The fifth chapter of James has
four divisions, four definite separating points and subjects
with which James is dealing. Number one, the first six verses,
James deals with covetousness, covetousness, and it's a serious
sin. Covetousness is serious. The Apostle calls it idolatry,
beware of covetousness which is idolatry. And he deals with
that, with greed, with the selfish use of material things. That's
what he deals with in the first six verses. And then in the next
verses 7 through 11, the subject is patience, patience especially
in time of in time of trouble, trial, and affliction. And he
has several things to say about that. And then one verse, verse
12, James talks about language which is worthy of grace, language
or talk which is salted or seasoned with grace. And then if we get
to it, the last few verses, 13 through 20, have to do with the
health of the body and of the soul, and prayer for the same. Now let's begin with verse 1,
James chapter 5, and the subject here is covetousness, greed,
selfish use of material wealth. He says, Go to now, ye rich men,
weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon I'm going
to read the Amplified version after each of these verses, which
will help us a great deal. Verse 1 in the Amplified, if
you'll listen, "...come now, ye rich people, weep aloud and
lament over the misery and the woe that shall surely," talking
about future judgment and future punishment, "...that shall surely
come upon you." Now verse 2, your riches are corrupted and
your garments are moth-eaten. Now this is what he's saying
here. Your abundant wealth has rotted and is ruined. In other
words, your estates, your houses and your land, which you've accumulated,
stand now in ruin. And all of your many garments
and clothes have become moth-eaten. You had so much, you couldn't
use it all. You had so many clothes, you
couldn't wear them out. So you built huge mansions and
you bought great farms and you laid house to house and land
to land, and the years have decayed it all. It's now corrupted. It's
now falling down. The place where you let it stand,
unused and unenjoyed, now sees it decayed and rotted and corrupted,
and your garments, which you couldn't wear and people about
you could have worn, are now moth-eaten, and they are now
corrupted. Verse 3, your gold and silver
is cankered, that is, your gold and silver are laying on the
shelf and rusted. Your gold and silver in the vaults
while people about you were needy and hungry. But it's been kept
in the vaults while the gospel was not preached. And this gold
and silver is rusted, and the rust of your gold and silver
shall be a witness against you. The rust which your possessions
have gathered while they are on the shelf and in the vaults,
unused for the glory of God and for the good of others, shall
come forth at the judgment and shall be a witness against you.
And watch this. Shall eat your flesh as it were
fire it says and it will prove to be a fire that will torment
you I Want you to turn to Luke 16 for a moment in the 16th chapter
of Luke our Lord gave a story here about a wealthy man and
About a poor man. He says in Luke 16 verse 19 There
was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine
linen. Now, this is what we've been
talking about. Come now, you rich people, with all of your
possessions and houses and land and wealth and gold and silver
and garments that you can't even wear. There was a certain rich
man clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every
day. And there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sowers and
desiring, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from
the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked
his sowers and it came to pass that the beggar died and was
carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died
and was buried. And in hell he lift up his eyes,
being in torment, and seeing Abraham afar off, and Lazarus
in his bosom, he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on
me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger
in water, and cool my tongue, I am tormented in this flame.
