Keep Your Promises, Part Two

The law of Moses directed the people of God to fear God, serve only God, and swear by His name (Deuteronomy 6:13). The context of this directive was a warning not to forget the Lord by pursuing the gods of their neighbors. These sons of Abraham were chosen by the Lord to be His peculiar people (Deuteronomy 32:9). The act of swearing technically referred to pledging loyalty to the Lord and His declared purposes alone. “By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance’” (Isaiah 44:23; Romans 14:11).

Allegiance to the Lord was corrupted by the Pharisees. They focused only on how they would appear when their word was given to keep promises made. They understood that allegiances and promises must be kept because Moses warned: “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” (Numbers 30:2). However, the Pharisees invented a scheme that would allow them to swear to something when they had no intention of following through. The law demanded, “You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God” (Leviticus 19:12). Thus, swearing by the Lord or His holy things obligated the swearer; however, swearing by other things would allow the swearer to excuse himself if he failed the obligation.

The truly righteous person recognizes that truth must characterize his whole being. For kingdom citizens walking in the light or truth, no oath should be necessary. Promises must be kept, even if foolishly or thoughtlessly given. A righteous man is one “who swears to his own hurt and does not change” (Psalm 15:4). He recognizes that not only must he fear the Lord but also must he reflect who the Lord is in all that he says or does, being a son of God. “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God” (1 John 3:10). “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil [or better, ‘the evil one’]” (Matthew 5:37).

The best intentions, however, do not always materialize for well-meaning but imperfect believers. How often do sincere Christians promise their whole life and service to God only to get distracted and sidetracked by worldly cares and personal pursuits. Believers must realize the biblical obligation that believing on Jesus demands full allegiance to the lordship of Christ. He must take first place, or He takes no place at all. Paul testified, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him” (Philippians 3:8; Luke 14:26).