Craig Blomberg: palabra de honor

“Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ Otherwise you will be condemned.” (James 5:12 TNIV)

 

"The passage in James 5 is a quotation from the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:37). The context in both cases is about taking oaths (not about cussing). The point is not so much a prohibition, as our Quaker and Mennonite friends have often thought, against solemnly swearing in a lawcourt that something is true, but rather against the notion that certain kinds of oaths are less binding than others (see Matt. 5:33-36). If that was the problem afflicting some of the Pharisees, Jesus explains, then don’t use oaths at all. Just be so trustworthy that if you say you will do something, then you will do it...

"...James and Jesus teach is that if we promise to do something and have it within our power to carry it out, then we are to do it, period. End of discussion. Become known as somebody so trustworthy that you don’t even need to shake hands, much less sign a contract. People know you’re a person of your word. And it’s striking how strongly they phrase the alternative: In James: “otherwise you will be condemned.” In Matthew: “anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Ouch!"

Craig Blomberg

Are You a Person of Your Word?

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Matthew Henry: Sin's Aggravating Factors

Factors that make our sins
"MORE HEINOUS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD, AND MORE DANGEROUS TO OURSELVES"
 
1. The more knowledge we have of good and evil, the greater is our sin

2. The greater profession we have made of religion, the greater hath been our sin

3. The more mercies we have received from God, the greater has been our sin.

4. The fairer warning we have had from the word of God, and our consciences, concerning our danger of sin, the greater is the sin if we go on in it.

5. The greater afflictions we have under for sin, the greater is the sin if we go on in it.

6. The more vows and promises we have made of better obedience, the greater has our sin been.

Matthew Henry

A Method For Prayer

cited in The Devoted Life

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