30 "Don’t Cross Your Heart, Nor Hope to Die" Numbers 30:1-16 | Thursday, May 14, 2026

Let's take our Bibles and we'll turn to

Numbers chapter 30.

Numbers 30 · chapter mention

Numbers chapter 30. Just a few more

Numbers 30 · chapter mention

chapters in our series here and it'll

probably take us through the month of

June and then uh this July. We'll look

forward to starting a new series through

the book of Hebrews this summer. And

certainly looking for that, studying for

it even now and excited to get to that.

But we've got more business to do here

in Numbers. And so I think tonight's

message will just be um a helpful and

practical instruction for our daily

lives today. I'm praying the Lord will

do that. So let's look at Numbers

Numbers 30 · chapter mention

chapter 30. And if you'll stand in honor

of God's words, 16 verses, we'll read

the entire chapter tonight.

Numbers chapter 30 verse one.

Numbers 30 · chapter mention

And Moses spake unto the heads of the

tribes of the children of Israel,

saying, "This is the thing which the

Lord hath commanded. 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 proceedth out of his mouth. If a

woman also vow a vow unto the Lord, and

bind herself by a bond, being in her

father's house in her youth, and her

father hear her vow, and her bond

wherewith she hath bound her soul, and

her father shall hold his peace at her,

then all her vows shall stand, and every

bond wherewith she hath bound her soul

shall stand. But if her father disallow

her in the day that he heareth, not any

of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith

she hath bound, her soul shall stand,

and the Lord shall forgive her, because

her father hath disallowed her. And if

she had at all an husband, when she

vowed, let me just explain that briefly.

This is talking about a woman who had a

vow right before she got married or

prior to her marriage. That's who this

is talking about. if she had not had a

husband when she made her vows but now

has a husband. That's what this part is

talking about. It says or uh or yeah

verse six if she at had at all an

husband when she vowed or uttered ought

out of her lips wherewith she bound her

soul and her husband heard it and held

his peace at her in the day that he

heard it then her vows shall stand and

her bonds wherewith she bound her soul

shall stand. But if her husband

disallowed her on the day that she heard

it, then he shall make her vow which she

vowed, and that which she uttered with

her lips, wherewith she bound her soul

of none effect. The Lord and the Lord

shall forgive her. But every vow of a

widow and of her that is divorced,

wherewith she hath bound her their souls

shall stand against her. And if she

vowed in her husband's house, or bound

her soul by a bond with an oath, and her

husband heard it, and held his peace at

her, and disallowed her not, then all

her vows shall stand, and every bond

wherewith she bound her soul shall

stand. But if her husband hath utterly

made them void on the day he heard them,

then whatsoever proceeded out of her

lips concerning her vows, or concerning

the bond of her soul, shall not stand.

Her husband hath made them void, and the

Lord shall forgive her. every vow and

every binding oath to afflict the soul,

her husband may establish it, or her

husband may make it void. But if her

husband altogether holds his peace at

her from day to day, then he establishth

all her vows or all her bonds which are

upon her, he confirmth them, because he

held his peace at her in the day that he

heard them. But if he shall in any ways

make them void after that he hath heard

them, then he shall bear her iniquity.

These are the statutes which the Lord

commanded Moses between a man and his

wife, between the father and his

daughter, being yet in her youth in her

father's house. So obviously this

chapter is about making vows before the

Lord or taking oaths invoking his name.

And so that's the subject of our

message. I think there are some

practical truths that we can glean from

this entitled the message, don't cross

your heart nor hope to die. Don't cross

your heart nor hope to die. May God

bless his word as you're seated. We'll

get into the message.

Growing up, you know that we had all

kinds of ways to make promises. Pinky

swear. That's one of them. Remember? How

many of you ever done a pinky swear?

Yeah, my generation. I don't know what

the older generation did, so you'll just

have to bear with me here for a little

bit. Others might What's that?

>> Yeah, right. Others might shake their

hands, you know, shake on it. And some

young boys might even spit in their

hands and shake on it, right? And so as

if the locking of pinkies or the shaking

of a hand or the mingling of saliva

somehow made the promises more

trustworthy. And then of course we have

all those statements that affirm the

trustworthiness of what we are saying.

