(1)
Almighty God
desires that his most holy Name should be honored and taken seriously by
everyone, so He has commanded that no one should use his Name for light,
stupid, or fraudulent reasons. Indeed, the Lord threatens punishment to those
who make poor use of his Name by using his Name lightly, violating oaths they
swear in his Name, and insulting Him by Name. I want to improve the knowledge
and obedience of this commandment by explaining when it right for Christians to
swear and the perils of trivial oaths and perjury.
First,
it is all right to swear when you are asked to testify in court or fulfill your
duties as a juror or an officer of a court of justice. Second, you may call the
Name of God as your witness when sealing covenants, honest promises, statutes,
laws, and good customs. For instance, treaties between Christian rulers used to
be sealed in this way. Indeed today, some among us make vows before God in
marriage or honest and true friendship. And depending where we live, we may be
asked to swear to uphold the laws and good customs of our nations. We may take
oaths of allegiance or oaths of office, for instance.
And
we also may call God as our witness when proclaiming His glory in the public
preaching of the Gospel or when counseling a brother or sister in a matter
affecting the health of their soul. All of these uses of God’s Name and God’s
witness for honest and necessary causes are lawful.
The
problem comes when oaths enter into the ordinary business of everyday life and
when swearing becomes a habit. When we start swearing when making an argument
about a secular matter, when buying or selling, or in other daily
communication, our common and frequent making of oaths is ungodly, unlawful,
and forbidden. This swearing is what taking God’s holy Name in vain means.
Let
us first observe that what I have called lawful swearing is not only not
prohibited by God but also is commanded by Him. We can find examples of Christ
and godly persons in Holy Scripture, who swore oaths and required oaths of
others. And God Himself commands, “You shall fear the Lord your God and shall
swear by His Name” (Deut. 6:13). And Almighty God says through His Prophet,
David, “All who swear by God’s name will rejoice” (Ps. 63:11).
Our
Savior Christ swore at different times, saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you”
(John 3:3,5,11). [Ed.: the phrase used is “Amen, Amen” in the Greek. Which
indeed is used to seal oaths, notably in Deut. 27:15-26. This is the basis of
the interpretation of the Homilist here.] And St. Paul swears, too, “I appeal
to God as my witness” (1 Cor. 1:23). And Abraham, in his old age, asked his
servant to swear that he would find a wife for his son, Isaac, from Abraham’s
own family; and the servant did swear that he would do so (Gen. 24:1-9).
Abraham, also, when he was asked, swore to Abimelech, King of Gerar that he
would not break faith with him or his descendants and Abimelech swore the same
oath to Abraham (Gen. 21: 22-31). And David swore to be a faithful friend to
Jonathan and Jonathan did so in return (1 Sam. 18:3; 20:12-17, 42).
As
another example, God once commanded that if anything given to someone for
safekeeping were stolen or lost, the one who was holding the property for
safekeeping should take an oath before the judges that he did not carry it away
nor allowed it to be carried away with his consent or knowledge (Ex. 22:10-11).
And St. Paul says that in all matters of controversy in which the testimony of
the parties is contradictory and the truth cannot be obtained in any other way,
the dispute only can be settled by an oath before a judge (Heb. 6:16).
And
moreover God speaks through the Prophet Jeremiah in this way, “You shall swear,
‘The Lord lives in truth, in judgment, in righteousness’” (Jer. 4:2). So if you
are asked to swear anything in a legal matter, you need to be sure in your
conscience that three conditions are met. First, you must swear an oath truly, that is, you must have no bias
for or against either party, focus on the truth, and only say what you know be
true and nothing more than that. The second condition is that you must swear an
oath with judgment: not carried away by the moment and unbound by reason but
carefully and deeply, considering what an oath is. The third condition is that
you must swear by righteousness, that is, your oath must express your zeal and
love for defending the innocent, maintaining the truth, and upholding the
integrity of the matter or cause related to the swearing of the oath. You must
ignore what you might gain or lose in property as a result of your testimony or
service. You must forget the love and affection you might have for either party
as friends or relatives.
An oath sworn under these three conditions is part of the glorification
of God, which His commandment orders that we give Him, for He orders that we
should swear only by His Name. Our oaths do not make him happy. That He teaches
us to swear does not teach us that He takes pleasure in swearing. Oaths are
much like animal sacrifices for Him. He commanded the Jews to sacrifice to Him,
not because He enjoyed animal sacrifices but to keep the Jews from committing
idolatry, . By commanding us to use Him as the object of our oaths, He thereby
prohibits us from giving glory to anything he has created in heaven or on earth
(Is. 42:6).
