Oath
A solemn appeal to God, permitted on fitting occasions De 6:13
Jer 4:2 in various forms Ge 16:5 2Sa 12:5 Ru 1:17 Ho 4:15
Ro 1:9 and taken in different ways Ge 14:22 24:2 2Ch 6:22
God is represented as taking an oath Heb 6:16-18 so also Paul
Ro 9:1 Ga 1:20 Php 1:8 The precept, "Swear not at all," refers
probably to ordinary conversation between man and man Mt 5:34,37
But if the words are taken as referring to oaths, then their intention
may have been to show "that the proper state of Christians is to
require no oaths; that when evil is expelled from among them every yea
and nay will be as decisive as an oath, every promise as binding as a
vow."
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