Some might say, "I swear on my mother's

grave." Some might be careful doing

that, right? Some might say it that way.

Or there might be some that say, "I'm as

serious as a heart attack."

Or there's my personal favorite. Cross

my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in

my eye. You know, that was what we said

when we were trying to get across that

we're being truthful, right? And yet

many times while making those promises

and swearing those oaths, you could

always cross your fingers and make them

void, right? as long as the fingers are

crossed behind the back. Sometimes you

cross your toes inside your shoes and

nobody can see. But it gives you the

right to go back on those things. We

grew up making these silly oaths and at

times we made promises with no real

intention to keep them. And sometimes we

might even make promises that we have no

capacity to deliver on. Or maybe

something happens in our lives where we

couldn't deliver on something that we

did fully intend to fulfill.

We take our promises rather casually.

But when you make a vow to the Lord or

when you swear an oath invoking his

name, God holds you to it. God holds you

to it. God takes our vows and our oaths

seriously. And so must we. And we know

that because of God's instruction to

Israel here in Numbers 30. that while

vows and promises

can often carry a negative connotation,

right, that that we're like, "No, just

don't don't swear at all. Don't make

promises at all." We kind of have that

perspective. The reality is when you

study scripture, they were often an

expression of trust and devotion to God.

Jacob vowed a vow that if God would

bring him back safely to Bethl, then he

would give God a tenth of everything

that he blessed him with. I think of

Hannah that vowed that if God would give

her a son, then she would give him back

to him all the days of his life. Those

were vows that were mentioned. David

often mentioned in the Psalms, how he

would pay his vows to the Lord when God

heard his cries. And so because of God's

trustworthiness to Israel, vows and

oaths often became natural expressions

of devotion and dependence upon God. But

this text clarifies for us that those

vows and those oaths must be taken

seriously. They must be taken seriously.

See, the reality is even today many can

be pretty casual about the vows and the

oaths that they take even in God's name.

Whether it be your marriage vows at the

altar before God or it could be a faith

promise commitment at missions

conference time

or it could be promises that we make in

crisis.

Have you ever found yourself saying,

"God, if you'll do this, then I will do

this. If you'll get me out of this, then

I'll serve you forever. if you'll get me

out of this hospital bed, then I'll I

I'll do whatever you want me to do. You

know, and a lot of times we can make

those promises. And yet, when God holds

up his end of the deal, it might be that

you failed to hold up your end of the

deal.

Sometimes to try to strengthen

credibility, someone might say, "I swear

on the Bible." You ever heard that

before? And of course, some people will

say, "Swear to God." or they'll say as

God is my witness and sometimes people

will even lie straight through their

teeth while invoking God's name just to

gain your trust. Sometimes people do

that. But this text is a warning to us.

Don't live that way. Don't live that

way. Don't take God's name in vain.

Don't make rash vows or take oaths that

you have no intention or no capacity to

follow through on. We must take vows

seriously. The question is why? In our

text tonight, I see two reasons. The

first one that we're going to look at is

because they're binding before God. Our

promises and our vows and our oaths are

binding before God. But then we're also

going to see what broken vows incur in

our lives. And then finally, as we wrap

up the message, we'll having understood

why we must take vows seriously. We'll

just look at a few uh practical ways

that we can do just that that we can

show that our our vows our oaths before

God are taken seriously. So let's

consider first of all we must take our

vows seriously because they are binding

before God. God first of all holds men

to their vows in verses 1 and two.

You'll notice in verse one it says Moses

spake into the heads of the tribes

concerning the children of Israel. And

what's going on here is God is holding

the leaders of Israel responsible to

hold the leaders of every home

responsible to their vows. That's what

we see taking place here. And so in

verse two, he starts with men in

general. It says, "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 proceedth out of his mouth." Now,

here's the question. He's talking about

vows and he's talking about oaths. What

particularly do these things mean? Well,

a vow is a voluntary promise to devote

something to God as you depend on him.

It's as I mentioned that if God does

this, then I will do this like Jacob did

at Bethl, like Hannah did with her son.

