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Matthew 5:33-37 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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I must admit that I'm tempted to not preach this morning and just let Wes and Liz keep singing songs and Wes preaching homilies in between the songs.
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!
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Our text for today will be Matthew chapter 5 verses 33 through 37.
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And this text falls within what is most often called the Sermon on the Mount.
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We've been in for quite some months now.
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And across our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we've considered two prominent themes.
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So two large frameworks that I think are important for us to have on our minds as we venture into any smaller part of this great sermon.
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The first is human flourishing.
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What does it look like to live well as a citizen of God's kingdom?
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What does it mean to be a good citizen of this good kingdom?
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And we see that the human flourishing that Jesus teaches is not the same as the flourishing that the world would teach us.
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Jesus says at the very outset of the sermon,
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Blessed are those who are poor in spirit and who mourn and who are meek and who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
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who are merciful, pure peacemakers,
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and those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake.
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It's the ones that Jesus calls flourishing.
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He steps into a world turned upside down by all of the self-sitterness and self-promotion of His day and ours
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and turns it again right side up.
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So that's the first theme.
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The second theme is the theme of whole person righteousness.
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And that would be to say that we are meant to be holy and blameless before God in all senses
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and that we are flourishing when we're doing this thing.
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These themes don't, they interact quite often in the text.
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Jesus has taught us that citizens of His kingdom are keepers of the law.
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Not that they gain their citizen by the keeping of the law,
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but that they have been granted citizenship by the mercy of God.
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And that this keeping of the law evidences their citizenship.
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God's people, the citizens of His kingdom, should be zealous to please their king,
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to walk in His ways.
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And this law keeping, this righteousness, is not merely meant to be an outward working,
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but an inward one as well.
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Both the actions, but the intentions, the feelings, the emotions.
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What we hope to see accomplished by the actions.
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Every bit of our being is meant to be leveraged in service to God.
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And this is what Jesus means when He says in Matthew 5 and verse 20,
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For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,
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you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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The listeners of His day would have been shocked by this.
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The scribes and the Pharisees seemed to have it all figured out.
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They were the most outwardly righteous.
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They seemed to be following God.
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But He then begins to press this point by using a series of phrases,
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beginning in Matthew 5, verses 21 and 22.
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You'll note at the beginning of 21,
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You have heard that it was said to those of old.
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And then the beginning of verse 22,
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But I say to you.
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He's taking these common teachings, the rabbinical teachings of the day,
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these standards by which people would have looked at the scribes and the Pharisees
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and called them holy,
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and He's correcting them.
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He's showing how they don't actually get to the point.
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This whole person righteousness that's required of us by God.
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And He does this six times to the end of chapter 5.
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And what He's doing is bringing about this correction of common misinterpretations
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of the law in His day.
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And we are apt to these same errors.
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We may not pick them up as rabbinical teachings,
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but we may pick them up in other forms in our day.
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This morning's text is the fourth in this series
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and concerns the making and keeping of promises.
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Human societies depend upon truthfulness.
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It would suggest that they will both rise and fall
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based on the degree of truth that is contained within said society.
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We certainly live in a day that it is very difficult to know
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what the truth is and who is telling the truth.
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It is difficult to trust much of anything that you read or hear any longer.
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And if you try to delve down and figure out what the truth is,
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I find I often get much more confused.
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The state that we find our society in
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should not be the case amongst followers of Jesus Christ.
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Citizens of the kingdom of heaven
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are to be characterized by truthfulness.
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Truth ushered us into the kingdom.
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And so we are to be lovers of the truth.
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On your bulletin, you'll find a Richard Sibbes quote
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who was a 16th century Puritan.
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I love this.
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He said, when we come to be religious,
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and by that he means converted to God,
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not the way we think of outwardly religious.
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When we come to be religious,
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we lose not our pleasure, but translate it.
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Before we fed on common notions,
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but now we live on holy truths.
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We should be lovers of the truth as God's people.
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And so this morning we will look at our text
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simply and briefly to that end.
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Before I read the text, beloved,
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let me remind you that this is God's word to us.
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It was written for his glory and our good.
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And as such, we would all do well to listen to it
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in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
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So Matthew chapter 5, and I begin reading in verse 33.
