THE TROUBLE WITH VOWS

THE TROUBLE WITH VOWS

Matthew 5:33-37 "You have also heard that our ancestors were told, 'You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the LORD.'  (34)  But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, 'By heaven!' because heaven is God's throne.  (35)  And do not say, 'By the earth!' because the earth is His footstool. And do not say, 'By Jerusalem!' for Jerusalem is the city of the great King.  (36)  Do not even say, 'By my head!' for you can't turn one hair white or black.  (37)  Just say a simple, 'Yes, I will,' or 'No, I won't.' Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

Christ does not forbid judicial oaths. Note, (1) God sometimes swears by himself (Gen_22:16-17); (2) Jesus made oath before the Sanhedrim (Mat_26:63); (3) Paul made oath to the Corinthians (2Co_1:23). He does forbid all profanity and idle oaths, such as were common among the Jews, and still so defile the mouths of men. –People’s NT Commentary

These oaths that Jesus speaks of here would have more to do with swearing to accomplish something such as revenge, or some great feat. The problem with such an oath is again a matter of the heart. It is saying, “I will accomplish what I set out to do and nothing shall stop me.” To add to that an oath such as, “by God,” or “as sure as the sun rises,” etc. is to claim yourself greater than God. As James points out in the passage below we do not know what life holds for us in the next few minutes, let alone in the long term.

James 4:13-16 Look here, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit."  (14)  How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it's here a little while, then it's gone.  (15)  What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that."  (16)  Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.

Jesus points out that anything more than a simple “yes” or “no” is from the evil one and James here reiterates this. It is evil because it is generated from a desire to build up ourselves as something special above what we truly are, which is exactly what Satan attempted to do long ago. We have already pointed out that we are to be humble in all of our dealings and that our wrath does not work the righteousness of God. Many oaths are made in a moment of anger with a desire for revenge. Romans 12:19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, "I will take revenge; I will pay them back," says the LORD.

This takes us to another matter of the heart – trust. When we feel the need to take revenge we refuse to trust that God will judge fairly and that He will keep His promise to bless those who are persecuted for His sake. On top of that we fail to respond with prayer, forgiveness and blessing toward those who use us and hurt us.

Other translations of Matthew 5 use the word, “Swear” and some commentaries include the use of ungodly language (cussing) when they discuss this passage. Along those lines let it suffice to quote the apostle Paul. Ephesians 4:29 Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

Father in heaven, Thank You we can trust You to bless us and to judge fairly. Help us to yield to Your Holy Spirit in all our dealings. May we be found peaceful, trusting and faithful. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight. In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!

JUSTIFIED

JUSTIFIED

Matthew 5:6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

The word, “justice” would better be translated “justification.” The original word used gives the idea of being in a state that is acceptable to God. So this hungering and thirsting is a desire that can only be satisfied by being made right or righteous in God’s sight. One definition of the word, “justified” is; made just as if I never sinned.

Unfortunately, many give little or no thought to standing before God. Hebrews 9:27 “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment…” None of us will escape the death of our flesh and after that is a judgment. The next verse in Hebrews 9 says, “so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him.” Those who have found the satisfaction for their justification in Christ long for His return and they will not be disappointed.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

It is important to understand that our justification before God is complete in Christ Jesus. Knowing this frees us to serve Him out of love, not out of fear. His return will not be to judge those who are eagerly waiting for Him, rather it will be to bring our salvation to full fruition.

See here what awaits both the believers and the unbelievers; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with His mighty angels, (8)  in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.  (9)  They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from His glorious power.

If you are reading this and have never given much thought to eternity and your need of Christ Jesus I urge you to begin now. The Word of God teaches us that we are all sinners who fall short of God’s perfection and therefore deserve His wrath. But God is not willing that any should perish. He desires your salvation so much so that He made a way by sending His Son, Jesus Christ to come to this earth, live a sinless life and die on a cross in our place. Jesus being totally righteous took our sins upon Himself and paid the penalty when He died on the cross. Because He is totally righteous God did not leave Him in the grave but raised Him from the dead. And Romans 10:9-11 tells us, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  (10)  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. (11) As the Scriptures tell us, ‘Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.’"

And so I urge you to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. Become a child of God today. If you have more questions about this please feel free to call Fairview Baptist Church at 765-452-9237.

As believers we do not need to fear Christ’s return but can look forward to it with great expectation that He will indeed and has indeed satisfied our hungering and thirsting by giving His life on Calvary’s cross.

Father in heaven, thank You for the promise that You have fulfilled in Christ Jesus by making us righteous through His sacrifice. Grant that we, Your children would have full assurance of Your love for us and live in love for You, instead of in fear of punishment. Through Christ our Lord, AMEN!!!

Testing God

Testing God

Matthew 4:7  Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'You must not test the LORD your God.'"

Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:16 in answer to Satan’s temptation for Christ to prove that God is with Him. The command wasn’t really given with Bubba in mind hollering out, “Hey ya’ll watch this!” right before performing some insane, life threatening act of carelessness. Although that could fall under this command the children of Israel tested the Lord in many ways that mirror our own lives today.

The scriptures record the children of Israel testing God in the following ways:

1. By complaining- Exodus 17:2  So once more the people complained against Moses. "Give us water to drink!" they demanded. "Quiet!" Moses replied. "Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the LORD?"

2. By doubting his presence with them- Exodus 17:7  Moses named the place Massah (which means "test") and Meribah (which means "arguing") because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the LORD by saying, "Is the LORD here with us or not?"

3. By refusing to listen to God's voice- Numbers 14:21-22  But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD's glory,  (22)  not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen My glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested Me by refusing to listen to My voice.

4. By demanding their desires be fulfilled- Psalms 78:18  They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved.

5. By not obeying His laws- Psalms 78:56  But they kept testing and rebelling against God Most High. They did not obey His laws.

6. By ignoring all He had done for them Psalms 95:9  For there your ancestors tested and tried My patience, even though they saw everything I did.

7. By not practicing self-control- Psalms 106:14  In the wilderness their desires ran wild, testing God's patience in that dry wasteland.

8. By doubting God's just timing- Malachi 3:15  From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.'"

As a disciple of Jesus Christ who applies His words to our lives we must ask the questions, “Do I complain? Do I doubt His promise to always be with me? Do I refuse to listen to Him? Do I demand that God fulfill my desires? Do I disobey His laws? Do I ignore all the miracles around me or forget all the blessings I’ve already seen? Do I give into whatever desire I have? Do I doubt God’s justice and timing?”

As I study for this blog, I am greatly convicted by how much I complain, doubt and whine when my desires are not fulfilled.

Oh Lord God, You have been amazingly patient with me and I am grateful. Your word tells me that confessing my sin brings your abundant forgiveness. Thank you. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable, even joyful in Your sight. You are worthy of all praise, honor and glory. Help us to walk in gratefulness, faith, obedience and hope at Your faithfulness.