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18th October 2024
SaturdayReflection
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'Matthew C. McCraw'
'Senior Pastor since September 2017'
"The Power of Yes and No"
James 5:12
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This verse sort of stands on its own because it's sandwiched in a section about patience for the Lord's coming, and a passage on prayer.
This verse is very important; so much so that James says at the beginning of the verse,
Above all
Above all, my friends, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Say only "Yes" when you mean yes, and "No" when you mean no, and then you will not come under God's judgment.
One thing that most of us do in our households is try to teach our children to tell the truth all of the time; even in the little things.
So, a child (or perhaps an adult) from time to time may say something like, "Cross my heart and hope to die." or, "I swear on my mother's grave," in order to show they are really telling the truth.
But James steers us away from that.
He points us in another direction.
We've probably all heard the phrase, "Your word should mean something."
We teach that to our kids, we want that from other people, and most of us desire that for ourselves.
Not many people want to be known as someone who doesn't tell the truth.
When we say something, people should know that we speak the truth.
We should be known for our integrity.
To have integrity means to be honest, to be truthful, to be trustworthy.
James says that we shouldn't have to add any further declarations to what we say in order for people to think we are telling the truth.
When it comes to telling the truth, we shouldn't need anything else except our word.
James tells us simply, "let your "yes" mean "yes," and your "no" mean "no."
That's it!
If you have to add anything to it, it could speak to your integrity or lack thereof.
James says very clearly, "so that you won't fall under judgment."
Well, what would lead us to fall under judgment?
The natural interpretation is that we would fall under judgment if our "yes" didn't mean "yes," and if our "no" didn't mean "no."
So, then, if we lack integrity we will fall under judgment.
What is James trying to get at here?
If a Christian lacks integrity does that mean that he or she will face the judgment of God?
First of all, some translations use the word condemned rather than judgment.
We need to think of judgment here in two ways:
First, in the sense that as those who profess Jesus, we will be held accountable for how we lived as followers of Jesus.
James is reminding us, encouraging us, and calling us to live lives that have truly been changed by Jesus.
Second, we must be careful that we aren't pretending to be Christians when we really aren't.
James would have us know that faith without works is dead.
Listening to God's Word without doing what it says is ultimately unfruitful.
Rather than receiving the eternal blessings of those who are in Jesus, if we are pretenders, we will actually receive the judgment of God.
That's what James is also getting at.
We must understand this,: if we are consistently people who lack integrity in what we say we are at best inconsistent followers of Jesus, and at worst we are not Christians at all.
James says that we could fall under judgment because of our lack of integrity.
There's some discussion about whether or not James means "above all" in regards to this verse only, or to the entire section that follows it.
So, some would say that James means, "above all, listen to these final instructions about how to live the Christian life."
Well, that might be the case, and if it is, James still gives us this verse first in his "above all" section.
James has been imploring us to live as genuine followers of Jesus throughout his entire letter.
Let us live as Christians ought to live because we are new creations by the work of God.
Bottom Line: Let your "yes" mean "yes," and your "no" mean "no."
That's it.
><(((°>
This is an edited version.
The full article and Bible references are avaiable on request
' Matt McCraw '
has been our Senior Pastor since September 2017.
(First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida)
Matt and his wife Jennifer are natives of Polk County.
After serving churches in both Florida and Kentucky since 2000, Matt is blessed to be back in Central Florida.
Matt has degrees from Boyce College (BS, 2004) and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (MACE, 2005; EdD, 2015).
He enjoys the outdoors, reading, and spending time with his family.
Matt and Jennifer have three sons, Jeremiah, Levi, and Samuel.
"We exist to develop disciples who Love God, Love the Church, and Love Others."
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