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Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old,
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you shall not swear falsely,
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but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.
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But I say to you,
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do not take an oath at all,
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either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
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or by the earth, for it is his footstool,
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or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king.
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And do not take an oath by your head,
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for you cannot make one hair white or black.
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Let what you say be simply yes or no.
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Anything more than this comes from evil.
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We must first look at the misrepresentation of the law
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that Jesus is correcting.
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We need to understand the negative command found here
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in order to understand the positive.
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What is Jesus saying we ought not to do
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in order for us to understand what it is we are to do?
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And so you see in verse 33,
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Jesus again with this phrasing,
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you have heard it said to those of old.
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This was their statement.
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You shall not swear falsely,
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but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.
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This rabbinical teaching was an amalgamation
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of a number of Old Testament texts.
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It's not a direct citation from any Old Testament text.
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They likely had in mind texts like Exodus 20,
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and verse 7,
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you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,
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for the Lord will not hold him guiltless
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who takes his name in vain.
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So you shouldn't make a promise on the name of God
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and then not keep the promise.
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This would be an infraction of Exodus 20,
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and verse 7.
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They also may have had in mind texts like Deuteronomy 6,
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it is the Lord your God you shall fear,
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Him you shall serve,
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and by His name you shall swear.
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Or Leviticus 19, 12,
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you shall not swear by my name falsely,
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and so profane the name of your God.
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I am the Lord.
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So now on the surface,
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this seems very satisfactory.
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This idea of you shall not swear falsely,
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but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.
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But there were two very common
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and very unsatisfactory practices
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in the oath-taking of Jesus' day.
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And we have to do a little work to understand that.
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If we simply come to the text,
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we're not his primary audience.
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We're the wonderful beneficiaries
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as a secondary audience,
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but he's speaking to a people.
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He's speaking to a culture
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and practice of the day.
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So there's these two very common
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and two very unsatisfactory practices
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in the oath-taking of his day.
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Number one was frivolous swearing.
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Oath-making.
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I don't mean cursing.
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I mean oath-making when I say swearing.
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Frivolous swearing.
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People would make an oath
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for almost anything at all.
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So insignificant statements
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were placed on the same level
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as very serious statements.
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If you should ever be called
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to testify in a court of law,
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you will be asked to swear
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to tell the truth,
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the whole truth,
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and nothing but the truth.
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This is a very serious matter.
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You've been called as a witness
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and your testimony may free
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or imprison someone.
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This is a weighty matter.
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But at times,
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many people in our day
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will make a trivial statement
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and then follow it with something like,
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I swear,
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or I swear to God.
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That's the kind of frivolous activity
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that was happening in his day.
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The application of oath-taking
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to things that didn't deserve
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the weight of oath-taking.
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This is this frivolous swearing
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that I'm referring to.
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James Montgomery Boyce,
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who was a 20th century Presbyterian minister,
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in his commentary on this text,
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said this,
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it was exactly as if a servant
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who lived in the household
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of an honorable state official
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should go around talking about
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the honorable house,
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the honorable chair,
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the honorable mop,
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the honorable dishpan,
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and so forth.
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His speech would then have
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much less meaning
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when he called
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the Lord of the house,
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Your Honor.
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So this was a prevalent thing
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in the day,
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but the more serious abuse
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of oath-taking of the day,
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which Jesus more poignantly addresses
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in this text,
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was evasive swearing.
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Evasive swearing.
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People were afraid
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to make an oath
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in the name of the Lord
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because they were either
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telling less than the truth,
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they were out and out lying,
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and they didn't want to take
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an oath in the name of the Lord,
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fearing judgment,
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or they were afraid
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that they would be unable
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to keep their promise,
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or had no intention
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of keeping their promise at all.
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So, they developed the habit
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of swearing on something lesser,
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like heaven, the earth,
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Jerusalem, or their own heads.
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They'd swear on their own life.
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And these oaths
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were not considered binding.
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So you could take an oath,
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but in a lesser thing
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than God Himself,
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and you could get out of it.
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It wasn't really an oath at all
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in that case.
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Jesus speaks to this
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in Matthew chapter 23.
