085. Chapter 80: Vows
------------ CHAPTER EIGHTY ------------
Vows A vow is a commitment toward God. It is a voluntary commitment either to perform a good deed or to refrain from something (one having the capacity to do so), either as an expression of gratitude or to promote our spiritual wellbeing. A vow is a commitment. He who previously may have been without obligation in a given matter, is placed under obligation by means of a vow. Man is under obligation to God in all that he possesses and does. This devolves from the fact that He is God and man a creature. Every human being is acquainted with this obligation, but by his actions he violates this obligation. He who enters into the covenant of grace obligates himself (who actually already was under obligation) with approbation, delight, and willingness to be the Lord’s eternally and to be governed by the Spirit of God according to His will. He gives his hand to the Lord and frequently reiterates this commitment with all his heart. Observe this in the following passages: “One shall say, I am the Lord’s” (Isaiah 44:5); “O Lord, truly I am Thy servant; I am Thy servant” (Psalms 116:16). This is one and the same thing as reference being made to a swearing unto the Lord that we shall serve Him. “And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; and they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice” (2 Chronicles 15:12
It is a commitment toward God. This is not only a commitment toward God, but the promise itself is made toward God; that is, whatever one promises to either do or refrain from doing, he will do Godward. Such promises are neither to be made to angels nor deceased saints, for that would be as much an act of idolatry as worshiping them, as the making of a vow is a religious exercise. When we promise to give something to the poor, such a promise is not made to the poor but rather to God; namely, that we shall bestow our gift upon the poor. “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” (Numbers 30:2).
(1) A vow must pertain to a good matter. Some matters are good in and of themselves; God has commanded them and we are thus under obligation to do them. The believer approves of this obligation, applies this to himself, and frequently repeats it with all his heart. Some matters are, however, inherently neutral. As far as usage is concerned man is free to either avail himself of them or not -- such as the consumption of wine, tea, or fruit; that is, in cases other than illness or given circumstances which necessitate their use. When a person uses such inherently neutral matters, they are then no longer neutral in nature. Then we must use them in faith, according to precept, and to the honor of God. In the Old Testament, vows related primarily to free will offerings. They could not promise, however, to sacrifice either swine or men, for that was an abomination to the Lord. Having made a vow in regard to a free will offering and upon proceeding with the sacrifice, they had to sacrifice according to the law. Such is also true for us, for when we make a vow, it must pertain to lawful matters.
(2) A vow must relate to a specific matter we are acquainted with as to both its nature and circumstances, and of which we are assured that we may and are able to fulfill. Jephthah sinned in this respect when he made a general vow to the Lord. His general vow was inherently incorrect for it pertained to people who would come out of the door of his house and meet him, since he could not expect that sheep or calves would come to meet him. If he did indeed sacrifice his daughter, who came out to meet him, as a burnt-offering, he did commit an abomination -- he who otherwise defeated the children of Ammon by faith (Hebrews 11:32). Had his faith been but a miraculous faith and he, in reality, was an unconverted man, he could have easily committed such an abominable deed. Since, however, he was in truth a godly man, and his zeal having enticed him to make such a reckless and abominable vow -- if he indeed executed the vow he had made, he would have committed a double evil and sinned dreadfully against the Lord. It then serves as a beacon for us not to make evil, reckless, and unrestricted vows; furthermore, even if we have made them, we are not to perform them. It is not a sin to renege on an evil and reckless vow; rather, it is a virtue if we do not perform it due to the fear of, and in obedience to, God. The sin is in the vow itself. We need to humble ourselves about that, but not about the breaking of that vow; for that we must give thanks. Thus, if someone greatly desires to have a son and prays for a son, promising to give this son back to the Lord by causing him to become a minister, he sins if he made this vow without mentioning any conditions -- such as, evident fitness for this office and willingness to yield himself to this with his entire heart, as well as whether he himself would be able to meet the expenses without shortchanging his family and other children. Furthermore, if such qualifications would not be present and he would nevertheless cause him to be a minister, he would then sin in a double sense. The Making of Vows Objection: One might object and say, “He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not” (Psalms 15:4).
