Christian Conduct

Oaths

Matthew 5:33 "Again, you have heard that it has been said to the ancients ‘You shall not swear falsely’, and ‘You shall make atonement for your oaths to Yahweh’. 34 Now I say to you not to swear at all, not by the heaven, because it is the throne of Yahweh, 35 nor by the earth, because it is a footstool for His feet, nor upon Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king, 36 nor should you swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 37 Now your word must be yea, yea, no, no, and what is in excess of these is from of evil."

Oaths were taken very seriously in the ancient world, and rituals were fulfilled in order to officiate them. The ritual conducted in Genesis chapter 15, where Abraham split certain animals in half and the essence of Yahweh passed between them, was one such ritual officiating an oath, and there are Mesopotamian inscriptions revealing that very ritual to have been a custom of the people at that time. However swearing oaths to men, one must compromise one's allegiance to God. Therefore Christians should not swear oaths at all. At James 5:12 the apostle wrote:

“But before all, my brethren, do not swear, not even on heaven nor on the earth nor any other oath, but it must be from you the yes “Yes” and the no “No”, in order that you would not fall under judgment.”

For this reason, Christians for many centuries refused to consider contracts or allegiances. Rather, they conducted all of their business on a handshake and their word, where yes was yes and no was no.