Hebrews 6:16Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

What the oath consists in he explained by saying, “they swear by the greater.” Since the human race is distrustful, God condescends to what is proper to us. He swears for our sake, though distrustfulness is unworthy of Him, just as “He learned obedience through what He suffered” (Heb 5:8), because men consider what is known by experience more certain.

There, witnesses in the case being examined are quite often required by the disputing parties to take an oath. Unfortunately, and to our deepest sorrow, people sometimes swear falsely.

They cover false testimony with the holy name of God, by kissing the Cross and the holy Gospel. They justify the guilty for gain, kinship, or friendship.

Thus the holy and exalted matter of an oath is brought down to an everyday occurrence. It no longer becomes that fearful act which it ought to be.

What is still more sorrowful, those who swear falsely and are convicted of a false oath leave court as though guilty of nothing. Yet in life there are such punishments from God Himself that the false swearer remembers them.

One who swore falsely while keeping the fingers of his right hand raised upward afterward felt pain in them for a long time, apparently without any cause. "By whatever a man sins, by that he is tormented" (Wis 11:16).

Ah, brethren, beware of resorting to an oath. Do not even swear by God in ordinary daily conversations. God is holy and true. Do not cover falsehood with His holy name. God is not mocked.

Do not swear by your life, your head, or your health. In the case of a false oath or a senseless self-imprecation, what you have imposed and sworn upon yourself will come to pass over you.

Are there not many such unfortunate examples in life? Remember the Christ-betrayers, the Jews. They pronounced a fearful oath upon themselves and their descendants. "His blood," that is, Christ's, "be on us and on our children," they cried, demanding death for their Redeemer (Mt 27:25).

Soon the judgment of God broke upon them. The city of Jerusalem and the temple of Jerusalem were destroyed. The Jews were scattered and driven throughout the whole world.

They wander like sheep having no shepherd. They perish through their stubbornness, and bear upon themselves the oath they pronounced against themselves, like the mark of Cain, as a testimony to all nations.

Here are still other examples, close to us in time. In the spring of 1865, a peasant, good at heart but long given to drunkenness, made a vow not to drink wine at all.

At this he bound and adjured himself with these words: "Well, if I get drunk again, let my tongue, with which I now adjure myself, turn inside out."

But unfortunately for the man who had made this vow, in the autumn of the same year, after refusing two glasses of wine, he yielded.

Persuaded by the warm hospitality of a good neighbor, and still more weakened by his companions' mockery of the vow he had made, he agreed to drink the third glass of vodka offered to him.

As soon as he drank it, he immediately felt as though his tongue had turned over. It lost freedom and ease of movement. The next day it stopped moving altogether.

The peasant described remained in this condition for two weeks. Only after fervent prayer and repentance did he begin, with difficulty, to speak somehow. This account was recorded from the words of the peasant who had sworn by his tongue.

Here is another example. A prosperous peasant of the village of Ch., in the village of Krasnoyarsk, Perm province, Kamyshlov district, F. T. S., was a secret schismatic, though he seemed devoted to the Orthodox Church.

By the common decision and petitions of the parish and clergy, he was chosen to serve as church warden of the local church. The peasant F. S. refused.

Finally, the priest publicly exhorted him not to resist the community's choice for a good work. The priest said to the peasant: "In gratitude for God's benefits shown to you and your household, serve the holy Church of God. Cross yourself, then take the keys and locks of the church property."

"Take the keys?" F. S. answered insolently. "Let my hand wither sooner than touch those keys."

Then another man was chosen as church warden. What happened to the stubborn man? After leaving the church, before he had reached his home, he felt pain in his right hand.

The next day the pain increased and developed with incredible speed. After some time the hand truly began to wither. The stubborn man suffered much from the withered hand, and in 1858 he died unrepentant in his stubbornness, without speech and unconscious.

Because of such sorrowful consequences from vain swearing by God, false oaths, or senseless swearing by oneself and one's health, the Lord Himself warns us by His commandments against oaths, oath-taking, swearing by God, and imprecations.

Thus the Lord says to the Jews: "You shall not swear by My name falsely, nor profane the name of your God" (Lev 19:12).

"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord your God will not leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain" (Deut 5:11).

"Do not swear at all, neither by heaven," because it is not in your power, for it is God's throne; "nor by the earth," for it is His footstool; "nor by Jerusalem," for it is the city of the great King and Almighty.

"Nor shall you swear by your head," because you have no power over it or over yourself. You cannot make one hair white or black. "But let your word be: Yes, yes; No, no. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one" (Mt 5:34-37).

Strive, then, to live so that people believe your honest word, whether affirmative or negative.

"When God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself." By these words the Apostle points to what God said to Abraham after the sacrifice of Isaac: "By Myself I have sworn. Because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, for My sake, blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your seed" (Gen 22:16-17).

"Men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of every dispute." By the greater, κατὰ τοῦ μείζονος, the Lord is meant here. This is why an oath has confirmatory force. This is why that force extends to every dispute among them, so that an oath removes every possibility of contradiction.