Answer (1) This is applicable when the vow does not pertain to an evil matter, or if its execution does not lead us into sin. Even if, however, the performance of the vow were difficult and injurious for us; even if we would wish that we had not made that vow; and even if we would be able to perform it without sinning and without harm to ourselves, our loved ones, or others, then we must nevertheless perform it.
(2) However, according to the original text this passage reads as follows: “He that sweareth to do evil.” Thus, the meaning is as follows: The godly person will maintain his tender uprightness to such an extent that, even if he had sworn to do evil, he would nevertheless not do it, and thus not depart from his uprightness; he would then not perform such an evil oath.
(3) It must be a matter which is within the realm of what we are capable of doing. It would be a reckless vow if someone were to promise God that for the rest of his life he would not commit one more sin; or that, to all eternity, he would not again commit that sin which so easily besets him. Furthermore, he would grievously sin if he were to attach an obligation to punishment to this vow in the event that he were to commit it again. For he would then have made a vow which would be beyond the realm of his ability, not having given heed to his evil heart. He must humble himself about such a vow, and the Lord is so good that He will not cause that judgment to come upon such an upright person which he had invoked upon himself out of great hatred for sin, failing to take his own corruption into account. It would also be a sinful vow -- and it would be sinful if he were to perform it -- if someone were to promise a sum of money to the poor which he either would not be able to produce or, if he were able, would be to the detriment of himself and his children, bringing them outside of the circumstances in which God had placed them. This also pertains to all other things which are beyond the realm of our ability or those that could be beyond our control prior to the time that the vow is to be performed. Thus, we may not make vows of perpetual duration relative to neutral matters, for we do not know what can transpire in the meantime. Consider, for instance, people who presently have the gift of continence. They may not promise to remain unmarried during their entire lifetime, for their disposition could change and other circumstances could surface, making it advisable for them to marry. We must thus be very careful in making vows.
(4) When we do make vows, we must not act as if we were making a business deal with God, such as: “If Thou wilt give me this, then I will give Thee this.” Rather, it must be made as an expression of gratitude toward God. “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High” (Psalms 50:14). When we are in need, we are to pray for deliverance. Included with the grounds which we present in our petition should be that we desire to serve the Lord with joy, and to thank and glorify Him upon having delivered us -- and that we would also manifest our gratitude by desisting from, giving, or doing a given thing. The other reason for making vows must be the promotion of our spiritual well-being. There can at times be something of an external nature which one either may or may not do, and we experience that either doing or not doing this causes continually a falling into sin. Thus, the believer prays against this sin, and as he prays, promises God that within a specified period of time, he will either refrain from or perform a given deed (it being within his capacity and control to do so), so that in the intervening period there may be and remain an improvement in his circumstances. Everyone must know for himself what the conditions for such a commitment are. For example, one can promise that during a specified period:
-- One will not drink wine, even though one presently does, and will subsequently continue to, drink wine. It would then not be possible to detect that one had made a vow, nor would it render one suspect of hypocrisy.
-- One will deprive himself of food and eat only once a day. This is then not intended to be a day of fasting, but rather to restrain his nature from being stirred up to lust.
-- One will not use a given external adornment, without which he would nevertheless be adorned in an honest and moderate manner -- doing all this to keep his pride in check. In all such matters, great attention must be given to the circumstances. We must not put snares in our own way by either doing or not doing something which, by way of attending circumstances, would be too noticeable.
(5) If, when considering all the circumstances, we have made a good vow, we must also be very conscientious in performing it. “Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God” (Psalms 76:11); “When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee” (Deuteronomy 23:21); “Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:5).
David was most conscientious in this as is evident in Psalms 66:13-14 : “I will pay Thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.”