaim as truth. Father, thank you that in your wisdom we can know the truth, even your son, Jesus Christ. And we can know the truth of your gospel. We can know the truth of your salvation. We can know the truth of your love. And Father, help us to rightly handle that truth. So many don’t know it. So much of the world does not know the truth. So many of our friends, co-workers, neighbors, relatives, so many people do not know the truth. Help us, Father, to proclaim the truth that is Jesus Christ. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Class Notes – An Incontrovertible Truth – October 4, 2026Download

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, October 4, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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Podcast – Agape Life From the Back Porch

The Covenant of Marriage: God’s View of Adultery and Divorce – Complete Session Episode

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Continuing His “Sermon on the Mount” exploration of the Jewish law and its implication in Kingdom living. Jesus looks at two external aspects of marital infidelity. He tells the crowd that they have heard it said “you shall not commit adultery” and that “anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.” He goes on to not only explain the implications of these legalities but also provide advice on how to properly handle these difficult issues.

From Genesis to Revelation marriage is a central theme – from the first husband and wife to the marriage feast of the Lamb. The marriage of Jacob establishes the nation of Israel. Jesus performs His first miracle at a wedding feast. And when God expresses His frustration over the infidelity of Israel He likens their relationship to that of a husband and wife. (Hosea 1-3 & Jeremiah 3)

It is no surprise that our infidelity has been pointed out in passages such as James 4:4 where we read, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” But the good news is that God is rich in mercy as we see in Ephesians 2:4-5 – “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

In our fidelity to God, much of what Jesus said concerning the avoidance of adultery with a spouse applies to our Kingdom living in light of God’s love. We should avoid even looking at temptations and certainly not touching and playing with them. As always, Jesus speaks and the depth of His teaching just goes deeper and deeper.

The Covenant of Marriage: God’s View of Adultery and Divorce – Session Overview Episode

/ Bob / Leave a comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Continuing His “Sermon on the Mount” exploration of the Jewish law and its implication in Kingdom living. Jesus looks at two external aspects of marital infidelity. He tells the crowd that they have heard it said “you shall not commit adultery” and that “anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.” He goes on to not only explain the implications of these legalities but also provide advice on how to properly handle these difficult issues.

From Genesis to Revelation marriage is a central theme – from the first husband and wife to the marriage feast of the Lamb. The marriage of Jacob establishes the nation of Israel. Jesus performs His first miracle at a wedding feast. And when God expresses His frustration over the infidelity of Israel He likens their relationship to that of a husband and wife. (Hosea 1-3 & Jeremiah 3)

It is no surprise that our infidelity has been pointed out in passages such as James 4:4 where we read, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” But the good news is that God is rich in mercy as we see in Ephesians 2:4-5 – “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

In our fidelity to God, much of what Jesus said concerning the avoidance of adultery with a spouse applies to our Kingdom living in light of God’s love. We should avoid even looking at temptations and certainly not touching and playing with them. As always, Jesus speaks and the depth of His teaching just goes deeper and deeper.

The Covenant of Marriage: God’s View of Adultery and Divorce

/ Bob / Leave a comment

Continuing His “Sermon on the Mount” exploration of the Jewish law and its implication in Kingdom living. Jesus looks at two external aspects of marital infidelity. He tells the crowd that they have heard it said “you shall not commit adultery” and that “anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.” He goes on to not only explain the implications of these legalities but also provide advice on how to properly handle these difficult issues.

From Genesis to Revelation marriage is a central theme – from the first husband and wife to the marriage feast of the Lamb. The marriage of Jacob establishes the nation of Israel. Jesus performs His first miracle at a wedding feast. And when God expresses His frustration over the infidelity of Israel He likens their relationship to that of a husband and wife. (Hosea 1-3 & Jeremiah 3)

It is no surprise that our infidelity has been pointed out in passages such as James 4:4 where we read, “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” But the good news is that God is rich in mercy as we see in Ephesians 2:4-5 – “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

In our fidelity to God, much of what Jesus said concerning the avoidance of adultery with a spouse applies to our Kingdom living in light of God’s love. We should avoid even looking at temptations and certainly not touching and playing with them. As always, Jesus speaks and the depth of His teaching just goes deeper and deeper.

