In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus confronts the hypocrisy of the scribes and pharisees. Their perverted leadership had led some astray. Matthew 15:12-14 says, “Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”

One area that He addresses regarding their hypocrisy is the swearing of oaths. Christ outlines their attempts to circumvent God’s law in Matthew 23:16-22. Jesus says to the crowd, "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.' Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.' Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.”

Their reasoning was a follows. It is okay to swear by the temple, but it is wrong to swear by the gold in the temple. It is all right to swear by the altar, but it would be sinful to swear by the offering on the altar. Really, swearing any oath and failing to live up to the obligation was sinful in the eyes of God. Consider what the Law of Moses said about the matter in Numbers 30:2. “If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” Their folly is summed up in this simple quote, “To believe that one who swore by the temple, altar, or heaven had not sworn by the living God was nonsense. God cannot be circumvented through word games.” 1

While most Christians are not in the habit of making vows, this underscores a problem that is alive and well in our age. Namely, the children of God are sometimes guilty of seeing how close they can get to the edge of sinful behaviors without transgressing the law of God. This is evident in working with people who are trapped in sin. One might reason that “Social drinking is fine just as long as a person does not get drunk.” A person might believe “Telling a partial truth is okay, but outright lying is wrong.” Our Christianity constrains us to a higher standard of living and trying to reason away potentially sinful actions is not the way we should think.

Since we are children of a holy God, we should conduct ourselves in like manner. Consider what Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:13-17. “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.” If any action, word, or behavior even appears to be remotely sinful, Christians need to stay away from it.

The grace that we received at the point of our conversion to Christ constrains the child of God to behave in a manner consistent with that precious gift. Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in

it?” Christians should be so sensitive to the adverse effects of sin and how it harms our relationship with God that we avoid it at all costs.

As human beings we tend to protect things that are valuable to us. We secure our homes with metal doors and alarm systems to protect our families. We sometimes buy safes to place our money and jewelry in to avoid theft. By the same token, we need to protect our souls and that is the very thing God is encouraging us to do. To that end, the Apostle Paul says in, 1 Thessalonians 5:22, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

Instead of determining how close we can get to the edge of violating God’s law, we need to avoid any problem or entrapment that might entangle a Christian in sin. The grace of God modifies our thinking about sin and our response to it. Titus 2:11-14 says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

1 Crain, Sellars (2011). Matthew: Truth for Today Commentary, Vol. 2. Eddie Cloer, Gen. Ed. Resource Publications, Searcy, pg. 286.