Good morning, guys. It's a joy to worship with you all.
Please turn in your Bibles to Ecclesiastes chapter 5.
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean,
and I am one of the pastors of Trinity Campus Church.
And it is my great joy and privilege to preach God's Word to you this morning.
Thank you.
Heavenly Father, we do what the world might consider odd once again.
We come to listen to your Word,
written so many years ago, but timeless.
The Word of God that makes people wise unto salvation in Jesus Christ.
So, Lord, we incline our years,
and we humble our hearts before your Word.
Speak to us.
Make your presence known,
your authority known,
your glory known,
in the reading and preaching of your Word,
so that we might be filled with
a holy fear of God,
reverence and awe before you.
So we might stand in wonder at the grace you have shown us in Jesus Christ.
Meet with us now in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Please stand, if you are able,
as we read God's Word.
Ecclesiastes 5, 1 through 7,
and I will read it out loud for us.
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.
To draw near to listen is better
than to offer the sacrifice of fools,
for they do not know that they are doing evil.
Be not rash with your mouth,
nor let your heart be hasty
to utter a word before God.
For God is in heaven,
and you are on earth.
Therefore, let your words be few.
For a dream comes with much business,
and a fool's voice with many words.
When you vow a vow to God,
do not delay paying it,
for He has no pleasure in fools.
Pay what you vow.
It is better that you should not vow
than that you should vow and not pay.
Let not your mouth lead you into sin,
and do not say before the messenger
that it was a mistake.
Why should God be angry at your voice
and destroy the work of your hands?
For when dreams increase
and words grow many,
there is vanity,
but God is the one you must fear.
This is God's holy and authoritative Word.
You may be seated.
Let's pray.
About 3,500 years ago,
there were two men named Nadab and Abihu.
They were sons of Aaron, the high priest,
and as such,
they were prestigious members
of the priestly class
among God's people in Israel
with privileged access
into the tabernacle,
which is the dwelling place of God,
where the sacrifices were offered
and worship was given to God.
And one day,
it says that each of them
took his censer
and put fire in it
and laid incense on it
and then offered unauthorized fire
before the Lord,
which he had not commanded them.
Judging from the prohibition
of drinking alcohol
before entering the tabernacle
that issues forth from this event,
we can infer that Nadab and Abihu
were probably inebriated.
They were drunk.
And because of that,
they didn't have the presence of mind,
the composure,
the self-control
to resist taking a strange
or foreign fire,
an unauthorized fire
into the tabernacle
to offer it before the Lord.
And in doing so,
they profaned the holiness of God.
They treated the Lord God
with casual contempt.
And because of that,
it says,
fire came out from before the Lord
and consumed them
so that they died.
Leviticus 10.2.
A few hundred years later,
Hophni and Phinehas came along.
They were sons of Eli,
again, the high priest.
Having grown up reading the story
of Nadab and Abihu
in their God-worshipping home,
you would expect
that they would know better.
But despite the fact
that they were priests,
1 Samuel 2.12 tells us
that they did not know the Lord.
When the people of God
would come to offer their offering,
and the meat would be being boiled,
about to be offered to God,
they would send their servants.
They would come
with their big forks
and dip it into the pot
and grab a big hunk of meat,
and they would march back home
to their places,
their rooms,
to eat it
while the offering
was being offered to God.
And then,
when the burnt offering
is being offered,
the sin offering
is being offered,
that offering was,
the fat of the offering
was to be burned completely
because God said
the fat belongs to the Lord.
But these guys,
they liked their steak,
juicy and fatty,
so they would interrupt
the offering
and say,
we want raw meat
before you offer it to the Lord.
And they would take it
and eat it.
As a result,
it says that,
thus the sin,
1 Samuel 2.17,
thus the sin of the young men
was very great
in the sight of the Lord.
for the men treated
the offering of the Lord
with contempt.
As a result,
both Hophni and Phinehas
perished on the same day
in the hands
of the Philistine army
as the Lord
has said they would.
Irreverent worship
is a grave sin.
God cares about
how we approach Him
in worship
and how we relate to Him
as our God and Lord.
So Ecclesiastes 5.1-7
begins by saying,
guard your steps
when you go
to the house of God.
And then it ends by saying,
God is the one
you must fear.
And that's the main point
of this passage
and indeed the main point
of the entire book
of Ecclesiastes
and indeed the main point
of all wisdom literature
in Scripture
is the fear of God.
That we ought to fear God.
This is not a fear
that terrorizes,
fear of punishment,
but a different kind
of fear.
The fear of punishment,
it says in 1 John 4.18,
is driven away
by God's perfect love
for us.
But there's a second
kind of fear
in which we ought
to relate to
and respond to God
with reverent obedience
and humble submission.
