TITLE: KEEPING ONEÕS WORD COPYRIGHT © JANUARY 14, 1995 All rights reserved. Copyright © 01/14/'95; 01/12/Õ96 (Revised) This file, in its entirety, may be posted on or copied off of computer networks like Internet or WWW by anyone so inclined. This is an ASCII text only copy of a Macintosh MicrosoftWord5 file made for non-Macintosh folks, so it is very plain and basic in its form (footnotes, indentation and page layout). The document is 6" wide and Palatino 12 plain font in the original. So when your text only version comes up with Palatino 14, just find Select All (under File) and change it to Geneva 10, Helvetica 12 or Palatino 12 . That will smooth out the paragraphs and lines, giving you a much more readable file. By Lee Tyler P.O. Box 620763, SanDiego, CA 92162-0763 (ruth#1 lee#2) = ruth1lee2@aol.com =weekends polyboy@delphi.com = Sunday afternoon thru Thurs evening Please consider the following scriptures and principles about keeping your word. People who give their signatures, handshakes, property and etc. as oaths in promissory notes of indebtedness, or contracts or other such documented promises or predictions not only fall into the condemnation of man when they fail to fulfill their sworn promises or predictions, but they face the double condemnation of God for swearing (promising/predicting with an oath), and then for the failure to truthfully keep their promise (the covenant breaking of Rom. 1:31,32; Eph. 4:25). The God of Truth does not want His followers to suffer for doing wrong, or to keep on doing that which is wrong. It is obvious that certification of a legal document can be comprised of oaths, swearings, covenants and contracts. For example government documents requiring certification consist of at least an assertion about the future, if not a promise or prediction about the future. A Calif. Highway Patrol ticket has the statement, "Without admitting guilt, I promise to appear at the time and place checked below. Signature___________". The promise or assertion about the future is made binding by the maker's signature. In legal terms, the signature functions as an oath, making the promise/agreement binding on the maker, so the entire statement becomes a sworn statement (a solemn promise made binding by an oath). Phrases like "I promise that I will . . . .", "I agree that I will provide . . . .", "I will also cooperate . . . .", "I agree that I will inform . . . ." are all predictions or promises about one;s future behavior. When certified or signed with one's signature, the signature functions as an oath, making them binding and the maker punishable for failure to fulfill his predictions/promises. The signature, or witnessed statement, is that which (1) attests to the credibility of the predictions and promises, (2) makes the promises or predictions binding on the applicant/recipient/maker, and (3) enables the courts to punish the applicant/recipient/ maker if he fails to fulfill his words. According to almost all legal and college level dictionaries, those three characteristics of such a signature makes that signature an oath that completes and confirms the swearing (promises or predictions) that precede it. Almost all legal and college level dictionaries define swearing as promising or predicting with an oath. The government's Loyalty Oath is a perfect example, i.e. promises or predictions made with a witnessed raised right hand and/or a witnessed signature (i.e. name). So what is the Biblical case? Consider the following New testament scriptures: Matthew 5: 33 ¦ Again, you have heard that it has been said to the ancients, "You shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform your oaths to the Lord." Romans 1: 28 . . . God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do the things not right, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; [being] full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, evil habits, [becoming] whisperers, . . . covenant-breakers, . . . 32 who, knowing the righteous order of God, that those practicing such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but have pleasure in those practicing [them]. Then you have the Old Testament precedents, some from the annuled Sinai Law (Numbers & Deuteronomy), and some from the prophets that still apply to us. Consider the following: Nu 30:2 If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that comes out of his mouth. De 23:21 When you shall vow a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not wait to pay it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin in you. Psalm 15:1 LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. . . . [He that] sweareth [promises, contracts] to [his own] hurt [loss, disadvantage], and changeth not [keeps his word/promise]. . . . He that doeth these [things] shall never be moved. Eccles. 