Israel had recently done this here in

the book of numbers when they came and

they they came upon the city of the king

of Ard and they said, "God, if you will

deliver the city into our hands, we will

consecrate the entire city to you." And

and God did just that and they fulfilled

their vow. They did just that. And so

there was a living example just a few

chapters prior to this. And so that's

the idea of a vow. Of course, you have

Nazerite vows as well where people would

be dedicated to the Lord for a specific

amount of time. They would not cut their

hair. They would abstain from wine and

strong drink and and not touch dead

animals, which means they probably

wouldn't hunt and those kind of things.

And so, they're they're devoting

themselves to the Lord. And then when

that's done, they would offer a

sacrifice to God. And they would they

would cut their hair and offer that hair

on the altar. And so, that's the idea of

of paying their vows back. I've

committed to this and now I'm going to

fulfill it. And so that's the idea of a

vow. But then you have this idea of a

binding oath. And this is invoking God's

name to do something or to affirm the

truthfulness of a statement. Now in the

Old Testament, here's the most common

way you would hear it. God do so to me

and more also if I do X. Whatever it is,

you see that all throughout the Old

Testament. They're taking an oath. May

God judge me if I don't follow through

on this. My mind goes to Ruth. How Ruth

when when Naomi told her, "Go back to

Moab." Ruth said, "The Lord do so to me

and more also if ought but death part

thee in me." She is saying, "May God

judge me if I abandon you for any reason

other than death." That was invoking an

oath in God's name.

Now, even the Apostle Paul in the New

Testament said multiple times in his

letters, "For God is my witness." He

said, "I say the truth in Christ, I lie

not." He said, "I call God for a record

upon my soul." And so, that's

establishing truthfulness and

credibility as he's defending his

ministry among some people. And so it it

what this tells us is that doing a vow

to God or uh swearing an oath invoking

God's name that there's nothing wrong

with that.

But it must be taken seriously.

It's not just a casual uh expression of

of God's name in that way. But here's

God's instruction to men in verse two.

Don't break your word. Do everything

that you say. Why? because it's binding.

He is bound by God to his vows. Now,

what's going to happen in verses three

down through verse number 14 is instead

of dealing with uh with all of these

differently because they're similar.

We're just going to deal with them all

at once. But God's going to deal with

four groups of women. He's going to deal

with unmarried daughters in their

father's home. He's going to deal with

newlywed brides, widows, and divorced

women. And then finally, current wives

living in their husband's home. Now,

when it comes to widows and divorced

women in verse 9, it's pretty

straightforward that they are treated

and regarded as a man's vows. That

because they're they're widowed, they're

no longer under the headship of their

husband. Or because they're divorced,

they're no longer under the headship or

protection of their husband. And so,

when they make a vow or they take an

oath in God's name, then theirs shall

stand is what it says in verse number

nine, that they are bound to those uh

vows. and oaths. Now,

then it comes to whether it's a younger

daughter who's still in her father's

home or if it's a newly wedded bride or

a man's wife. When they make a vow,

their father or their new husband or

their uh lifelong husband, they are

given the authority to either ratify and

establish that vow or to nullify it to

make it void. And so they're uh given

that authority. And what it says in

particular is when he hears about it, he

has that day and that day only. And so

whether you're talking about a father

hears that his his young daughter in his

home has made this promise or invoked

God's name in this way, the day that he

hears it, he can put a stop to it and

say, "No, that's not what's going to

happen here." And it says the Lord will

forgive her of that. And then you have a

a newlywed that perhaps when she was in

her father's home, she made a solemn

promise or made a vow to God or swore an

oath and her father established it. But

perhaps they didn't give thought to a

future husband at that time because at

that time there were no prospects. But

it may be that whatever promise she made

in her father's home, it could mar her

new husband's inheritance. And so when

she discloses that vow to him, he has

that day and that day alone to either

nullify it or to establish it. And then

the same thing is true for a man and a

woman that are already married that if

she makes a vow or swears an oath, then

the husband has that day alone to be

able to establish it or to nullify it.