Class Notes – The Significance of Marriage – 09.27.2026Download

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, September 27, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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Law and Order – Sinai Division: Complete Session Episode

/ Bob

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The Law is something we are quite familiar with in our country. Since 1789 Congress has enacted over 30,000 statutes. When those statutes go to the Administrative Regulators, the laws increase exponentially. Our legal code is housed in over 200 volumes containing an estimated 100-300 million words. There are over 1 million individual legal restrictions which use terms like “shall” or “must”. And we as good citizens obey the law.

The Jewish People Jesus addressed in His Sermon on the Mount were familiar with the legal creep of Administrative Regulators. They started with 613 laws in the Torah and by the time Jesus started preaching, those laws had expanded into code that became known as the Midrash. Through later refinement (200 AD and after) further developments, refinements, and expansions in the Mishna, Gemara, and the Talmud produced dozens of volumes of Jewish laws containing millions of words and legal instructions too numerous to comprehend.

It is in the middle of expansion process that Jesus does a little expanding of the Law on His own. After all, He wrote it in the first place, so He has every right to say what it means. This he does in the 2nd half of Matthew 5. He sets up his discourse by assuring the people that His intention is not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. He then warns them about mishandling the Law. Finally, He informs them that those people trying to tell them what the Law means, the scribes and Pharisees, are not the people to look to for guidance because following their ways just won’t cut it. Only by trusting in Jesus through faith can we receive the righteousness which is imputed to us by Him. His righteousness is sufficient. His righteousness is the final word on the subject.

Law and Order – Sinai Division: Session Overview Episode

/ Bob

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Law is something we are quite familiar with in our country. Since 1789 Congress has enacted over 30,000 statutes. When those statutes go to the Administrative Regulators, the laws increase exponentially. Our legal code is housed in over 200 volumes containing an estimated 100-300 million words. There are over 1 million individual legal restrictions which use terms like “shall” or “must”. And we as good citizens obey the law.

The Jewish People Jesus addressed in His Sermon on the Mount were familiar with the legal creep of Administrative Regulators. They started with 613 laws in the Torah and by the time Jesus started preaching, those laws had expanded into code that became known as the Midrash. Through later refinement (200 AD and after) further developments, refinements, and expansions in the Mishna, Gemara, and the Talmud produced dozens of volumes of Jewish laws containing millions of words and legal instructions too numerous to comprehend.

It is in the middle of expansion process that Jesus does a little expanding of the Law on His own. After all, He wrote it in the first place, so He has every right to say what it means. This he does in the 2nd half of Matthew 5. He sets up his discourse by assuring the people that His intention is not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. He then warns them about mishandling the Law. Finally, He informs them that those people trying to tell them what the Law means, the scribes and Pharisees, are not the people to look to for guidance because following their ways just won’t cut it. Only by trusting in Jesus through faith can we receive the righteousness which is imputed to us by Him. His righteousness is sufficient. His righteousness is the final word on the subject.

Law and Order – Sinai Division

/ Bob

The Law is something we are quite familiar with in our country. Since 1789 Congress has enacted over 30,000 statutes. When those statutes go to the Administrative Regulators, the laws increase exponentially. Our legal code is housed in over 200 volumes containing an estimated 100-300 million words. There are over 1 million individual legal restrictions which use terms like “shall” or “must”. And we as good citizens obey the law.

The Jewish People Jesus addressed in His Sermon on the Mount were familiar with the legal creep of Administrative Regulators. They started with 613 laws in the Torah and by the time Jesus started preaching, those laws had expanded into code that became known as the Midrash. Through later refinement (200 AD and after) further developments, refinements, and expansions in the Mishna, Gemara, and the Talmud produced dozens of volumes of Jewish laws containing millions of words and legal instructions too numerous to comprehend.

It is in the middle of expansion process that Jesus does a little expanding of the Law on His own. After all, He wrote it in the first place, so He has every right to say what it means. This he does in the 2nd half of Matthew 5. He sets up his discourse by assuring the people that His intention is not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. He then warns them about mishandling the Law. Finally, He informs them that those people trying to tell them what the Law means, the scribes and Pharisees, are not the people to look to for guidance because following their ways just won’t cut it. Only by trusting in Jesus through faith can we receive the righteousness which is imputed to us by Him. His righteousness is sufficient. His righteousness is the final word on the subject.