I'm not trying
to take some
barbaric teaching
in the Old Testament
about being terrorized
by God
and making it palatable
for the modern audience.
The Bible itself
makes this distinction
between two types
of fears.
It says in Exodus 20.20,
after God appears
to the Israelites
to give them
the Ten Commandments
and Moses says
to the people,
do not fear
for God has come
to test you
that the fear
of God
may be with you
that you may not sin.
Don't fear.
In other words,
don't be afraid
of God
and His punishment
and flee from this place.
but fear God,
meaning revere Him,
stand in awe of Him,
know how big He is
and how small you are
so that you are
constrained
onto obedience.
That's the kind of fear
that's in view
in this passage
and Ecclesiastes 5.1-7
is particularly concerned
with one way
that the fear of God
ought to be expressed
and that's in the fewness
of our words.
That's the main point
that I want to bring
to you this morning.
Before God in heaven,
we should let our words
be few.
And my first point
is going to be
talk less.
It's pretty simple.
My second point
is going to be
walk the talk.
It says in verse 1,
guard your steps
when you go
to the house of God.
The command in Hebrew
is literally
guard your feet.
This is not a warning
about some uneven steps
on your way
up the temple staircase.
It's getting at the fact
that whichever direction
your feet are pointing,
that's the way you walk.
Your feet and walking
is a common metaphor.
The metaphor of the journey
and life and walking
is commonly used
in the Bible
and so this here
is referring to
the same thing.
Proverbs 4.27 says,
Do not swerve
to the right or to the left.
Turn your foot
away from evil.
So then,
the preacher is warning us,
when you approach
God in worship,
guard your steps.
Watch your conduct.
Watch your attitude.
Make sure that it fits
the glory and honor
and holiness of God.
More specifically,
the preacher continues
in verse 1,
To draw near to listen
is better than
to offer the sacrifice
of fools,
for they do not know
that they are doing evil.
to listen,
which in Hebrew,
as is the case
in the English,
also means to obey,
to listen to someone,
to obey someone.
And it's a very important
command in the Bible.
In fact,
if you look at
the greatest command
summarized
in the Old Testament,
in Deuteronomy 6.45,
it begins this way.
Hear,
hear,
O Israel,
the Lord our God,
the Lord is one.
You shall love
the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind.
Hear,
pay attention,
listen.
Some people have said
that hearing
is the most important
spiritual faculty
for the Christian.
That of all our senses,
that hearing
is the most important.
If you remember
Doubting Thomas
after Jesus' resurrection
saw Jesus,
he touched Jesus'
nail-scarred hands
and his spear-pierced sides
and then he believed
and then Jesus said,
you have believed
because you have seen.
Blessed are those
who have not seen
and yet have believed
because we as Christians
ought to walk by faith
and not by sight.
And faith
is the assurance
of things hoped for
and conviction
of things unseen.
And so how
do we come to faith?
Romans 10,
14 to 17
tells us,
how then will they
call on him
in whom they have
not believed?
And how are they
to believe in him
of whom they have
never heard?
And how are they
to hear
without someone preaching?
And how are they
to preach
unless they are sent?
So faith
comes from hearing
and hearing
through the word
of Christ.
Saving faith
is not a fruit
of our personal
search
or investigation
or an experiment.
Saving faith
is the fruit
of our proclamation
of God's revelation.
It is something
that is heard.
It is something
that is received.
And that means
the activity
that we're engaged
in right now,
the preaching
of God's word
and the hearing
of God's word
is a matter
of life and death,
of eternal salvation
or eternal damnation.
When some people
hear the word of God,
the gospel
of Jesus Christ,
it lands on their ears
like a seed
that falls along
the path
that people walk on.
It gets trampled
on their foot
and it gets pecked at
and devoured
by birds.
These are the people
who listen to the gospel,
listen to the word,
but they don't really hear it.
It just goes out
the other ear.
The seed never takes
root in their hearts.
And it's snatched away
by the devil.
And then there are
some people,
you guys might recognize
this parable.
Somebody famous
said this.
Some people,
the word of God
lands on their ears
like a seed
that falls upon a rock.
There's some shallow soil
on the rock
and so the seed
quickly takes root,
shallow root,
and then it springs up quickly.
But because it doesn't
have deep root,
it withers away
when the sun shines on it.
It's like people
who listen to the word
and at first
seem to eagerly embrace it
and gladly receive it,
but then as soon as
trials and temptations come,
as soon as the pressures
of life bear upon them,
there's no root
and so they wither away.
For some people,
the word of God
lands on their ears
like a seed
that falls among thorns.
thorns.
They grow up,
but they're choked away
by the thorns
and don't bear fruit.
