Can a Christian swear an oath?

[TonyChanYT]

Matthew 5:

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all:

Jesus warned against careless, frivolous, or vain swearing. People in his time routinely abused swearing.

either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.

Note that Jesus did not say that do not swear by God.

37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

For routine matters, no need to swear. Just be honest.

Mat 26:

63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

On this occasion, Jesus did not tell the high priest not to swear. He responded to the high priest swearing.

64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

To convince the hearers of the speaker's seriousness, there are special occasions for true swearing. 2 Corinthians 1:

23 But I call on God as witness against me: it was to spare you that I did not come again to Corinth.

2 Corinthians 11:

31The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.

Galatians 1:

20 In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!

Can a Christian swear an oath?

Yes, swearing before a judge is okay. A marriage vow is okay.

 

[Randy Kluth]

Matthew 5:


Jesus warned against careless, frivolous, or vain swearing. People in his time routinely abused swearing.


Note that Jesus did not say that do not swear by God.


For routine matters, no need to swear. Just be honest.

Mat 26:


On this occasion, Jesus did not tell the high priest not to swear. He responded to the high priest swearing.


To convince the hearers of the speaker's seriousness, there are special occasions for true swearing. 2 Corinthians 1:


2 Corinthians 11:


Galatians 1:


Can a Christian swear an oath?

Yes, swearing before a judge is okay. A marriage vow is okay.

I've had years of trouble with this one. My feeling is that it is the "oath" that makes the vow bad--not taking the vow itself. When we take an "oath" we are assuming that we have the power to produce our own righteousness, to make our own compliance something that pleases God.

We will only ever please God when we conform to His word. If we take a vow, we will only please God in His acceptance of our promise. And He alone is able to sustain us in the performance of that promise in a spiritual way.

It is, however, dangerous to promise things that we ultimately cannot deliver on. God will destroy the structure we've erected. If we plan to build a tower, ensure it is not too high!