Transcript

So we’re talking about law and order Sinai division. As an American citizen, do you abide by the law? Simple yes or no would suffice? Yes. Sometimes it depends. I love this. I love this. [laughter] Hedging your bets, boy. Okay. Since 1789, Congress has enacted over 30,000 laws. Since 1789, that’s not bad. I I expected it to be higher to be honest with you. But here’s the rub. See, the law is passed, right? The law is passed and then it goes to the executive branch and the administrators have regulations. You understand what I’m saying by regulations? In other words, what that need they say what that law means is you got to do it this way, you got to do this, you got to do that, you got to do it this. How many of you in your work have had to deal with regulations? [laughter]

Ain’t that ain’t that wild? Isn’t that wild? So when I ask, have you obeyed the law? Have you obeyed every regulation?

[laughter] Okay, just so you know, there’s over 200 volumes, big books, over 200 volumes containing the US code, legal code. It’s about 100 million to 130 million words. That’s a lot of words. This is the one that really killed me though. Over 1 million individual legal restrictions which contain the words either shall or must. In other words, you shall do this. You must do this. There’s over 1 million statements including those words.

That’s pretty exciting, isn’t it? We thought the Pharisees were bad. [laughter] Exactly. Which is where we’re headed today. Uh we’re talking about first century Jews abiding by the law. Okay. Did they have to abide by the law? And whose law? God’s law. Interpreted by the Pharisees. But who else? Roman law. Yeah. Yeah. They had to abide by Roman law as well. Okay. So, they’re getting hit with the dumb wedding. Now, I am going to give you just a wee bit more than a wee bit of background on the Jewish law. Is that okay? Can you forgive me just this once? The reason is because for the next, I think, three weeks, we will be looking at specific laws and how Jesus handles them. Okay? And and so, we need the background. We need the understanding Jewish law is divided into three basic segments. The moral law, the ceremonial law, and the civil law. Now, it doesn’t say in the Bible this is a civil law. This is a ceremonial law. We just know that they are because of what they tell us to do. In the Torah, the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, in those five books, there are a total of 613 laws. Well, that’s not bad. Now, that that’s doable. That’s doable. And you see what those laws cover, get you into a little bit more detail and give you some examples. The moral law is God’s standards of right and wrong. Okay? Obviously, the Ten Commandments, right? Those are those are moral law, right? Leviticus 19:18, “You shall not take vengeance nor hold any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” Oh, that’s a that’s a law. That is a law, right? By the way, the laws are divided into positive and negative. Okay? So, there’s some negative there and there’s some positive there. Leviticus 19 and 36, you shall have accurate balances, accurate weights, an accurate epha, and an accurate hin. I am the Lord your God. Now, you’re saying, “Wait, no, wait. This is civil law.” Because they’re talking about the the legal description of weights and measurements. That should be under civil law. No, it’s not. Why not? deals with honesty. It deals with honesty.

We’re you’re going to find out why later. Okay, that’s moral law. How about ceremonial law, sacrifices, priesthood, ritual, purity, worship regulations? Rosh Hashana is one of those. Now, the term Rosh Hashana does not appear in the scripture, but the new year does, and it is in Leviticus. Okay? It says, “You must observe this day.” The day of atonement that I just told you about, Yom Kippur, holiest day of the year, it’s in the law, but it’s part of the ceremonial law. Ceremonial law. How about this one? These you may eat, whatever it is in the water, everything that has fins and scales, but whatever does not have fins and scales, they are detestable things to you. You know what that means? No catfish

or shrimp.

[laughter]

Okay. part of the part of the ceremonial law because it has to do with the purity, right? Okay. How about the one that says “who touches the dead body of any person will be unclean for seven days. That one shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day he will be clean.” Uh if you’re a mortician, good luck. [laughter]