They're like the people
who hear the gospel,
hear the word of God,
but then when they are tempted,
they're preoccupied
by the cares of this world,
by the worries of life,
by the riches of this world.
When they are lured away
by the pleasures
of this world,
these things distract them
and these things
choke spiritual life
out of them
so that they don't ever
bear fruit.
But for some other people,
the word of God
enters their ears
like a seed
that falls on good soil
and then it grows
and grows and grows
and bears fruit
a hundredfold.
They are like the people
who hear the word,
hold it fast
in an honest
and good heart
and bear fruit
with patience.
This is from Jesus' parable
in Luke 8.
And you know what determines
the fate of the gospel,
this gospel seed
in your life?
Do you want to know
how you can be
this good soil
that bears fruit
a hundredfold?
Jesus tells us
in Luke 8, 18.
Take care
than how you hear.
How do you hear?
Are you listening?
To draw near to listen
is better than to offer
the sacrifice of fools
for they do not know
that they are doing evil.
The preacher of Ecclesiastes
has in mind a worshiper
but a foolish worshiper
who comes to the temple
and offers sacrifices
to God in the temple
but doesn't actually
listen to God,
doesn't actually obey God
in his life.
This contrast
between listening
and sacrifice
is one we find
in other parts
of scripture as well.
We just read
in our confession
of,
in the call to worship,
right?
The sacrifices of God
are a broken heart
and a contrite spirit.
in 1 Samuel 15,
1-3,
prophet Samuel
tells King Saul
while he is on his way
to make war
against the Amalekites,
he says,
now therefore
listen to the words
of the Lord.
And this is the word
of the Lord
that Samuel gives to Saul.
This is what you should
listen to.
He tells him,
the Amalekites
have oppressed
my people.
They are thoroughly
idolatrous
and therefore
you must devote
them to destruction.
Do not save
the spoils.
But Saul
thinks he knows better.
All these
animals,
all this wealth,
all this gold,
all these women,
he decides to keep
the spoils
to indulge in them.
And then when Samuel
comes to confront
Saul about his
unfaithfulness,
he deviously says,
oh no, no,
I kept this
so that we can
use these animals
to sacrifice to God.
He was all for
a good reason,
to worship God.
And then this is
what Samuel says.
Has the Lord
as great delight
in burnt offerings
and sacrifices
as in obeying
the voice of the Lord?
behold,
to obey
is better
than sacrifice
and to listen
than the fat of rams.
What good
is lip service
of sacrifice
when you have
no listening ear?
What God desires
is obedience.
We are to present
our bodies,
our very lives,
as it says
in Romans 12,
as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable
to God.
That is our
spiritual worship.
David echoes
the sentiment
in Psalm 40,
verses 6 to 8.
I think I have that
to show.
In sacrifice
and offering
you have not delighted,
but you have given me
an open ear.
Burnt offering
and sin offering
you have not required.
Then I said,
behold,
I have come
in the scroll
of the book.
It is written of me.
I delight to do
your will.
Oh my God,
your law
is within my heart.
The expression,
you have given me
an open ear,
if translated
more literally,
is you have dug
open my ear,
which is a powerful
illustration of how
we ought to take care
to listen to the word
of God.
It's as if God
takes a hole
and shovel
and picks
at our hard heads
and our deaf ears
to dig open
an ear
upon which
he can plant
the gospel seed.
What good is it
if we come
to church
on Sunday
to worship God
in our Sunday best clothes
with our Sunday best smiles on
and then we shake
our hands
with each other
and then we raise up
our hands in worship
and then we utter
our platitudes
in prayer
only to let
the word of God
that we hear
go in one ear
and out the other.
only to contradict
our profession
of faith
on Sunday
with the conduct
of our lives
Monday through Saturday.
Proverbs 28.9 says,
if one turns away
his ear
from hearing the law,
even his prayer
is an abomination.
Why would a worshiper,
think about this
for a second,
why would a worshiper
offer sacrifices
to God
but not listen to him?
because other people
see sacrifices
offered in public.
They don't see
the way they talk
and live
in private.
There's another reason
to consider
why would a worshiper
offer sacrifices
but not listen to God.
Some people offer
sacrifices without obedience
because sacrifice
seems like
an effective
or efficient way
to get God
to do
what you want him
to do.
hundreds of millions
of people
throughout the world
still keep idols
and altars
in their homes
and businesses
and they bow to them
and bring food to them,
offerings to them,
and worship these idols
because they believe
that if they do
make these regular sacrifices,
then those so-called gods
will help them
to prosper,
keep their families healthy,
keep their businesses
prospering.
this is a classic
patron-client relationship.
