"IS KEEPING YOUR PROMISE IMPORTANT?"

A Bible Study about  Vows, Oaths and Promises
By Diana M. Gray 
Copyright (c) 2002 (KJV Bible used)

What does the Bible say about Vows and Keeping one's Word? 
After reading this study, your life will forever be changed!

    God spoke the world into existence and promised to save us from our sins by sending us His son to die on the cross.   If we repent asking Jesus to come into our heart, God will keep His word to save us! 
God keeps His word, does He expect us to keep ours? Does God hear every word said and every promise made?  Will He hold Pastors, Politicians, and World leaders more accountable than the rest of the world for what they speak and promise to do?  Why?

A God doesn't accept  the altering promises!
    Lev 27:9-10 And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy.  He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good
   When you give your word to someone you are also giving it unto the Lord.  The Lord teaches us in the Bible that we must not go back on our promises even if we have to pay a higher price to keep them.  Our promises are taken seriously and we will be held accountable for them.  Changing our minds is not acceptable to the Lord!

Pastors as keepers of the flock must have a high standard of morals because they answer directly to God.  A Pillar of society!
     I Timothy 3:14-15 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
     The church congregation belongs to the Lord and the responsibility of them is a serious matter.  Pastors must be blameless and morally pure.  Promises must be taken seriously!  God holds them accountable because where Pastors lead the flock  (congregation) will follow.  To be like Jesus is to keep your promise!

A man shall NOT break his word the Bible says
     Numbers 30:2 If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.
     Moses being directed of God told people that they must keep their promises.  A person's word in just the same as a written legal contract in the eyes of God.  People who by their own free will have given a vow to do something must keep their word!  Only a child's broken promises can be overruled by a parent, but even then correction must be made by the parent to teach the child about keeping one's word.  Numbers 30: 3-8

The importance of keeping one's word is a matter of Integrity!
    Psalms 25:20-21 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.  Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.
    Integrity and righteousness are the two most important things for a Christian to have.   Uprightness and Integrity demonstrate what we believe, and how consistent of a walk we have with Jesus.  Pray to the Lord to help you keep your promises and strive to be pure before the Lord.  A man has real dignity of character when he has high integrity!

A broken promise is a sin and will be judged by the Lord.  God punishes the wicked!
    Leviticus 5:4-5 Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these.  And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing:
    God requires Christians to keep their word no matter who uncomfortable or unpleasant it may become.  Our ya, ya is enough to bind us before God as a promise to someone.  The only promises that we should not keep is sinful ones.  Many times promises involve sacrifices out of our comfort zones.  If you  promised something just by saying you would do it then God expects you to do it to the "best of your ability" as if you were doing it for the Lord Himself. 
     We can't just confess the sin of breaking a promise and think we can go our merry way thinking that we no longer are accountable.  As long as you are still able to fulfill your word (even if it's uncomfortable and you don't want to) you need to go to that person, repent of your sin and make amends by keeping  your promise.  Can you really come into the presence of God knowing that you refuse to keep your word? What kind of relationship can you have with the Lord if your are able to keep your word and don't? 

Integrity means Honor with Respect
    Proverbs 19:1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
     God classes Integrity more valuable than the riches of this world.  He classes Integrity more valuable than anything that we could ever own.  Cheating, stealing, lying, breaking one's promises, withholding tithe money out of greed or spite is the world's way but not what the Lord desires a Christian to be.  We are required to live a higher standard of living by holding our integrity dear to ourselves.  When people of the world look at you as a Christian do they say you are no different than them or do they say they  really respect you?  Poverty if far better if a person has integrity and honor than all the riches that every existed throughout time.  What is your life worth?  Can you take any material thing with you when you die?  We all need to get our priorities straight and realize that keeping our word is important to our self-respect as well as our integrity.

A Pastor should never Compromise his Integrity no matter what
    Proverbs 12:3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
     Solomon knew that our word is our bond (promise,) and following the Lords word is important as a Christian because His word is our bond to us.  Our character is reflected by the words that we speak and the vows that we make.  Broken promises causes a great deal of hurt and is the same sin of lying.  Personal Integrity as a Christian is held valuable by God when we honor our commitments.  People can't sin and get away with it because the Lord sees everything we say and do.  No one can get away from their responsibilities (the promises that they make)  and not answer to God for them.  What kinds of rewards do you want in Heaven? When you see the face of Jesus, will He say, "Well done good and faithful servant," or will He have tears in His eyes over the hurts caused by broken promises? 