All right. How about the uh civil law? Civil law has to do with uh you know judicial rulings, social things, uh governing daily civic life, property rights, criminal justice and governance of Israel. The year of jubilee, which is something I would be very much in favor of in our nation. I think every seven years all your debts are wiped clean. Oh yeah. And if someone from Exodus and if someone borrows an animal from its neighbor and it is injured or dies while its owner is not with it, he shall make full restitution. Well, that’s only fair. You borrow somebody’s donkey and it dies, well, you pay him back, right? However, if the owner happens to be there when the animal dies, it’s okay. No problem. [laughter] Uh, it just has to do with doing what’s fair. Okay? Doing what’s fair. When you build a new house, you shall make a guardrail for your roof so that you will not bring guilt for bloodshed on your house if anyone falls from it. And you’re thinking, “Okay, we’re getting a little specific here. We only have 613.” And you’re talking about a guardrail on a roof. But they there was living quarters up there, too. There were living quarters up there. And it was very common. Okay. And so they’re saying got to take care of it. We’re going to come back to that one in a minute. Now those laws, the ceremonial law, the moral law, and the civil law. Of those three divisions of laws, the civil law doesn’t apply because we have a civil institution that gives us our civil laws. the United States of America and the state of Texas and the city of Brennham and the county of Washington, right? I mean, we have those covered. Ceremonial laws have all been fulfilled by Christ. We have no need for the ceremonial laws anymore. the moral laws are still in effect because they tell you what God approves of, what God doesn’t approve of. They tell you what God sees as right and wrong.

The Torah was what is where we start off. That’s where the that’s where the 613 are written down. Okay? And they’re not written. Here’s the first one. Here’s the second one. Here’s the third one. Yeah, the 10 are num, you know, and but they aren’t even numbered. I mean, but they’re all in but the rest are just spread out all the way through those five books. Okay. So, you have the 613

When Ezra and the children of Israel were coming back out of exile from Babylonia. Okay. One of the things that happened was Ezra got them all together and started putting on paper all of the all of the Bible, rewriting it, and putting this down on paper, so to speak. But it began something it began something that really heated up about two or 30 hundred years later and still went on all the way through the Middle Ages and it’s called the midrash. The midrash refers to a whole lot of explaining going on. They started discussing this and saying, “Okay, here’s what this means. Here’s what that means.” They they most of this was was done orally. I mean they were just talking about it. They were it was oral. Okay. Sometimes it got written down later on when you get past Jesus’s time. There was a lot more writing going on. That midrash is a huge huge library of information and discussions and explanations all about the law. And it started with the law of the Torah. In other words, they weren’t just making up stuff and saying, “Well, I think God meant to say you can kill.” No, they weren’t making up stuff. They were saying, “God said you can’t kill.” What does that mean? You understand? In other words, they started with scripture. What do we start with today? What we feel like, what we think might be good, right? Isn’t that what our culture does? We don’t start with an established law. We start with what feels good, what seems right. Even though the scripture says there’s a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is destruction. But that’s what they were doing. I put where the sermon on the mount is so you’ll know where we are. But but all of this type of discussion has been going on since 400 BC. Some even say 500 BC. So this discussion and all this has been going on and Jesus enters into this world and you’re going to find out he says starting in the next section. This is next week but starting next week he says you have heard it said and then he gave you one of the commandments a commandment or a law but I say to you in other words what was he doing? He was doing the same thing that they were doing in the midrash except his was total truth without, you know, without the human element. All of those oral arguments are going on for centuries, literally, you know, and they are hearing this. They’re aware of this. They are they are hearing what’s going on. And yes, it isn’t until you get to 200 AD that uh I can’t even remember his name. Rabbi Judah the prince. Rabbi Judah the prince put together these discussions. Now, bless his heart.

It had about 200,000 words, It was well organized. It was topical, okay? So, you could you could, you know, you could, you know, look stuff up and all that. He wrote it down and uh and and codified it, if you will. All of these things, just like David said, all of these things that had been discussed for all of this time up until that point, that’s what the Mishna was. So when you hear someone refer to the Mishna, it’s not just something that appeared in 200 AD. It’s something that reflects what was going on before that. The Gamarra. Okay. The Gamarra is the Mishna commentary.