The client brings
the payment
and the patron
bestows the favor.
It's transactional,
not relational.
It's selfish
at its root
because it's really
not even a gift,
it's a bribe
designed for your own
selfish ends.
It's a way of getting
God to do
what we want
instead of doing
what God wants us to do.
it's a presumptuous
attempt to shape God
to be the way
we want Him to be
instead of being
shaped by God's Word
to be the way
He wants us to be.
It's what we confessed
earlier,
it's a way of improperly
seeking concessions
from God
when we should be
seeking guidance
from Him.
When our proper
posture before Him
is submission,
not negotiation.
what is your relationship
to the Word of God?
Are you submitted
to it?
Or are you trying
to extract
concessions from it?
Are you listening
to it?
Or are you talking
over it?
That brings me
to verse 2.
Be not rash
with your mouth,
nor let your heart
be hasty
to utter a word
before God.
For God is in heaven
and you are on earth.
Therefore,
let your words
be few.
If we have
a humble posture
of submission
before God
in worship,
then we're going
to let our words
be few.
Why?
The preacher tells us,
for God is in heaven
and you are on earth.
Imagine that
you're a student
and your professor
invites you
to accompany him
to a prestigious
gathering
of leading experts
in this research field.
Would you go there
and then take a seat
among the table
among these
great scientists
or whatever they do
and then blabber away
about the little
that you know?
or would you
just stand up
to the side
quietly
and listen?
If you're
a summer intern
at your new work
in your company,
would you go barging
into the CEO's office
and tell him,
hey,
I can tell you
how to run
this office better.
I can tell you
how to run
this company better.
Or would you
seek to learn?
If that's the case
with humans,
how much more
with God?
For as the heavens
are higher
than the earth,
so are my ways
higher than your ways
and my thoughts
than your thoughts.
Between the Lord
and us,
there's an infinite gap.
I talked about,
would a firefly
go to the sun
and say,
look what bright
light I have.
Would a muddy puddle
on the ground
on a rainy day
say to the ocean,
look how deep
and pure
my water is?
And even that
doesn't quite capture
the gap between
God and us
because as I said
two weeks ago,
God is not only
quantitatively
different from us,
he's qualitatively
different from us.
He's not just
a superlative
version of man.
He's as different
from us
as the author
of the book
is from a character
in the book
as the potter
is from the clay
that he is shaping.
Who are we
to speak back
to God?
We should know
our place
and know better
than to blabber
on and on
and on
before God.
God.
This is why
the reading
and preaching
of God's word
has such a prominent
place in our
corporate worship.
We gather here
for about two hours,
a little less,
every Sunday.
We spend
almost half
of that time
reading
and listening
to God's word
preached.
this is also
why my job
isn't
to regale you
with entertaining
stories from my life
or to peddle
some self-help tips
and give motivational
speeches
or be a mouthpiece
for politicians
from the pulpit.
Rather,
my job
is to faithfully
interpret
and apply
God's word
to our lives.
I don't get
to say
what I want
to say.
I must say
what God's word
says
and no preacher
should ever
preach
unless they
have first
listened
to the word
of God.
This also
has implications
for how we
pray to God
and this is
one of the reasons
why during our
corporate prayer times
I ask people
to pray,
especially during
that popcorn prayer time,
pray concise
to the point
prayers
because I don't
want people
to feel pressure
to pray
these elaborate
eloquent prayers
because I want
us to be able
to listen to
one another
pray and join
in instead
of planning
our next
prayer lines
while someone
else is praying
just like
when you talk
to somebody
they're not
really listening
to you
because
they're planning
what they're
going to say
next to you.
