Let Your “Yes” be Yes and Your “No” be No.

1. Read: Matthew 5:33-37

2. About the Text:

1) The Law of Moses required the citizens to perform certain oaths.

2) In Exodus 22:11, for example, an oath was required regarding property transactions.

3) This is also the heart of the third commandment not to take God’s name in vain.

4) If a person swore by the name of God, they were to fulfill their promise.

5) The Pharisees had devised a system of oaths that did not carry the same weight.

6) They would swear by the temple, the heaven, the earth, their head, and etc.

7) They reasoned that since they were not using the name of God, if they didn’t keep their promises, God would not be offended.

8) Matthew 23:16-22 also comments on these practices.

9) Jesus said that we should let our yes be yes and our no be no.

10) How can we apply this command of Jesus to our lives?

3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. God is a God who keeps His promises.

1) “God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Hath he said, and will he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and will he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)

2) “By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear” (Isaiah 45:23).

3) “…so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11).

4) “in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before times eternal;” (Titus 1:2)

2. We must keep our promises if we want to be like God.

1) “LORD, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?…. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not” (Psalm 15:1,4).

2) “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath: but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; that ye fall not under judgment” (James 5:12).

3. Keeping Our Promises is a Fundamental Way to Tell the Truth

1) “Wherefore, putting away falsehood, speak ye truth each one with his neighbor: for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:25).

2) “lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings” (Colossians 3:9).

3) “These are the things that ye shall do: Speak ye every man the truth with his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates” (Zechariah 8:16).

4) “He that uttereth truth showeth forth righteousness; But a false witness, deceit.” (Proverbs 12:17).

1. We must follow through on the promises that we keep.

1) “Whatsoever ye do, work heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that from the Lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance: ye serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24).

2) “Not in the way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men” (Ephesians 6:6-7).

2. We should not begrudge someone on our commitments.

1) It is lack of love for our neighbor.

2) A grudge is just another way of taking vengeance.

3) “Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:18).

4) We should gladly serve others when we have committed to do so.

5) If we didn’t really mean to say “Yes,” then we should not have said “Yes.”

1. This is a big part of the problem.

1) Many people don’t want to say “no.”

2) They are afraid of rejection.

3) They are afraid of manipulation.

4) They don’t want to deal with saying “No” to someone.

5) So, they say, “Yes” while meaning “No.”

2. God gives us permission to say “No.”

1) We do not always have to do everything that people ask us to do.

2) We may not have the time to do something that someone asks.

3) We may not have the resources to do something that someone asks.

4) We may not want to do something that someone asks.

3. We must say “No” to some things.

1) Immorality

a. “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).

b. “Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” (1 Corinthians 10:14)

c. “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the master’s use, prepared unto every good work. But flee youthful lusts, and follow after righteousness, faith, love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:21-22).

2) Bad Influences

a. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal.6:7-8).

b. “Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals.” (1 Cor.15:33).

3) False Doctrine

a. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15).

b. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1).

c. “But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1).

1. Let Your Yes be Yes and Your No be No

1) Keep Your Commitments

2) Do a Good Job

3) Permission to say “No.”

2. Invitation