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This is the chapter
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where all the woes
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to the scribes
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are contained within.
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And He says,
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beginning in verse 16,
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Woe to you blind guides
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who say,
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if anyone swears by the temple,
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it is nothing.
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But if anyone swears by the gold
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of the temple,
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he is bound by his oath.
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So these are these laws
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they put in place.
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Jesus says,
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you blind fools,
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for which is greater,
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the gold or the temple
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that has made the gold sacred?
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And you say,
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if anyone swears by the altar,
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it is nothing.
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But if anyone swears by the gift
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that is on the altar,
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he is bound by his oath.
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You blind men,
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for which is greater,
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the gift or the altar
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that makes the gift sacred?
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So whoever swears by the altar
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swears by it
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and by everything on it.
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And whoever swears by the temple
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swears by it
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and by him who dwells in it.
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And whoever swears by heaven
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swears by the throne of God
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and by him who sits
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upon it.
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The Pharisees,
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in an effort to carefully
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keep the law,
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so often lost sight
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of the spirit
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of that law
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and became far too concerned
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about the letter of it.
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People lived,
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as many do today,
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as if any part of their life
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could ever be separated
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from the presence of God.
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And this is simply not so.
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So this was the misrepresentation
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of the law that Jesus is correcting.
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It appears on the surface
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to be so good.
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If you make an oath,
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keep it.
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But this was the practice
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that was going on
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in the day
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to try to avoid
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the biblical way
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in which oaths are meant
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to be made
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and kept.
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So he's correcting them.
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This frivolous
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and this evasive swearing.
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One minimizing the truth
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and the other avoiding it
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altogether.
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And he does so
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with the following statement.
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We've read already.
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Verse 34,
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Now there are many,
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even today,
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that believe that Jesus here
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is abolishing
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the practice of oath-taking
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completely.
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He is entirely doing away
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with it altogether.
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There are those
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who refuse to make promises
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with any degree
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of gravitas
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who do not hold
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that one should take
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an oath in a court of law
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or that doctors,
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police officers,
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military personnel,
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judges,
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our elected officials,
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and so forth
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should be sworn in
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to their prospective offices.
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They all take oaths
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when they do this
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to upkeep
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particular promises
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of that office.
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I am not one
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of those people
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and I will show you why
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from the two testaments.
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So what I'm doing here
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is I'm debunking
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the idea,
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I hope,
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that we ought not ever
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take an oath
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that Jesus' word,
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but I say you do not
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take an oath at all,
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has to be placed
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in its proper context
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and in the larger context
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of Scripture
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to understand
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what it is
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he's combating
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specifically
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in the Sermon on the Mount.
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So let me show you
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from the two testaments
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briefly.
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So first in the Old Testament,
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I read it to you already,
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but in Leviticus 19.12,
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God gives instruction
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for the taking of oaths.
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He tells us
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in this particular case
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how not to take an oath.
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So there's a positive
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implication as well.
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He says,
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you shall not swear
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by my name falsely
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and so profane
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the name of your God.
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I am the Lord.
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So the inverse of that
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would be to say,
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you should swear
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by my name truthfully.
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If you make an oath,
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you should keep said oath.
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Many Old Testament saints
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made oaths.
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Abraham swore by God's name
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in Genesis chapter 14,
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verse 22,
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and verse 23
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as he interacts
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with the king of Sodom.
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He says,
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I have lifted my hand
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to the Lord,
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God most high,
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possessor of heaven and earth,
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that I would not take
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a thread
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or a sandal strap
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or anything that is yours,
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lest you should say,
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I have made Abram rich.
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He's saying,
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I have lifted my hand,
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I have made a promise
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in God's name,
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in His presence,
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with Him as the witness
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of the promise
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that I'm making to you.
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And he affirms this
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to the king of Sodom
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by telling him this very thing.
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Another example,
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amongst many,
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David and Jonathan
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covenanted together
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in the name of the Lord
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in 1 Samuel chapter 20
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and verse 16.
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And Jonathan made a covenant
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with the house of David,
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saying,
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May the Lord take vengeance
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on David's enemies.
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Right?
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He calls God,
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right,
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to uphold the covenant
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that they make together
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in that case.
