This Sunday: Why is Saying "No" So Hard?

July 14th, 2015 | John Chandler

We say at Austin Mustard Seed that we are a church community that practices the way of Jesus for North/Central Austin. It’s a little catchy and pretty straightforward. It’s hard to imagine a Christian that would not agree with it.

We want to be the people who do the things that Jesus said to do.

Except when we don’t.

Our passage this week comes from The Sermon on the Mount, a set of teachings by Jesus. Smack dab in the middle, Jesus says something that, historically has been ignored, twisted or or explained away.

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

What is it about this small passage, that people try to call it “impossible,” “political” or “personal?”

We’ll look into it on Sunday!