Oaths, Vows, & Promises

[Paidion]

I'm not sure this is a very gracious way to explain the options

I'll state your sentence positively. I'm sure this is NOT a gracious way to explain the options. But then, Jesus, our model, was not always gracious either when He spoke important truths. He called the Pharisees a "generation of snakes" and told them that they were of their father, the devil.

I don't think taking the words of Jesus in a literal sense is necessarily "wooden" — indeed, I think the only way to "hear these words" of His "and do them" so as to be like the man who built his house on a rock, is to take them literally.

Now I know some of His words were not meant to be taken literally. For example, cutting off your hand if it causes you to stumble. But surely that is a quite different matter from letting your answer be a simple "Yes" or "No" rather than taking an oath. If He didn't mean you to take His words literally in that case, refusing to take an oath, then what DID He mean when He gave this injuction?

[mattrose]

As I said before, I think he is speaking (as is James when He makes a similar point) in a general sense. Just like there are exceptions to literal teachings like don't divorce, there are exceptions to literal teachings like don't swear. There are situations where divorce is permitted and, I think, there are situations where swearing is permitted. Now, with both issues, just because something is permitted doesn't mean one has to take advantage. I applaud the decision to take Jesus in an absolute sense in regards to swearing. I just don't think those Christians who feel their conscience is clear when making a vow or whatnot should be told that they are 'explaining away' Jesus' words. In reality, they are not necessarily trying to explain it away, they are trying to understand it in light of Scripture (the fact that God and other good characters swear all the time).

[Paidion]

Because Jesus asked His disciples not to swear oaths, we, His discipes, must not swear oaths. Jesus gave no exceptions as He did with divorce.

I don't think the fact that God swore oaths gives us licence to swear oaths. According to the Old Testament, God killed people (Gen 38:7, Ex 13:15). But that fact does not give us licence to kill people.

[mattrose]

No, I still think you are over simplifying things.

Jesus gave an exception when it comes to divorce, but we are told about the exception only in Matthew. Later, Paul describes another situation that seems to offer a second exception. So the rule is a general one. There are exceptions to nearly every rule.

So even though the passage in question may seem like an absolute statement, you must at least allow for the possibility that it is only a general rule allowing for some exceptions. And given the rest of Scripture, that'd seem to be the case. Not only did God make oaths, but He told Israel to do so. I think there is strong evidence that Paul made vows and swore as well.

Again, I am not saying you or I are wrong to never swear/take-oaths. I'm just saying it is a legitimate position to take to say that Jesus' statement was a general rule with possible exceptions. I myself would never initiate a vow, but if someone, perhaps someone who has been lied to many times, asks me to promise, I would feel free to do so for their benefit.

But I think at this point we are just going round and round. I certainly have nothing against you applying it without exception.