Text : Matthew
5:33-37
Title : Just Do
It!
Speaker : Jhun
Balanon
I. INTRODUCTION
A. The
Unrighteous Righteousness
·
The whole chapter 5 up to the 18th
verse of chapter 6 evolves in deadly legalistic system of the religion of Jews
and summed up in chapter 5 verse 20 “Your righteousness is not enough for you
to enter to God’s Kingdom
·
The righteousness you have gained through
observing the law will destroy you
B. The
Unjustifiable Requirements
·
In order to attain righteousness one must
observe the Law
·
But the standard basis is so high and it is now impossible
for them to attain that righteousness and they must do something
·
They lowered the standard of the law
(unjustifiable requirement) so that they can observe them and attain what they
want: A righteousness that will poison their whole being and will lead to their
damnation soon
C. The Unmerited
Reprieve
·
They missed the whole point of the law
·
The law was given in order for them to see
themselves in the helpless and hopeless condition
·
And in order to look for the solution for this
great tragedy of their souls
·
And this solution is the one who has a power to
take them out of this curse of sin
·
And Jesus is the one who has the power to make
it happen
·
He is also the one who can give righteousness
that will make them enter into God’s Kingdom
D. The Unveiled
Reality
·
Jesus unveiled the reality of the sinfulness of
the heart
·
The self-righteous will say “I am not a
murderer” but Jesus will reply “You are a murderer because your heart is full of anger and hatred
towards others”
·
The self-righteous will say “I am not an
adulterer” but Jesus will reply “You are an adulterer because your heart is full of lust and not only that
you push them to commit also a sin of adultery”
·
The self-righteous will say “I am not an oath
breaker” but Jesus will reply “You are an oath breaker because your heart is full of lies”
II. BODY
Note : This
message is all about the INTEGRITY OF THE LAST WORD
A. The Definition
·
OATH
from the Greek word “Horkos” carries the idea of binding to something so that your word is
then strengthened in the affirmation of invoking God to attest to the validity
of your word.
o Those
who take oath taking are bind to their oath
§ Professionals
like nurse, doctor, teacher
§ Those
who will tell something in the court
·
Oath
is categorized in to two
o Vow – oath to the Lord
o Promise – oath to a person
B. The Reverse
Priority
·
The Priority of the Jews in Terms of Oath
o Jews
prioritized their oath to the Lord rather than their oath to men
o They
may break their oath to someone else but not to God
§ Matthew
15:5 tells about violating the fifth commandment for the sake of their oath to
the Lord
·
The Priority of the People Today in Terms of
Oath
o People
today prioritized their oath to people rather than God
o They
may break their oath to God but not to someone else especially the one who
favoured them before.
C. The 3 Main
Focus of the Message
1) The Actual
Principles of Swearing
·
It is not a law but principle
o Notice
that there is no footnote in your study Bible compare with others (v.21, 27,
31, 38 and 43)
o But
the principles of swearing can be seen throughout the Scriptures
§ Covenants,
the servant of Abraham, Joshua, Spies and Rahab, Jephthah
·
The Principles
·
The Application
o When
making a vow by testifying in the court man must tell the truth
o When
making a vow during the marriage it must be kept
2) The Abuse of
Principles of Swearing
·
Hypocrisy – Do not break your oath but keep your
the oaths you have made to the Lord
It sounds
being faithful to God by keeping the oath but neglect the other (Matthew 15:5)
o The
Pharisees’ Assertion
§ The
Pharisees were saying “we are keeping our oath to the Lord.”
o The
Pharisees’ Approval
·
Blasphemy – But I tell you do not swear at
all...
Any vow whether by God’s name or not
still it is in God’s name (Leviticus 5:4)
o Shortsighted
View of Swearing
§ Someone
who swore not to God’s name and then breaks his vow and tell to himself “Anyway
I did not swear by God’s name” is short sighted.
o Shallow
View of Swearing
§ Shallow
view of swearing will lead to blasphemy
3) The Advices
about Principles of Swearing
·
Swear
Suitably (v.34)
o Do
not make it routine of your life and do it in a very special and important
situation
o Because
God is always included in any vows and promises
·
Think
Thoroughly (36)
o In
swearing thoughtlessly you are still held responsible for it
·
Act
Accordingly (37)
o Just
do common things not in the swearing manner.
FOR GOD'S GLORY
November 13, 2011
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