Jesus taught us
in Matthew 6,
7, 8
and when you
pray
do not heap
up empty
phrases
as the Gentiles
do
for they think
that they
will be heard
for their
many words
do not be
like them
for your
father knows
what you
need
before you
ask him
God is
in heaven
and we
are on earth
and God
is sovereign
he is
all-knowing
he knows
better than
we do
what we
actually need
God doesn't
listen to us
more
just because
we talk
more
or because
our words
are well
phrased
it's the
heart
not the
word count
that counts
when my
children ask
something of
me
they don't
you know
butter me
up with
flattery
or say
some
you know
long
elaborate
request
they're
right to
the
point
they're
simple
direct
but
their
requests
have
power
with
me
why
not
because
they're
eloquent
not
because
they have
this
long
fancy
request
but
because
they're
my
kids
and
I'm
their
dad
that's
why
your
prayer
has
power
because
you're
God's
children
God
is
your
father
not
because
your
prayers
are
long
or
eloquent
so
don't
be
discouraged
that
you
can't
pray
as
some
other
Christians
can
pray
from the
heart
to your
heavenly
father
and let
your
words
be
few
verse
three
continues
for a
dream
comes
with
much
business
and a
fool's
voice
with
many
words
a
fool's
voice
comes
with
many
words
Proverbs
17
27
and 28
says
whoever
restrains
his
words
as
knowledge
and he
who
has
a
cool
spirit
is
a
man
of
understanding
even
a
fool
who
keeps
silent
is
considered
wise
when
he
closes
his
lips
he
is
deemed
intelligent
the
season
four
episode
ten
of
the
Simpsons
have
you
guys
seen
the
Simpsons
actually
includes
a
take
on
this
proverb
in
the
scene
the
mom
Marge
says
to
her
baby
daughter
who
has
delayed
speech
oh
Maggie
when
are
you
going
to
talk
and
then
her
precocious
other
daughter
Lisa
responds
well
don't
push
her
remember
tis
better
to
remain
silent
and
be
thought
a
fool
than
to
open
your
mouth
and
remove
all
doubt
and
at
that
point
Homer
Simpson
thinks
to
himself
what
does
that
mean
I
better
say
something
or
they'll
think
I'm
stupid
and
then
he
blurts
out
it
takes
one
to
know
one
thereby
removing
all
doubt
that
he
is
a
fool
we
live
in
an
age
of
many
words
an
average
person
can
speak
up to
16,000
words
per day
every
day
7.5
million
blog posts
are written
published
7.5
million
that's
many
words
as a
younger
pastor
I
diligently
wrote
blog
posts
and
scheduled
out
my
posts
out
on
then
Twitter
and
Facebook
because
I
didn't
deem
preaching
God's
word
to be
enough
I
also
needed
to
share
my
wonderful
opinions
and
hot
takes
on
every
cultural
issue
for the
world
to
hear
I'm
not on
any
social
media
anymore
it's
pride
that
produces
many
words
I'm
not
saying
that if
you're
on
social
media
you're
prideful
I'm
just
saying
that
that's
possible
as
it
was
the
case
for
me
the
book
of
Proverbs
makes
an
insightful
connection
between
wealth
and
words
Proverbs
10
15
says
the
wise
lay
up
knowledge
but
the
mouth
of
a
fool
brings
ruin
near
a
rich
man's
wealth
is
his
strong
city
the
poverty
of
the
poor
is
their
ruin
the
mouth
of
a
fool
parallels
the
poverty
of
the
poor
and
they
both
bring
the
person
to
ruin
there
is
an
implicit
parallel
there
between
the
wise
who
lay
up
knowledge
store
up
knowledge
and
the
rich
who
lay
up
wealth
and
store
up
wealth
as
a
safeguard
the
stored
up
knowledge
of
the
wise
protects
them
stored
up
wealth
of
the
rich
protect
them
so
the
wise
save
up
their
money
and
spare
their
words
Proverbs
10
18
continues
when
words
are
many
transgression
is
not
lacking
but
whoever
restrains
his lips
is
prudent
the
tongue
of
the
righteous
is
choice
silver
the
heart
of
the
wicked
is
of
little
worth
again
there's
a
connection
between
words
and
wealth
choice
silver
is
rare
silver
precious
silver
it's
worth
a lot
like
the
tongue
of
the
righteous
his
lips
are
restrained
in
contrast
the
heart
of
the
wicked
is
of
little
worth
and
that's
paralleled
by
many
words
when
transgression
is
not
lacking
in
other
words
when
there
are
many
words
there
is
a
lack
of
wisdom
when
words
are
few
there
is
much
wisdom
words
are
like
money
the
more
you
print
into
circulation
the
more
it
loses
value
the
more
you
speak
the
less
value
it
has
the
less
weight
it
has
the
less
wisdom
it
has