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So those are just two
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of the many Old Testament examples
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I could provide.
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But more importantly,
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I want to look at the New Testament
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on the matter.
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Right?
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So those who would say
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that Jesus has come
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and He's put away the practice,
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right?
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So there's a practice
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we've established.
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And I want to show you
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that the practice continues on
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in the New Testament as well
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and spend a bit more time there.
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So in the New Testament,
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and I think the highest example
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we may have here,
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earthly example,
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Jesus swore an oath
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when He was on trial
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before Caiaphas
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in Matthew chapter 26.
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This is verse 63 and verse 64.
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It says,
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But Jesus remained silent.
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And the high priest said to Him,
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I adjure you by the living God.
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Tell us if you are the Christ,
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the Son of God.
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And here he's doing,
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he's appealing to God Himself,
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right?
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Before God,
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in the name of God,
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speak the truth.
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And what does Jesus say in response?
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You have said so.
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He doesn't say to Him,
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right?
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Well, I'll tell you,
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but I'm not going to do that.
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I'm not going to swear
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on the name of God
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that I am in fact
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the Son of God.
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But when He says it,
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He says,
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You have said so.
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He affirms the very thing
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that Caiaphas is asking Him to do.
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Further,
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Paul swore oaths.
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And we don't pick these up often,
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but this is what he's doing.
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Romans chapter 9 and verse 1.
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He says,
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I am speaking the truth in Christ.
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I am not lying.
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My conscience bears me witness
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in the Holy Spirit.
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He's appealing to God
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as the witness of His truthfulness.
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And in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 23,
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I think more emphatically here,
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he says,
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But I call God to witness against me.
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It was to spare you
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that I refrained from coming again to Corinth.
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So again,
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appealing to making a promise.
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I'm speaking the truth
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and God will bear me witness
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for this truth
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that I am speaking.
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Most importantly to the case I'm making,
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the writer of Hebrews tells us
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that God Himself
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swore an oath
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to His people.
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And this is Hebrews chapter 6.
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And I'd like for you to turn
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and look at this with me.
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Beginning in verse 13.
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Verse 13.
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Verse 13.
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The writer of Hebrews
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is writing at this point
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to give his readers
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a confidence in the promises of God.
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A confidence that remains
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for us today.
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It was certainly active for them
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and is still active for us.
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And he bases that confidence
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in an oath
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made by God Himself.
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If we think that oaths
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are no longer allowable,
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I would tend to think
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that oaths are broken in that case
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and we cannot have this kind of confidence.
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So he writes,
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beginning in verse 13,
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For when God made a promise to Abraham,
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since he had no one greater
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by whom to swear,
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he swore by himself,
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saying,
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Surely I will bless you
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and multiply you.
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And thus Abraham,
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having patiently waited,
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obtained the promise.
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For people swear by something
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greater than themselves,
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and in all their disputes,
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an oath
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is final
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for confirmation.
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So when God desired
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to show more convincingly
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to the heirs
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of the promise
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the unchangeable character
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of His purpose,
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He guaranteed it
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with an oath.
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He made a promise.
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He swore by Himself.
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God,
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who cannot change
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and cannot lie,
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swore an oath.
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And it is a blessed oath,
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right,
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that all the nations of the world
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will be blessed
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in Jesus Christ,
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the seed of Abraham.
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So Jesus is not telling us
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that we cannot make
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large,
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weighty promises.
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Jesus is warning against
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the type of promise making
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that was so prevalent
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in His day
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and
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in ours.
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And He works through
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unraveling their logic
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of swearing on a
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lesser thing,
23:37
doesn't He?
23:38
He says the lesser thing
23:40
really belongs to God
23:42
anyway,
23:43
right?
23:44
Heaven is the throne of God,
23:46
earth is His footstool,
23:48
Jerusalem is His city,
23:50
and you can't even
23:53
control your head.
23:54
I am also the God
23:56
of your life.
23:58
So swearing on anything lesser
24:00
is to swear
24:01
by God Himself.
24:04
Jesus will not allow anyone
24:05
to play games
24:06
and cheat the rules.
24:09
He sees the motivations
24:10
and purposes
24:11
of our hearts,
24:13
this whole person
24:14
righteousness,
24:15
right?
