Power Session || Oaths vs Kingdom

Power Session | Oaths vs Kingdom
🎙️ Hosted by Jared Lewis | Kingly Discussions Podcast

Can you be Greek—or Masonic—and still be a Kingdom Citizen?

In this special Power Session, we’re taking a bold dive into one of the most misunderstood conversations in the Black faith community. With scripture as our anchor (Matthew 5: 34–37), KingJLew unpacks the difference between spiritual allegiance and cultural obligation, addressing the accusations of “devil worship” and “witchcraft” often thrown at Black fraternities, sororities, and Masonic organizations.

This episode is for the thinkers, the servants, and the believers who’ve been caught in the crossfire between tradition and truth. It’s not just about oaths—it’s about integrity, discernment, and Kingdom authority.

If you’ve ever questioned whether your letters conflict with your faith… this one’s for you.

🔑 Main Scripture: Matthew 5:34–37
🎧 Available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music & more
📌 Powered by: Kingly Discussions Podcast

"Always remember to be the BEST Kingdom Citizen that YOU can be—and exercise YOUR RIGHT as a Kingdom Citizen.”

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Yo, what's going on family? How y'all doing out there?
And I'd like to welcome you officially to another power
Session series where we take a deep dive into kingdom truths.
I'm your host none other than the infamous King J
Lou aka King J Lou. This is me Jared Lewis

(00:38):
and in this episode, this episode right here, it is
entitled OS Versus King, And from within this episode, I
hope to tackle one of the most hottest topics that
concerns Black fraternal and sorority organizations, especially on how some

(01:00):
church folks think that we're devil worshiping or practicing witchcraft. Now,
I know some of y'all folks are already clutching your
pearls and your purse is ready to start type of
pair of grass and comments all up on social media.
But let's go ahead and bring this thing in and
anchor it with scripture first, because everything we do is

(01:24):
centered about kingdom building. Matthew Chapter five, verses thirty four
through thirty seven basically says, but I tell you do
not swear an oath at all. All you need to
say is simply yes or no. Anything beyond this comes

(01:45):
from the evil one. Now, I know some people will
take what God or Jesus said and place it within
their own contextual reference. Now, let us not misinterpret what
Jesus was trying to say here. He was not bashing
all structural organizations. He was calling out specific folks who

(02:10):
made big, empty spiritual declarations for show, but lack the
character thereof to back it up. So let's use that
scoping lens that Jesus to Christ used at that time.
Let's talk about the root of the controversy. Let's get
right into this. Can you be a Christian, a Kingdom

(02:35):
citizen and still be in a fraternity, sorority or the
Masonic Order? Turks folks will probably tell you no. The
TikTok Facebook, Instagram theologians will probably tell you that it's witchcraft,
and some of your own people may even call you

(02:57):
a devil worshiper. Here's what's wild to me. The same
folks that are screaming out double worshiping are the same
folks that are showing up at the school drives. These
are the same people that are accepting our scholarships. These
are the same people that are getting fed by our

(03:20):
service projects and being empowered by our civic engagement. The
real issue isn't about the organization. It's about the ignorance.
What It's about the ignorance about what these olds actually
mean and represent. And more importantly, it's a fear of

(03:45):
what people do not understand. Fear of what people do
not and are afraid to receive. Is the fuel to
the fire of public scrutiny of black organizations that mean. Well,
and let's be real about it, I've taken these oaths,

(04:08):
so it hits personal. It hits me personally. I've taken
these oaths as a freemason. I've taken multiple oaths. But
I've also pledged my faith and life to Jesus the
Christ and never denounced him once. Never once did I

(04:29):
feel like those two conflicted each other. Why, Because I
can tell you this one thing. My allegiance is first
to the Kingdom of God. But let's talk about it
for a second, because you know, we like to discover definitions.
What exactly is an oath? An oath is a solemn promise,

(04:55):
often invoking a divine witness regarding one's future action or behavior,
according to the Oxford's Dictionary. Now, just taking this definition
of what it is, who was Jesus talking about. Who
was Jesus talking to. Jesus was talking about religious leader

(05:20):
leaders who were abusing olds to avoid responsibility. Jesus was
talking about everyday people who follow tradition without realizing it
was rooted within deception. Jesus was talking about us today,

(05:42):
especially those of us who try to over explain, overpromise,
and sugarcoat what the truth is. These organizational oaths are
about duty, discipline, honor, and brotherhood or sisterhood. They call

(06:04):
on us to serve and not to see it. They
remind us all to lead, to build, and to sacrifice,
not to abandon your faith and allegiance to the Kingdom
of God. But the people who don't understand symbolism or tradition,

(06:29):
they automatic automatically label it as demonic because they do
not understand it. Now, I'm gonna be honest with you.
I'm gonna be straightforward in masonry. I like I said earlier,
I've taken a lot of oaths. I'm a part of
a lot of organizations. Yeah, I've just taken a lot

