“But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”

                    -Matthew 5:34-37

In Jesus’ day, the ultimate way of proving your sincerity in any given matter was to swear an oath. Someone would swear by the temple and, in an attempt to outdo the other, someone else would swear by the gold in the temple. One person would swear by the altar, and another would swear by the sacrifice that was laid on the altar (Matthew 23:16-18). In the same way, this way of life has been almost perfectly mirrored in today’s society, where a person’s word alone is rarely enough to convince someone of the truth. Instead of taking one another at their word, how many times have you heard a conversation like this break out among friends?:

Guy #1: “Wow! Did that really happen?”

Guy #2: “Yes, I’m telling the truth.”

Guy #1: “Do you promise?

Guy #2: “Of course I promise.”

Guy #1: “Do you really really promise?”

If Guy #2 doesn’t “really really promise” that he’s telling the truth, his friend probably won’t believe him anymore. Sadly, many Christians today unwittingly compromise the integrity of their everyday speech by playing this twisted game of pinky-promises and triple-swears. After all, shouldn’t the followers of Jesus Christ – the Way, Truth, and Life (John 14:6) – be able to convince someone of the truth based on their word alone?

To the best of my knowledge, Christ never promised or swore in order to establish His words or teaching. He simply affirmed the truth of the matter at hand with the words, “Verily (i.e. truly) verily I say unto you.” (John 12:24) Likewise, we need not to do more than give somebody our  simple word of faith when the truth of a matter is questioned. Whatsoever is more than this cometh of evil.