This past Sunday, we examined Jesus’ teaching on truthfulness in Matthew 5:33-37, where He calls His disciples to a righteousness that exceeds mere outward rule-keeping. The Pharisees had developed an elaborate system of oath-taking that allowed them to appear truthful while creating loopholes for dishonesty. They distinguished between oaths made directly in God’s name, which they considered binding, and oaths made by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or other sacred objects, which they believed could be broken without consequence (see Matthew 23:16-22). Jesus exposes this entire system as an attempt to manipulate the truth while maintaining an appearance of righteousness.
The heart of Jesus’ teaching is not primarily about the words we use when making promises but about the condition of our hearts. Because heaven is God’s throne, the earth is His footstool, Jerusalem is the city of the great King, and even our own lives belong to Him, every word we speak is spoken before God. There is no such thing as “safe” or “less binding” speech. Every conversation takes place in God’s presence.
Two important questions often arise from this text. First, does Jesus forbid all oath-taking? Is He saying Christians should never swear an oath, make a vow, or give a solemn promise? Second, are there any circumstances in which it would be morally permissible to lie? Is it ever acceptable to “bend the truth”?
At first glance, Jesus’ words seem absolute: “Do not take an oath at all” (Matthew 5:34). Does this mean Christians should never swear an oath, even in a courtroom or when taking public office?
I do not believe that is Jesus’ point. Throughout Scripture, we find instances where oath-taking is not only permitted but even commanded. Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20 instruct God’s people to swear by His name. The apostle Paul repeatedly calls God as his witness (Romans 1:9; 2 Corinthians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:5, 10), and Hebrews 6:13-18 reminds us that God Himself confirmed His promises with an oath. Furthermore, Jesus did not object when the high priest placed Him under oath during His trial (Matthew 26:63-64).
So what is Jesus condemning? He is confronting the manipulative system of oath-taking developed by the Pharisees. They had created a hierarchy of promises. If someone swore directly by God’s name, the oath was binding. But if they swore by heaven, the earth, Jerusalem, or some other sacred object, they believed they had found a loophole that allowed them to escape accountability. Jesus exposes that entire system as hypocrisy.
Why? Because everything ultimately belongs to God. Heaven is His throne. The earth is His footstool. Jerusalem is His city. Even your own head is not yours to control. There is no oath that somehow avoids God’s presence or His authority. The deeper issue is not the wording of an oath but the integrity of the person making it.
This raises an important question for us today. Why do we often feel the need to say, “I promise,” “Honestly,” or “I swear I’m telling the truth”? Frequently, those phrases reveal a deeper problem. They suggest that our ordinary words may not always be trusted. Jesus calls His followers to something far greater: a life of consistent honesty where a simple “yes” or “no” is sufficient because our character has already established our credibility.
The better goal is to become the kind of person whose character makes such assurances unnecessary. Jesus is calling us to cultivate such honesty and consistency that our simple “yes” and “no” are enough.
The second question is more difficult. Scripture clearly teaches that God is truth, and His people are to reflect His character. Satan is called “the father of lies” (John 8:44), and Christians are repeatedly commanded to put away falsehood (Colossians 3:9). Truthfulness is a fundamental mark of God’s kingdom.
Yet we also encounter situations that force us to think carefully. Is it ever morally permissible for Christians to deceive someone? Is it ever right to conceal the truth? These were questions several people asked me after Sunday’s sermon that I simply did not have time to address.
I once knew someone who placed a home security sticker on the front door to ward off potential burglars, even though no security system had been installed. Was that sinful deception? Is an undercover police officer sinning by concealing his identity? Is military camouflage immoral because it intentionally misleads the enemy? What about parents who keep the destination of a surprise birthday party secret from their child?
Interestingly, the Bible itself presents similar situations.
In Exodus 1, the Hebrew midwives refused Pharaoh’s command to kill the Hebrew baby boys and then misled him in order to preserve innocent life. We read in Exodus 1:17-21:
“But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you done this, and let the male children live?’ The midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.’ So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.”
Notice that the Hebrew midwives gave Pharaoh an explanation that concealed the truth in order to protect innocent lives. More importantly, the text explicitly commends them for fearing God, and God blessed them for it.
Likewise, in Joshua 2, Rahab hid the Israelite spies and deliberately deceived the king’s soldiers. Far from condemning her actions, the New Testament commends her faith in both Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25. In many ways, her actions resemble those of individuals who hid Jews during World War II in order to protect them from the Nazis.
Other passages raise similar questions as well (see 2 Kings 6:18-20 and 2 Samuel 5:22-25).
These passages suggest an important distinction. Faithful Christians have differed on this question throughout church history, and I recognize that not every evangelical ethicist would agree with the conclusion I am about to draw. Nevertheless, I believe the best way to understand these passages is this: not every act of deception is necessarily a lie in the biblical sense.
I believe a lie is intentionally deceiving someone who has a moral right to know the truth. There are extraordinary situations in which evil people have forfeited that right. A murderer searching for his victim, or an enemy army seeking to destroy lives has no moral claim upon information that would enable evil to succeed. As theologian John Frame writes, “We have no obligation to tell the truth to people who, for example, seek innocent life.”
Those situations, however, are the exception, not the rule. Friend, if your primary interest is finding the exceptions that permit lying, you probably have a bigger problem. Most of us are not tempted to lie in order to protect innocent life. We are tempted to lie to protect ourselves. We exaggerate to make ourselves look better. We shade the truth to avoid embarrassment. We hide facts to escape consequences. We make excuses instead of confessing our sin.
Wayne Grudem offers two helpful modern examples in his book Christian Ethics. First, he discusses plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting another person’s words or ideas as though they were your own. Even if every sentence is factually accurate, the claim of authorship is false. It is, therefore, a form of lying.
Second, Grudem mentions punctuality. That may surprise us. Some people are habitually late. While constant tardiness is certainly not equivalent to murder, Grudem argues that it is nevertheless a matter of truthfulness. If you tell someone you will meet them at Starbucks at 11:00 a.m. but make no reasonable effort to keep your word, your actions communicate something false. Your words and your actions no longer agree. While unexpected circumstances arise for all of us, habitual lateness can become a subtle form of deception because it undermines our trustworthiness.
The point of Matthew 5 is not to help us search for exceptions. It is to shape us into people of integrity. The citizens of Jesus’ kingdom should be known for truthfulness in every area of life because they belong to the God of truth. Our words should be dependable, our promises reliable, and our character so consistent that others know they can trust what we say. That is the kind of righteousness Jesus is after: not merely truthful speech, but truthful people.
