Proverbs 20:25
“It is a trap for anyone to
dedicate something rashly and later to reconsider his vows.”
I believe that many Christians are victims
of this trap and we must ask why? Why are Christians duped or prey to
dedicate something rashly and only later having to back out on a vow they made
to God?
It is not because they are ignorant, is
it? I do believe you have hit it on the head, do you recall Jesus
telling the story of the man who begins to build without counting the cost it is
found in Luke 14:27-30? “And whoever does not
bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For
which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the
cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has
laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock
him
saying, ‘This man began to build and was
not able to finish’. Yes, Jesus was using the example
to explain the cost of being His disciple, but it is true in making a Vow
without knowing you can do so.
God has spoken about making vows, and a
follower of Christ would be very wise before making a pledge or promise, and
they are the same thing, so let us look at a few. In the book of Numbers 30:2,
“If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he
shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his
mouth.” Now in Deuteronomy 23:21-23,
“If you make a vow to the Lord
your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord
your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But
if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever
your lips utter you must be sure to do because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.”
You may have read that you no longer are
under the Old Testament and its laws, but now under Grace, and that is
true. But it would be very foolish to not listen to the whole counsel of
Scripture, for it is clear it was written for and to us. And if you look
at the apostle Paul’s teaching and life in Acts18:18 you will see that he took
vows very seriously.
If we look at Jesus teaching on oaths in
Matthew 5:33-37, He makes it clear not to make pledges for none of us have a
guarantee of what is coming tomorrow but to let your answer be Yes or No.
Now here is the danger, your
Church or Christian group needs a new building, and the bank wants to make sure
they recover the loan with interest. The money guys tell the pastor or building
committee we need some pledges to make sure we recoup our investment. And
the last thing a money guy wants the pastor to do is to warn the church about
the dangers of making a vow, and not meeting your agreement.
We can still make vows if we so
choose. But first, pray and make sure we are in the will of God and not
just wanting our flesh to feel good. Can I make good on what I've
promised is not the question to ask, but Father am I being a good manager of
what you have entrusted me?
We must not be like the culture
of 2018, with no plan on following through on our agreements. Our society
is full of people who enter into a contract with no regard of what they have
entered and will break any agreement without giving thought to the pledge.
And the church has often bought into that culture, but it has no place in the
life of a follower of Christ.
From The Back Porch,
Bob Rice
No comments:
Post a Comment