when
there
are
many
words
there
are
often
premature
words
imprecise
words
partial
words
that
are
out
of
place
out
of
turn
but
once
they
leave
our
mouths
we
can't
take
any
of
it
back
so
it
says
the
wise
store
up
their
words
like
the
rich
who
store
up
their
wealth
the
first
clause
a dream
comes
with
much
business
is
related
to
this
idea
people
with
many
dreams
are
preoccupied
with
much
anxiety
in
their
hearts
they
say
to
themselves
today
or
tomorrow
I
will
go
into
such
and
such
place
and
such
towns
spend
a year
there
and
trade
and
make
a
profit
but
James
4
13
to
16
reminds
us
yet
you
do
not
know
what
tomorrow
will
bring
what
is
your
life
for
you
are
a
mist
that
appears
for
a
little
time
and
then
vanishes
instead
you
ought
to
say
if
the
Lord
wills
we
will
live
and
do
this
or
that
as
it
is
you
boast
in
your
arrogance
all
such
boasting
is
evil
I
think
I've
told you
guys
this
already
I
forget
when
I
told
some
of
you
this
but
I
have
had
two
friends
in
my
life
who
told
me
confidently
I'm
going
to be
the
president
of the
United
States
of
America
one
day
honestly
with
one
of
them
I
almost
believe
that
they're
two
of
the
most
charismatic
people
I
know
to
this
day
but
they're
also
the
ones
that
are
now
struggling
the
most
their
lives
are
riddled
with
addictions
blew
away
a lot
of
chances
and
opportunities
that
they
had
we're
finite
creatures
who have
no
control
over
time
and
chance
it's
the
Lord
who
is
over
those
things
and
the
dreams
of
the
future
that
we
preoccupy
our
minds
and
hearts
with
are
a
form
of
boasting
before
God
because
we
don't
even
know
whether
we'll
be
living
tomorrow
so
before
God
in
heaven
we
should
let
our
words
be
few
humility
before
God
makes
us
talk
less
it
also
makes
us
walk
the
talk
as
verses
4-7
teach us
it
says
when
you
vow
a vow
to
God
do
not
delay
paying
it
for
he
has
no
pleasure
in
fools
pay
what
you
vow
it
is
better
that
you
should
not
vow
than
that
you
should
vow
and
not
pay
let
not
your
mouth
lead
you
into
sin
and
do
not
say
before
the
messenger
that
it
was
a
mistake
why
should
God
be
angry
at
your
voice
and
destroy
the
work
of
your
hands
for
when
dreams
increase
and
words
grow
many
there
is
vanity
but
God
is
the
one
you
must
fear
in
Psalm
15
the
psalmist
describes
it
gives us
a portrait
of a
righteous
person
and
one
of
the
characteristics
of
a
righteous
person
that
is
pleasing
to
God
is
this
that
he
swears
to
his
own
hurt
and
does
not
change
meaning
that
this
person
would
rather
suffer
loss
than
break
his
word
probably
not
many
of us
have
in
this
day
and
age
have
encountered
people
like
this
words
are
cheap
nowadays
people
say
in
court
I
swear
to
tell
the
truth
the
whole
truth
and
nothing
but
the
truth
and
then
perjury
is
all
too
common
lovers
take
their
solemn
wedding
vows
and
then
casual
divorces
mock
the
vows
that
they
have
made
promises
oaths
and
vows
are
taken
lightly
in
our
culture
considered
a
formality
something
that
is
fungible
circumstances
changed
we say
sorry
and
by
making
such
excuses
we
betray
the
fact
that
our
words
are
only
as
good
as
our
circumstances
that
we
keep
our
word
only
when
it
is
advantageous
for
me
but
God
delights
in the
person
who
swears
to
his
own
hurt
and
does
not
change
scripture
takes
swearing
oaths
very
seriously
Isaiah
65
16
commends
to
never
take
an
oath
by
anyone
else
but
the
God
of
truth
it's
because
only
the
unchanging
and
eternal
and
faithful
nature
of
God
and
the
character
of
God
is
the
only
secure
basis
for
an
oath
and
the
third
of
the
ten
commandments
forbids
us
from
taking
God's
name
in
vain
and
swearing
by
God's
name
in
vain
it
because
of
this
to
renege
on
one's
oath
or
promise
was
to
profane
God
and
impugn
his
character
to
make
God
out
to
be
someone
who
is
not
constant
and
faithful
and
reliable
because
you
swore
by
his
name
so
we
shouldn't
make
promises
unless
we
are
resolved
to
keep
them
even
to
our
own
hurt
in
fact
Jesus
takes
this
command
not
to
swear
falsely
even
further
and
brings
it
to
do
not
take
an
oath
at
all
let
what
you
say
be
simply
yes
or
no
anything
more
than
that
comes
from
evil
sometimes
circumstances
force us
to take
an
oath
so
if
you
are
a
witness
testifying
in
court
you
do