"Thus God, desiring to show the immutability of His counsel, interposed with an oath." To make these last words clearer, one must know that the Slavonic says a verb meaning "acted as mediator," while the Greek has ἐμεσίτευσεν, from "mediator," μεσίτης. Both mean that He became mediator through an oath.

A mediator is a person who strives to reconcile two hostile or disputing sides, or who helps negotiations between people divided by distance and mutual difference. When God mediated by an oath, it means that He placed Himself between man and Himself.

This idea is very proper to Scripture. According to its teaching, God is advocate, surety, and mediator between man and Himself. Thus Job cried out, turning to God: "Lay down a pledge for me with Yourself; who is there who will pledge himself for me?" (Job 17:3).

If God placed Himself as mediator in that unique oath when He swore by Himself, then clearly He appears as the same mediator and surety when He does not swear by Himself, but men swear by Him as the greater.

From this the true understanding of an oath becomes clear. It consists in this: when men assure one another, they call God as witness, mediator, and surety. They do this with the thought that He will help fulfill the promise and punish intentional violation or false assurance.

What impious or irreverent thing can be found in such an oath? God Himself swore, though He had no one by whom to swear except Himself. His promises, being incapable of falsehood, needed no confirmation by oath. Distrust of them would have been a crime on man's part.

Therefore an oath is all the more fitting among men. Human words can be true insofar as they are accompanied by thought of the Most High, the all-knowing God, who is the highest Truth and hates all who speak falsehood (Ps 5:6).

As soon as the remembrance of God leaves a man, his mouth and heart are filled with falsehood. Whoever in an oath calls God as mediator and surety of his promises or assurances thereby confesses a reverent remembrance of Him as the Knower of hearts.

He confesses Him as the One who knows that his words are sincere and that his promises contain no deceit. It is therefore understandable why, as the Apostle says, "an oath," used for confirmation, "ends every dispute" among men.

The Apostle Paul does not here directly raise the question of the oath and therefore does not make a deliberate decision on it. By the words cited above he has in view only strengthening hope in the persecuted and suffering Hebrews to whom he writes his epistle. He wishes to dispose them to wait patiently for the fulfillment of God’s promises, because they are immutable. Nevertheless, in the Apostle’s words cited above there is undoubtedly an indirect decision on the question of the oath. If it were in no case permissible for men to use an oath, as something sinful, then the Lord would never have used it for them. He would not have assured Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob of anything by oath. Yet the Lord did this. Did not God the Father Himself swear, to assure men concerning the eternal high priesthood of His Son? Indeed: “The Lord has sworn and will not repent: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Ps 109:4).

The Apostle spoke of the oath somewhat indefinitely: "men swear by the greater," that is, they swear by what is higher and more important than man. Probably he had in view the custom of his time, when people swore not only by the name of God, but also by heaven and earth, by the temple and the altar.

Yet all these forms of oath, according to Christ the Savior's own explanation, have one true meaning. Directly or indirectly, they refer to God, and in Him and His name they have their force and importance. "He who swears by the temple swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it" (Mt 23:21-22).

But how do we dare to use the holy and dread name of God in our assurances and promises? Is such boldness permitted? In what cases is it permitted? The answer to all these questions can be found in one apostolic saying: "An oath for confirmation is the end of every dispute." That is, an oath is the final and extreme means of assurance in every case where dispute must be ended or doubt removed.

Therefore, if the dispute or doubt arising in relations among men is not so important as to require intensified measures for its removal, then an oath is not needed. If there are simple and nearer means for this, found in the nature and circumstances of the affairs and relationships, then an oath is not needed. If one can be satisfied with incomplete assurance without great harm, especially public harm, then an oath is not needed. In such cases, ordinary prudence will not advise recourse to the extreme means of assurance, and pious feeling should not allow an oath by the name of God.

For example, you may want your word in conversation or your promise in common life to be believed. In the multitude of such cases, most of them of little importance, recourse to an oath would be as bold as it is unnecessary. For the degree of assurance needed here, there are simple and nearer means.

Always speak the truth with precision and without evasiveness, and your simple word will be believed like an oath. Do not make promises unless you are certain they can be fulfilled, and fulfill the promises you have made without change. Then your simple promise will be believed like an oath.

To such cases belong the ancient commandment, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain" (Ex 20:7), the commandment of Christ, "Do not swear at all" (Mt 5:34), and the Apostle's exhortation: "Do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. Let your yes be yes and your no be no, lest you fall into hypocrisy" (Jas 5:12).

But there are cases of another kind. In them, ordinary means are insufficient to remove doubt and attain assurance. Failure to attain assurance would be accompanied by extreme harm, not only private but also public. From this comes necessity, and from necessity, duty, to strive with utmost effort to reach the "end for confirmation," and to have recourse to the most extreme means of assurance possible.

The sovereign and the state require fidelity from subjects in general, and in particular services, offices, and commissions. Firm assurance of this fidelity is necessary, because without it public order would not be secured, and there would not even be public safety.

By what, then, shall fidelity be secured? By laws? But for laws to have their full force and effect, strict fidelity in their use is needed. Consequently the question proposed here is not answered, but only receives a special form: by what shall fidelity in the use of laws be secured?

