LISTEN
NASB:
But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.
NIV:
Above all, my brothers, do not swear — not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “yes” be yes; and your “no,” no, or you will be condemned.
Observations:
James is telling us not to swear by heaven or earth, which means don’t add any extra mustard when giving an account of something.
He says simply let what you say stand alone. If you say yes, then it’s yes. If you say no, then it’s no.
This must be very important because he starts the verse with “above all.”
And, he also says if we fail to live up to our word, we will be under judgment and condemned.
Takeaways:
Don’t swear by anything. We are to just let our word stand on its own, lest we be judged.
Say what we mean, and mean what we say. If we say something one day, let it be true of us on the next.
