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of His Word!
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Digging Deeper 25 James 5:12
The study of God’s Word is the only real way
to understand the character of God, and who He is. But there is another aspect that
is revealed our character. As the Bible
shows us the greatness of God it exposes our stature and it is in that
humility, in that weakness, we can truly experience the strength of Christ. Now let’s
dig a little deeper in God’s Word.
James 5:12 But above all, my brethren do not swear, either by heaven or by earth
or with any oath; but let your yes be yes, and your no, no so that you may not
fall under judgment. James leading to this passage has talked about works
and controlling the tongue. He has expounded on things the believer should
avoid and how to resist the devil. He has given warnings concerning the misuse
of riches and much more. Then we come to this phrase “But above all” which
gives great weight to what follows. “Do not swear” the command here is not “do
not say curse words”. When we swear, by definition we are vowing that we will
do something or makes something happen. This goes beyond what we consider
making a promise which we understand to mean do everything in our power to make
it happen. But to swear by either heaven or by earth would mean somehow we had
control over such things. In passing we often say “if the Lord is willing and
the creeks don’t rise” well I am not sure about the creeks rising but the first
part is certainly truth to live by. Who are we that we can obligate heaven or
earth to anything or anyone? The teaching here is we have nothing to swear by!
Who are we? Making a vow in itself is not wrong it is even encouraged and shows
a commitment to do everything as God enables us to further expose His glory but
that is not the thrust of scripture here. Above all be humble! The notion that we somehow have authority to
swear by anything reveals pride and arrogance.
Let your yes be yes and you’re no, no… Just be
honest, a believer’s word should always be trustworthy not because of our ability
to keep it but because our words are carefully chosen and are founded solely on
the strength of Christ and not our own. James is echoing Jesus words in Matthew
5:34 But I say to you make no oath at
all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God. Matthew 5:37 but let your statement be, yes, yes or no,
no; and anything beyond these is of evil. We are being taught to be humble
and honest in what we say only obligating ourselves to the truth for we have no
other power in our lives other than God’s truth.
By seeing that God alone is sovereign we can
see the truth about ourselves. We are in no position to make an oath concerning
the things of God. And when we come to that place of humility we are changed,
we become full of faith and strength because we see Christ as our only hope and
strength in our acknowledgment of weakness we have become conquers. Romans
8:37-39 But in all these things we
overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any created thing,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
What do we believe about God?
1. In God is
all power.
2. In God is
all authority.
3. In God is
all truth and strength.
What do we believe about ourselves?
1. In our
acknowledgement of our weakness God makes us strong
Covenant Church 210 Station Rd, Wilmington, NC
28405 (910) 395-5800
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