Now note this. But Abraham said, now here is
the application we are making. It says that your gold and silver
is rusted. You've had all these possessions,
you've accumulated them, you've built huge homes, and you've
got things stored away, unused, unappreciated, unemployed. And
you grow old, and these things are cankered, and they gather
dust and gather rust, and the rust of them is going to be a
witness against you. Whereas these things could have
been used to relieve sickness and need and distress and to
preach the gospel and could have been employed for God's glory
and other people's good, these things are going to come out
in the judgment as a witness against wealthy people. And it's
going to eat your flesh as fire. Now watch this, as our Lord's
speaking. And Abraham said, Son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime, remember this, receive good things. In fact, he received an abundance
of good things. He fared sumptuously every day. He had an abundance of good things
in his lifetime. And Lazarus, evil things. Now he's comforted and thou art
tormented. Remember, remember. I believe one of the punishments
of eternal condemnation will be to remember our failure, how
we failed to to profit by the things God gave us and fail to
use the light God gave us and to walk in the truth that God
gave us. Son, remember. Now look back at James 5. You
have heaped together, you have heaped treasure together for
the last days in your selfishness and in your greed and in your
covetousness. You've gathered all these riches
and these valuables and this gold and silver. for a rich old
age. And instead of riches, you're
going to find that you have not laid up treasures, but laid up
God's wrath, God's judgment. Now, turn with me to Luke 12,
and let's let the Lord comment on this scripture here, Luke
12, verse 15. What he's saying here is that
we've accumulated these things, we've With covetousness and greed,
rich people have accumulated all of these wealthy, all of
these valuables, all of these possessions, and they said, now
I'm going to have this for my old age. I'm going to have a
comfortable, luxurious, easy-living old age. Now listen to Luke chapter
12, verse 15. And the Lord Jesus said, take
heed and beware of covetousness. For a man's life consisteth not
in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake
a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich
man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do? Because I have no room where
to bestow my fruits. Now that question could have
immediately been answered. What shall I do? Share it. What shall I do? God has blessed
me so abundantly, what shall I do? Give it away. What shall
I do? God has supplied my needs. I
have more than I need. People around you don't have
enough. That's an easy answer, but listen to his answer. This
will I do. What shall I do? He said, this
will I do. I've got so much I can't use
it. What shall I do? This is what I'll do. I'll pull
down my barns and I'll build greater barns. There will I bestow
all my fruits and my goods and I will say to my soul, soul,
Thou hast much goods laid up for many years." Isn't that what
James just said? You have heaped treasure together
for the last days, the sunset years. You have much goods laid
up for many years. Now, take your ease, eat, drink,
and be merry. It's going to be a shady side
from here on, on the downward slope. But God said, Thy fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee, and then who
shall these things be which you have provided?" Not what God
has provided, but what you have provided. Look at verse 4 of James 5, "...behold, the hire of the laborers
who have reaped down your which is of you kept back by fraud.
I thought about Southern slavery here. I thought about the cruelty
of mine owners years back. I thought about the cruelty of
these wealthy people that work people for nothing. I thought
about all the mansions. I've been in New Jersey and saw
the Woolworth Mansion and all these other mansions and up in
the coal fields of West Virginia, those mansions built with blood
and sweat and tears of poverty-stricken miners. Behold, the horror of
the laborers who have reaped your fields, or dug your coal,
or built your homes, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth,
and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears
of the Lord of hosts." Here is what the Amplified Version says,
but look here. the wages that you've withheld
from the laborers by fraud who have worked in your fields. You
have prospered abundantly, but you work your servants for pittance,
and their cries of poverty have come to the ears of the Lord.
And verse 5, you've lived in pleasure on this earth, been
wanton You've lived in soft, prodigal living. You have lived
in luxury and self-indulgence and self-gratification while
people about you lived in want and need and poverty. You have nourished your hearts
as in a day of slaughter. You know what that's saying?
The picture here is of a farmer fattening a pig to kill him in
November. or fattening a turkey to kill
him on the day before Thanksgiving. It says here, like a beast of
the field, you have fattened yourself. You have lived in soft
luxury and prodigal wanton living in self-indulgence and self-gratification,
ignoring the needs of those about you, and you've done nothing
but fattened yourself up for the slaughter. That's what that
says. And verse 6 says, you have added
to the misery and the bitterness of the poor by withholding from
them when it was in your power to give it. And they couldn't
resist you, and they couldn't change their lot, and they couldn't
change your lot, but God can. But God can. Well, pastor, how are you going
to apply that to yourself and to us? We're not rich people. And more than that, we're not
liable to be. But there's a message here for
me, and there's a message here for you in regard to material
possessions. Because we are responsible on
a smaller scale. The very wealthy man is responsible,
and the almost wealthy man's responsible, and the comfortable
middle class is responsible, and the man who only has one
talent is responsible. We're responsible, but each on
a smaller scale. We're responsible for what God
places in our hands, in the form of possessions, in the form of
wealth. I'll show you that. Turn to Matthew 25. Now turn
over there, Matthew 25. We're responsible, and this is
what This is what Thomas Manton says. We're responsible, if we
have a gold mine or a coal mine, or if we only have a garden,
we're responsible to keep in circulation, in use, to be enjoyed,
for the glory of God, whatever God puts in our hands. It's not
to be put away to gather rust. It's not to be put away to gather,
to be cankered. It's not to be put away, and
then God calls us away, and we've let everything that he's let
come into our hands or blessed us with, instead of passing it
on as God blesses men day by day, we've shoved it off in a
ditch somewhere, in a hole or in a vault, and not used it for
God's glory. And here we are standing in a
judgment to give an account, and this rusted gold comes forth
to witness against us. Now listen to what the Lord says
in Matthew 25, verse 14. Now watch this. The kingdom of
heaven is as a man traveling into a far country who called
his servants and delivered unto them his goods. Unto one he gave
five talents, to another he gave two, to another he gave one,
to every man according to his several abilities. And then he
took his journey. He caught that several, according
to his ability. Then he that had received the
five talents went and traded with them. He kept it in circulation.
