Your yes is to be yes, and your no, no

James 5 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. ² Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! ⁴ Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. ⁵ You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.

⁷ Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. ⁸ You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. ⁹ Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. ¹⁰ As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹² 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.

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; ¹⁵ and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. ¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹ My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, ²⁰ let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

In today’s text it says:  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.  I am old enough to remember a time when most people could be taken at their word. Even in business dealings a verbal yes was an agreement you could count on. Today, in our culture and society, we see that even written contracts are broken and contested. People swear to tell the truth and instead they lie. But just because that is the way of the world, does not mean that it should be expected or accepted from those who follow Christ. Those who are not true to their word will fall under judgment.   Revelation 21:5-8 says:  He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”    Liars will be judged along with the unbelieving, abominable, murderers, immoral persons, sorcerers and idolaters. Your yes is to be yes, and your no, no.

The text says:  Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;  and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.  Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.    Many people pray for healing and even have leaders in the church pray for them. It is not that God makes people sick to punish them for sin, but even medical science acknowledges that guilt, anxiety, bitterness and unforgiveness have negative affects on the human body and our health. It is for that reason that we should confess our sins when we are seeking a healing. It is not that God is judging or condemning us with sickness, but rather that guilt and self condemnation can inhibit our ability to receive all that Jesus provided for us on the cross.  1 John 1:5-10 says:  God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.  In Mark 11:24 Jesus says:  I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  We cannot believe we will receive what we ask for if we have made God a liar.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 

The text says:  My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back,  let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.  This too is why it is vital that our yes be yes and our no be no, so that when we speak the truth people will know that it is truth. Our testimony of Christ is not reliable if the witness of our life does not speak truth. In John 14:6 Jesus says:  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  To show people the way, we need to speak the truth.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; may my yes be yes and my no be no. May I always speak the truth so that others will know that You are truth and the way. Holy Spirit I pray that You will convict me of my sin so that I can confess it and not hold onto guilt and condemnation. May my prayers, because of Your righteousness, be effective and accomplish much.  Amen.