And so the idea here is this. That woman

will be bound to her vow or her oath

unless her husband nullifies it the same

day that he hears of it. Now wait a

second. So young women and married women

don't have authority on their own to

make their own vows to swear their own

oaths. They have to have their father or

their husband sign off on it. And modern

people today would say, "Is this because

God hates women? Is this because women

are inferior? Is this because God is

misogynist?" No. It's because God is

wise and God is gracious is why he

invites women. You notice this? He

invites women to make vows to him. He

invites women to take oaths to him, to

have a personal relationship with him, a

devotion and a dependence on him. He he

welcomes that, but at the very same

time, he provides a protection for them

in their husband. That he he puts them

under the headship of their father or

puts them under the headship of their

husband. Not because he thinks they're

inferior. Not because he doesn't respect

women. Not because he thinks they're too

emotional or too rash at times. No, it

has nothing to do with any of that. It's

because God actually cares for women.

It's because he understands this that

when she makes an oath and she makes a

vow, she is bound to it. And so, there's

one more opportunity. There's one more

area of protection for a husband to say,

you know, I don't think that that's

wise. I don't think that's best right

now. and so I think maybe you should

wait or something like that. And so it's

one more added place of protection for a

woman and it's because of the binding

nature

of these vows. And so this tells us

today that we must take vows very

seriously because they are binding

before God. While we may not take every

oath and every promise seriously, God

does. Whether it is your marriage vows,

he takes them seriously and so should

you. There's a reason why Jesus called

divorce and remarage adultery. And it's

because though man may sever those ties,

God sees it as eternally binding. Why?

Because those vows were made in his

sight before him. That especially when

you get married in a church and a pastor

is residing over that, he'll say

something like, "Do do you solemnly

promise before God and these witnesses

to be faithful to your spouse?" And so

those are binding vows before God. He

takes it seriously when we fill out our

faith promise cards and missions

conference time. When we say on that

card, "By the grace of God, I commit to

give this amount weekly to global

missions." God takes those commitments

seriously. And so should we. God expects

you to mean what you say when you're

sick in a hospital.

And you say, "God, if you get me out of

here, I will serve you for the rest of

my days." You may consider that an

emotional time or a rash reaction, but

God considers it binding. He made a

promise to him.

He takes it seriously. Listen folks, he

takes it seriously. When you say

something like, "I swear to God," or "I

swear on the Bible," he takes that very

seriously. Or when you say, "As God is

my witness." See, today these things are

viewed as a cheap swear word. But as you

say those things as a by word without

giving any thought or meaning to it,

that is the very definition of taking

God's name in vain. See, taking God's

name in vain isn't just saying things

like oh my God or using Jesus Christ as

a swear word. That's not really what

taking the Lord's name in vain is

talking about. It's talking about this

right here when you say as God is my

witness. Because here's what happens is

you are connecting your faithfulness

with God's faithfulness. And when you

are unfaithful, you portray God as

unfaithful. That's why taking his name

in vain and swearing like this is s is

such a a a

crucial thing that you be sure that you

take things seriously and not use God's

name that way.

And so if we're to make vows or take

oaths, we've got to take them very

seriously because they're binding before

God. But now you might ask, what happens

if I do misuse God's name? I understand

they're binding. What if I break that

bond? What what happens then? What if I

don't follow through on my vow? Well,

that then brings us to the second point,

and that is this. We've got to take vows

seriously because broken vows incur

guilt before God. They're not only

binding before God, but they incur guilt

before God.

There's a couple of ways that this is

implied in this text, but then there's

one way where it's made clear. I want

you to notice first of all in verse

number two where it says,

"He shall not break his word. he shall

do according to all that proceedth out

of his mouth. That kind of has a a clear

command from God. That implies a

consequence to come. It leaves you

wondering, well, what then will happen

at this point? And the implication is

that you'll be guilty before God of

breaking that vow. We see this implied

in God's forgiveness of the women whose

vows are nullified. We notice that three

times in verse 5, in verse 8, and verse

12. Just look at verse 5. We'll just

look at there. It says, "But if her

father disallow her in the day that he

heareth, uh, not any of her vows, nor of

her bonds wherewith she hath bound her

soul shall stand, and the Lord shall

forgive her because her father

disallowed her." This goes the same for

the husbands in verse number eight and

verse number 12. That if a husband hears

about the vow and he nullifies it, then

it says the Lord will forgive her. That

word forgive means to pardon. It means

to release from charges. It's it's as if

she has charges against her because

she's breaking her vow, but in an act of

grace, God is going to forgive her of

that. God's going to release her of the

guilt. But what it shows us is that if

if vows are broken, this is a

extraordinary case. if a husband

nullifies it. But if a vow is broken

without a husband nullifying, then it

means that she'll be left guilty if she

breaks that vow. And so we see it

implied in the command to keep their

vows, to keep their words. We see it

implied in the forgiveness of the women

who cannot fulfill their vows because

they're nullified. But then it's really

made clear for us in verse number 15.

