Divorce & Remarriage? Did Jesus Come Back to Correct Moses?

Jesus Didn’t Correct Moses – Oaths

Click here for the teaching GMFC Bible Study – Jesus Didn’t Correct Moses – Oaths – 12-9-2017.mp3

V17 & 18 he clearly states he did NOT come to destroy the law. He fulfilled the ceremonial law only. The Law of Christ is the Law of Moses, minus the ceremonies.

Mat 5:17  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 
Mat 5:18  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 
Mat 5:19  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least(excluded) in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 
Mat 5:20  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees(the teachers of Israel – teaching wrongly), ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Christ enables his children to obey the Law through the Holy Spirit. There is a greater power in the NT to fulfill the law.Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 
Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (the moral law must be fulfilled by moral agents)

If Jesus had changed the law (done away with), the following verses could NOT be true. It’s the same law for eternity. Remember, only the Old Testament was written when the below was spoken.
2Ti 3:16  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 
2Ti 3:17  That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Mat 7:12  Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. 

Jesus is correcting the “Scribes & Pharisees” here as they corrupted the law of God. They taught Israel what the law said but also taught them how to disobey.
Mat 23:1  Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 
Mat 23:2  Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 
Mat 23:3  All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
Jesus puts the law into a true light:
Psa 119:99  I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. 
Psa 119:100  I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.

Jesus would have SINNED if He taught against the moral law of Moses. As in the OLD is in the NEW as you will see in a few examples below.

Isa 8:20  To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 
Mat 5:21  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 
Mat 5:22  But I say unto you(against corrupt interpretations), That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 
Mat 5:23  Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 
Mat 5:24  Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 
Mat 5:25  Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 
Mat 5:26  Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Lev 19:16  Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD. 
Lev 19:17  Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. 
Lev 19:18  Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Deu 19:11  But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities: 
Deu 19:12  Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 
Deu 19:13  Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

Adultery was lust with the eyes in the OT too!
Pro 6:25  Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.

Job 31:1  I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? 
Job 31:2  For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 
Job 31:3  Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? 
Job 31:4  Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?

Mat 5:27  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:(starts with lust of the eye) 
Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 
Mat 5:29  And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 
Mat 5:30  And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

GOD’s law is everlasting.

Psa 119:142  Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.

Pro 28:4  They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.

1Jn 3:4  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (REFERRING TO THE MORAL LAW OF MOSES)

Oaths (you should not swear falsely or casually – doing either is taking God’s name in vain). An oath and a vow are closely related. You should not enter into them lightly and always do them to God and make sure it’s true. If it’s a future vow/oath, make SURE you can fulfill it. If you go back on it, you mock God and take His name in vain!
Definition of oath
plural oaths play \ˈōt͟hz, ˈōths\
(1) a: a solemn usually formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says 
(2) :a solemn attestation of the truth or inviolability of one’s words
  • The witness took an oath to tell the truth in court.
b :something (such as a promise) corroborated by an oath
  • They were required to swear an oath of loyalty.
  • took the oath of office
2:an irreverent or careless use of a sacred name; broadly :swear word
  • He uttered an oath and stormed away.”

Mat 5:33  Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 
Mat 5:34  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 
Mat 5:35  Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 
Mat 5:36  Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 
Mat 5:37  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

There are times we must go under oath before a public official. It’s commanded we do. 

“Our Saviour here evidently had no reference to judicial oaths, or oaths taken in a court of justice. It was merely the foolish and wicked habit of swearing in private conversation; of swearing on every occasion and by everything that he condemned. This he does condemn in a most unqualified manner. He himself, however, did not refuse to take an oath in a court of law, Mat_26:63-64. So Paul often called God to witness his sincerity, which is all that is meant by an oath. See Rom_1:9; Rom_9:1; Gal_1:20; Heb_6:16. Oaths were, moreover, prescribed in the law of Moses, and Christ did not come to repeal those laws. See Exo_22:11; Lev_5:1; Num_5:19; Deu_29:12, Deu_29:14.” {ALBERT BARNES Commentary}

Abraham swears an oath:
Gen 21:22  And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: 
Gen 21:23  Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned.

