Avoid Flippant Oaths

September 18th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

James 5:12 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.

Though it seems odd that James would bring up swearing in v. 12, profane language is not what he has in mind. What is in his mind is man’s feeble attempt to assert authority and control over the future by swearing a flippant oath of some kind. Perhaps given the situation James’ audience was in, he cautions them not to presumptuously swear that if they were ever to get out of their trial, they will never allow themselves to be such victims again. After all, presumptuous living is not Christian (cf. 4:13-17). So if it is wrong for a Christian to live arrogantly, ignoring God, then certainly taking oaths in the name of God regarding the future, as if anyone could guarantee the future with an oath, is also not Christian. Both are tests of genuine faith.

Addressing flippant oaths in Matthew 5:33-37, Jesus rebuked those who swore by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or their own head. What both Jesus and James are saying therefore is that since humans cannot control anything, swearing an oath about the future is absurd! It is no wonder then that James prefaces v. 12 with “above all,” for although complaining against fellow believers is wrong (5:9), what is actually worse is a feeble human being in the midst of his sufferings attempting to assume God’s rightful authority and swear an oath about the future.

To ignore James’ counsel is to “fall under judgment.” He says, “your ‘yes’ is to be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’, ‘no.’ ” Likewise Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, said, “Let your statement be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of the evil one” (Matt. 5:37). Since swearing oaths about the future is for God alone, it is a devilish action to attempt to assume what only God can do. Therefore, when a Christian slanders (4:11) or takes an oath (5:12), falsely assuming he can control the future, he is like the devil (Gr. diabolos)—he whose name means “slanderer.”

Not all oaths, however, are sins. God actually gave provisions for His people to take oaths, yet He cautioned them, saying, “You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God…” (Lev. 19:12). God also ordained oaths between neighbors (Ex. 22:10-11). In order to guarantee his word, Abraham took an oath (Gen. 21:25-31; cf. 24:2-4), as did Isaac (26:26-31). Rahab made the two spies swear by an oath (Josh. 2:12-20). In Numbers 5:19-22 an oath was required of a woman suspected of marital infidelity. Also, in Numbers 6 the Nazirite vow is introduced. Further, the Israelites who followed Joshua swore an oath to God (Josh. 6:26; cf. 2 Chron. 15:14; Ezra 10:5; Neh. 10:28-30). David himself swore oaths with Jonathan (1 Sam. 20:12-17; 2 Sam. 21:7), Saul (1 Sam. 24:21-22), Shimei (2 Sam. 19:23), and God (2 Sam. 3:35).

In the NT, Paul fulfilled a vow to God (Acts 18:18), later taking an oath of accuracy when he told the Corinthians, “The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying” (2 Cor. 11:31; cf. 1:23; Rom. 9:1). Even one of the angels of the Revelation swore an oath to God (Rev. 10:5-6). These kinds of oaths are only sinful when they are used to deceive or when they were taken frivolously—the kind that Jesus accused the Pharisees of taking, swearing by less sacred things like the gold of the temple rather than the temple itself or by the altar instead of the offering upon the altar (Matt. 23:16-21). When Jesus said, “Make no oath at all” (Matt. 5:34), this is what He was referring to. For when one takes God’s name in a flippant oath, he takes the Lord’s name in vain and breaks the commandment (Ex. 20:7).

So, since oaths invoke God’s holy name (Deut. 6:13), they are not to be taken lightly: “If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” (Num. 30:2; cf. Ps. 15:1-4; Eccl. 5:4-5). Examples of rash vows in the Bible include Joshua (Josh. 9:3-15), Jephthah (Jdgs. 11:30-36), Saul (1 Sam. 14:24), and Herod Antipas (Matt. 14:7-9).

Food For Thought
Since James has in mind the kinds of oaths that guarantee the uncontrollable future, he is not forbidding Christians to takes oaths in a court of law or to swear allegiance to their spouse during their wedding nuptials. After all, oaths can be taken to bolster the truth of our words (cf. Rom. 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:23; 11:11; Gal. 1:20; Phil. 1:8; 1 Thess. 2:5, 10). So when we do take a legitimate oath, we must follow through on our oath. The forbidden oaths James and Jesus speak of reveal another test of true saving faith, for those who swear falsely are not true believers.