Matthew 23:16-22

On dishonest casuistry. The lax moralists of that time invented ways of evading the obligation of truthfulness, by saying that certain forms of swearing were binding and others not. Thus an oath by the Temple or the altar might be broken without sin, but not an oath by the gold of the Temple, or by the gift on the altar. Such refinements were a direct encouragement to dishonesty and untruthfulness, and our Lord denounced them with terrible severity, declaring that a man's word or oath, in whatever words expressed, is absolutely binding. The lesson here taught is truthfulness and honesty in general, as well as the sanctity of oaths. Christ's teaching here is not inconsistent with Matthew 5:34, where from a higher ideal standpoint He forbids oaths altogether.