Okay. And it’s a bunch of people that got involved in it and they comment on what the Mishna was. Now, there’s only 200,000 words there. We can do better than that. The Gamarra is written and it has about 1.6 million words. got a little wordy on that. [laughter] Well, they’re carrying it out. They’re I mean, they’re carrying it to the to the nth degree, so to speak. And then the Talmud comes along, the Talmud takes the Gamarra and the Mishna and just kind of puts a little connecting words in there and that kind of thing. So when you hear someone refer to the Talmud that they’re talking about what’s in the mission in the Gomorrah, which again is what was being discussed and what was being reviewed all that time. That’s a lot of law. That’s a lot of law. I want you to get an example of expansion and kind of how it played out. Remember that law about the guardrail on the roof of your house, right? That’s from the Torah. in the midrash they discussed it and said you know it’s not just a new house if you buy a house right if you buy a house um if you get someone to remodel your house you know [laughter] you’re going to you’re going to have to put that guard rail you’re going to have to meet that but you also also they had discussions discussions mind you that it could apply to any hazardous situation like those steps that you have coming up into your you might want to have a handrail on that. So they expanded it a little bit in the midrash when they were talking about it. The Mishna comes along and uh Rabbi Judah says, “Okay, we need to define which buildings need a guardrail. Is it just homes or can it be businesses?” And so he he went through all of that. He also talked about what constitutes a legitimate barrier. If you uh plant a a bunch of nice shrubs in pots all around the perimeter, is that a guardrail? Huh? And so they got into all of that kind of stuff. And so the Mishna actually, you know, has some specifics in it as well. Well, you know what happened when it got to the Gamarra, don’t you? When it got to the Gamarra. And I put the Gamarra and then on to the Talmet because it just it it just ballooned from there. It became preventing a hazardous situation. It went global and it went specific. Okay? It went global and meaning it covered everything that was hazardous. Okay? Everything dealing with health and safety. Right? Sounds like our government, doesn’t it? still. [laughter] It’s still happening, isn’t it? Okay. But not only that, it started getting specific. It started identifying things that were hazard. Broken ladders, open wells, dangerous dogs, all of these things started with a guardrail. I think it’s interesting because we talk about how our culture is Judeo-Christian and we always think of it as Christian. You look at this and you think there’s a lot of Judeo in there in what we do. You know, when you start seeing some stuff like that. Jesus has an opening statement concerning the law. It’s found in Matthew 5 this verses 17 through 20. And I’m going to read those to you if I can find them. Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of these commandments, least of these commandments uh and and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds the teachers, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Now, to me, this is the this is another way of saying that Jesus said, “I’m not abolishing the scripture.” Jesus said, “The law ain’t going nowhere. It’s a permanent fixture.” Jesus said abolishing the law is the antithesis of kingdom citizenship. And Jesus said observance of the law is the foundation of kingdom citizenship. True righteousness is the key to open the gates. True righteousness. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus is talking about his relationship to the law. You think that I came to abolish the law and the prophets? No, I didn’t come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. And if you look at Luke 24 27 and then 44 through 45, it says, “And beginning with Moses and the prophets, he explained to them what was written in all the scriptures about himself.” This is on the road to Emmas. Remember, while they’re walking along the road, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them who he was. Wow. He came to fulfill it. And then in verses 44 of that same chapter, he said, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you. Everything was fulfilled that it was written about me in the law of Moses, prophets, and the psalms.” And then he opened their minds to understand the scripture. Now this is the disciples later. You understand what I’m saying? What he’s saying is the scriptures are what identify who I am.

The permanence of the law. Jesus talks about the permanence of the law. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke, jot or tit, if you have uh a good translation, uh shall pass from the law, until [laughter] all is accomplished. Okay, I say jot and because that those words have always interested me. Uh so I’m going to show you this real quick. I’m just going to run through it. There’s the Hebrew alphabet. Okay, boys and girls, that is a jot. A yot. [laughter] We call it a jot, but that’s a that’s it. Smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Okay. Right over here, we’ve got a tit up there. Rather, not down here. No tit here. Tit up there. Do you see what the tit is? That little pokey out thing. That’s a tit. Okay? That’s what separates those two letters in the alphabet. Okay? That’s what makes them different letters in the alphabet. You with me?

Okay. Here we go. Now it’s your turn. Y’all are intelligent enough to figure this out.

Do you see the tittle?

