Grace and Peace from our Lord Jesus Christ!
Everyone knows that society runs so much more smoothly if people take oaths seriously. We want to be able to count on people telling the truth in a court of law. We want the President of the United States to keep his oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States to the best of his ability. We want our spouse to keep their oath to have and to hold us in sickness and in health and all the rest.
God values oath-keeping because He is an oath-making-and-keeping God. He has sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth (cf. Gen 9:11, Isaiah 54:9). He has sworn by Himself to bless Abraham and multiply his seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore (Gen 22). He has sworn to David, “I will establish your seed forever and build your throne for all generations” (cf. Psalm 88). He has sworn by Himself, “To me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear allegiance” (Isaiah 45). We know God keeps His promises.
People in Scripture would keep their vows to their own hurt, even rash vows they should have never made. It is easy to keep a vow when it is for your own good. Is there some way that you need to sacrifice in order to keep your oaths?
Take some time this week renewing your vows with God and ask Him for the grace you need to keep them. You may have made oaths when you joined the church or when you had your child baptized, you may have made oaths when elders and deacons were installed, or you may have taken a vow during a wedding service. Often at such times in life we make many promises. Give thanks to God that He keeps His promises and ask Him to make you more like Him. When you ask God for forgiveness, asking in faith, know that He has
forgiven you and go and forgive others. And going forward, may we keep our promises not because we feel duty bound but because it encourages us to sacrificially love God and one another.
In Christ,
Pastor Justin
[Note: 8/3/17 — I understand that marriage vows are not one-sided, you cannot make your spouse keep their vows and when both are not Christians that adds another layer that Scripture addresses. Thus this particular example can be very complex.]
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