5:4 ¦ When you vow [promise] a vow [promise] to [before] God, do not wait to pay it. For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay that which you have vowed [promised]. 5 [it is] better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin; do not say before the angel that it [was] an error. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? Jon 2:9 but I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will fulfill that which I have vowed. Salvation [belongs] to the LORD! Some of the oaths people swear by are God (Gen. 24:3), one's self (Ex. 32:13), God's holiness (Amos 4:2), the raised or unraised right hand or arm (Isa. 62:8; Rev. 10:5,6), one's name (Jer. 44:26; Lev. 19:12; Deut. 6:13), something greater than you (Heb. 6:16), and a curse on one's self if what you say isn't true or if you fail to do what you swear you will do, like Peter when he swore and cursed denying Jesus (2 Sam. 3:35; 13:35; 1 Kg 2:23; Matt. 26:74). I see my signature attesting to/vouching for and guaranteeing (certifying) promises and predictions as an oath, just like swearing by my name or swearing by myself. Today the "curse" you swear on yourself if you are lying or fail to do what you promised is jail (perjury, fraud) or civil suit. The fourth century AD Church fathers Jerome, St. Ambrose and Basil all agreed with this definition of swearing (promises or predictions confirmed with one's signature, name or hand).#30 The Holy Bible in Matthew 5:33-37, James 4 and James 5:12, declares that we don't know our future, not even tomorrow or even the next hour. Therefore it is a presumptuous assertion to say that we will do this or that in our future. He tells us to recognize and admit our finite knowledge and our mortality by saying, "If the Lord wills and we live, we also shall do this or that." To make presumptuous assertions about your future is prideful boasting and contrary to His will. See James 4:13,14,15 and Prov. 27:1. This is not an attempt to be dishonest or evasive since this same God of Truth commands us to be honest, to give that which is due to others, and to conscientiously submit to the civil authorities (Romans 13 and 1 Pt. 2). While He wants us to be honest and give that which is due, he takes into consideration our human frailty, finite knowledge and mortal nature and so holds us liable only for our intent, will and expectations about the future. From James 4:13-17 & 5:12 we see that there is nothing that we can give that will honestly and absolutely attest to the credibility and fulfillment of our promises or predictions about our own future. We have absolute and perfect control or authority over not one thing. To give the recipient of such promises, oaths or predictions about our future the idea that we can be expected to perfectly and completely fulfill such statements is to give the recipient a false expectation of (and false confidence in) our fulfillment of such swearings/oaths. Such dishonesty is contrary to the Truth of the word since or life is like a vapor or a blade of grass and disasters, disabilities, incapacities, death or etc. could keep us from fulfilling our sworn oaths. Truth, Who was revealed as Christ, declares that all I can give to promises or predictions about my future is simply "If the Lord wills", or a simple "Yes", i.e. an affirmation of my will, a declaration of my intent, an expression of my expectation, an evidence of my good and honest intentions and an expression of my optimistic hope for the future fulfillment of my intentions or expectations. No oaths. Such an affirmation attests to and is confirmation of nothing but that described in this paragraph's first sentence. It is proof of my sincere desire and intention to fulfill the declaration/affirmation/intention. The recipient of such an affirmation knows that he has been given no profound absolute and mighty guarantee. Such an affirmation is a reflection of our finite, mortal and frail human nature. Laurence Geller, a Calif. Administrative Law Referee/Judge ruled against San Diego County and Calif. and for my petition, on 8/5/'75, stating: "It is the claimant's conviction that before he may affix his signature to any document, his signing must b e qualified by a religious preface such as "In case Christ wills