Look there. It says, "But if he shall

any ways make them void after that he

hath heard them, then he shall bear her

iniquity."

And so what this means is a broken vow

would normally lay guilt upon the woman,

but because the husband established it

and then went back on it, because

remember it says that he has to to

nullify it the day he hears it. It says

that over and over again. He has till

nightfall that day to nullify that vow

officially. But if it goes past that day

and it goes, let's say, a week and then

he says, "No, you know what? You're not

going to keep that vow. You're not going

to give that money. You're not going to

whatever the vow may have been," then it

says, "She doesn't bear her guilt, but

he bears iniquity. He bears guilt." And

so what then happens when somebody bears

guilt?

Well, according to Leviticus 5, when

somebody realizes that they have

unknowingly broken a vow sworn falsely,

then they must offer a trespass

offering. And that trespass offering

will atone for their sin, and it will

cover their guilt, and then they may be

forgiven at that point. If it crosses a

line where it's a high-handed sin, where

it's a willful disobedience, and he

knowingly breaks a vow, then he could

potentially even be punished by death,

where there can be no sacrifice to atone

for that sin. And so whether it's the

death of the man or the death of the

animal, what we realize here is the

wages of sin is death. Broken vows lead

to bearing sin.

And so that means that we've got to take

our vows seriously because broken vows

incur guilt before God. It leaves us

guilty.

Every oath you falsely and casually

swear.

Every promise you break that you made in

God's name, every unpaid vow leaves you

guilty before God. And the only way for

you to be forgiven, the only way for you

to be declared guiltless is through an

atoning sacrifice. And that atoning

sacrifice is none other than God's son.

Because when Jesus shed his blood and

hung on the cross, he was bearing the

weight of guilt for every broken

promise, for every rash oath, for every

time you have invoked God's name in

vain. The cost of that broken vow is

infinitely high. And because Christ

bears the guilt for our broken vows, we

must take them seriously. He had to die

for them. Do we realize that?

Every time you said, "I swear to God,"

in vain. Every time you said, "I swear

on the Bible," in vain.

Every single time that that that you

said, "Well, God, if you'll do this,

then I'll do this." this and then he

does it and you don't.

Every one of those Jesus had to die for.

See, some people might foolishly say,

"Why take vows so seriously if Jesus

paid for him and God will forgive me?"

But rather, on the contrary, when we

truly appreciate the costly price that

Jesus did pay, we should say because

every broken vow incurs guilt on Jesus

that he bore for me, then why should I

not take them seriously?

Why would I treat God's name casually if

it cost his son his life?

Why would I use Jesus's name as a swear

word when he gave his life for me?

And so what we learn is that we must

take vows seriously.

Number one, because they're binding

before God. And number two, because they

incur guilt before God.

So then the question is how do we

practically

take our vows seriously?

Our oaths. Fortunately, we have some

good instruction from the Bible.

Going to give you three here tonight.

You may want to write these down. Number

one is do not make vows rashly. Do not

make vows rashly. If if we were to look

back, why don't you just look back real

quick at verse number six,

it says, "And if she had at all, an

husband when she vowed, or pay attention

to this phrase, uttered ought out of her

lips." You want to know what the literal

translation of that is? To speak without

thought.

To speak without thought. It's a

thoughtless oath. It means you didn't

consider all the ramifications or

everything that could be involved with

it that you spoke too soon. You spoke

too emotionally, you spoke too rashly.

And so the first thing is if we're going

to take them seriously that we can't

speak rashly.

An example in the days of the judges,

Jeffa

swore to God that if God would give him

this victory, he would offer the first

thing that came through his door as a

burnt offering to the Lord. And so he

goes out and fights. God gives him the

victory. He comes home and what was the

first thing that walked through the door

of his home?

His daughter.

