Jesus Forbids Oaths

Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

SUMMARY: While the law demanded that people keep their vows and forbade swearing falsely, Christians must not swear at all; they must always speak the truth. This command should be followed literally. Before his martyrdom, Polycarp was urged to swear by the fortune of Caesar. But the great king is the one king and lord, the father of all. Those who dye their hair do dishonor the word of the Lord. You cannot make one hair white or black. Light is light, and darkness is darkness. Yes is yes, and no is no. Let there be no oath in anything. He will guard the truth everywhere. Irenaeus: Jesus commanded Christians not only not to swear falsely, but not even to swear at all.

IRENAEUS: Irenaeus, and, it has been said, do not forswear yourself. But I say to you, do not swear at all; instead, let what you say be yes, yes, and no, no.

TATIAN: you have also heard that it was said to the people long ago, "Do not lie, but keep your oaths to God." But I say to you, do not swear at all. Do not swear by heaven because it is God's throne. Do not swear by the earth because it is a footstool under His feet. Do not swear by Jerusalem because it is the city of the great king. Do not swear by your head because you cannot make even one hair on it black or white. But let your word be either yes or no. Anything more than this comes from the evil one.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: A man whose character has been tested in this kind of godliness is not likely to lie or to swear. An oath is a firm statement that uses God's name. How can someone who is faithful show himself unfaithful so that he would need an oath? And why would his whole life not be a sure and firm oath? He lives and walks in a steady way. He shows that his words can be trusted by a steady and sure life and speech. And if the wrong is in the judgment of the one who does and says something, and not in the suffering of the one who has been wronged, then he will not lie or commit perjury in a way that would wrong God. He knows that God, by nature, cannot be harmed. He also will not lie or commit any sin for the sake of his neighbor, whom he has learned to love, even if he is not close friends with that person. Even more, he will not lie or perjure himself for his own sake. He can never, by his own choice, be found doing wrong to himself. But he does not even swear. He would rather confirm things by saying yes when he agrees, and no when he denies. To swear is to take an oath, or to bring something out of the mind as a confirmation in the form of an oath. So, for him, it is enough to add to what he says, "I say truly." He says this to confirm his words for people who do not recognize how certain his answer is. I think he should live in a way that makes outsiders trust him, so that no one would even ask him for an oath. And toward himself, and toward those he spends time with, he should keep good will. This good will is chosen righteousness. The Christian swears truly but is not likely to swear. He rarely uses an oath, just as we have said. And when he speaks truth under oath, it comes from his agreement with the truth. So, speaking truth under oath is found to come from doing duties correctly. Then where is the need for an oath for someone who lives by the highest level of truth? The one who does not even swear will be far from perjury. And the one who does not break what has been confirmed by agreements will never swear. The proof of breaking an agreement or keeping it is shown by actions. In the same way, lying and perjury in statements and in swearing are against duty. But the one who lives justly and breaks none of his duties, when the standard of truth is examined, swears truth by his actions. So, in his case, spoken testimony is unnecessary. Therefore, he is always convinced that God is everywhere. He is not afraid to speak the truth. He knows it is unworthy of him to lie. So he is satisfied with God's awareness and his own alone. And so he does not lie, and he does nothing at all against his agreements. And so he does not swear, even when someone asks him for an oath. He also never denies in a way that would speak a lie, even if he should die under torture.

CYPRIAN: Cyprian. We must not swear. In Solomon: "A man who swears a lot will be filled with sin, and the plague will not leave his house; and if he swears in a useless way, he will not be made right." On this same subject, according to Matthew: "Again, you have heard that it was said to people long ago, 'Do not swear falsely, but keep your oaths to the Lord.' I say to you, do not swear at all: not by heaven, because it is God's throne; not by the earth, because it is His footstool; not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let what you say be: 'Yes, yes,' or 'No, no.' Anything more than this comes from evil." The Didache: "You shall not swear falsely. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not speak evil. You shall not hold a grudge."

POLYCARP: Now, as Polycarp was entering the stadium, a voice came to him from heaven. It said, "Be strong and show yourself a man, O Polycarp." No one saw who it was that spoke to him, but those of our brothers and sisters who were there heard the voice. As he was brought forward, the crowd noise became very loud when they heard that Polycarp had been arrested. When he came near, the proconsul asked him if he was Polycarp. When he admitted that he was, the proconsul tried to persuade him to deny Christ. He said, "Have respect for your old age," and other similar things, as was their custom. He said things like, "Swear by the fortune of Caesar, repent, and say, 'Away with the atheists.'" But Polycarp stared firmly at the whole crowd of wicked pagans in the stadium. He waved his hand toward them. While groaning, he looked up to heaven and said, "Away with the atheists." Then the proconsul kept pushing him and said, "Swear, and I will set you free. Insult Christ." Polycarp said, "Eighty-six years I have served him, and he has never done me any wrong. So how can I blaspheme my king and my savior?" The proconsul pressed him again and said, "Swear by the fortune of Caesar." Polycarp answered, "Since you are urgently insisting, as you say, that I should swear by the fortune of Caesar, and you act as if you do not know who and what I am, listen as I speak boldly. I am a Christian. And if you want to learn what the teachings of Christianity are, set a day for me, and you will hear them." The proconsul replied, "Persuade the people." But Polycarp said, "I thought it was right to explain my faith to you. We are taught to give all proper honor, which does not harm us, to the powers and authorities that are appointed by God. But as for these people, I do not consider them worthy of receiving any explanation from me."