Gen 21:24  And Abraham said, I will swear.
Entering into a covenant is entering into an oath.
Gen 21:30  And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. 
Gen 21:31  Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them. 
Gen 21:32  Thus they made a covenant(oath) at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.

Oaths are sometimes necessary to settle disputes, strife, give accounts of serious matters, etc:

Exo 22:10  If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: 
Exo 22:11  Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good. 
Exo 22:12  And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. 
Exo 22:13  If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn. 
Exo 22:14  And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good. 
Exo 22:15  But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.
Another oath:

Num 5:18  And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse: 
Num 5:19  And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse: 
Num 5:20  But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband: 
Num 5:21  Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell; 
Num 5:22  And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.

God commands oaths be done in His name if they need to be made! 
Deu 6:12  Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 
Deu 6:13  Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?
Psa 15:1  A Psalm of David. LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 
Psa 15:2  He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. 
Psa 15:3  He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. 
Psa 15:4  In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth(an oath or a vow) to his own hurt, and changeth not. 
Psa 15:5  He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

Ecc 5:1  Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. 
Ecc 5:2  Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. 
Ecc 5:3  For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. 
Ecc 5:4  When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 
Ecc 5:5  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 
Ecc 5:6  Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? 
Ecc 5:7  For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

Jesus was not saying NEVER to swear an oath, He just kept in its narrow provision (as he did with self-defense, divorce & remarriage, etc.) He was cleaning up the abuse of the law and confusion caused by Israel’s wicked teachers who had corrupted the people’s understanding of God’s Word.

Mat 26:62  And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? 
Mat 26:63  But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure (take oath) thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 
Mat 26:64  Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Rom 1:8  First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 
Rom 1:9  For God is my witness(oath), whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; 
Rom 1:10  Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

Gal 1:20  Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God (oath), I lie not. 
Gal 1:21  Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; 
Gal 1:22  And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ: 
Gal 1:23  But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. 
Gal 1:24  And they glorified God in me.

The Certainty of God’s Promise
Heb 6:13  For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 
Heb 6:14  Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 
Heb 6:15  And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 
Heb 6:16  For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife (Jesus didn’t change this fact)
Heb 6:17  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 
Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 
Heb 6:19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 
Heb 6:20  Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Rev 10:5  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, 
Rev 10:6  And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: 
Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
A true oath is to give certainty and seriousness to one’s word.  An oath taken is actually calling for punishment upon yourself by God if you are not saying the truth.  The Jewish leaders were teaching that swearing by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, your head, etc is to leave God out of the oath and prevents taking His name in vain and incurring His judgment.  Jesus rebuked this by saying that these things ultimately belong to God and using them is ultimately bringing God into the oath.  We are taking His name in vain in our oath if our word isn’t true and/or the oath was made casually in circumstances where a simple yes or no should have been enough.  This has to do with the meaning of James 5:12 also.  King Saul was very quick to take an oath when he fell away from the Lord.
Don’t swear an oath unless it’s TRUE and warranted by weighty circumstances!
Deu 6:13  Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. 
 
The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament both say they don’t change! (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8, etc).  The eternal God’s standard of righteousness never could or would change then! (Psalm 119:142, 2 Tim. 3:16-17) Jesus didn’t correct the law of Moses!  Jesus wrote the Old Testament too and we are to live by EVERY Word of God (Matthew 4:4).  Discrepancies in moral conduct required from the OT to the NT would mean that there’d have to be moral laws in the Bible we couldn’t live by.  But since such discrepancies don’t exist, we must interpret Jesus in light of the law and the prophets- and not as speaking contrary to them.  This is how Jesus meant the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 7:12), all His teaching in the gospels, and everything the Apostles taught in the NT to be understood.