He used it as a wise steward, as a wise employee. And he made other five talents.
And likewise, he that received two, he also gained two more. But he that received one went
and digged in the earth and hid it. After a long time, the Lord
of those servants came back and reckoned with them, called them
to account. And he that had received five talents came and brought
five more, saying, Lord, you delivered unto me five talents,
and I have gained five more besides. The Lord said, Well done, thou
good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few
things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter into
the joy of thy Lord. He also that had received two
talents came and said, Lord, you delivered unto me two talents,
behold, I have gained two more. His Lord said, Well done, good
and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things,
I will make thee rule over many things, enter thou into the joy
of thy Lord. Then he which had received the one talent came
and said, Lord, I knew that you were a hard man. I knew you reaped
where you hadn't sown, you gathered where you hadn't strawed. I was
afraid. I was afraid of the present and
afraid of the future. I was a fearful man. I wasn't a man of faith.
You know, David said, I've been young and I'm old now, but I've
never seen the seed of God begging bread. But this man says, I was
afraid. I was afraid of the uncertainty
of the future. I was afraid of this. I was afraid of that. I
was afraid of the other. So I took that talent and I hid it in the
earth. And here it is. I still got it. The Lord said,
you wicked. and slothful servant. You knew
that I reaped where I sowed not. I'm sovereign. I don't have to
plant to reap, God says. I make the stones cry out. I gather where I have not strawed.
I really don't need you. But you ought therefore to have
put my money at least to the exchangers, and then when I came
back I'd have gotten the interest. Take therefore the talent away
from him, and give it to him that has ten. unto every one that hath shall
be given, and he shall have an abundance. But from him that
hath not, through his covetousness and greed shall be taken from
him what he hath." Let me show you, turn to Proverbs 24. I'll
show you a scripture, and I can say this the rest of my ministry,
I know. Here's a scripture I've never seen before. If I've seen
it, I don't remember it. But listen to this, Proverbs
fits right here, Proverbs 11, 24. There is that scattereth and
yet increaseth, and there is that withholdeth more than is
meet, at least to poverty. What's he saying? Listen. There
are those who generously scatter abroad. God blesses them, comes
in this hand, right hand takes it in, left hand gives it away.
The right hand takes it in, the left hand shares it. The right
hand takes it in, the left hand distributes it. Keep using what
God gives you. There are those who generously
scatter abroad, and yet they increase more. God just keeps
on blessing. There are those who save up more
than is fitting, and it leads to poverty. I can't explain that, but turn
to Matthew 6. Matthew 6, verse 24. I can't explain it except to
say that we are so low in faith, aren't we? We are just so practical
and not very spiritual. We claim that we live by faith,
but do we, or do we live on good judgment? We claim that God holds the future,
but don't we have a great deal to do with it too? He says in
Matthew chapter 6, listen to verse 24, no man can serve two
masters. Either he'll hate the one, love
the other, or else he'll hold to the one, despise the other.
You can't serve God in riches. Our Lord said, how hardly shall
a rich man enter the kingdom of God. You know why? Covetous,
greedy, selfish. A man just cannot take what God
gives him and store it up while others around him are doing without.
He can't do it. There's no way he can have in him the love of
God. He cannot live comfortably in self-indulgence and self-gratification
and use everything God gives him on himself. He can't do it.
The Spirit of Christ won't let him. And that's the reason Christ
said, How hardly shall a rich man enter the kingdom of God.
It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
for a rich man to enter God's kingdom. There have been wealthy believers.
Abraham was one, Job was one, Lot was one, but these are men
who continually shared. They were men whom God blessed,
but they blessed too. It wasn't a dead sea into which
the water ran and sat there, but it was a sea that was open
in both ends. It opened here to receive, it
opened that end to give, and the water stayed fresh and not
stagnant. But you can't serve God in riches.
That's what he's saying there in verse 24. Now watch verse
25. I say to you, take no thought for your life, what you shall
eat, what you shall drink, nor yet for your body what you shall
put on. The life is more than meat, and
the body is more than raiment. Look at the fowls of the air.
They sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather in barns. But
your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you much better
than they? Which of you, by taking thought,
can add one cubit to your stature? That is one day to your life.