(06:55):
of them, and I'm taking and I take them very seriously.
I do. And one in which you know, kind of
hit home for me a little bit. It didn't conflict me.
But upon being a shriner, I'll be lying if I
said that I didn't feel something that might have been

(07:19):
spiritually off right. So in that it doesn't necessarily mean
that I'm going to hell because of the obligation that
I'm taking, but it means that I need to reevaluate
how this sits within my spirit. This is what you

(07:45):
call kingdom maturity. Yeah, we're going that far. This is
what you call spiritual kingdom maturity, kingdom spiritual maturity, whatever
you want to call it. Oh, well, you just giving
an excuse. That sound like an excuse to sin. That

(08:06):
sound like No, it's not an excuse to sin. It's
a willingness to understand that there is an uneasiness from
within my soul. Let me give you an example. Whenever
you're sitting there and you're going to Fuller's and you're
going to Gold and Corral and you are going to
eat crab legs and seafood and all this other good stuff,

(08:27):
and you know that you're fool but you continue to
keep gouging your stomach. Something from within your soul should
have let you know to stop. Is that devil worshiping
is that following the devil. It's about maturity from within

(08:58):
your inner man to be able to say, my wisdom
and knowledge needs to be activated. Even more, I needed
to reevaluate how that sat within my spirit Kingdom minded maturity,

(09:20):
being able to self assess without attacking the organization, without
attacking other people. That's the real challenge. Being able to
examine something and still respect it, without tearing down the
people who have already laid down the positive path for progress.

(09:46):
Here's what I know. For a fact, I can tell
you what I know. This is what I know. God
has used my letters Pha. He has used my letters
of Pha Prince Hall affiliated. He has used my apron

(10:07):
He has used my platform to make a positive impact
from those who I come in contact with. I have
led young men and wiser men, and younger women and
wiser women into purpose. I have organized events that have

(10:27):
served the community at large. I've helped amplify voices of
Kingdom letters that include ministers, deacons, trustees from within the church.
And guess what they wore those same letters of Pha
as well. They wore those same letters of all of

(10:48):
the Divine Nine. They wore those don jackets too, and
laced up their own aprons in Freemasonry. Some of the
most powerful Christian lee that I know where Greek letters.
They pastor churches, They raise families, they speak up in litigation,

(11:09):
they speak, they hold value, and they hold a prominence
from within Congress, US Congress and US House of Representatives.
They raise families, They teach in Sunday School, and they
pray in which is the same for my brothers of

(11:30):
the craft. None of us are perfect, but we're aiming
for perfection. Wisdom and knowledge are two of the greatest
gifts that God has for any one person. And if
any one person who seeks wisdom and knowledge will be
able to activate a different outlook of and on the

(11:52):
quality of life. So let's bring this thing on home.
Let me say this plainly, straight up, No, Sugar Coaton,
being Greek or Masonic does not cancel your kingdom citizenship.

(12:21):
It's about the fruit that you bear and not the
letters that you wear. That shows who you really are.
That's why Jesus said, let the weed and the tail
grow together. I'll do the separating of the right and
the wrong. I'll do that. That's my job. That's what

(12:46):
Jesus said. I separate the weed from the tail you
wear about your own self, worry about what you produce.
How are you how is your garden being planted? What
type of seeds do you have in your garden? So,

(13:09):
if you're wrestling with whether your organizational oath or your
organizational obligation conflicts with the call of God that is
upon your life, conflicts with the kingdom call that God
has pressed upon you, go back to Matthew five. Go

(13:34):
back to my Matthew five and read it from the
very beginning. Use commentary. Don't let people give you a
perception of a context in which in which Jesus actually
gave context. It's not about the oath. It's about your integrity.

(14:06):
And I gotta leave you. I gotta leave you with this,
you know, because we're all about kingdom buildings, So I
gotta let I gotta leave you with this. If you're
Yes to Christ is real, then every other oath is
submitted under that authority. And if something starts to conflict

(14:29):
within your spirit, you need to check it. But don't
let others just discomfort become your conviction. If something don't
feel right, you check it, but don't let what others
discomfort become your conviction. It was the spirit of God

(14:55):
that invoked you to be a Christian in the first place,
to understand the power of God, the miracles and the
signs of wonders of God. It was the Holy Spirit
that allowed you to see that revelatory expression, that revelatory experience.
That was the Holy Spirit himself. Don't allow people to

(15:16):
influence your spirit because at the end of the day,
but it all boils down to whoever has said whatever,
and whoever has denounced whatever, whoever has said that this
organization is bad for this or this organization is bad

(15:39):
for that. At the end of the day, we are
all citizens and workers in the Kingdom of God and
we need to stop this pity mess. Let me stop it.
So understand, okay, understand. Never let someone influence your spirit.

(16:04):
See God for the impact of your spirit, and always
remember to be the best kingdom citizen that you can
be and exercise your right as a kingdom citizen. God
bless I love you. Catch you in the next one pace.