Oath of Office
February, 12th, 2009

Watching the swearing in of the 44th President of the United States, I was truly amazed at the nearly 250 years of the ease of transition from one President to the next. That can only come from a free society and the rule of law, not to mention the grace of God.

The “Founding Fathers” of this country, after long and hard discussion, came to the conclusion that man could not be trusted to govern for himself. So a Constitution was developed to guide, defend and protect the transition of power, so that no “man” could move beyond what it dictated. So, when a President is duly elected, he has to take the oath of the “Office of the President of the United States”.

Each president recites the following oath, in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

I may do further research into the “faithfully execute” clause and insert it later.

For now I am more concerned with the next phrase, “and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”.

If you were to do a “man on the street” interview, and ask the question, “What do you know about the Constitution of the United States”? Most would probably answer, “Not much”. Because we know little about the Constitution, we were never taught much about it in high school or college.

If you pursued a degree in law, you would have studied law, leaning toward the area in which you were interested, criminal, divorce, medical, etc.

Constitutional Law is something that most Attorney’s shy away from. That is the area in which “even angels, fear to tread”. That area is the top of the ladder kind of stuff. That’s the stuff for the “Supreme’s” and District Court Judges.

As in any field of study, the more you study the more you know and the more you know the more you advance in your field. Even to the point that you are able to teach others and guide them to truth in said area. Would you expect a person with a BA or BS in Art, and there’s nothing wrong with having a degree in Art, trying to teach a college level biology course? Would you want someone removing you gall bladder if their degree was in business? Some things just seem to make sense while others don’t.

In light of this thinking and the topic at hand, the oath of office, would you not think that if someone swears to uphold the Constitution, they should know something about it… more that the average person? Would you not think that a person who swears an oath would have read it at least once? “But Ron”, you say “That’s a very long and complicated document. It would take days to read it and months, if not years, to understand it”.

Exactly my point…. It has become a very complicated and in some cases a convoluted document. Not to mention the laws that have been molded by a radical Supreme Court. My understanding as to “law making” is that a law starts in the House of Representatives and is discussed and passed there. It then goes to the Senate, where the Senators have a chance to edit and revise it. After the revisions, it goes back to the House for final approval, before going to the President for his signature (or VETO) and then it becomes the law of the land. But the Supreme Court has “interpreted some laws to fit the needs of radical liberal groups and therefore creating a whole new law, thus, by-passing the House and Senate. I am prepared to start reading the original writings of the Constitution and see just what the Founding Fathers had to say in regards to the beginnings of our nation.

That one “Bill” should be sent forward to become law, but in the twentieth century, it became fashionable to bunch several bills together for a single vote. Then “special projects” were added for personal interest and the original “Bill” was so desperately needed that a lot of trash became law also.

Is there an “Oath of Office” for Christians? Who get to write it? Is there a “body of men” that can add or subtract from it to fit their “special needs”?
Who gets the final vote for passage of the oath?

Or does it work like this? A Commanding Officer has ten men lined up in front of him. He tells them that he has a very dangerous mission and needs three men to volunteer for it. An amazing thing happens, seven men step backwards.

It’s all backwards from the way we think. When God calls, how many step backwards? Thus leaving the job at hand left to a “few good men” instead of “all the Kings men”. And as in the movie Braveheart, will you fight for the heart of your King?

So, let’s go back to the oath itself.

Who writes it? To my way of thinking, God writes it. Is it similar to the Presidential oath of office?

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of Christian (President of the United States), and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Bible, its contents, its concepts, its teachings, One God revealed in three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, my Lord Jesus, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His death on the cross, His burial, His resurrection, and His return to earth in the future, (Constitution of the United States)."

Who gets to vote on it? Actually, none, God said it… that settles it. But in “real life” we all get to vote on how we participate in the execution of it. Like I said above, it seems that too many are taking a step backwards instead of moving forward into the most incredible life that God has planned for us.

Matthew 28:19 says, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel, making disciples and baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold I am with you always, even to the end of the age”.

In the Gospel of John Chapters 15 – 17, Jesus gives a volume of instructions to His disciples. Starting with “Abide in Me and I will abide in You”. The first aspect and most critical of carrying out our oath of office is abiding. That takes place when we humble ourselves and daily, minute by minute, place ourselves under the authority of Jesus.

Then He tells us that He knows we cannot do it on our own, so He is sending us the Holy Spirit to live in us to help us making those decisions that are pleasing to Him.

Jesus then says, “I glorified You (Father), having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do”. So where are we in our mission that Jesus has given us to do on this earth?

The word “Christian” actually means “little Christ’s”. The question has been ask, “If you were to stand before a Judge in a Court Room, would there be enough evidence to convict you of being a Christian”?

Do I know how to defend my faith in Jesus? Do I know enough to know that I don’t know very much and I need to keep studying? Do I need to read that last question again? Do I know when to say, “I don’t know the answer to that question, but I’ll find out and get back with you”. There are basics and there are tangents. A lot of people know about Jesus, but they don’t know Jesus. Do you understand the difference? Many religions talk about Jesus as being a good man, even a great man. Some say He was a prophet. Some say He was the third reincarnation of “Hoopta-halla-bahsradah” (not a real person, just want to get your attention). But what is the truth?

Can you rationally explain the virgin birth? Can you rationally explain the substitutionary death on the cross? Can you rationally explain the resurrection?

These are the kind of questions that come from the phrase, “I will faithfully execute the office of Christian”.

Following the Shepherd,
Ron Eskew