Post by Cindy on Jul 19, 2015 9:03:32 GMT -5
Have you ever made a promise to someone and then later broke it because you were angry with them? Maybe they broke their word to you first and so in anger, you didn't keep your part of the deal. Sounds perfectly fair doesn't it? Or perhaps you made a promise to someone thinking they were your friend only to later discover they were using you, and so you broke the promise. Again, it sounds perfectly fair and right. The only problem with that reasoning is that it's the world's reasoning, not God's. God expects us to keep our word, regardless of the circumstances or reasons that we think we shouldn't have to. I was totally astounded by this at first, but as I've studied, it began to make sense to me.
One story we're familiar with is when the Israelites are first getting to their land and they're conquering the other countries. One small country sees what's happening and is terrified. They don't want to be killed! So they send a few of their men to meet with the Israelites. The men wear very old clothes that are very dirty and take old food that's dried up and has obviously been around much too long, so it would appear they'd been traveling a long way. They knew that God had told the Israelites to destroy all the people within certain borders of which they were a part of, but that they could make treaties with those outside those borders. So they wanted the Israelites to believe they'd traveled from outside those borders to meet with them. At first they were suspicious, but eventually believed these people and made a treaty with them. The big problem was, that they forgot to ask the Lord first. They thought they could figure this one out on their own and didn't need His help. How often we do that too! More often then not, I'm afraid. They quickly discovered they'd been made fools of and were going to kill the people then and there. Thankfully, wiser heads prevailed and they realized they couldn't break their treaty because as in all things, they'd done it in the Name of the Lord. Generally, we read that and heave a sigh of relief, as we rarely, if ever make a promise in the Lord's Name. But that's not the point. God tells us in Col 3:17 and many other places: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” So while actually using His Name would certainly make it even more binding and important, not actually saying it that way doesn't make it any less binding. As far as our God is concerned, a promise is something to be kept, regardless of how it's worded, or what the circumstances are later. (That particular story is in Joshua 9 if you'd like to read it).
That's just one story though. We're shown this over and over throughout His Word. Our word is to be our bond, no matter what. In fact, one of the sins the Lord will judge individuals and nations for during the tribulation, is for breaking their word. Why is this so important to the Lord? From what I've studied, I've realized that God shows us through His Word and through our Lord Jesus and the way He lived His life, how He wants us to think and act. He wants us to be like Him. He created us in His image. That doesn't mean we look like Him physically, it means our character was made like His. Therefore He wants us to love the way He does: unconditionally, and sacrificially. He wants us to be truthful like He is, all the time, 100%. He wants us to keep our promises, just like He does, unconditionally, and sacrificially, if that's the way they were made. As we study His Word, we see that some of His promises are unconditional, and others have conditions. The Lord is very specific about what He promises and He always keeps His Word to us. The problem many people have that cause them to think He hasn't kept His Word, is that they often tend to not read the entire promise and so miss the condition. For example, read Psalm 103:10–13 “he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;” And Psalm 103:17–18 “But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.” Over and over we're told that God keeps His Word to those who love Him and obey Him.
The problem is that we're not as careful as God is when we give our word to someone else, and we generally don't stop to ask Him if we should be making the promise in the first place, so we often find ourselves in a position of having to keep a promise that we no longer want to and that's no longer fair. That brings us to yet another thing the Lord tries to teach us all through His Word, and that's that the words we speak are important and that we need to be in control of every word we speak, whether it's just day to day conversation or a promise. In fact, Jesus Himself tells us “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”” (Matthew 12:36–37) “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.” (Proverbs 13:3) Jesus takes this even further, and even includes our thoughts, for He tells us that it's our thoughts that lead to our words, which ultimately lead to our actions. This is why He explains in Matthew 15:17–20 that we need to be in control of our thoughts. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7)
It's really amazing when you consider that the Bible has a tremendous amount to say about our thoughts and our words. We're to be in control of them at all times and we're to say what we mean and mean what we say. We're to keep our word no matter what. If we promise someone we will do something, then we have to do it, even if circumstances have changed.
A big part of the reason so many don't realize these things is because our pastors have for so long not taught the whole truth of the Bible. We've been told a lot about a God of love, but not much of anything about a God of Truth and of righteousness and justice. We constantly hear about how God will keep His promises, but we hear nothing about obeying Him or what we're to obey Him about. We're told salvation is a free gift, but rarely does a person hear that there is a cost involved or know what that cost is. So we have thousands, if not millions of people running around thinking they're saved because they said a prayer, even though they don't obey God's Word, and most of them don't know it to obey it anyway! God tells us His Word is important, that it is life to us and that it should not be ignored or taken lightly. Our God is Holy and He demands that we be holy just as He is.
““Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)
“For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.” (Romans 2:13)
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22)
““If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” (John 14:21–24)
One story we're familiar with is when the Israelites are first getting to their land and they're conquering the other countries. One small country sees what's happening and is terrified. They don't want to be killed! So they send a few of their men to meet with the Israelites. The men wear very old clothes that are very dirty and take old food that's dried up and has obviously been around much too long, so it would appear they'd been traveling a long way. They knew that God had told the Israelites to destroy all the people within certain borders of which they were a part of, but that they could make treaties with those outside those borders. So they wanted the Israelites to believe they'd traveled from outside those borders to meet with them. At first they were suspicious, but eventually believed these people and made a treaty with them. The big problem was, that they forgot to ask the Lord first. They thought they could figure this one out on their own and didn't need His help. How often we do that too! More often then not, I'm afraid. They quickly discovered they'd been made fools of and were going to kill the people then and there. Thankfully, wiser heads prevailed and they realized they couldn't break their treaty because as in all things, they'd done it in the Name of the Lord. Generally, we read that and heave a sigh of relief, as we rarely, if ever make a promise in the Lord's Name. But that's not the point. God tells us in Col 3:17 and many other places: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” So while actually using His Name would certainly make it even more binding and important, not actually saying it that way doesn't make it any less binding. As far as our God is concerned, a promise is something to be kept, regardless of how it's worded, or what the circumstances are later. (That particular story is in Joshua 9 if you'd like to read it).
That's just one story though. We're shown this over and over throughout His Word. Our word is to be our bond, no matter what. In fact, one of the sins the Lord will judge individuals and nations for during the tribulation, is for breaking their word. Why is this so important to the Lord? From what I've studied, I've realized that God shows us through His Word and through our Lord Jesus and the way He lived His life, how He wants us to think and act. He wants us to be like Him. He created us in His image. That doesn't mean we look like Him physically, it means our character was made like His. Therefore He wants us to love the way He does: unconditionally, and sacrificially. He wants us to be truthful like He is, all the time, 100%. He wants us to keep our promises, just like He does, unconditionally, and sacrificially, if that's the way they were made. As we study His Word, we see that some of His promises are unconditional, and others have conditions. The Lord is very specific about what He promises and He always keeps His Word to us. The problem many people have that cause them to think He hasn't kept His Word, is that they often tend to not read the entire promise and so miss the condition. For example, read Psalm 103:10–13 “he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;” And Psalm 103:17–18 “But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.” Over and over we're told that God keeps His Word to those who love Him and obey Him.
The problem is that we're not as careful as God is when we give our word to someone else, and we generally don't stop to ask Him if we should be making the promise in the first place, so we often find ourselves in a position of having to keep a promise that we no longer want to and that's no longer fair. That brings us to yet another thing the Lord tries to teach us all through His Word, and that's that the words we speak are important and that we need to be in control of every word we speak, whether it's just day to day conversation or a promise. In fact, Jesus Himself tells us “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”” (Matthew 12:36–37) “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.” (Proverbs 13:3) Jesus takes this even further, and even includes our thoughts, for He tells us that it's our thoughts that lead to our words, which ultimately lead to our actions. This is why He explains in Matthew 15:17–20 that we need to be in control of our thoughts. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7)
It's really amazing when you consider that the Bible has a tremendous amount to say about our thoughts and our words. We're to be in control of them at all times and we're to say what we mean and mean what we say. We're to keep our word no matter what. If we promise someone we will do something, then we have to do it, even if circumstances have changed.
A big part of the reason so many don't realize these things is because our pastors have for so long not taught the whole truth of the Bible. We've been told a lot about a God of love, but not much of anything about a God of Truth and of righteousness and justice. We constantly hear about how God will keep His promises, but we hear nothing about obeying Him or what we're to obey Him about. We're told salvation is a free gift, but rarely does a person hear that there is a cost involved or know what that cost is. So we have thousands, if not millions of people running around thinking they're saved because they said a prayer, even though they don't obey God's Word, and most of them don't know it to obey it anyway! God tells us His Word is important, that it is life to us and that it should not be ignored or taken lightly. Our God is Holy and He demands that we be holy just as He is.
““Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)
“For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.” (Romans 2:13)
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22)
““If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” (John 14:21–24)
!!