and I live." Claimant testified that his desire to so qualify his signature is in no way an attempt or subterfuge to not meet his reporting responsibilities. Claimant simply desires the qualification so that the placing of his signature would be in conformity with his religious convictions which appear to require an affirmation of the finite nature of the claimant's existence. . . .San Diego County shall rescind its July 1, 1975 denial . . . Further, the county shall permit the claimant to sign his application and qualify his signature with the religious statement. In A Commentary on the Gospels.31 we read "The citizen of the New Kingdom . . .is also too frank and truthful to need the use of oaths; his word is his bond." In The Gospel of Matthew.32 we read the following: "Matthew 5:33-37 . . . This passage concludes with the commandment that when a man has to say yes, he should say yes, and nothing more; and when he has to say no, he should say no, and nothing more. The ideal is that a man should never need an oath to buttress or guarantee the truth of anything he may say. . . Clement of Alexandria insisted that Christian must lead such a life and demonstrate such a character that no one will ever dream of asking an oath from them. . . ." In A commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew.33 we read the following: "Since in all of life man is dealing with God, he is always obligated to complete integrity in word and act. Therefore the use of oaths is misleading; swear not at all; simply say "Yes" or "No" . . . The use of solemn-sounding oaths instead of simple, truthful speech is a concession to a double standard and comes from the Evil One, Satan, the "Father of Lies" . . . and dishonesty (Jn *:44)." In the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.34 we read the following: ". . . oaths and vows had to be kept. . . . Attempts have been made to limit ["swear not at all"] of Jesus, e.g. to promises rather than affirmations.20* . . . Hence the ["Swear not at all"] applies to all oaths, whether in daily life or in judicial cases. . . The Essenes rejected the oath unconditionally. . . Jesus does not merely attach the misuse of the oath; He rejects it altogether. . . He who already belongs to the kingdom . . . must be truthful in all things; hence he stands under the requirement not to sear at all. . . ["swear" Mt. 5:34] means to swear, to affirm (confirm) by an oath. . ." In The Gospel According to Matthew.35 we read that "Jesus would abolish oaths altogether as unnecessary for those who habitually tell the truth as his disciples are expected to do. This radical rejection of oaths is paralleled in the Damascus Document of the Dead Sea Scrolls (XIX, 1). Arndt & Gingrich Greek Lexicon render the word "swear" (Mt. 5:34) as "swear, take an oath w. acc. of the pers. or the thing by which one swears . . . warning against any and all oaths as early as Choerilus Epicus[V BC]".26 ; and the word "oath" (Mt. 5:33) as "swear to someone with an oath . . . perform oaths to the Lord . . . guarantee by means of an oath . . .".27. Thayer's Greek Lexicon renders "swear" (Mt. 5:34) as " to swear; to affirm, promise, threaten, with an oath: . . . .in swearing to call a person or thing as witness, to invoke, swear by . . ." .28 ; and renders the word "oath" (Mt. 5:33) as "an oath . . . that which has been pledged or promised with an oath; plur. vows . . .".29 That this is the definition of swearing and oaths in the Holy Bible is obvious from the following scriptures: Gen. 21:23, 24 (19th Cent. BC); Gen. 31:44, 52, 53 (18th Cent, BC); Josh. 2:12, 13, 14, 20; Josh 9:11-20 (14th Cent. BC); Judg. 21:1 (11th Cent. BC); 1 Kg 1:29,30 (10th Cent. BC); Ezek. 17:12-19 (6th Cent. BC); Luke 1:73,74,75 (1st Cent. BC); Matt. 5:34-37 & 14:7,8,9 (1st Cent. AD); Acts 7:17 (1st Cent AD); Acts 2:29-31 with 2 Sam. 7:11- 16; Heb. 3:10,11 with Num. 14; Heb. 6:13-17 with Gen. 22:16,17; Heb. 7:20,21 with Psa. 110:4; and see also Isa. 62:7; Jer. 44:6,26; Matt. 23:18; Heb. 3:18. The passages, like Mt. 26:74, where people think that it means profanity or cussing or "taking the Lord's Name in vain", i.e. that Peter was using profanity to deny that he knew Jesus, instead mean "in swearing to call a person or thing as witness, to invoke" where Peter called on God to curse him/his if what he was saying (that he didn't know Jesus) was untrue. The cursing was invoking God's curses on him if what he was affirming under oath was untrue, that he did not know Jesus. Jesus is not talking about cursing, profanity, cussing or taking the Lord's Name in vain in Matt. 5 or James 5. The vows, covenants, betrothals and prenuptial contracts seem to be covered by God's standards in the following: [Footnote: >87 See appendix #4 . >.88 See appendix #4 .] MKJV EZEKIEL 16: 3 ÒAnd say, So says the Lord Jehovah to Jerusalem, . . . 