24:17
All of our lives
24:18
ought to be lived
24:19
quorum Deo,
24:20
that is,
24:21
in the presence
24:22
of God.
24:25
Jesus is saying
24:26
don't make frivolous
24:27
or evasive
24:28
promises.
24:30
When you make
24:31
weighty promises,
24:33
they should be made
24:34
as a people
24:35
who love
24:36
and walk
24:36
in the truth.
24:38
And we do make
24:39
these sort
24:40
of weighty promises.
24:42
I would not want
24:43
to do away
24:44
with these kinds
24:45
of promises
24:45
that we make.
24:47
As examples,
24:48
we do so
24:49
in our marriage vows.
24:51
We agree
24:52
that God
24:53
is presiding
24:53
over our marriage.
24:56
We are making
24:57
promises
24:57
to each other,
24:58
big promises
24:59
to each other.
25:01
We are making
25:02
an oath
25:03
as we covenant
25:04
together in
25:05
marriage.
25:06
And,
25:07
we have done
25:08
so as a covenant
25:09
community.
25:11
Those of you
25:12
who are members
25:12
of our church
25:13
and those who
25:13
aren't,
25:14
come on,
25:15
get on the process.
25:18
But,
25:19
we have made
25:20
weighty promises
25:22
to one another
25:23
and we've done
25:25
so,
25:26
we've taken
25:26
this oath,
25:28
we've sworn
25:28
by God.
25:31
Listen to
25:32
the conclusion
25:32
of our membership
25:33
covenant.
25:35
Those of you
25:35
who remember
25:35
signed this.
25:38
It reads,
25:39
I enter into
25:40
this covenant
25:41
together with
25:41
Christ Family
25:42
Church under
25:43
the common
25:44
goal of
25:44
obedience to
25:45
glorification of
25:46
and joyful
25:47
satisfaction in
25:48
Jesus Christ
25:49
because I believe
25:50
and assert with
25:51
the rest of the
25:52
body that we
25:53
need one of
25:54
those help
25:54
to do so.
25:56
As believers
25:56
and disciples
25:57
of Jesus,
25:58
we have entered
25:59
into a covenant
25:59
relationship with
26:00
God who revealed
26:01
himself in
26:02
Jesus Christ.
26:03
The blessings
26:04
and promises
26:04
of this covenant
26:05
have been freely
26:07
extended and given
26:07
to us.
26:08
Therefore,
26:09
out of wonder,
26:10
love,
26:11
thanksgiving,
26:11
and reverence,
26:12
we hereby accept
26:14
and take up
26:15
these covenant
26:15
responsibilities
26:16
which accompany
26:18
said privileges
26:19
together as a
26:21
covenant family.
26:22
This is our
26:23
reasonable service
26:24
and we should
26:25
do nothing
26:26
less.
26:27
God help us
26:29
all.
26:30
We rely on
26:31
his grace alone
26:32
and hold fast
26:32
to his promise
26:33
that there is now
26:34
no condemnation
26:34
for those who
26:36
are in Christ
26:36
Jesus.
26:37
May his
26:38
grace provide
26:39
for all
26:40
that he
26:41
commands.
26:42
We have
26:43
made weighty
26:45
promises.
26:46
We have
26:46
taken an
26:47
oath to
26:48
one another
26:48
and I'll
26:50
leave out the
26:50
details of what
26:51
that covenant
26:51
says but to
26:52
walk in truth
26:53
together,
26:54
to pursue
26:55
Christ together,
26:56
to take the
26:57
gospel to the
26:58
nations together
26:59
is the summary
27:00
of those
27:01
promises that
27:02
we made in
27:03
the name
27:03
of God.
27:06
Jesus is
27:07
telling the
27:07
listeners of
27:07
his day
27:08
and us
27:09
this morning
27:09
that when
27:11
we take
27:11
oaths,
27:12
the people
27:13
that we
27:13
are making
27:14
promises to
27:15
should be
27:16
able to
27:16
believe what
27:17
we have
27:17
said because
27:19
our lives
27:20
are characterized
27:21
by the truth.
