Keep Your Word

One of the truths we learned this past Sunday in our look at God’s third commandment (“You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.Exodus 20:7) was to keep your word. Breaking promises not only dishonors God as the perfect promise-keeper, but it disgraces those around us we are called to love with integrity. 

God told Moses, “You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh” (Lev. 19:12). We also read in Numbers 30:2: “If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth."  It is clear that God has commanded us to keep our word and “not be late in paying it, for He takes no delight in fools” (Ecc. 5:4; Deut. 23:21; Num. 30:2).

You have probably heard of the Famous American Fibs and most likely participated in spreading a few of them around:

  • The check is in the mail.

  • One size fits all.

  • I only need a few minutes of your time.

  • I will get right back to you."

We even have some Fibs of the Faith:

  • I’ll be praying for you.” (Will you?)

  • God told me…” (Did He really?)

  • I want to give and serve, but it’s just not a good time.

  • A great number of people are upset about…

When Jesus addressed making promises (Matt. 5:33–37), He clearly disallowed promise-breaking (“you shall not make false vows”) and demanded promise-keeping (“you shall fulfill your vows to the Lord” ). He unmasked the massive system of “loopholes” used to justify lying and promise-breaking. Over time, religion for many had become a convenient and compromising system of finger crossing which made promises meaningless, undermined personal credibility, and most of all, dishonored the Lord.

In the end, Jesus commands His followers to activate our transformed hearts by living a credible life. For a kingdom citizen it is enough to say “Yes” or “No” or else the Lord said our promise-breaking is “evil (Matt. 5:37).

What can you and I do?

  • Check your heart to see whether you are committed to truth. God says He desires “truth in the innermost being” (Ps. 51:6) and reminds us that “the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart (Luke 6:45). When we said “yes” to Christ, we promised to love Him with all our hearts, love our neighbor as ourselves, identify with Him in baptism, not forsake our gathering with God’s people, actively use our gifts to serve others, give our first and best portion of our income to the Lord’s work, be a gospel witness of Christ, pray without ceasing, stand firm against the schemes of the devil, saturate our lives with God’s Word, to know and love Him better, and practice the one anothers just to name a few.

  • Control your tongue. Remember, “when there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Prov. 10:19).

  • Cultivate honesty, so think before you speak: “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things,” (Prov. 15:28), and “do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices” (Col. 3:9).

Do a promise check in your life. Are you practicing some spiritual “finger-crossing” that doesn’t intend to keep your promises, or does your “yes” mean “yes” and “no” mean “no”? Consider how you are keeping your word to the Lord (faithful to gather, grow, serve, give, love, witness, etc.) and to others around you (at home, work, school, friends, neighbors).

Remember, we serve a promise-making and promise-keeping God for whom it is “impossible to lie,” so let’s not take our Lord’s name in vain.

Pastor Jeff

The Lord’s Day is the market day of the soul. It is a weekly grace that trains us to look for our ultimate rest in Christ.
— Sinclair Ferguson (Pastor at St. George’s-Tron Church in Glasgow, Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Teaching Fellow at Ligonier Ministries, Author)
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