Half truths are deceptive…
     Genesis 12:11-13 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. 
     Sarai was Abraham's wife as well as his half sister but it was immorally deceptive and caused hurt as well as shame.  Sarai was wealthy and beautiful and Abraham believed that she would be taken from him.  He was also afraid that he would be killed too.  Did Abraham trust God to keep His word to protect them?  Abraham forgot that what God says He will do, He will do!  His word is valuable and the Lord has integrity! Can we do no less than to faithfully follow God's example by keeping our word? If we trust the Lord to keep His word can people trust us to keep ours?

Once given our word we should never go back or alter it!
     Lev 27:9-10 And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy.  He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.
     God expects us to keep our word even if it costs us dearly.  He wants us to take and keep our promises and not alter or change our word to suit our selfishness.  Not matter who difficult, embarrassing, hard, or burdensome it may be, we still need to keep our word to the best of our ability.  That doesn't mean that we have a right to grudgingly do it in a spiritual manner but as pleasing unto the Lord.

Be responsible with your  words and vows!
     Titus 2:7-8 In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,  Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
    God desires us to be moral witness in our daily walk and that includes our morals.  The words that we speak and the promises that we make demonstrate our Christian values.  This is because of the people around us watching.  We must value our words as if they were gold.  People might see Jesus through our eyes if we are honest with our words.  Avoid criticism and hurt by listening before you speak and honoring what you commit to when you do.  Be sound of speech and honest in your promises!

Words reveal to the world and to God how honest we are
     James 3:9-10 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.  Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
     Speak words that are pleasing to God and act with honor upon the promises made.  If you have promised something and back out of it than deep hurt can be left behind.  This grieves the Holy Spirit and can cause a wound that may last a lifetime.  We are never to hurt anyone of the Lord's children and when we do than there is a price to be paid.  Can anyone truly stand before Jesus knowing that they hurt someone and not feel convicted? I can't, can you?

God never breaks His word nor does He give us the right to break ours
     2 Chr. 21:7 Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever.
     The light mentioned in this verse was the light of Jesus Christ God's very own son.  Jesus the Messiah of the world sits upon the throne of David and will rule forever.  He paid the price for our sins upon the cross.  God kept His word by giving us His only begotten Son to take away the sins of the world.  The Lord's word is valuable to us because by that promise being kept and fulfilled we might be saved.  Words have value and we too must keep our promises like He did for us. 

God's delights in in people who keep their promises
    Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.  Proverbs 12:25  Heaviness in the heart maketh it stoop: (is heavy and hurts) but a word maketh it glad.
     Words are important and have a great deal of value when used in the right way for Godly purposes.  Have you ever seen someone who just had a promise broken to them or maybe you had a promise broken to you?  What did it feel like?  Think of something that really matters to you that someone has promised to do.  Maybe they kept you waiting for it a long, long time and it really mattered to you.   Now consider how you would feel if it were broken.  Try stepping into someone else's shoes when you break your word to them.  Feel terrible doesn't it?   Is this the will of the Father to cause this kind of hurt?  Is there a promise that you made to someone that you can still keep? What does God want you to do?  What are you waiting for, honor your word and go do it!

The Vows we say must  be said in truth and honesty (Be careful for what you promise because God will hold you responsible!
     Eph. 4:24-25 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
    When we act like Godly people full of honor and self-respect than we are pleasing to the Lord.  Our Christian walk should be seen by everyone we meet.  We should daily strive to leave our sins behind taking up our cross and following the Lord's example.  We should daily work at changing our attitudes and bring our words into line with the Word of God. 
     Lying by not keeping one's word causes hurts, disappointments, disruptions and disharmony to the body of Christ.  It makes people loose respect as well as creates conflicts and destroys relationships.  Don't let the devil deceive you into breaking your word or make you think that you can justify altering your word to suit you.  That is being deceptive and God sees right through it.   This kind of pain can become bottled up inside a person's heart for years to come. 
     We shouldn't allow the devil to divide us when the best thing we could do would be to honor our word in the first place.  Integrity, honesty, decency, truthfulness and virtue are all required to show people that we love them.   This is the will of the Father!

Just by saying you “will” do something, you have “given your word!”
     Matthew 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
     What does God want you to do but let your word be yes, yes or no, no when you are speaking..  People will come to respect you and  follow your lead if you are honest.  Always be truthful saying what you mean and meaning what you say!  Honor your word so that it will be right before the Lord.  Integrity, honor and respect is the reward for keeping one's word.  Let's all remember to live up to the high standards that the Lord has set before us.

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