27:24
To make this
27:25
point further,
27:25
Jesus goes on
27:26
to say,
27:28
let what you
27:28
say be
27:29
simply yes
27:31
or no.
27:33
Anything more
27:34
than this
27:34
comes from
27:35
evil.
27:37
I believe
27:37
here that
27:38
Jesus is
27:38
speaking to
27:39
our everyday
27:39
interactions with
27:41
one another,
27:42
with our
27:43
spouses,
27:43
our employers,
27:44
our employees,
27:46
your pastor.
27:47
If you
27:49
say that
27:50
you will
27:50
do something,
27:51
your life
27:52
should back
27:53
the answer
27:53
of yes.
27:56
You should
27:57
be
27:57
trustworthy,
27:59
a person
28:00
that can
28:01
be trusted
28:01
as honest.
28:04
If you
28:05
are asked
28:05
a question,
28:06
you should
28:06
give no
28:06
reason for
28:07
anyone to
28:07
doubt your
28:08
answer.
28:10
Our lives
28:10
would be
28:11
characterized
28:11
in this
28:12
way.
28:13
In the
28:13
original
28:14
language,
28:14
Jesus
28:15
actually
28:15
says,
28:16
let what
28:17
you say
28:17
be simply
28:18
yes,
28:20
yes,
28:21
or no,
28:22
no.
28:24
Your
28:24
translation
28:25
may in
28:25
fact render
28:26
it this
28:27
way.
28:27
It's a
28:27
little more
28:28
faithful if
28:28
it does
28:29
on this
28:30
particular
28:30
verse.
28:32
This
28:32
redundancy
28:33
in Jesus'
28:33
speech is
28:34
much like
28:34
his teaching
28:35
that begins
28:36
with truly,
28:37
truly,
28:37
I say
28:38
to you.
28:40
It places
28:40
emphasis on
28:41
the weightiness
28:42
of what was
28:43
said.
28:44
This was
28:44
common
28:44
practice.
28:45
You repeat
28:45
a word.
28:47
We really
28:47
are supposed
28:47
to pay
28:48
attention to
28:48
this word
28:49
that has
28:50
repetition
28:51
with it.
28:52
It adds
28:52
a weightiness
28:53
to it.
28:55
Our
28:55
yeses
28:56
and our
28:57
nos
28:57
should hold
28:59
value in
29:00
the minds
29:00
of our
29:01
listeners.
29:03
We as
29:04
American
29:04
English
29:05
speakers don't
29:05
need to go
29:05
around saying
29:06
yes,
29:06
yes,
29:06
and no,
29:07
no.
29:08
The point
29:09
being,
29:09
I think
29:09
why the
29:10
ESV
29:10
translators
29:11
just said
29:12
yes and
29:12
no,
29:13
is because
29:14
we're
29:14
supposed to
29:15
say yes
29:16
and it
29:16
carries
29:16
that weight.
29:17
It carries
29:18
the truly,
29:19
truly weight
29:20
behind it.
29:21
People would
29:22
hear us
29:23
and believe
29:24
us as
29:25
followers of
29:26
Jesus Christ.
29:28
As lovers
29:29
of the truth,
29:31
those who have
29:32
been redeemed
29:33
by our faith
29:33
in it,
29:34
we should be
29:35
speakers of
29:36
the truth.
29:37
We are
29:38
children of
29:39
God and
29:40
God cannot
29:41
lie.
29:43
Titus
29:44
chapter 1
29:44
verse 2,
29:46
we are
29:46
not
29:47
children of
29:48
Satan.
29:50
In John
29:51
chapter 8
29:51
verse 44,
29:52
Jesus accuses
29:53
the religious
29:53
leaders of
29:54
his day by
29:54
saying,
29:55
you are
29:56
of your
29:56
father,
29:57
the devil,
29:58
and your
29:58
will is to
29:59
do your
30:00
father's
30:00
desires.
30:02
He was a
30:03
murderer from
30:03
the beginning
30:04
and does
30:04
not stand
30:05
in the
30:05
truth because
30:06
there is no
30:07
truth in
30:08
him.
30:09
When he
30:09
lies,
30:10
he speaks
30:11
out of
30:11
his own
30:12
character,
30:13
for he is
30:13
a liar and
30:14
the father
30:15
of lies.
