2005-11-06
Communion Dedication – Baldwin Christian Church
33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old
time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself (swear falsely, or be a false witness),
but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
If
I say, “Lord, I’ll do that”, or “Lord, I won’t do that”,
as time passes by, I will forget what I said, but His memory is a lot better
than mine. I may not think my words
are all that important, but the Lord does.
Matthew 12:36-37 …every
idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of
judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt
be condemned.
When
the time comes for me to face this judgment: when the audio recording of my life
is played back in the court of heaven, it won’t even be a close call: the
number of my words that condemn me will far outweigh the words that
justify me. On one side of the
scale are all the words I’ve spoken in vain: the lies, the half-truths, the
unfulfilled promises, even the little white lies will stand up and testify
against me. On the other side of
the scale, my only hope is in Jesus. I
can only put my trust in Him. The
words I’ve spoken in faith will stand, but only He can save me from the
terrible weight of words I’ve spoken in vain.
I
owe Him everything. That’s the
underlying message in the Sermon on the Mount.
Our words have power that’s binding in
heaven: so much so that an entire Old Testament chapter (Numbers 30) is devoted
to the rights and wrongs concerning vows. The
Old Testament stresses in a number of places that we must fulfill the promises
we make to God. (Ex 20:7; Lev 19:12; Num 30:2; Deu 5:11; Deu 23:23; Psa 50:14;
Psa 76:11; Ecc 5:4-6; Nah 1:15)
34 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.
37
But
let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these
cometh of evil.
So
Jesus has again clarified how we should interpret the Old Testament, and again
He shows us the heart of love behind the law.
In chapter 4 of James, we’re told that our lives are but a vapor; like
the morning fog. One minute we’re
here, and the next minute we’re gone, so in light of that, why do we say
things like “I’ll see you tomorrow at work”, or “I’ll meet you at the
mall tomorrow, and we’ll do some shopping together”?
If I tell you that I’ll do something for you, but then I die before
fulfilling that promise, I’ve sinned against you, and I’ve died in that sin.
I should have said, “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or
that.”
In
case some of you were still wondering, yes, this passage really convicts
and condemns me. I use all sorts of
excuses: I haven’t been able to do what I said because I’m busy, or I
haven’t been feeling well, or whatever the excuse of the day is.
It hurts Jesus, it hurts you, and it hurts me.
The Lord doesn’t shrug off my unfulfilled promises to Him, or to you.
By my words I will be justified, and by them I will be condemned.
Lord, I ask for your mercy. Convict
me whenever I would be tempted to say, “I swear to God”, help me to
complete my unfulfilled promises, and teach me to say, “If the Lord
wills…”