Okay. So now you can read and speak Hebrew. Good. Okay, let’s move on. [laughter] But you know what a jot and a tittle is. The permanence of the law. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” Amen. Psalm 119:160, “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” Those are some all-inclusive words, aren’t they? Wow. How about our handling of the law in 19? Whoever then annals one of these least of the commandments and teaches others to do the same shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Woo. And remember in Matthew 18, you should this this should have popped into your head when I was reading that. And whoever receive one such child in my name receives me. But whoever causes one of these little ones to believe who believe in me to stumble, it’s better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea. Wow. That’s where we are. Now, let’s talk about the righteousness of the law. Verse 20. Verse 20. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. In Romans, in Romans, I’m going to go ahead and read this real fast. But in Romans, Paul clarifies this statement. Romans 9:es 30 through32. The Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness laid hold of righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith. That means you’ve done that. But Israel pursuing a law of righteousness did not attain that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith as though it were by as though it were by works. In other words, they didn’t get the faith aspect of it. They got the law. They got the law. They got the legal part, but they didn’t get the faith that goes along with it. Okay? And you go into Romans 10:es 1-4. Brothers, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation, meaning the Jews. For I testify about them that they have zeal for God, but not according to but not according to knowledge. For not knowing about the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. In other words, they tried to be righteous themselves instead of submitting to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the fulfillment of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. And the word that’s used there is telos for fulfillment. Uh Paul in most of your versions it’ll say for Christ is the end. Okay? But Jesus is the fulfillment. And that word means fulfillment. It means the completion, the end, the final outcome. Do you understand? And then you go to Revelation and you read that Jesus says he is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the telos. There’s that word again, the end, the final word. He’s it. Jesus Christ is the final word when it comes to righteousness of God. And if you don’t believe it now, believe it when you read this.

On the cross, Jesus declared, “It is finished.” He used the word tetlestai which comes from the word telos.

It’s finished. It’s done. His righteousness is complete, total, absolute, unequivocal . His righteousness is where we all all must stand. Only then will our righteousness exceed that of those scribes and Pharisees who are trying to teach these poor these poor Jewish people how to live.

Father, we thank you for your righteousness. We thank you for the righteousness that’s imputed to us through the blood, sacrifice, resurrection of your son, Jesus Christ, our savior. Help us to walk in that. Help us to walk in it rejoicing. And when we think about who’s the one, remind us that that one needs to know this message of eternal hope. Help us to share that message even as we leave. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, September 13, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .


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Class Notes – Law & Order – Sinai Division – September 13, 2026Download

Salt and Light – Making a Difference: Complete Session Episode

/ Bob

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You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

In 1st Century Galilee, salt was used commonly as a preservative, a healing and cleansing agent, and as a seasoning. However, its spiritual and ceremonial use gives us the depth of meaning found in this simple mineral. Sacrifices were brought to the altar with salt – even the grain offerings. In passages such as Numbers 18:19 and 2 Chronicles 13:5 God’s unchanging, everlasting, permanent covenant was referred to as the “covenant of salt.” In ancient Middle Eastern cultures a covenant was sealed (ratified) with various means of sharing salt (i.e.- a meal or simple exchange) with the salt representing permanence, incorruptibility, and shared fellowship. As believers we are the “salt of the earth” and, hence, we are physical agents of healing, cleansing, purification, preservation of God’s goodness, seasoning – bringing out and highlighting the glorious flavors of God’s creation, and of reminding the world of God’s “chesed” – His Everlasting Love!

The prime focus of the Romans was glory. The prime focus of the Greeks was knowledge. The prime focus of the Jews was light. The world began with God saying, “let there be light” and light has been the central theme all along. A burning bush, a pillar of fire, and numerous descriptions of the LORD and His Word being light. (Psalm 27:1; Isaiah 60:19-20; Micah 7:8) Jesus refers to Himself as the Light of the world and there is no doubt that He is “the light that shines in the darkness” as seen in Isaiah 9:2. Paul summarizes the superiority of Jesus as the Light in 2 Corinthians 4:6: For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

And now that Light lives within us and consequently, as believers, we are bearers of the Light, torch bearers in the darkness, lighthouses of hope in the storms of life, glowing examples of what God can do and how God can love, and reminders to the world of God’s Everlasting Light, the Light of the World!

We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world because God, through the blood of Jesus, has made us so.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons, which covers Chapters 5-7 in the Book of Matthew, is Kingdom Power: The Sermon on the Mount. You can find print and digital versions of this series online at https://gc2press.org/kingdom-power-matthew-5-7-digital-study-guide/ . Handouts with class presentation content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .

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