Today marriage vows, contracts between sellers and purchasers, business relationships between employer and employee are all frequently broken. Our lives are littered with promises which men fail to keep. Malice, bad management, self-seeking, sheer carelessness all mean a man's 'Yes' is no and his 'No' is yes. We let down those who depend upon us the most. We don't take our own words seriously. But the Bible does. James says that if our 'Yes' is not yes then we'll be condemned. God requires full faithfulness of our vows. God himself is absolutely trustworthy. What he says he does. When the Lord Jesus came into this world he said, "I am the truth." All he said was true. All we say must be true.

What James is condemning is irreverent swearing, needless swearing, disguised swearing and surreptitious swearing. Men were calling upon the name of God to secure credit for their speech. Their simple word was not enough: their word was suspect. Our Lord and James in our text are pleading for simplicity, honesty, forthrightness of expression in the interest of truth and truthfulness. A simple 'yes' or 'no' should be enough for credit. John Murray says, "Our Lord came to bear witness to the truth, and his kingdom is one in which the sanctity of truth is paramount. The mark of truth is chastity of speech. If we are truthful and if our tongues are mellowed by the love of truth, we shall not need to embellish and reinforce our affirmations, denials, and promises by expressions which are the coinage of profanity and ultimately of untruthfulness" ("Principles of Conduct", p.173).

– Geoff Thomas