At
this point, I have shown you that lawful oaths are commanded by God and were
used by Patriarchs, Prophets, Christ Himself, and the Apostle Paul. Therefore,
Christian people must think lawful oaths are both godly and necessary. The
confirmation of lawful promises and covenants by oaths keep countries and
governments in tranquility and peace. We call on the name of God to witness our
vows when we are profess His faith and are made living members of Christ in
Holy Baptism. By a similar holy promise, the sacrament of matrimony knits
husband and wife together in perpetual love, so that they will never desire to
be separated by any displeasure they might have with one another or any
adversity they may face. The lawful oaths of government officials ensure that
the laws are upheld; justice is fairly administered; and innocent people,
orphans, widows, and the poor are defended from the wrongs and harms that
murderers, oppressors, and thieves may do to them. The lawful oaths of local
officials ensure that peace, friendship, and good order are continuously
maintained in all boroughs, cities, towns, and villages. And lawful oaths
before police officers and in court allow the detection and punishment of
criminals as well as restitution to those who have been harmed. Therefore,
lawful swearing cannot be wrong, because it brings us so many godly, good, and
necessary benefits.
So
when Christ so earnestly prohibited swearing, let us not understand that he
prohibited every kind of oath. He merely prohibited all useless swearing and
perjuring by God and by God’s creations, as swearing is commonly used today in
buying, selling, and other aspects of our daily conversation. And His intention
was that what a Christian said should have as much credit as if she had backed
it up with an oath. For “every Christian man’s word,” says St. Jerome, “should
be so true that it should be regarded as an oath.” And St. John Chrysostom
agrees, “It is not convenient to swear, for why do we need to swear when we are
forbidden to lie to one another?”
Of
course, some will say that they need to swear or else no one will believe them
in the course of their business. St. John Chrysostom answers that whoever is
truly in that situation probably treats others deceitfully and unfairly, or at
least is reputed to do so. If you were trustworthy and did what you say you
were going to do, you should have no need to swear at all. For whoever uses
truth and clarity in their bargaining and communication will have no need to
use swearing to make them credible to their neighbors, nor will their neighbors
mistrust what they say. And if someone thinks they need an oath to be
believable, that person is pretty much unbelievable anyway. For Theophylactus writes
the truth when he says that, “no man is less trusted that he that frequently
swears.” And Almighty God by Sirach says, “One given to oaths is wicked to his
core; the rod will never be far from his house” (Ecclus. 23:11).
And,
of course, some will pooh-pooh their frequent oaths in their daily conversation
by asking why they should not swear if they swear truly. I say to them that
they may swear truly, yet in swearing often, lightly, and unnecessarily, they
still take God’s most holy Name in vain. Much more ungodly and foolish are
those who not only abuse God’s holy Name in the buying and selling of small
things daily in all places but also while eating, drinking, playing,
conversing, and reasoning; as if none of these things might be done without
using, irreverently talking about, and swearing and breaking oaths by God’s
holy Name. This behavior violates God’s commandment and deserves His
indignation.
(2)
I have
taught in the first part of this Homily against swearing and perjury that it is
very dangerous to use the Name of God in vain. Yet I also taught that there are
lawful reasons to swear oaths. And I also put forward three requirements for a
lawful oath: (1) that it uphold the truth; (2) that it be made with careful
thought; and (3) that it be made out of zeal and love for justice. I have told
you of the many good things that come from lawful oaths and of the dangers that
come from rash and unlawful oaths. Now I shall show that it is just as bad to
make lawful oaths to do good and honest things and not do them, as it is to
promise evil and unlawful things and do them.
The
Holy Scriptures tells us of two notable cases of people being punished for
intentionally breaking their lawful oaths. First, Joshua and the people of
Israel made a treaty and faithful promise of alliance and friendship with the
Gibeonites (Josh. 9). Yet in the days of wicked King Saul, many Gibeonites were
murdered contrary to the treaty. And for this reason, God was so displeased
that He sent a famine upon Israel for three years and would not end this
punishment until the offense was expiated with the deaths of seven sons and
close relatives of King Saul (2 Sam. 21:1-14). Second, King Zedekiah of
Jerusalem promised fidelity to the King of Babylon. Yet contrary to his oath
and allegiance, Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And
so pagan King Nebuchadnezzar by God’s permission and allowance invaded Judah
and besieged Jerusalem, forcing Zedekiah to flee. And as a consequence, Zedekiah
was taken prisoner, his sons were executed before his eyes, Zedekiah himself
was blinded, and he finally was brought into Babylon in bronze fetters. Thus
did God clearly show how much He abhors those who break their promises
supported by honest oaths in His Name.
