James 5:12

‘But above all things, my brothers, swear not,

Neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath,

But let your yes be yes, and your no, no,

So that you do not fall under judgment.

Notice the ‘above all things’. This should warn us not to see this just as something slipped in. It rather indicates that it is central to James’ thinking. He has come to the final example of what is to be judged. By being totally open and honest, and by always speaking the truth, and by avoiding misusing divine things and dragging God down to their level, they will avoid the judgment that will face so many. It also specifically confirms the need for us to watch our tongues, and is in total contrast to the perfidy of the rich landowners. The picture of the rich landowners is of men who were willing to deceive, and lie and cheat. Having made contracts with their labourers to pay them their wages they broke them. but the true brothers are to be those who speak the truth from the heart with no exemptions, and who can totally be relied on (compare Psalms 15:4).

John would put this another way in his letters. ‘God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness we lie and do not the truth’ (1 John 1:5-6). For to walk with God involves total openness and truth, it involves walking in the light.

‘Neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath.’ This reads as though James is abbreviating Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:34-36 with ‘any other oath’ finally summing up the detail. This is not talking about the making of an oath as a witness in an official court of law, but decrying their use in order either to confirm the truth of the words spoken, or as a device for giving that impression while leaving a loophole by which they can escape from its binding nature (something which was very prevalent in Jerusalem).

‘Let your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.’ What they are to ensure is that they speak truly and honestly without the need for oaths so that there will be no question of their words needing to be judged as false. Note how James has here again introduced the theme of the section which is judgment. But those people who make a great thing of oaths are in danger of dishonouring God (by referring to Him indirectly in a false manner, depending on the oath), dishonouring themselves (because they demonstrate that they are not to be trusted without an oath), or trivialising truth. The emphasis overall, however, is not on the oaths, but on the truthfulness and honesty that make oaths unnecessary. It is such who can come to God and pray in expectancy.