HERMAS: Again he said to me, "Love the truth; let nothing but truth come from your mouth. Then the spirit that God has placed in your flesh may be found truthful before all people, and the Lord who lives in you will be honored, because the Lord is truthful in every word, and in Him there is no falsehood. Therefore, those who lie deny the Lord; they rob Him, because they do not give back to Him the deposit they received, for they received from Him a spirit free from falsehood. If they give back this spirit as untruthful, they stain the commandment of the Lord and become robbers." When I heard these words, I wept very hard. When he saw me weeping, he said to me, "Why do you weep?" And I said, "Because, sir, I do not know if I can be saved." "Why?" he said. And I said, "Because, sir, I have never spoken a true word in my life; I have always spoken in a tricky way to everyone. I have claimed that a lie was the truth to everyone, and no one ever argued with me, but people believed my word. How then can I live, since I have acted like this?" And he said to me, "Your feelings are truly right and sound. As a servant of God, you should have walked in truth; you should not have joined an evil conscience with the spirit of truth; you also should not have caused sadness to the holy and true Spirit." And I said to him, "Never, sir, have I listened to these words with so much attention." And he said to me, "Now you hear them, and keep them. Then even the falsehoods you use to tell in your dealings may come to be believed, because your present statements are truthful. For even they can become worthy of trust. If you keep these teachings, and from now on you speak nothing but the truth, it will be possible for you to receive life. And whoever hears this commandment and turns away from that great wickedness (falsehood) will live to God."

JUSTIN MARTYR: And about our not swearing at all and always speaking the truth, he commanded this: Do not swear at all; instead, let your yes be yes and your no be no, for whatever is more than these comes from evil.

IRENAEUS: Irenaeus. No doubt if anyone is unwilling to follow the Gospel itself, it is in his power to reject it. But it is not wise. It is in man's power to disobey God and to give up what is good. But that kind of behavior brings a great deal of harm and trouble. Because of this, Paul says, "All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient." He is talking about both the freedom of man. In that sense, all things are lawful because God forces no one. And by saying "not expedient," Paul shows that we should not use our liberty as a cloak of maliciousness, because this is not wise. And again he says, "Every man speak truth with his neighbor," and "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor vulgarity, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks." And "For you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord. Walk honestly as children of the light, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in anger and jealousy. And such were some of you. But you have been washed, but you have been sanctified in the name of our Lord." If it were not in our power to do these things or not do them, then why would the Apostle, and even more the Lord himself, give us advice to do some things and to avoid others? But because man has had free will from the beginning, and God has free will, and man was created in God's likeness, advice is always given to him to hold on tightly to what is good. This is done by obeying God.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Anyone who sells or buys anything should not name two prices for what they buy or sell; instead, they should state the final price and work to speak the truth. If they do not get their price, they get the truth, and they are rich because they possess righteousness. But above all, keep an oath about what is being sold far from you, and let swearing about other things be banned too.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. I will not speak about false swearing, because even swearing is not lawful.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Christ commands that there must be no swearing.

ORIGEN: ORIGEN. And about the commands given in the Gospels, there is no doubt that many of them should be obeyed in a literal way. For example, when our Lord says, "But I say to you, do not swear at all."

ORIGEN: When this oath is required of us, let us remember the one who taught us: "But I say to you, swear not at all."

CYPRIAN: You are forced to curse, which God's law forbids. You are forced to swear an oath which is not lawful.