Which of us, by taking thought, now, I'm very careful about my
health, I eat the right thing, I get the right amount of sleep,
I've got my money saved up, I've got all these valuables and precious
stones and all these things, I've got them stored up and God
killed you tomorrow. And verse 28, why take ye thought
for raiment? Look at the lilies of the field,
how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet
I say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was never arrayed
like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the
grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into
the oven, shall he not much more clothe you? O ye of little faith! Therefore take no, and the word
is, anxious thought. saying, What shall we eat, or
what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed? After these
things do the heathen seek. Your heavenly Father knows you
have need of these things, but seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness, and these things will be added to
you. What little I have or how much
I have belongs to my Father. It's not mine. And he has entrusted
me with the care of it as a servant. And I must use it wisely, and
I must use it generously, and I must use it unselfishly for
his glory and for the blessings of others. God didn't just give
me an abundance of things to make me a little more comfortable,
still more comfortable, and still more comfortable, wealthy, still
more wealthy, still wealthier. He has given me what I have that
I might distribute it, that I might share it, that I might see Not
that I move up another step, but the fellow down here comes
up another step. But in our covetousness and greed,
God opens the windows of heaven, blesses us, and we jump up 12
steps, and that fellow stays right where he is. God didn't
mean for us to do that. Turn to 1 Chronicles 29. I read this a few nights ago
in the men's meeting. I got such a blessing out of
this. This is the prayer. which Solomon offered, or rather
David offered, David's prayer of thanksgiving before Solomon
was to build the temple. This ought to be marked in all
of our Bibles. In 1 Chronicles 29, verse 10,
Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation.
1 Chronicles 29, verse 10, And David said, Blessed be thou,
Lord God of Israel, our Father, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord,
is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory
and the majesty, for all that is in the heaven and in the earth
is Thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord,
and Thou art exalted as head above all. Verse 12, look, both
riches and honor come of Thee. God might enrich me more next
year. He might honor me ten times more
five years from now. But I'm sure the possibility
will be based a whole lot on how much I can be trusted with,
how much honor or riches. And perhaps it will be based
a whole lot on what I do with it, according to their several
ability. Isn't that what he said a while
ago? But it all comes from him. And thou reignest over all, verse
12, and in thy hand is power and might, and in thy hand it
is to make great. and to give strength to all.
Now, therefore, O God our Lord, we pray thee and praise thy glorious
name. But look at verse 14, But who am I, and what is my people,
that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort?
For all things come of thee," and watch this next line, "...and
of thine own have we given thee." I haven't given God anything.
Not a thing. I've just given him what's his
already. For we're strangers before thee,
and sojourners as were our fathers. Our days on the earth are like
a shadow. Nobody's going to be abiding there long. O Lord, our
God, all this store that we've prepared to build thee in house,
for thy holy name cometh of thy hand, and it's all thine. And it's all thine own. I know also, my God, that thou
triest the heart. God looks on the heart. Thou
hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness
of my heart, I've offered, I've willingly offered these things,
and now I've seen with joy thy people which are present here
to offer willingly unto thee." We could camp there a long time,
couldn't we? But that's what we, in verses
1 through 6, Beware of covetousness. Beware of setting your affections
on things below. Accumulation. Improper use of
that which God has entrusted you with. Using it all for yourself. Self-gratification. Self-indulgence. Luxurious living. The example which our Lord, who
was rich for our sakes, became poor, that we through his poverty
might become rich. All right, verse 7. The next
few verses are patience unto suffering. Now be patient, therefore,
brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Here's what he's saying.
You who feel that you've been afflicted and mistreated and
you suffer under the hand of an oppressor, And we all encounter
that. You suffer under the hand of
an oppressor, persecutor. Do not seek vengeance. Do not
murmur against the providence of the Lord. What he's saying
here is be patient in trial, be patient in suffering, and
leave payday to the Lord who's soon coming. That's what he's
saying. Vengeance is mine, God said. God is going to call to account
every one of us. Every one of us should give an
account of himself before the judgment seat of Christ. That's
what scripture says. Each man is going to be judged.
