Promises, Promises!

Promise-keeping is one of the pillars of civilised society, and when it is demolished we all suffer. A world full of broken promises produces a world full of broken lives. In this article we will consider the Biblical theology and practice of promise-keeping, looking particularly at oaths and vows.

Theology
1. What is the difference between an oath and a vow? A vow is a promise to God to believe something, say something, do something or be something. An oath is a promise to another person with God called as a witness to the promise.

2. Who hears our oaths and vows? God hears and carefully records them in heaven. This is why oaths and vows are described by the Confession of Faith as worship (WCF 22.1). So, in taking an oath or vow, we are worshipping God by acknowledging that He sees us, hears us, knows what we are doing, and that His sovereign rule extends into every area of our lives. Therefore, the way we make and keep our promises tells us and others much about what we really think of God.

3. Should we take oaths or vows? Some people believe that Matthew 5:33-37 forbids all oaths and vows: but the Lord was only forbidding unlawful oaths and vows. The people were swearing by created things rather than the Creator, and they were making vows so frequently concerning unimportant matters in ordinary conversation, that their vows were meaningless. The Lord's teaching on this subject is beautifully summarised in the Confession of Faith in the chapter entitled 'Of Lawful Oaths and Vows'. It states: "The name of God only is that by which men ought to swear, and therein it is to be used with all holy fear and reverence. Therefore to swear vainly or rashly by that glorious and dreadful name, or to swear at all by any other thing, is sinful and to be abhorred" (WCF 22.2).

4. How should we keep our oaths and vows? The Psalmist says "I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people" (Ps.116:18). This verse teaches four things. Firstly, we must pay what we have promised. We must believe what we have promised to believe, say what we have promised to say, do what we have promised to do and become what we have promised to become. Secondly, we should keep our promises plainly. The Confession of Faith expresses this so simply: "An oath is to be taken in the plain and common sense of the words, without equivocation or mental reservation" (WCF 22.4). Thirdly, we must keep our promises presently. We must keep our promises now, without further excuses or delays. Fourthly, we must keep our promises publicly. Like the Psalmist, we must keep our promises in such a way that people do not doubt our honesty before God.

Practice
Having considered the Biblical teaching about oaths and vows we shall now examine the implications of this in different areas of life.

1. The Queen. In the Coronation Oath the Queen promised: "I do solemnly, and in the presence of God profess, testify and declare that I am a faithful Protestant and that I will secure the Protestant succession to the throne of my realm". She also promised, "to maintain to the utmost of my power the Laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel and the Protestant Reformed religion established by law". We should pray that our Queen would pay her vows now to the Lord before all the people. What blessings this would bring to the nation!

2. Members of Parliament. Our MP's place their hand on the Bible and swear an Oath of Allegiance to the Queen. The action of placing the hand on the Bible indicates that they swear by the God who reveals himself in the Bible. After the recent General Election, the first Muslim MP, Mohammed Sarwar, used the Koran instead of the Bible. As the Koran reveals a false god, his promise was an act of idolatry. Tony Banks, a Labour MP, took the Oath of Allegiance with his fingers crossed, indicating that his promise was a meaningless charade. It has also been announced that the Sinn Fein MP's, Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, have begun legal action to challenge their exclusion from Westminster unless they swear allegiance to the Queen. We should earnestly pray that this move will fail, and that all our MP's would keep their Oath of Allegiance to the Queen by framing laws and passing legislation to which she can give consent without breaking her Coronation promises.

3. Witnesses. In court cases the prosecution and defence witnesses raise their hands to heaven and say: "I swear by Almighty God that I will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth". The jury also swears faithfulness to Almighty God. Even if we are never involved as witnesses or jurors, we should pray that those who are involved would keep their promises. This would help prevent miscarriages of justice and also improve our confidence in British justice.

4. Doctors. Every doctor must take the Hippocratic Oath before being allowed to practise. This Oath is intended to prevent unethical practices. For too many doctors this Oath is treated with contempt. For example, when taking the Oath, doctors promise that they will never give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion. As we all know, this sad practice has become very common. There is now pressure to change the Oath in order to remove certain ethical commitments. We should pray that instead of altering and downgrading the Oath to make it coincide with current medical practice, the doctors would seek to alter and upgrade their practice to make it coincide with the present Oath. The doctor's job is to save life and not to destroy it.
5. Professors, Ministers, Elders and Deacons. All Free Church Officebearers sign the following formula at ordination: "I do hereby declare, that I do sincerely own and believe the whole doctrine contained in the Confession of Faith approven by former General Assemblies of this Church to be the truths of God; and I do own the same as the confession of my faith; as likewise I do own the purity of worship presently authorized and practised in the Free Church of Scotland...renouncing all doctrines, tenets, and opinions whatsoever, contrary to, or inconsistent with, the said doctrine, worship, discipline, government, or jurisdiction of the same". Honest and unreserved commitment to these vows would build trust, love, peace and unity in a way that nothing else could.

6. Members and Adherents. When a Free Church minister is called the members and adherents sign a form which states: "We...entreat you to undertake the office of pastor among us, and the charge of our souls; and further, upon your accepting this our call, promise you all dutiful respect, encouragement, and obedience in the Lord". How often is this promise broken today?

7. Marriage. In every marriage promises are made before God. For example the man may promise: "I, A, do take you, B, to be my married wife, and do, in the presence of God, and before this congregation promise and covenant to be a loving and faithful husband to you, until God shall separate us by death". The woman's promise is usually similar, with the added Biblical commitment to be an obedient wife. O what blessings would come upon our marriages, our families and our society if these solemn promises were kept!

8. Baptism. When parents take baptismal vows they promise to bring up their child in the knowledge of Christ and in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The children who are baptised must also be reminded that when they are come to maturity the vows their parents took on their behalf become their own. This means that they must either make good (improve) their baptism by seeking to have their sins washed away by Christ and by living holy lives before God, or else, they renounce their baptism by failing to come to faith in the Saviour. When an adult is baptised upon profession of faith, he professes by his action that he is washed from his sins, and promises to keep himself separate from sin and to live for God.

9. Christians. The biographies of several eminent Christians reveal that it was their frequent practice to make vows to God. The American theologian, Jonathan Edwards, made 70 resolutions which he read over every week. Among his resolutions were, "Never to do anything which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life....To be endeavouring to find out fit objects of charity and liberality". Similar spiritual vows can help encourage our obedience and service to God.

Conclusion Blessings follow promise-keeping as surely as curses follow promise-breaking. Let us, therefore, confess our sins and renew our promises. Let us say: "I will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken" (Ps.66:13-14). And let us always remember: "Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay" (Eccl.5:5).

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