Numbers 30:1-2 (KJV)
And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded. [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.
He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. Why does God expect us fulfill the promises of our mouths? It is primarily because God is always faithful to His promises that He has spoken. It should baffle our minds to think about the fact that God has never spoke an idle or vain word, ever. He performs everything he said he would do, and all that He has said was never for nothing, but for always for specific purpose to bring glory to Himself. God expects us to reflect His own glory. He desires that we always do what we say, because that's what God does. See how serious God is about this:
Matthew 12:36 (KJV)
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Any word that we have spoken that we did not perform, or any word that we have spoken in vain, or for no purpose, we shall give account of on the Day of Judgment. How shall we then tremble before any word proceed out of our mouths.
Why is God so serious about our spoken words? Because of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word of God. God's Word is not just a thing, it is a Living Person. This is why there is power in God's Word, because He is alive. By Him, by His Word, God created the world. By Him, by the preaching of the Gospel, He also saves sinners. When we speak filthy, vain words, we devalue God's Son. When we are unfaithful with our promises, we declare that Jesus Christ is unfaithful or untrustworthy. Our words must be holy, pure and life-giving like Jesus Christ. Let us never put filthy conversation in our mouths.
God is serious about all words, but He takes particular care concerning our oaths or vows. Why is this? Because God's oaths have to do with His covenant with man, especially that concerning His salvation. Whenever we even dare take an oath or a vow, we are to remember how God swore an oath to Abraham:
Genesis 22:16-18 (KJV)
And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord , for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son : [17] That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; [18] And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
See how God swore an oath to Abraham that in his Seed shall all the nations be blessed. He fulfilled this oath through Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world, and is still fulfilling it through the preaching of the Gospel. If God said it once, without any oath, it would still be reliable for it is impossible for God to lie. But if He spoke an oath, how sure is the confirmation of His promises? This is the assuredness of our blessing of our salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. As it is written:
Hebrews 6:16-18 (KJV)
For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. [17] Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: [18] That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
This law says that when a man swears an oath, his soul is bound with that oath. We swear an oath when we are married that we would love and cherish our spouses and be faithful until death do us apart. When we break this vow, there are consequences upon our soul. God also has sworn an oath concerning us, binding His own Spirit forever with the promise of the covenant that He will forgive our sins and remember our iniquities no more. This He swears upon the basis of the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Jeremiah 31:33-34 (KJV)
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord , I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. [34] And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord : for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord : for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Our covenant is the more secure because it is not between God and us primarily, but between God and His Son. It is not conditional upon our performance, but upon the performance of Jesus Christ. God swears an oath by Himself, and also makes a covenant with His own self. Man has no part in it, but that we by faith are united with Christ, and through Christ alone we have a covenant with God. Read:
Genesis 17:7-8 (KJV)
And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. [8] And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
And:
Psalm 89:34-36 (KJV)
My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. [35] Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. [36] His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
God's everlasting covenant was between Abraham and his Seed, who is the Christ. This covenant was not between us and God directly. If it was, and if it was dependent on our works, it would have been broken a long time ago, due to our weakness and unfaithfulness. God tried making a covenant with man directly before, when He took Israel out of Egypt in a covenant of works. But how did they fail by their disobedience and their weakness! For read:
Jeremiah 31:32 (KJV)
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord :
Israel was unfaithful to their covenant covenant with God, and committed spiritual adultery with other gods. It experimentally showed that it was not possible for God to make an everlasting covenant with man. But thank the Lord, that Christ became a man under the covenant of works, made under the law, kept the law, and not only that, even died for the sins committed under this covenant. Therefore, by faith, being united with Christ's death, we died to the covenant of works, which we could not fulfill. We have entered into the covenant of grace with Christ's resurrection from the dead. Christ is our representative, and by His everlasting priesthood, we are saved from the law, sin and the wrath of God. Our covenant with God is dependent on Christ's life and Christ's performance. Believers are saved as long as Christ is alive, for Christ always lives to do those things pleasing to His Father. See how pleased God was to make Christ our High Priest forever:
Hebrews 7:21-28 (KJV)
(For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:) [22] By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. [23] And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: [24] But this man , because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. [25] Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. [26] For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; [27] Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. [28] For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son,
who is consecrated for evermore.
Jesus Christ, by His death paying forever our sins by one sacrifice of His own self on the altar of the cross, was made a high priest, continuing forever in the power of His eternal life. He is forever interceding for our sins, that our sins may be forgiven, and that they be remembered no more.
Since we have this everlasting High Priest, whose job is to forgive and cleanse our sins, why should we be worried anymore because of our sins? We should simply come to God, putting our confidence in Christ, our sacrifice. Our salvation is dependent on Christ, and we can be sure that Christ shall never change. He is the Anchor of our souls. Why should we be worried about the storms around us, when we have Christ our salvation in our boats. Who cares if our bodies perish because of the storm? We know our souls at the least we shall be saved, and we have assurance of our resurrection. Why should we be afraid, when God will be our God, and He shall never leave us forsake us, nor cut off His lovingkindness from us, no matter what we do. Hallelujah to God.
Are we 100% confident that we can keep our vows and oaths, as God perfectly and faithfully keeps His oaths to us concerning our salvation? If not, we ought to take Christ's advice:
Matthew 5:34-36 (KJV)
But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: [35] Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. [36] Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Let us swear not at all, for we can't even come close to God's faithfulness on His promises. We are better if we say nothing at all, than to diminish the glory of God in His oaths. Let us simply believe in God's promises for us, and marvel at His ability to carry out the word that has proceeded from His mouth. Let us awe at especially how God carried out His word by sending His Son. God has spoken all that He can speak, by making His Word to become flesh and to dwell among us. How shall we escape, if we believe not Him who is the very Word of God, and take God for a liar? We shall surely perish for we have mocked His beloved Son. Father, grant us faith, to believe more in Your Word. I pray in Christ's name.
John 5:24 (KJV)
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
No comments:
Post a Comment