So you don't try to judge. You be patient under whatever
trial comes your way unto the coming of the Lord. And here
are some examples. He said, like the farmer, the husbandman who
plows and plants and waits for the rain. And between the early
rain and the latter rain, between the sowing of the seed and the
harvest, there's a considerable time, a time of waiting, a time
of patience. Wait on the Lord. That's the
most difficult thing I've had to learn in all my life, to be
still and know that I'm God, is to wait on God, be patient
unto the coming of the Lord. Consider the farmer who plants
the seed. and who waits for the precious
fruit of the ground, and he has long patience, he waits for the
early and latter rain. Verse 8, Be ye also patient. Now watch this. Establish your
heart. In other words, the word of God
will establish and strengthen your heart, the promises of Christ. While you are waiting on the
Lord and while you are patiently bearing whatever trial has come
your way, while you are not murmuring against his providence, go to
the Word, seek the fellowship of God's people, seek the counsel
of God's leaders, and strengthen your heart. You see what he's
saying there? He tells us to be patient unto
the coming of the Lord and to wait patiently like a farmer
waits on the harvest, but while we're waiting we can be engaged
in that which will strengthen our hearts and establish our
hearts. That's what service is like. It's a good part to edify
one another and to comfort one another and to strengthen one
another. The promises of Christ will establish our hearts. For
the coming of the Lord groweth nigh. And watch verse 9. Grudge
not one against another. Don't complain against one another.
And this is something that ought to be insisted upon by every
one of us. Now here we are in a congregation
We have different ages. We have different educational
backgrounds. We have different nationalities. We have so many different things,
personalities. And our homes, we come from different
sections of the country, all of these different things. And
we need to be, and you have different backgrounds materially. and socially
and all of these other things. And we are to be as a family
in Christ, not to criticize one another and to find fault with
one another and to judge one another and complain against
one another. He says here, don't set yourself up as a judge of
another person, lest you be judged yourself. That's what he's saying
in verse 9. Grudge not, groan not, grieve not, complain not
one against another, lest you be condemned. Behold, the judge is before the
door, the judge of all judges. You're not the judge. The judge
of all the earth is at the door. He'll be the judge. I said Wednesday
night a week ago, we should not say anything about a friend or
a loved one or a member of the church that we wouldn't say if
he is sitting right there beside us. The tongue is so deadly,
it's such a poison, it's set on fire with hell, and our sharp
tongues have divided more friends and divided churches and divided
homes and divided loved ones, and let's don't let our tongues
be used as an instrument of hell and in the hand of Satan to disturb
the kingdom of God. It's a horrible thing to think
that such a little instrument can do so much damage. And the
very best rule that I can associate with this tongue is, when it
speaks, let it speak for the glory of God and for the comfort
of others. And if I've got something to
say about someone, say it, if I don't mind saying it and him
sitting right before me. But don't say it this way, now
don't tell so-and-so. You're fixing to sin when you
preface any remark with that. If it cannot be spoken for the
glory of God, or for the good of the hearer, or for the good
of the one about whom we are conversing, just don't say it. Criticize not one another, judge
not one another, lest you be condemned. The judgment is going
to fall, not upon the brother that we are criticizing, but
upon us. You know what somebody said to me one time, I think
this is so good, it was such a good lesson for me. A man's character is not what
others say about him, but what he says about others. Now you
think about that a minute. A man's character, a woman's
character is determined not by what others say about her, but
her character or his character is determined by what he or she
says about others. Take my brethren, verse 10, the
prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example
of suffering, affliction, and patience. Look at some of the
prophets who have suffered. These men were gifted men. These
men were honored of God. These men were used of God, and
yet they suffered affliction. They endured patiently all of
this suffering and trial. Take them for an example. In
verse 11, Behold, we count them happy which endure. You've heard
of the patience of Job and you saw how God blessed him, you
saw the end. God gave him twice what he had
before. The Lord is very pitiful and
he's of tender mercy. I've got time for one other division,
verse 12. I looked at this a long time,
and let's look at it together a minute. Above all things, my
brethren, swear not. neither by heaven, neither by
earth, neither by any other oath, but let your yea be yea, and
your nay nay, lest you fall into condemnation." In Church history there have
been some groups, I think the Quakers were one, who under no
circumstances would they take any kind of oath, and that was
because of this one verse. I think it was two of the Anabaptists,
too. In other words, they wouldn't
go in a courtroom and put a hand on the Bible and required to
tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. They
wouldn't, as the President of the United States, take an oath
to uphold the Constitution because of this one verse right here.