But it doesn't just say his daughter. It

says his only child. And it says that he

was grieved. But then that he went and

did what he had said he would do.

There's debate. What does that mean?

Did he offer her as a burnt offering

literally?

That seems to fit the context of all the

book of judges where everybody was doing

right in their own minds

and maybe there was a failure of the

leaders of Israel to come to him and

say, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Let's deal with this the right way." Or

it's possible that instead of offering

her as a burnt offering, because we know

God does not accept that, that perhaps

it means that she was going to live the

rest of her life dedicated to the house

of the Lord. And so she, if this is

possible, then then she's going to live

in her virginity. And it actually says

that she she said, "Well, let me go and

bewail my virginity." And then it says,

"Every single year the daughters of

Israel went out to bewail her

virginity." That seems to suggest to me

that she wasn't put to death and that

she continued to live. But I think the

clearest evidence is the fact that it

mentions she's his only child.

And what did we just see back in Numbers

Numbers 28 · chapter mention

chapter 28,

the daughters of Zilofahad or 27? And

what did it say there? If a man does not

have a son, then his inheritance

transfers to his daughter.

But what happens if he has no daughters?

it goes to his brothers. And so the

grievous thing to Jeffa very well

probably more likely was that his

daughter is now going to remain a virgin

the rest of her life and serve in the

house of God and there's nobody to carry

on his name or to carry on his

inheritance. Therefore, his lineage is

completely destroyed.

In Israel, that would be very grievous.

Why did all that happen? because he

spoke

without really thinking through it,

without putting the exception of his

daughter on it. And what did we read in

verse number two? He swears an oath or

makes a vow. He shall not break his

word. He shall do what's required of

him. That serves as a warning to us. Do

not be rash with your vows. Don't invoke

God's name unwisely in a spur-of-the-

moment decision. that maybe you should

not lay there in the hospital bed and

say, "God, if you do this, then I'll do

this. Maybe ought to just pray and ask

for God's mercy." Something like that.

Or at least take some time to think

about it. And so I say to all of us, not

to make them rationally, not to make

them emotionally, but to take time to

seek the Lord, to consider the

ramifications of that vow and who and

what it might affect and how so. and

only then when you are certain to

perhaps make the vow. Don't be afraid to

take some time. Don't make rash vows.

Number two,

this is rather simple. When you do

decide to make a vow, fulfill it.

Fulfill it. Now, bear with me for a

moment. This is going to take a minute

to explain. Matthew chapter 5, Jesus was

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

dealing with a serious problem in his

day because people understood the

seriousness of their vows. Instead of

swearing by God's name, they would swear

by heaven. They would swear by the

temple. They would swear by the earth.

They they would swear by the city of

Jerusalem. And what it was was they

viewed those vows as less binding as

swearing by God's name. And so

therefore, it gave them a little leeway

to go back on their word. But Jesus

corrects them. And do you remember what

he says? Swear not at all, neither by

heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by

the earth, for it is his foottool. Uh,

nor by uh the uh Jerusalem, for it is

the city of the great king. And he said

this, but let your communication be yay

yay and nay nay. And he says, and

whatsoever cometh more of this is evil.

If you're not going to be just true to

your basic word, then what business do

you have invoking God's name?

In James 5:12, he repeats this teaching

James 5:12

from Jesus and says, "But above all

things, my brethren, swear not. Let your

nay yay be yay and your nay be nay, lest

ye fall into condemnation."

Now, Jesus was not necessarily saying,

"Don't ever make vows.

Don't take courtroom oaths, make uh or

make co covenant commitments or solemn

affirmations. The reason why we

understand that Jesus wasn't just

clearing it off and literally saying,

"Don't ever swear in any situation ever.

Don't make vows in any situation ever."

Is because we see, as I mentioned, the

Apostle Paul doing this multiple times.

We've seen this in Acts that he had a

vow in Sinca and he shaved his head.

when he goes back to Jerusalem here in

in the next few chapters, we're going to

see that he helps some other men fulfill

their vows and go and offer their

sacrifices and cut their hair. And so

Paul's still involved with vows, but

then also how how he mentioned uh God

God as my as my witness for God is my

witness. How he said, "I tell the truth

in Christ I lie not." And so we know

that that Paul was doing some of that,

taking oaths and he was making vows. But

I think Paul was a man of his word. I

think Paul was ready to be true and to

fulfill his commitments to God even if

it meant his death is what we see in his

life. And so I don't think Jesus is

necessarily saying don't ever make any

vows whatsoever. I think he was dealing

with something in that specific context

of saying, "Don't swear by all of these

things, thinking that God will hold you

less accountable. Be true to your word.

