Does Christ forbid judicial oaths, attestations in courts of law?
No, since our Lord testified upon oath before the high priest. Paul especially calls God to witness twice, in his Epistle to the Romans. In refuting false accusations he solemnly asserted to the Galatians, “Before God, I lie not.” Christ, however, would no doubt condemn rattling through the form of oath as some careless clerks administer it in some courts of law today, and certainly He would be pleased if laws against perjury were enforced. What does Christ’s rule … Matthew 5:34 … “Swear not at all” forbid? • All perjury. • All careless and trifling use of God’s name and Christ’s. Profanity has been called ‘the great American sin,’ since it is so common throughout the country. It is the most inexcusable of all sins. The excuse, “I mean nothing by it,” admits the very essence of the sin. Swearing is ‘meaning nothing’ by the most sacred names that can be taken on our lips! It leads to ‘meaning nothing’ by them in our hearts. • The rule also forbids substitutionary swearing. Most of t
