YOUR WORD IS YOUR BOND (2 OF 4)
Scripture: MATTHEW 5:33-37
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YOUR WORD IS YOUR BOND (2 of 4)
Dr. James Merritt
Matthew 5:33-37
11-18-01
INTRODUCTION
1. Many of you will remember the name of a one-hit
wonder called Milli Vanilli. From 1988 to 1989 they
sold 30 million singles and 14 million albums. In
January of 1990 they won a Grammy award for the album,
"Girl, You Know It's True," and were recognized as the
best new artist of that year. The only problem was it
wasn't true. They had lip-synced the entire
recording, and had to return the Grammy award. Jimmy
Bowen, President of Capitol Records, their record
company, said:
You have to remember that music is a mirror of
the times, and when the mirror is close to what's
happening, that's what sells. The times we live in
are very plastic. There are a lot of phony things
happening in people's lives so Milli Vanilli is just
playing the game. (1)
2. Well Jesus deals with this entire problem of
"playing the game" of lying, cheating, fraud, and
deception in this passage before us, and he said it as
only He could: "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your
'No,' 'No.'"
3. That one statement speaks to a real problem we
have in our society today, which is lying. The
Institute of Behavior Motivation has found that 97 out
of 100 people tell lies, and on average tell about
1,000 lies a year. This propensity to lie, cheat,
deceive, shade the truth, has affected how we see
ourselves and how we see each other.
4. Several years ago the Roper Organization surveyed
the public about its perceptions of who's telling the
truth. In this study people said that the clergy told
the truth only 49% of the time, doctors 48%, their
best friend 26%, the local newspaper 8%, and what's
even sadder, the President of the United States 8%,
and leaders of Congress 3%.
5. We have become so convinced that politicians and
lying go together, that it has become one big joke. I
heard about a bus full of politicians t ...
Dr. James Merritt
Matthew 5:33-37
11-18-01
INTRODUCTION
1. Many of you will remember the name of a one-hit
wonder called Milli Vanilli. From 1988 to 1989 they
sold 30 million singles and 14 million albums. In
January of 1990 they won a Grammy award for the album,
"Girl, You Know It's True," and were recognized as the
best new artist of that year. The only problem was it
wasn't true. They had lip-synced the entire
recording, and had to return the Grammy award. Jimmy
Bowen, President of Capitol Records, their record
company, said:
You have to remember that music is a mirror of
the times, and when the mirror is close to what's
happening, that's what sells. The times we live in
are very plastic. There are a lot of phony things
happening in people's lives so Milli Vanilli is just
playing the game. (1)
2. Well Jesus deals with this entire problem of
"playing the game" of lying, cheating, fraud, and
deception in this passage before us, and he said it as
only He could: "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your
'No,' 'No.'"
3. That one statement speaks to a real problem we
have in our society today, which is lying. The
Institute of Behavior Motivation has found that 97 out
of 100 people tell lies, and on average tell about
1,000 lies a year. This propensity to lie, cheat,
deceive, shade the truth, has affected how we see
ourselves and how we see each other.
4. Several years ago the Roper Organization surveyed
the public about its perceptions of who's telling the
truth. In this study people said that the clergy told
the truth only 49% of the time, doctors 48%, their
best friend 26%, the local newspaper 8%, and what's
even sadder, the President of the United States 8%,
and leaders of Congress 3%.
5. We have become so convinced that politicians and
lying go together, that it has become one big joke. I
heard about a bus full of politicians t ...
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