I believe this is one example (perhaps the only one) where it is permissible to “swear on the Bible” if you fully intend to tell the truth when a lawyer asks you questions. As you know, you will put your hand on the Bible and then a judge or a court clerk will ask you, “Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God.” If you say, “I do” you are promising that you will tell the whole truth and that God will be your witness that you are indeed “telling the truth.” If you do NOT intend to tell the truth, you will be guilty of dishonoring God. We read of this in Leviticus 19:11-12, “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, NOR LIE TO ONE ANOTHER. And you shall NOT SWEAR BY MY NAME FALSELY, nor shall you PROFANE THE NAME OF YOUR GOD: I am the LORD” (NKJV). These verses taught the Israelites not to lie when “swearing by God’s name” but we can apply this passage to us as well. In a courtroom you are really being asked to “swear by God’s name” to be honest and not to lie in any way, shape, matter, or form. If you do lie (after swearing to tell the truth), you are committing a sin against God and you are also guilty of PERJURY which has serious “legal consequences” (penalties of up to 5 years in prison and fines up to $250,000 in some states). Of course, for a believer the “sin against God” is the most serious of the two.

We often hear people say (outside of a courtroom) “I swear on God’s name that I’m telling the truth.” To invoke God’s Name in this way when you know you are lying is to “take the Lord’s name in vain.” This is most solemn for we read in Psalm 111:9, “HOLY and AWESOME is His name.” The King James Version reads, “HOLY and REVEREND is His name.” The word “name” speaks of one’s CHARACTER and here we learn that God is HOLY. Because He is “holy” He is to be “revered” (to be “held in deep respect and with reverential fear”). Any time His name is invoked without due respect and fear is to “take the Lord’s name in vain.” Many limit this to using God’s name in PROFANITY, but as we have seen any time we “swear (promise to tell the truth) by His name” and then lie, we are committing blasphemy against God.

Before I close, I want to remind all my fellow believers in Christ that we can “take the Lord’s name in vain” in many other ways. For example, if we are “speaking the name of Jesus Christ” in conversation in a light and flippant manner we are “taking His name in vain” (for He is HOLY). Or we may be witnessing to a lost sinner and speaking Christ’s name, while at the same time arguing with a raised voice. If we do, we are guilty of “taking His name in vain.” May we all be on guard against these things. Better yet, may we ask the Lord to guard our tongue as David did in Psalm 141:3, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”  (DO)  (698.5)