30:17
This should
30:18
not be us.
30:19
And in
30:19
Matthew 12
30:20
verse 34,
30:21
he says again
30:22
this indictment,
30:23
you brood of
30:24
vipers,
30:25
how can you
30:26
speak good
30:27
when you are
30:28
evil?
30:28
For out of
30:29
the abundance
30:29
of the heart
30:31
the mouth
30:32
speaks.
30:36
Good trees
30:37
produce good
30:38
fruit.
30:41
Apples don't
30:42
grow on
30:42
pear trees.
30:43
Apples don't
30:44
grow on,
30:44
right?
30:46
I have now
30:47
been recorded
30:47
singing and
30:48
that's frightening.
30:50
No
30:50
nana's come,
30:51
it only
30:51
grows plums.
30:55
Your heart
30:56
is where
30:56
the words
30:57
of your
30:58
mouth
30:59
grow.
31:00
Your mouth
31:01
is where
31:01
the words
31:02
of your
31:02
heart
31:03
go.
31:04
Jesus
31:06
change
31:07
our
31:07
hearts
31:07
to bear
31:08
good
31:09
fruit.
31:11
Citizens
31:12
of his
31:12
kingdom,
31:13
that was
31:13
entirely
31:13
unplanned
31:14
by the
31:14
way,
31:15
citizens
31:17
of God's
31:18
kingdom
31:18
will be
31:19
truth
31:20
speakers.
31:23
This
31:23
qualifies
31:24
us.
31:25
And again,
31:25
we are not
31:26
citizens because
31:27
we speak
31:27
truth,
31:28
but because
31:28
we are
31:29
citizens.
31:30
We're
31:31
desirous
31:32
for this.
31:32
We hunger
31:33
and thirst
31:34
for this.
31:35
We long
31:36
for God's
31:36
spirit to
31:36
work in
31:37
us this
31:37
righteousness
31:38
that seeks
31:39
truth at
31:40
all cost.
31:43
May we
31:44
be a
31:44
people set
31:45
apart for
31:46
the praise
31:46
of God
31:47
in all
31:48
that we
31:48
do.
31:49
May we
31:50
be characterized
31:51
as followers
31:51
of the
31:52
truth by
31:53
being speakers
31:54
of the
31:54
truth in
31:55
all things
31:56
to all
31:57
peoples
31:58
for the
31:59
glory of
32:00
God.
32:01
I want
32:02
to leave
32:02
you with
32:02
one last
32:04
reading.
32:05
This is
32:05
from 1
32:06
John
32:06
chapter 1
32:07
and this
32:08
is verses
32:08
5
32:09
through 10.
32:12
John
32:12
writes,
32:13
this is the
32:13
message we
32:14
have heard
32:14
from him
32:15
and proclaimed
32:16
to you,
32:17
that God
32:17
is light
32:18
and in
32:19
him is
32:19
no darkness
32:20
at all.
32:22
If we
32:23
say we
32:23
have fellowship
32:24
with him
32:24
while we
32:24
walk in
32:25
darkness,
32:26
we lie
32:26
and do
32:27
not practice
32:28
the truth.
32:29
But if we
32:30
walk in
32:30
the light
32:31
as he
32:32
is in
32:32
the light,
32:33
we have
32:33
fellowship
32:34
with one
32:35
another and
32:35
the blood
32:36
of Jesus
32:37
his son
32:37
cleanses
32:38
us from
32:39
all sin.
32:41
If we
32:41
say we
32:42
have no
32:42
sin,
32:43
we deceive
32:43
ourselves
32:44
and the
32:44
truth
32:45
is not
32:45
in us.
32:46
If we
32:47
confess
32:47
our sins,
32:49
he is
32:49
faithful
32:50
and just
32:50
to forgive
32:51
us our
32:52
sins
32:52
and to
32:53
cleanse us
32:53
from all
32:54
unrighteousness.
32:56
If we
32:56
say we
32:57
have not
32:57
sinned,
32:57
we make
32:59
him a
32:59
liar and
33:00
his word
33:00
is not
33:01
in us.
33:02
Let's pray
33:03
together.