have
to
take
an
oath
even
Jesus
when
he
was
in
court
being
tried
by
Caiaphas
the
high
priest
he
adjured
him
by
the
living
God
made
basically
invoked
an
oath
for
Jesus
to
say
whether
you
are
the
son
of
God
or
not
so
if
that
happens
to
you
by
the
circumstances
that's
okay
but
don't
voluntarily
enter
into
such
oaths
on
your
own
rather
everything
we say
at all
times
should
be
completely
true
so
that
a
simple
yes
or
no
suffices
without
any
further
asseveration
to
asseverate
is
to
affirm
or to
declare
positively
or
earnestly
we
asseverate
in many
ways
by
prefacing
our
words
with
words
like
this
honestly
truthfully
I
swear
as if
the
other
things
we
say
are
not
true
and
honest
I've
used
these
words
myself
out
of
habit
because
these
asseverations
are so
much a
part
of
our
culture
which
is
saturated
with
lies
truth
so
we
need
some
way
to
distinguish
lies
from
truth
what
if
we
were
so
manifestly
truthful
in
all
that
we
ever
said
that
people
actually
took
us
at
our
words
we
should
we
should
be
so
steadfast
in
our
truth
telling
that
when
we
tell
people
that
Jesus
Christ
is
the
son
of
God
that
he
died
for
my
sins
and
he
was
raised
from
the
dead
so
that
I
might
have
eternal
life
it
is
impossible
for
someone
to
dismiss
you
lightly
it
makes
them
pause
and
ponder
because
even
if
they
don't
believe
it
they
do
so
at
their
own
peril
because
they
know
you
are
a
man
or
a
woman
of
integrity
and
they
know
that
you
are
telling
the
truth
verse
6
says
let
not
your
mouth
lead
you
into
sin
and
do
not
say
before
the
messenger
that
it
was
a
mistake
this
likely
has
in
view
a
messenger
from
the
temple
who
is
sent
to
remind
this
person
of
the
vow
that
he
made
that
he
would
bring
such
and
such
sacrifice
or
such
offering
to
the
temple
in
the
future
so
this
messenger
is
coming
to
bring
this
person
to
account
and
when
I
don't
intend
to
fulfill
that
to
rescind
a
vow
you
made
up
to
God
is
to
make
a
mockery
of
his
name
and
he
says
you
will
arouse
his
righteous
anger
it
is
better
that
you
should
not
vow
than
that
you
should
vow
and
not
pay
verse
7
and
parallels
verse
3
for
a
dream
comes
with
much
business
and
a
fool's
voice
with
many
words
for
when
dreams
increase
our
words
grow
many
there
is
vanity
but
God
is
the
one
you
must
fear
once
again
dreams
are
associated
with
words
how
many
times
have
we
in
the
heat
and
the
height
of
emotionalism
at
a
conference
or
at
a
retreat
made
a
rash
vow
to
God
I
dedicate
my
life
to
you
as
a
missionary
for
life
God
I
will
give
half
of
all
my
income
to
local
church
God
I'm
going
to
how
many
times
have
you
made
these
grandiose
new
year's
resolutions
that were
never
carried
out
God
I'm
going
to
read
the
Bible
for
an
hour
every
day
I'm
going
to
go
to
Wednesday
prayer
meeting
every
Wednesday
I'm
sorry
if
you've
actually
made
those
new
resolutions
before
I say
this
without
knowledge
instead
of
multiplying
words
the preacher
tells us
do
what
you
say
walk
the
talk
remember
words
are
like
money
the
more
money
you
print
in
circulation
the
less
value
it
has
the
more
words
come
out of
your
mouth
the
less
weight
they
have
when
dreams
increase
words
grow
many
there
is
vanity
but
God
is
the
one
you
must
fear
there
is
heavily
futility
and
vanity
in
our
many
dreams
and
many
words
so
before
God
in
heaven
we
should
let
our
words
be
few
but
our
words
happen
many
haven't
they
how
many
of
you
have
exaggerated
the
truth
or
leave
some
crucial
detail
out
of
your
story
for
your
advantage
how
many
of
you
have
multiplied
many
dreams
and
many
words
have
said
words
that
you
didn't
mean
in
order
to
protect
yourself
or
to
avoid
conflict
how
many
of
you
have
failed
to
do
what
you
said
you
would
do
how
many
of
you
have
used
words
to
blame
shift
manipulate
and
gossip
and
slander
I
myself
have
done
every
single
one
of
those
things
when
words
are
many
transgression
is not
lacking
so
what
hope
is
there
for
sinners
like
us
the
good
news
for
us
is
that
God
is
not
like
us
we
renege
on
our
promises
we
revoke
our
oaths
but
God
always
keeps
his
word
numbers
23
19
says
God
is
not
man
that
he
should
lie
or
a
son
of
man
that
he
should
change
his
mind
has
he
said
and
will
he
not
do
it
or
has
he
spoken
and
will
he
not
