Transforming Allegiance: Living Truthfully in Christ

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In Ephesians 4, in verse 21 Paul says if indeed you have heard him and have been taught in him just as truth is in Jesus, that in reference to your former manner of life you lay aside the old self which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust and deceit and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self which is in the likeness of God. [00:36:19]

What Leo saw here was that here was a soldier who, based on his oath and his allegiance to his country, did what he was supposed to do according to his country and drove away a beggar. And then when he's face to face with the thing that Jesus taught, if thine enemy hunger feed him, he gets a little uneasy. [00:41:07]

Any time that we will swear an oath of allegiance to any individual or to any organization, the day will come when he or it will demand something of us that is contrary to Jesus, and we will be left condemned, condemned both ways, condemned if we don't do what Jesus says, condemned if we do what Jesus says and break an oath. [00:41:47]

The devil is the father of lies and all the kingdoms of the world have been founded upon deceit. They have conquered and subdued others to rise to their power and glory, and conquest is a brutal thing that is almost always maybe always covered with some kind of a deception. [00:42:34]

Jesus rejected this offer that Satan gave him, and instead he established his own kingdom. It's built on truth and on honesty, and he never demands anything that is contrary to his will. His kingdom always has and always will clash with the other kingdoms of this world, regardless how benevolent they might appear. [00:43:32]

Think about how James worded that in James when he said above all, swear no oath, either by heaven or by earth or any other oath and then he ends it by saying this, lest you fall into condemnation. Don't swear an oath unless you fall into condemnation. [00:44:22]

The church for several hundred years after Christ held to a literal interpretation of Jesus's words. One of the things that commonly happened at marketplaces was people would swear about the product they're trying to sell and swear about the quality or integrity of it. [00:53:15]

Clement of Alexandria had something to say about that. He said whoever sells or buys anything should not name two prices for what he buys or sells but stating the net price and studying to speak the truth. If he does not get the price, he gets the truth and is rich in the possessions of righteousness. [00:53:36]

He also writes later or in another writing, where then is the necessity of an oath to him who lives in accordance with the extreme of truth. He then that does not even swear will be far from perjuring himself, and so he swears not even when asked for his oath nor does he even deny nor does he ever deny so as to speak falsehood. [00:54:10]

Polycarp said 86 years have I served him, and he never did me any injury. How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior? May the Lord add his blessing. I'll open it up for people to share comments or corrections. [00:59:43]

I think we should be extremely careful in making any kind of a vow whatsoever. It's a little hard for me to be dogmatic about saying that a Christian cannot or should not ever make a vow because I kind of think Paul did. [01:09:47]

If we think that Jesus, our Father or husband God, has disallowed all oaths, and that when we come to him and we realize that we're not to make oaths, we should repent of them and repent of all of them, not just the ones that are that actually are like that we couldn't carry out without violating. [01:18:12]

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