And
we also have examples in the Scriptures of people performing wicked acts
because of rash oaths they made. First, Herod swore to Salome that he would
give her whatever she asked if she would dance for him. And at the suggestion
of her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist. Herod therefore not
only swore a wicked oath but even more wickedly did what he promised and
cruelly murdered the most holy prophet (Matt. 14:6-11). Likewise, some Jews
swore that they would not eat nor drink until they killed St. Paul (Acts
23:12). And let us not forget Jephthah, to whom God gave a great victory over
the Ammonites. Yet out of foolish devotion to God, he promised to sacrifice the
first creature that met him upon his return home. [Ed.: The Homilist translates
“creature” as “human.” The key point is that Jephthah promises a sacrificial
offering without any consideration to its lawfulness. He could have
inadvertently sacrificed an unclean animal as well as a human being.] And forced by this idiotic oath, he
sacrificed his one and only daughter who had welcomed him with joy and mirth
upon his return (Judges 11:30-39). Thus, the promise, which he made most
foolishly to God against God’s eternal will and the law of nature, he performed
most cruelly, and so doubly offended against God. Therefore, if you bind
yourself to do anything by oath, please consider whether what you have promised
is good, honest, permitted by God’s commandments, and that you are able to do
what you have promised justly. Promises like these you are bound to keep. But,
if you, either ignorance or malice, promise and swear to do anything which
either against the law of Almighty God or which you are unable to perform, you
should regard it as an unlawful and ungodly oath.
Now
let us talk of perjury. So that you will know how great and heavy offense
against God it is, I will describe to you what it means when someone takes an
oath before a judge upon a book. First, the oath taker lays their hands upon
the Gospel book. They swear truly to inquire, to make a true presentation of
whatever they have been charged to present, and to present the truth without
favor, fear, love, or malice toward anyone, so help them God and the contents
of the holy Gospels. Let us consider that the book upon which they swear
contains God’s everlasting truth, His most holy and eternal word by which we
know that we can have forgiveness of sins and the inheritance of heaven, to
live forever with God’s angels and saints in joy and gladness. In the Gospel
book is also contained God’s terrible threats to stubborn sinners, who will not
amend their lives and believe in God’s truth and His holy word. We hear of
everlasting pain prepared in hell for idolaters, hypocrites, false and vain
oathmakers, perjurers, bearers of false witness, false accusers of innocents,
and those who conceal the crimes of others to obtain their favor and help them
escape punishment. So whoever willfully breaks oaths sworn on Christ’s holy
Gospel utterly abandons God’s mercy, goodness, and truth; rejects the merits of
our Savior Christ’s birth, life, passion, death, resurrection, and ascension;
refuses the forgiveness of sins promised to penitent sinners, the joys of
heaven, and the company of angels and saints forever. For the Gospel promises
all of these benefits and comforts to true Christians. And those who break
oaths sworn upon the Gospel have joined the service of the devil, the master of
all lies, falsehood, deceit, and perjury and deserve the indignation and curse
of God in this life and the terrible wrath and judgment of our Savior Christ at
the last judgment, when he will justly judge the living and the dead according
to their deeds. For whoever abandons the truth for love or hatred of anyone or
out of greed abandons Christ and joins Judas as Christ’s betrayer. And although
the lies of perjurers remain secret, they will be revealed at the last day,
when the secret of all human hearts will be manifest to the entire world. And
then the truth will appear and accuse them, while their own conscience will
join the blessed company of heaven to bear witness against them; and Christ,
the righteous judge, will then justly condemn them to everlasting shame and
death.
Almighty
God threatens perjury with harsh punishment through the Prophet Malachi, saying
to Judah, “I shall appear before you in court, quick to testify against
sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers…” (Mal. 3:5). Indeed, God declares the
same thing to Zechariah in a vision of a flying book of twenty cubits length
and ten cubits broad, of which He says, “This is the curse that shall go forth
upon the face of the earth for falsehood, false swearing, and perjury; and this
curse shall enter into the house of the liar and the house of the perjurer and
it will remain in the midst of their houses and consume every stone and board
in them” (Zech. 5:1-4). Thus, you see how much God hates perjury and what
punishment God has prepared for perjurers.
I
have presented how and why it is lawful for Christians to swear oaths, what
criteria distinguish lawful from unlawful oaths, and why lawful oaths are godly
and necessary. I also have told you that it is not lawful to swear “vainly,” by
which I mean in ways and for reasons other than those I declared. And finally I
have told you how damnable it is to break our lawful oaths or keep an unlawful
or ill-advised oath. Indeed, let us earnestly seek grace that we keep away from
all vain swearing and perjury and use only lawful and godly oaths, and that we
may truly, without any fraud, keep our lawful oaths according to the will and
pleasure of God the Father, to whom with the Son and the Holy Spirit be all
honor and glory. Amen.
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