fulfill
it
God
long
ago
promised
his
people
that
he
would
redeem
us
from
our
slavery
to
sin
and
death
God
long
ago
promised
us
that
he
would
make
atonement
for
our
sins
so
that
we
can
be
forgiven
of
our
sins
and
be
reconciled
to
God
the
father
God
promised
long
ago
that
he
would
mercifully
forgive
us
he
would
defeat
death
once
and
for
all
and
give
us
eternal
resurrection
life
and
you
know
what
God
kept
every
single
one
of
those
promises
in
Jesus
Christ
John
1
describes
Jesus
as
the
eternal
word
of
God
in
the
beginning
was
the
word
and
the
word
was
with
God
and
the
word
was
God
he
was
in
the
beginning
with
God
all
things
were
made
through
him
and
without
him
was
not
anything
made
that
was
made
in
him
was
the
only
son
from
the
father
full
of
grace
and
truth
the
only
son
of
God
the
father
who
is
the
eternal
word
of
God
took
on
human
flesh
and
became
a
man
and
lived
among
us
that's
our
Lord
Jesus
Christ
and
Jesus
had
no
sin
he
never
said
a
false
word
in
his
life
and
Jesus
God's
word
is
the
antidote
to
our
many
words
and
our
many
sins
Jesus
had
no
sin
but
he
was
slaughtered
as
the
unblemished
sacrificial
lamb
on the
cross
to make
atonement
for our
sins
and
on
his
way
to
death
he
says
that
he
was
led
like
a
lamb
to
the
slaughter
and
as
a
sheep
before
its
shears
is
silent
so
he
did
not
open
his
mouth
because
we
opened
because
we
spoke
our
many
words
and
because
of
our
many
sins
Jesus
the
blameless
lamb
of
God
goes
silent
to
the
cross
in
submission
to
God
the
father
so
that
by
his
death
we
might
live
so
that
by
his
death
we
might
be
forgiven
and
not
a
single
one
of
us
has
any
word
to
add
to
that
word
that
God
has
spoken
the
gospel
of
Jesus
Christ
it
silences
us
Ephesians
2
8
to
9
says
for
by
grace
you
have
been
saved
through
faith
and
this
is
not
your
own
doing
it
is
the
gift
of
God
not
a
result
of
works
so
that
no
one
may
boast
God
saves
God
through
faith
because
faith
is
the
anti
work
it's
the
opposite
of
work
faith
is
not
a
work
that
we
do
it's
an
admission
that
no
work
of
ours
can
ever
save
to
believe
in
Christ
for
salvation
is
to
receive
his
salvation
if
we
somehow
earned
our
way
to
God
if
we
had
some
merit
or
work
to
show
for
ourselves
then
we
would
at
least
in
part
deserve
a
seat
at
the
table
we
should
have
some
rights
some
entitlements
a
say
but
no
because
God
saves
us
by
grace
through
faith
in
Jesus
Christ
we
have
no
say
we
have
no
word
to
add
to
the
word
of
Christ
it
silences
us
all
our
boasting
that
we
might
even
say
is
a
defining
mark
of
a
Christian
the
parable
of the
Pharisee
and the
tax
collector
in
Luke
18
illustrates
this
Pharisee
and a
tax
collector
go up
to pray
in the
temple
the
Pharisee's
words
are
many
God
I
thank
you
that
I'm
not
like
the
other
men
extortioners
unjust
adulterers
or
even
like
this
tax
collector
I
fast
twice
a
week
I
give
tithes
of
all
that
I
get
blah
the
tax
collector
doesn't
even
dare
to
draw
near
he's
standing
far
off
he
doesn't
even
dare
to
look
up
into
heaven
he
just
beats
his
chest
and
says
I'm
a
sinner
God
be
merciful
to
me
his
words
are
few
because
his
heart
is
not
lifted
up
before
God
and
Jesus
says
that
it's
that
tax
collector
who
humbled
himself
and
not
the
Pharisee
who
exalted
himself
that
goes
home
justified
before
God
when
we
truly
understand
the
gospel
of
Jesus
Christ
when
we
really
see
the
glory
of
God
in
the
face
of
Jesus
Christ
it
stops
our
mouths
it
stops
our
blabbering
boasts
of
self
righteousness
and
self
justification
it
stops
our
gabbing
bluster
of
self
importance
and
self
sufficiency
it
stops
all
the
look
how
great
I
am
and
look
at
all
the
good
things
I've
done
and
look
at
all
the
amazing
things
that
I'm
going
to
do
look
at
all
my
experiences
and
knowledge
the
gospel
of
Jesus
Christ
abases
us
it
humbles
us
into
silence
so
that
we
can't
help
but
say
along
with
Job
behold
I
am
of
small
account
what
shall
I
answer
you
I
lay
my
hand
on
my
mouth
before
God
in
heaven
we
should
let
our
words
be
few
let's
pray
father
have
mercy
on
us
we
thank
you
that
when
our
words
are
many
when
our
sins
are
many
that
your
mercy
abounds
all
the
more
humble
us
Lord
make
us
more
like
Jesus
in
his
precious
name
we
pray
amen
someone
and
un