Week 24 - Matthew 5:37

Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Jesus commands us to be TRUTHFUL.  

Truthfulness v. Deception

Truthfulness -- Earning future trust by accurately reporting past facts.  

Ephesians 4:25 says, "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body."

NIV Life Application Study Bible Footnotes:

Oaths, or vows, were common, but Jesus told his followers not to use them -- their word alone should be enough (see James 5:12).  Are you known as a person of your word?  Truthfulness seems so rare that we feel we must end our statements with "I promise."  If we tell the truth all the time, we will have less pressure to back up our words with an oath or promise.

James 5:12:  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.

Truthfulness can seem like a rarity in our society these days.  Remember our verse from Matthew 5:16, "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven"?  One of the ways we can let our lights shine is by not going along with the crowd....by being different than the world.  

We shine our lights when we are characterized by truthfulness!