8 And I passed by you and looked on you, and, behold, your time [was] the time of love. And I spread my skirt over you and covered your nakedness. And I swore to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord Jehovah. And you became Mine.Ó MKJV MALACHI 2:14 ÒYet you say, Why? Because the LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she [is] your companion and your covenant wife. 15 And did He not make [you] one? Yet the vestige of the Spirit [is in] him. And what [of] the one? He was seeking a godly seed. Then guard your spirit, and do not act treacherously with the wife of your youth. 16 The LORD, the God of Israel, says He hates sending away; and to cover [with] violence on his garment, says the LORD of hosts. Then guard your spirit, and do not act treacherously.Ó Here "act treacherously" means " break covenant" or "fail to honor your covenant/commitment". MKJV ECCLES. 5:4 ¦Ó When you vow a vow to God, do not wait to pay it. For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay that which you have vowed. 5 [it is] better that you should not vow, than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin; do not say before the angel that it [was] an error. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? Ò MKJV PSALM 15:1 ¦ ÒA Psalm of David. LORD, who shall dwell in Your tabernacle? . . . 2 He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; . . . [he] has sworn to his hurt, and does not change it; 5. . . He who does these [things] shall not be moved forever.Ó MKJV ROMANS 1:28 ÒAnd even as they did not think fit to have God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do the things not right, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness . . . 31 . . . covenant-breakers. . . 32 who, knowing the righteous order of God, that those practicing such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but have pleasure in those practicing [them].Ó Ezekiel 16:59 ÒFor thus says the Lord Jehovah: I will even deal with you as you have done, WHO HAVE DESPISED THE OATH, AND BROKEN THE COVENANT. . . . 17: 15 But he rebelled against him . . . Shall he prosper? shall he escape that does such things? SHALL HE BREAK THE COVENANT, AND YET ESCAPE? . . . 16 [As] I live, says the Lord Jehovah, verily in the place of the king that made him king, WHOSE OATH HE DESPISED, AND WHOSE COVENANT HE BROKE, even with him, in the midst of Babylon, shall he die. . . .18 HE DESPISED THE OATH, AND BROKE THE COVENANT; and behold, he had given his hand, yet has he done all these things: he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord Jehovah: [As] I live, verily, MINE OATH WHICH HE HAS DESPISED, AND MY COVENANT WHICH HE HAS BROKEN, EVEN IT WILL I RECOMPENSE UPON HIS HEAD. 20 AND I WILL SPREAD MY NET UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL BE TAKEN IN MY SNARE; . . Ò. It is the treachery of breaking covenants that God condemns in these passages and that which he hates. "Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into covenant with you, and you became Mine," says the Lord God>70 . We become a part of the bride of Christ in the same way. The Spirit considered Mary and Joseph as husband and wife on the basis of their espousal/ betrothal/ covenants even before the wedding and the coming together>71. [Footnote: >70 (Ezek. 16:8). >71 (Mat. 1:18-25 ;Deut. 22:23-27)] Don't be a fool, be an acceptable child of God and keep your promises, covenants, swearings and oaths that are not in violation of the Word of God. #30The Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, 1954, Erdman's Publish Co.' pp. 63, 386, 248. .31 By Ronald Knox, 1952, N.Y. Shed and Ward, Imprimatur, Richard J. Cushing, Archbishop of Boston .32 Vol. 1, Barclay, Professor of Divinity at the Univ. of Glasgow, Westminister Press, 1958; p. 158 .33 Filson, Dean and Professor of N.T. lit.and Hist.; McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, Harper and Bros. Prss, 1960; p. 89 .34 edited by G. Friedrich G. Kittel, Eerdmans Publishers, 1967, Vol. 5; pp. 176ff and page 183 20* See the reference .35 Argyle, Cambridge, 1963; p.52 .26 Arndt & Gingrich Greek English Lexicon; p. 568ff .27 Arndt & Giungrich; p. 585 .28 Thayer Greek Lexicon; p. 444 .29 Thayer; p.453