The Truth About Vows

Today we’re dealing with an issue of character that affects everyone.

If you’ve ever uttered the words, “I promise”, or “I swear”, then you will be able to relate. If you’ve never made a promise, and have never invoked another name to ratify a promise, then I’m sure you’ve been on the receiving end of a broken promise or oath.

This can range from children dealing with broken promises from parents, to a job arrangement not working out the way your boss said it would, to marriage oaths being broken.

We’ve all dealt with this…and it is no small issue. Jesus chooses this as a point of discussion because the Jewish leaders had also abused it with their traditions and completely missed the heart of it.

The law in consideration is really a mix of several different places in the Torah that speak of vows and oaths. It also touches on three of the 10 commandments…1, 3, and 9.

The big picture we need in view here is the perfect truthfulness of God.

The problem we’re addressing with these texts before us, and Christ’s interpretation of them, is that the sin that has corrupted the entire world has made humans untrustworthy

Let’s look at a few of the OT texts that led Jesus to his teaching.

Deuteronomy 23:21-23 If you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2  Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words.

4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. 5 It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. 6 Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

Numbers 30:1-2 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the LORD has commanded. 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.

Ok, so we take these passages (and there are others) and we can conclude that God cares about vows and oaths, and He wants us to be people of integrity.

But what had the Jewish leaders done with this and what had it turned into that would cause Jesus to say what He’s saying?

This is where this seems to touch the 3rd command.

“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”

What the Pharisees had done was, instead of taking the Lord’s name in an oath or vow, they began taking other names of lesser value than the name of God, and swearing by them.

Jesus lists them.

Heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and the head.

The thought was, if we use a lesser name than God’s holy name, and we break the oath, we cannot be accused of breaking the law.

Do you see a problem with this?

Isn’t this telling of a person’s worldview and their theology?

The Jewish worldview had always been that God is Creator of all, sees all, knows all, and is the judge of all.

Through time, and gradual compromise, the Jews were basically teaching people how to lie. They were saying that by using different words in an oath, those oaths were not binding.

This was their answer to the law that said “do not swear falsely.”

How can we swear falsely if we just keep God out of it?

This is why Jesus responded like this…34. Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

See what He did there?

I’ll swear by heaven....well that’s God’s throne.

I’ll swear by the earth....that’s God’s footdtool

I’ll swear by Jerusalem, the great city…that’s the city of the great kings who foreshadowed King Jesus, and who reigns on an eternal throne.

Ok, then I’ll swear by my own head. This would be like swearing on your own life. “If what I say does not happen then you can take my life.”

Well, all life belongs to God, so even then you are still making an oath and joining it to the Lord’s name.

Look at that last part of v.36 For you cannot make one hair white or black.

He’s saying…this is how little control you have over your life. God is the one who knows the number of hairs on your head. You can’t even control when you go gray.

What does all of this mean?

The heart of the law concerning oaths and vows is that God want’s His people to be truthful, and full of integrity so that our words and actions align.

And you cannot make an oath by a lesser name or object and think that you are any less obligated to keep it your oath.

God sees everything and it is to Him we all must give an account.

Hebrews 4:13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

I grew up in the “cross my heart and hope to die” generation. Is that even said anymore?

Or, “I swear on my mother’s grave.”

In my experience, people who use these phrases all the time are the most dishonest…so they compensate. Occasionally I’ll still hear “I swear to God.”…and how awful it is that even this statement has been reduced to nothing.

Essentially, the Jews had mastered the art of twisting Scripture to allow for lying without the judgement of God.

Matthew Henry “The worse men are, the less they are bound by oaths; the better they are, the less there is need for them.”

This is the heart of the matter.

When God is valued, loved, and worshipped, people are truthful, because He is the highest good and motivation for integrity.

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Psalm 51:6

And isn’t that why we’re here?

At least I hope that’s why you’re here. Not to come here and prove to everyone sitting around you that you’re better than they think you are, but to admit before God your constant need for Him, for the cleansing work of Jesus, and the sanctifying work of the Spirit to make the distance between our old nature before Christ and the new one in Christ into a canyon rather than a ditch so that’s it’s not so easy for us to jump back to our dishonest ways.

To the world this means nothing. What’s the big deal.

I swear on my mother’s grave…I swear on my father’s life… I swear by urn of my dear aunt Fiona...

All of these are just forms of idolatry because in these cases God’s ability to see and know all things has been sidestepped for dead or living relatives who are no where near as important as the Creator in Heaven.

I do not believe this is a full prohibition of promises and oaths.

Jesus spoke under oath in court in Matthew 26

At least three times Paul called on God as his witness to bolster the words he was speaking to the church and to increase their faith.

God himself swore by himself.

Hebrews 6:13 13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

You see, it cannot be that oaths are all bad, because the entire system of our salvation is built upon a covenant. Even the old covenant was a promise, or an oath, that God would perform his faithfulness. The covenant was with another party, but God knew that Abraham and the future people of Israel would not always uphold faithfulness to the covenant…so He himself swore by himself, “I will bless you and multiply you” And made a covenant. In that covenant of law and sacrifice we were ultimately pointed forward to Jesus Christ, in who’s blood the new covenant would be sealed.

This new covenant is incredible. It’s a covenant of grace, not works.

It’s a promise that hinges on a finished work. Already done. No more sacrifices. The law of God being fulfilled in Christ we place our faith in Him and we obtain the promise of His blessing to Abraham.

All of this is an oath. And the reason I point you to this oath and promise, is because this is how we understand what God wants from us in the promised and vows we make to others.

Jesus says these words...Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

When you make a promise, or commit to something, or someone asks you if you’re able to fulfill a task for them…whatever the scenario might be, remember that it is because of evil that Yes and No might not be enough.

But the Kingdom of Christ is here to change this. Our witness to the world and the church should be Yes and No, with sincerity and every intention to do what we say. Not to say we will never fall short of good intentions, or the expectations of others. We will. And we lean on Christ’s forgiveness for these, and the Gospel that He has loved us with becomes our motivation to do unto others as we would have them do to us.

May we have less need for promises because our yes and no actually mean something. And should you need to make an oath, do not take the Lord’s name in vein. Should you need to ensure someone that you are a truth teller, here’s what you say rather than swearing...

Because God is holy and truthful, and because He has saved my once lying heart by the gracious gift of His Son’s sacrifice, I have no greater desire in my life than to uphold His Word of truth.

One last word for the person who may be here and his not a Christian...

Dishonesty in the heart is one great sign and proof of the sin that lay deep in the heart, and your need for forgiveness. The lying tongue is a product of an evil heart that desperately needs saving. This salvation is found in Christ alone. Turn from lying, and empty promises, and your need to compensate for dishonesty…repent of your rebellion and entrust your heart fully to Jesus Christ today for forgiveness and reconciliation to the Father. This is done by faith alone, relenting surrender, brokenness and contrition before Him. Repent and believe today, and He will come into. Today is the day to do that.