Matthew 5:33-37
Oaths
33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Jesus is teaching the disciples and His crowds about different subjects in Matthew chapter five...Here He specifically talks about oaths and swearing...
Jesus talks about the oaths we make to God...In Leviticus 19:12 God does not want us to swear falsely by His name and so profane the name of our LORD...So Jesus tells us do not swear at all (to avoid this)...
The four places and things, Jesus talks about and telling us not to swear about is heaven, earth, Jerusalem (the City of David), and our own heads...There must have been many oaths and people swearing to things about these four things...Long ago Jesus tells us oaths were given to our LORD and we were not supposed to break them...But Jesus tells us do not even make these oaths to the LORD...
If we must swear or take a solemn oath on the Bible, then due this in reverence to God...This type of swearing in would be appropriate...But Jesus is telling us in our normal daily life we do not need to swear...If we are always honest, why would we say "I swear to God, that this is true"...If you are always truthful then the words you speak are the truth...
When we are talking to our friends and others, a simple yes or simply a no will do...If we are guided by the truth, the keeping of oaths becomes unnecessary...If we just remember to always tell the truth, is there a need for oaths?...
People of integrity and truth have little use for oaths...