Let your yes be yes and your no mean no.

Be true to your word." And so I want to

say to you, don't make rash vows or

oaths, but should you make a decision to

vow or to take an oath before God, be

sure to fulfill it. Why? Because it's

binding before God. because it incurs

guilt if you break it. Then number

three, finally,

if you can't keep a vow, do not make a

vow.

This is taught in Deuteronomy chap 21 23

and 24, but or 22 and 23. But then it's

also taught again by Solomon much later

in Ecclesiastes 5:es 4 and 5 when he

says it is better not to make a vow than

to make one and not fulfill it, not to

pay it. And I think that's really the

point that Jesus was making that vows

can be good and oaths can have their

places, but if you're unwilling to

fulfill it or to count the cost of it

and you're not to do so wisely and

seriously, it's better to not make them

at all. That's what he's getting at.

If you can make a vow in which you can

fully trust God, depend on him and

devote yourself to him and he comes

through, then be faithful to fulfill it.

Vows can be a meaningful expression of

trust and devotion to God. But they must

be taken seriously, not casually. Why?

They're binding before God, and they

incur guilt before God. guilt that must

be cleansed by the blood of Jesus

Christ.

For that reason alone, we should be

careful not only to make rash or to not

only to make vows and swear oaths with

full intention to fulfill them, but not

to make them rashly. And if we can't

follow through, it's better not to make

them than to fail to fulfill them. And

notice there once again, I just want to

reiterate this because sometimes we're

we're we should take them seriously,

but it's not wrong to make a vow to God

because what what does it say? It's

better

that you not make them than that you

make them and not fulfill them. And so

it's like saying it's good, but there's

something better. Why? Because of the

binding nature and because of the guilt

that they incur. Perhaps tonight as we

close here going through your mind is a

list of times when you have sworn in

God's name.

Perhaps times when you have made a

promise but didn't fulfill it. You

committed to give but didn't follow

through. Committed to care but then fell

short.

Perhaps there are so many broken

promises that you can't remember them

all. You know what God does?

They're all binding. And every broken

promise incurs guilt.

And it may be that you've treated them

as no big deal, but you come to realize

tonight that it is a big deal to God.

You come to realize in full the price

that Jesus had to pay for every one of

your broken promises, your broken vows,

your false swearings.

What do you do now?

Well, the right thing to do is to

repent,

is to confess, is to seek cleansing and

forgiveness through Christ.

And then if you still can

fulfill that vow,

we're talking about if maybe you maybe

you lapsed on your faith promise

commitment and you've fallen behind and

you just gave up. The right thing to do

would be to repent and confess, but then

start giving it again. And perhaps to

even pay back what you had already

committed to God. That's the right way

to handle it. You can still fulfill the

vows that perhaps you've even broken

today.

You might say, "But what if I can't?

What if I what if in my teen years I

promised God my purity, but then I lost

it?

Or what if I made this commitment to

this financial obligation, but then I

turned from it and now I can't really go

back there?

What if I've made these promises and

it's just not possible to fulfill them?

Well, here's the reality. Accept God's

forgiveness in Christ.

It still needs to be cleansed because

you're still guilty. But forgiveness can

be found because God is gracious.

because he gave his son to atone not

just for some of our sin but for all of

our sin. And that includes those broken

promises. But what you must do is learn

in this moment from that failed

commitment to go forward and be faithful

to every vow you make that I'm not going

to be rash,

but it doesn't mean I'm never going to

promise something to God, but when I do,

I'm going to fulfill it. And so I think

maybe the silliest way to put this

would be don't cross your heart.

Don't hope to die. And certainly don't

stick a needle in your eye. Just be true

to your word as God is true to his word.

I think that's really the heart of what

this is getting at. A God who is

faithful to all of his promises

expects those people to be faithful to

all of theirs. May we strive to be those

people. Our father, we come