But I did a little looking into this thing today, and I find
that the opinion, and I can say opinion, of the best, Manton,
Gill, James, several of these writers that I looked into, and
the belief of the through the years is there is a form of swearing
that is permissible. There is a form of swearing that
is not permissible. Now, briefly, the form of swearing
which is permissible, here's some scripture, let's look at
it a minute. In Deuteronomy 6, verse 13, and let's ask God for
wisdom on this. Now, you don't know and I don't
either, we'll have to go to the Bible, and I don't want to follow just
tradition for tradition's sake. people make a fool of themselves
just for tradition's sake, and they don't check the Bible. But
Deuteronomy 6, verse 13 says, Thou shalt fear the Lord thy
God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. And Deuteronomy
10, verse 20, Thou shalt fear the Lord thy Him shalt thou serve, and to
him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name." Now, Isaiah 65,
let's look at a couple more scriptures. This is an area where there have
been some issues. Let's find out what it's saying.
Isaiah 65-1. Isaiah 65-16, it is. That he who blessed himself in
the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth. And he that
sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth." Now, Elijah
took an oath before God, and he used the name of God with a solemn declaration. Turn
to 1 Kings 17, and I'll show you that. And Elijah the Tishbite, who
was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, Now listen, As
the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, it shall
not be dune or rain these years, but according to my word. That's
an oath. As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand,
it's not going to rain till I say so. Apostle Paul took an oath,
he swore by the name of the Lord, Galatians, turn to Galatians
1, and I could give you a lot more illustration, we just don't
have the time, Galatians 1.20. Now listen to Paul, Galatians
1.20, Now the things which I write to you, behold, before God I
lie not. Before God I lie not. Now 2nd
Corinthians 1.23, just back a few pages, 2nd Corinthians 1.23,
listen to Paul again, 2nd Corinthians 1.23, Moreover I call God for
a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto
Corinth. And how many times did Paul say,
God is my witness, God is my witness, God is my witness. All right, then there's certainly
a form of swearing that's permissible. There's nothing wrong. Now, here's
what the old-timers have come to this conclusion. There's nothing
wrong with a solemn declaration, a solemn declaration that is for the glory of God and the affirmation of his purpose
and his word. Now, you'll find that when I
quoted Elijah and Paul and these other men. This oath, this declaration,
was solemn. In other words, Elijah was standing
before the people, the congregation of Israel, or the people of that
day, and he was saying, this is serious, this is solemn. And
this is according to the will of God, before God. As sure as
God lives, before whom I stand, this is so. And that's what Paul
is saying. Paul said, he said, shall we
sin that grace may abound? God forbid. That's solemn. That's for the glory of God.
That's according to the purpose of God. That's a solemn declaration.
And I feel that the man who's standing before the Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court about to take the oath of office to lead
the nation, the whole nation, the greatest, highest office
in the world, should certainly, before God, with a solemn declaration
and oath, as sure as God lives, by his providence and grace,
I will do this. And I believe when a person comes
into the court of law, I wouldn't hesitate, I've got no tradition
to uphold, I wouldn't hesitate to put my hand on the Word of
God and say, for the sake of this man's life, or whatever
crime to which I'm a witness, or giving my testimony before
a jury of my peers, As sure as there's a God in heaven, I'm
going to tell the truth if I know the truth. And there's not anything
wrong with that, as long as it can be a solemn declaration for
the glory of God according to the purpose and the affirmation
of the word of God. But here is the swearing that
James is talking about here. Swear not as a habit. I hear
people say, you know, well, I'll swear. No, no, you don't either. not as a habit, not out of passion. I swear to God, you hear people
say things like that, not out of passion, not out of anger, not just to enforce your word. I swear by heaven that I'll do
this tomorrow. That's evil, that's awful evil. Swear not at all in by habit
or passion or anger, swear not, except in those cases where a
direct appeal can be made to the living God for his sanction
and for his glory. That's what the apostles are
writing about. You just let your yea be yea, and let your nay
be nay. It doesn't need the force of
God's name. It doesn't need the force of
God's glory. The apostle is writing about
that careless, profane use of anything, the name of God, the
abode of God, the throne of God, the earth of God. Anything in
regard to God, a careless use of anything associated with the
living God is evil. But I can say to you tonight,
God is my witness. I'm trying to tell you the truth.
And I have no pains of conscience whatsoever by calling God to
be my witness. That I would keep back nothing
profitable unto you, for your good or my good, or for the glory
of God, for sure as God's my witness. Now if you come by the
study tomorrow and you say something to me and I say, sure as God's
my witness, I'll do that. I've just provoked the God of
wrath. And I'm giving that as an illustration.
I know it's permissible. We need to learn, we're just
children, we need to learn. But if an oath, there's nothing
wrong with an oath, a declaration, a solemn