IRENAEUS: Irenaeus. Listen to him when he says, "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who made a marriage feast for his son. He sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage. When they would not obey, he goes on to say, 'Again, he sent other servants, saying, "Tell those who are invited, "Come, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and all the fattened calves are killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding."' But they did not take it seriously and went their way, some to their farm and others to their business. But the rest seized his servants. Some they treated shamefully, and others they killed. But when the king heard this, he was angry. He sent his armies, destroyed these murderers, and burned up their city. Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is indeed ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go out into the highways, and as many as you find, gather in to the marriage." So the servants went out and gathered as many as they found, both bad and good, and the wedding was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing a wedding garment. He said to him, "Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?" But the man had nothing to say. Then the king said to his servants, "Take him away, hands and feet, and throw him into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen." Now, by these words, does the Lord clearly show that there is one King and Lord, the Father of all. About him, he had previously said, "Do not swear by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King." He also shows that from the beginning the Father prepared the marriage feast for his son. With the greatest kindness, he used his servants to call the people of the former dispensation to the wedding feast. When they would not obey, he still invited them by sending other servants. Yet even then, they did not obey him. They even stoned and killed those who brought them the message of invitation. So he sent out his armies and destroyed them and burned down their city. But he called together guests for the marriage feast of his son from all the highways, that is, from all nations.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. I see some women dye the color of their hair with saffron. They are ashamed even of their own nation. They are ashamed that having children did not place them in Germany and in Gaul. So, as it is, they move their hair there. Yes, it is bad, very bad. With their flame-colored head, they announce this about themselves. They think it is graceful, but they are really making it dirty. No, even more, the power of the cosmetics burns damage into the hair. Also, the constant use of even plain moisture, with no drugs in it, stores up harm for the head. And the sun's warmth, which people want because it helps the hair grow and become dry, is also harmful. What grace fits with injury? What beauty fits with impurities? Should a Christian woman pile saffron on her head, like on an altar? But God says, "Which of you can make a white hair black, or out of a black a white?" And so they argue against the Lord.

CYPRIAN: Are sincerity and truth still kept when what is sincere is stained with unfaithful colors, and what is true is changed into a lie by deceptive dyes. Your Lord says, "You cannot make one hair white or black," and you, trying to go against the word of your Lord, want to be stronger than He is. You stain your hair with a bold attempt and with disrespect that is not holy. With an evil sign of what is coming in the future, you already begin for yourself, hair that is flame-colored, and you sin, oh wickedness, with your head, that is, with the more honorable part of your body. And even though it is written about the Lord, His head and His hair were white like wool or snow, you speak against that whiteness and hate that gray hair which is like the Lord's head.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Light is light, and darkness is darkness. Yes is yes, and no is no. Whatever is more than these comes from evil.

TERTULLIAN: Tertullian. Always remember that this is the rule of faith that I confess. By it I testify that the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit are inseparable from each other. In this way you will know what this statement means. Now look: My claim is that the Father is one, and the Son one, and the Spirit one, and that they are distinct from each other. But this statement is understood the wrong way by every uneducated person, and also by every person who is stubborn and twisted in their thinking. They act as if it teaches a difference that means a separation among the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit. I also have to say this: When I praise the monarchy, they argue against the economy. They insist on the identity of the Father and Son and Spirit. So I must say that the Son differs from the Father, not by diversity, but by distribution. He is different, not by division, but by distinction. The Father is not the same as the Son because they differ from each other in the way they exist. For the Father is the entire substance, but the Son is a derivation and portion of the whole, as He Himself admits, "My Father is greater than I." In the Psalm, His lower position is described as being a little lower than the angels. So the Father is distinct from the Son, and the Father is greater than the Son. The One who begets is one, and the One who is begotten is another. The One who sends is one, and the One who is sent is another. The One who makes is one, and the One through whom the thing is made is another. In a helpful way, the Lord Himself uses this wording about the person of the Paraclete. He does this to show not a division or a cutting apart, but an arrangement of mutual relationships within the Godhead. For He says, "I will pray the Father, and He will send you another Comforter, even the Spirit of truth." By this He makes the Paraclete distinct from Himself, just as we say that the Son is also distinct from the Father. In this way He showed a third degree in the Paraclete, and we believe the second degree is in the Son because of the order kept in the economy. Also, does not the fact that they have the distinct names of Father and Son show that they are distinct in personality? Of course, things will be what their names show them to be. What they are and always will be, that is what they will be called. The distinction shown by the names does not allow any confusion at all, because there is no confusion in the things the names point to. Yes is yes, and no is no. For what is more than these comes of evil.

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Again, the Lord's saying, "Let your yes be yes and your no be no," can be compared with this statement, but to accept a lie and destroy a truth is not lawful in any way. Also, the saying in the tenth book of Plato's Laws agrees with the command against swearing: "Let praise and an oath in everything be absent."

CYPRIAN: It is not right for the dignity of priests to be blamed because of the careless behavior of a changeable and unsteady mind. The Lord teaches and says, "Let your communication be yes, yes; no, no."

LACTANTIUS: It is part of the same law not to give false witness. This also has a wider meaning. If false witness by lying harms the person it is spoken against and deceives the person in whose presence it is spoken, then we must never speak falsely. That is because a lie always deceives or harms. Therefore, a person is not just if he speaks in empty talk, even if he does not cause harm. It is also not lawful for him to flatter. Flattery is harmful and deceitful. Instead, he will guard the truth everywhere.