By what, then? By honesty known beforehand? It is easier to find time and means for this within the limited circle of private relations than in the immeasurable expanse of state relations. Authority uses its nearest and most important instruments, no doubt, with prior testing and investigation, as far as the limited human eye reaches and penetrates.

But can testing and investigation decisively determine the honesty of each among thousands and tens of thousands of people before they are used as instruments of the state? Again the question returns: by what shall fidelity be secured?

By an honest word? An honest word can be accepted as security only from the mouth of a man whose honesty has been established. Where prior and complete knowledge of honesty is difficult to obtain, the word that declares itself honest does not secure anything. Who does not know that the so-called honest word is given even by those who have not secured its fulfillment for themselves, and who do not even think of fulfilling it?

By what, then, shall fidelity be secured? By fear of punishments? How unpleasant it would be, if it were possible, to found general peace on general fear alone. But this is impossible. There can be violations of fidelity which human insight cannot discover and human justice cannot pursue.

Fear of punishment is necessary and useful for restraining those inclined to crimes. Yet it is insufficient for forming the quality of faithful subjects. Thus the insufficiency of nearer and ordinary means for securing fidelity leads to the extreme means: sealing the promised fidelity with the great and dread name of God.

Then each person should honor fidelity as he reveres God. If anyone should think of boldly touching his promise, he would inevitably meet the name of God. This is not merely a sound pronounced, but the invoked power of God, which penetrates souls, tests hearts, blesses the faithful, and punishes the unfaithful.

This "end for confirmation," this extreme means of assurance among men, is not simply a human institution. The oath is not merely an invention of the art of civil government. The heavenly Kingdom itself receives, confirms, and sanctifies this support of the earthly kingdom. This is not hard to see, since God Himself swears.

"By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord" (Gen 22:16) to Abraham. The Apostle explains this word of the Lord precisely as an image of the divine oath: "When God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself" (Heb 6:13). There is no doubt that, by condescension, God here gives His promise the form of human assurance. Yet there is likewise no doubt that God takes into His hands only those earthly instruments which are pure and worthy of heaven.

An oath by the name of God for the faithful discharge of public service, or the faithful fulfillment of a public matter, is needed both to assure authority and society, and to strengthen the one who binds himself by fidelity. Does fidelity not often require not only self-denial, but even self-sacrifice?

Does it not meet temptations? Some are coarse, though they are not always as easy to repel as to notice. Others are subtle, and one can become entangled in them almost imperceptibly. The self-confident man will rely on himself in this. But he will hardly make an exception to the prophetic judgment that "every man is a lie" (Ps 115:2), that is, outside the help of God.

One who has more self-knowledge would not be at peace from doubt about himself, unless he had recourse to God and established his hope in Him. "O Lord, faithful in Your words and holy in all Your works" (Ps 144:13), bless the fidelity of my word and the holiness of my deed. Show me truth and righteousness. Grant me readiness for self-sacrifice for them. Grant me firmness to stand against the assaults of strong unrighteousness. Grant me foresight, so that I may not be entangled in the nets of cunning or partiality.

So it is natural for the heart of a man to speak, if he sincerely wishes to preserve fidelity in public service or a public matter. So also the form of oath prescribed by law from the days of our forefathers commands him to say: "May the Lord God help me in soul and body."

Let the thought of infidelity to an oath be far from us. But so that it may be driven still farther away, strike it as with an arrow by the dread word of God: "The Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain" (Ex 20:7).

If "the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name" vainly, uselessly, lightly, and without need, what should he expect who, giving an oath before God, uses the name of God with evil intent and sacrilegiously, so as to cover the impurity of his unfaithfulness with its holiness?

"You shall destroy all who speak falsehood" (Ps 5:7). But will You not destroy first of all, O Lord, those who speak falsehood before Your name and before Your face? They lie, like Ananias and Sapphira, not to men, but to You, God.

When the Apostle Peter rebuked Ananias with these very words, "You have not lied to men, but to God," Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and expired. Then Sapphira also, after a similar rebuke, "immediately fell down at his feet and expired" (Acts 5:4-5, 10).

This example, and many examples outside sacred history, show that falsehood before the name of God and before the face of God, perjured falsehood, seems to bring heavenly Justice to impatience. It draws down dread and sudden blows of fate.

I hope that, even without my assistance, you will join to these reflections on the importance of the oath a reflection on the importance of the matter for which you give the oath. On those whom you elect will depend no small part of public order, the peace of many, the peace of those properly dependent on you and entrusted to your care. Sometimes, perhaps, even the peace of some of you will depend on them, as well as the support of the dignity of your exalted estate.

Choose in such a way that you will not later reproach yourselves, and will not anger God. Find worthiness if it hides itself. Know how to attract it if it withdraws. Conversely, set a barrier against the ambition of unworthiness. Do not place yourselves beneath the unworthy by allowing them to outwit your action. Justify the generous trust placed in you by the autocratic authority.

May purity of intention and action draw the blessing of God upon the electors, upon the election, upon those elected, and upon the consequences of the election. Amen.