This lesson will cover vows, promises and lies.
Let me start with vows and promises, it is very important that we keep the vows or promises that we make. The Lord will hold us accountable for them. These things are not to be taken lightly. I know in our society we are taught that vows and promises mean nothing. They seem to be just words that we say to pacify people. I have mentioned fox-hole experiences in other lessons but it fits here also. How many times have soldiers promised the Lord different things if the Lord would get them out of the situation they were in, then went back on their vows or promises?
There is a tendency, because the Lord doesn’t correct us right away, to think that He overlooks these things, wrong, you will reap what you sow and God will correct you sooner or later. God isn’t slack in keeping His promises as men are and there are always consequences for sin. In Hebrews 12:6 it says that God corrects those He loves, if not, we are not one of His. God corrects us because He loves us.
What is a broken vow or promise? It is a lie and it is sin. Like I said we are taught that breaking vows and promises is no big deal. Look at what goes on in our government; lying, conniving, deceiving mean nothing. Who can we trust? Think about it, who keeps their word. Politicians are notorious for doing these things and they can, and do, look people by the millions in the face and lie through their teeth and it happens far too often in both parties on our television sets and in person.
That is sad enough, but what is even worse is that Christians have conformed and they do it quite often also. These things at one time were the exception but now they are the norm. Shame on us for letting ourselves fall into the same trap that the world is in! We are not supposed to conform to the world but we are supposed to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Just think of the divorce rate in and out of the church. This is a horrible problem.
Think of this when you are tempted to break a vow or a promise, Revelations 21: 8 says, “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
I have had so many Christians and non-Christians over the years say things that they were going to do that they never did and many times with no explanation at all. It seems like today many people just talk to hear themselves talk. It has gotten so regular that I only believe most people when it happens. Most of the time I let it go in one ear and out the other. This has got to stop and let me say this, I have also been guilty of this but when the Lord reveals these things in our lives we have a responsibility to do something about it. We need to repent and confess it to the Lord and try our best with the Lord’s help not to continue in this sin.
Question: how do we handle this and other problems we face with people? Do we let them slide or should we hold them accountable? Personally I think people should be held accountable for sin. I want people to hold me accountable for my sins by letting me know so that I can repent and ask them, and the Lord, for forgiveness. God holds us accountable, why don’t we do the same? It says in Matthew 12: 37, “By your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned.” That verse can be scary if you really meditate on it. It seems like we are in the business of justifying rather than holding people accountable. It seems like these things happen so often that we get desensitized to them, we don’t feel right about confronting anyone about what they say to us. The sad thing is, if we allow it to continue when will it stop?
Think about some of the people in the Bible that made vows and kept them and what it cost them or what it could have cost them.
Start with Hannah, Samuel’s mother, she told the Lord if He gave her a son, she would give him back to the Lord and she did. She weaned him then gave him to Eli, the Priest, and he was raised in the temple. Check it out in 1st Samuel 1:3–11 and verses 24-28. She made a vow and it cost her something special, and God blessed her for it.
What about Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego, they vowed that they would not worship any other god. Even if it cost them their lives they would not break their vow to the Lord. They were thrown into a fiery furnace but they came out without even the smell of smoke on them. God blessed them and sent Jesus to rescue them. Praise God! Check it out in Daniel 3: 8–18
Think about Daniel, he was willing to be thrown into a lion’s den rather than to break his vow. God blessed him also, He sent him an angel to shut the mouths of the lions. Think about this, these lions were kept very hungry but they lost their appetite when the angel interfered. Praise God! The Lord will always bless us when we keep our vows. Check this story out in the book of Daniel.
This is a story you my not know, it is in Judges 11: 23–40. A man named Jephthah vowed to God that if God would give him victory over the Ammonites he would sacrifice the first thing that would come out of his house when he got home. At the time they kept animals in their house and he thought one of them would come out, but it was his daughter that greeted him. How many of us could have kept that vow? God blessed him and he won the battle and he also kept his vow. I am sure it broke his heart but he was faithful to his vow. The lesson here is to be careful what you vow.
The last example I have is Jesus. He was sent here for our redemption and He was obedient to the end. It cost Him more than any of the others, it cost Him His very life. He also suffered excruciating pain and not only that but He suffered the most when He said, “Father why hast thou forsaken me?” That feeling of separation was worse than anything He had experienced prior to that. When He said, “it is finished,” He accomplished everything He was sent here to do. He never wavered from His commitment. The Bible says, “Greater love hath no man but that he lay his life down for a friend.” Praise the Lord for not breaking His vow to His heavenly Father for He saved a wretch like me and many others.
So the next time you are tempted to break a vow or promise or to outright lie, I hope you will remember this lesson and keep your word and be careful before you make a vow or promise in the first place. God bless you and have a great day.
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