James 5:12 seems to stand on its own
in this book. In the Bible it is placed under the same heading as the passage
we discussed in our previous message about waiting on the Lord even if things
get tough. Yet it seems to be in context with the passage following as well. It
reads: “Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or
by earth or by anything else. Let your ‘Yes’ be yes, and your ‘No,’ no, or you
will be condemned.”
If we look at the previous passage,
waiting on the Lord demands faith and patience. If a person lacks either of
these, responding to the sinful nature comes naturally. The sinful nature
desires to impress others and will therefore resort to all kinds of human
methods and arguments to uphold itself. Waiting on the Lord (or walking by the
Spirit) on the other hand involves a calm assurance that we do not need to
impress or uphold ourselves for the Lord looks after us and, since we know this,
we just wait for Him to act.
Swearing (making vows) is a carnal
way of reassuring others of our credibility or integrity, whilst our actual
credibility, when we walk by the Spirit, is the Lord’s verification of whom we
are or what we say. We therefore have nothing to prove if we rely on the Lord.
He will affirm our integrity, even if we have been wrong and messed up our own
credibility and integrity. Abraham is a wonderful example of this. When Abraham
deceived Abimelech into believing that Sarah is his sister and withheld the
fact that she is his wife, the Lord did not punish Abraham when Abimelech took
her, but threatened to punish Abimelech if he did not repent (Genesis 20 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis%2020&version=NIV1984). To the Lord Abraham
was His prophet, regardless of what Abraham had done and He was loyal to
Abraham.
In the same way, if we have a heart
after God by following His ways, we do not need to fight and swear and take our
own stand. We simply need to call on the Lord, standing on His promises such as
those in Psalm 91 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2091&version=NIV1984.
If we live our lives with the right
attitude and intentions, making every attempt to abide by Biblical instructions
and commands, there is no need to swear, for in our hearts would be no
deception or corruption and the Lord would verify what we say. Therefore our ‘yes’
and ‘no’ would be sufficient. When officials require of us to swear on the
Bible, we as Christians, in obedience to the Lord’s instruction, should refuse
and demand to ‘solemnly declare’ instead. This is to God’s glory.
If we look at this verse in the
context of the passage following it, one could put the word ‘rather’ in-between
verses thirteen and fourteen. James 5:14-16: “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let
him sing songs of praise. Is
any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him
and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make
the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be
forgiven. Therefore
confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be
healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
There is no need to defend ourselves
by swearing, even if we were wrong. The Lord looks at the heart and His purpose
for us, and even if we suffer much under the temptation and sin of the sinful
nature and repeatedly stumble, the Lord will forgive us every time we call on
His name and will loyally protect us according to His promises. “But he said to
me, “My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will
boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest
on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight
in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
when I am weak, then I am strong,” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
Lord, please help me to rely on you.
Thank you Lord that your Word went
out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you
empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which
you sent it.
Please pass this on if you think others may
benefit by it.
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