Seth Stark
http://www.therulingelder.com
Adult Sunday School Class: Westminster Confession of Faith
Communion Presbyterian Church
Irvine, CA
WEEK 25: LAWFUL OATHS AND VOWS
LECTURE NOTES
Preface: Why is this chapter in the WCF? Does it deserve a place next to such weighty topics as “Scripture”, “Justification”, “Baptism”, “The Church”, etc?
Consider
the historical setting that the WCF was written in. Consider the Roman
church and all here broken oaths to men such as Jan Huss and Martin
Luther. Consider also the vows required of the Romanists to enter into
the priesthood, and certain orders of monks (Franciscan vow of poverty,
for example). Were the men who entered the priesthood or who became
monks considered equal to the laity in the Roman system? Or were they
thought to be more holy, better examples of Christian living, because of their vows?
First: What is the difference between an oath and a vow?
An
oath is a calling upon God to judge (or curse) the one speaking if he
has not spoken the truth. A vow is a solemn pledge or promise made to
God. In an oath man calls God to witness and to judge what he says or
promises to men. In a vow man makes a solemn promise to God.
EXAMPLES:
Marriage vows: oaths or vows? (or both!)
Swearing in of a witness in a trial: oath or vow?
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”
Oath of Enlistment in US Army: oath or vow?
"I,
_____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the
Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and
domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and
that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and
the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations
and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." (Title 10, US
Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789,
with amendment effective 5 October 1962).
Source: http://www.history.army.mil/html/faq/oaths.html
The Pledge of Allegiance: Oath, vow, or other?
Second: Do we have biblical warrant for taking oaths? Vows? (See Matthew 5:33-37)
Our Lord teaches us in Matthew 5:33-37, “33
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not
swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say
to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it
is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head,
because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’
be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from
the evil one.”
So doesn’t this text teach us that all oaths and vows are unlawful?
Certainly not! Why?
First, only a few verses earlier, Jesus tells us that He did not come to destroy the Law (Matt 5:17-18, “17
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not
come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till
heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass
from the law till all is fulfilled.”.
Since oaths and vows were permitted (and sometimes required) under the
Law, they are still permitted in the New Covenant. What Jesus is
preaching against is the perversion of the Law by the Pharisees who
would swear by one thing or another in order to not have to keep their
word!
Second, there are many biblical examples of lawful oaths and vows, both in the New Testament as well as in the Old.
Hebrews 6:13-18, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.”
Isaiah 65:16, “So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And he who swears in the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My eyes.”
Jeremiah 4:2, “And you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives,’
In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;
The nations shall bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they shall glory.’”
Galatians 1:20, “Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.”
Romans 1:9, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,”
Romans 9:1, “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,”
2 Corinthians 1:18, 23, “But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No....Moreover I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth.”
2 Corinthians 11:31, “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.”
Revelation 10:5-6, “The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven 6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever,
who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the
things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that
there should be delay no longer,”
We conclude then, that our Lord does not forbid the taking of oaths and vows, but the improper taking of oaths and vows!
Third: Are true, that is, proper, oaths and vows religious by nature? Why?
Yes!
Oaths may only be sworn by God and vows may only be made to God. (See
examples from the Law, the prophets, and the Apostles)
Deuteronomy 6:13, “You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.”
Deuteronomy 10:20, “You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name.”
Isaiah 65:16, “So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And he who swears in the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My eyes.”
Romans 9:1, “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,”
NOTE:
Once we have established that oaths and vows may only be made in the
name of God, Romans 9:1 becomes another proof text for the deity of
Christ!
Romans 1:9, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,”
Philippians 1:8, “For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.”
Fourth: Is it permissible to swear by anything other than God?
Examples: “I swear on my mother’s tomb...” or “I swear on my life...”, etc.
No!
Jeremiah 5:7, “How shall I pardon you for this?
Your children have forsaken Me
And sworn by those that are not gods.
When I had fed them to the full,
Then they committed adultery
And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.”
Matthew 5:33-37, “33
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not
swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say
to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head,
because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’
be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from
the evil one.”
Jeremiah 44:25-26, “25
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying: ‘You and your
wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands,
saying, “We will surely keep our vows that we have made, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.”
You will surely keep your vows and perform your vows!’ 26 Therefore
hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt:
‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’
says the LORD, ‘that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any
man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “The Lord GOD lives.””
Psalm 76:11, “Make vows to the LORD your God, and pay them;
Let all who are around Him bring presents to Him who ought to be feared.”
Fifth: If we are to swear oaths and vows in the name of God alone, what ought our meaning be when we swear an oath? That is, is it permissible for a Christian to swear an oath with some mental reservation or equivocation?
No,
because oaths are religious in nature, and because God is called to
witness to the truth of what we swear, we must swear without any mental
reservation or equivocation. Our yes must be yes and our no, no.
Psalm 24:3-4, “3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.”
Exodus 20:7, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
Leviticus 19:12, “And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. ”
Jeremiah 4:2, “And you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives,’
In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;
The nations shall bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they shall glory.”
Ephesians 4:25, “Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.” [quoting Zechariah 8:16]
Psalm 15:4, “In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the LORD;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;”
Sixth: If oaths and vows are religious by nature, and must be sworn without equivocation or mental reservation, what sorts of things are we to swear to do and what sorts of things are we forbidden to swear to do?
We are to swear to do only lawful things. We are forbidden to swear or vow to do that which is unlawful.
EXAMPLE:
A person swears an oath to raise their children in the false system of
Roman Catholicism. Years later, they are converted and leave the Church
of Rome. Are they obligated to raise their children in that false
religion, because at the time of the taking of that oath, they swore it
in sincerity?
Reply:
An oath is binding only if the thing promised is good and just, that
is, agreeable to the Word of God. The reason for this is evident: that
which is contrary to the Word of God is sin, and it is man’s duty not to
sin; therefore, swearing to sin cannot justify or obligate sin.
Matt 14:1-12, “
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus 2 and
said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the
dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had
laid hold of John and bound him, and put him
in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4
Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5
And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude,
because they counted him as a prophet.
6 But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. 7 Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.
8 So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”
9 And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 10 So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.”
Did
Herod sin by having John the Baptist beheaded? Answer: YES! The proper
thing for Herd to do, in relation to this oath, would have been to
repent of the oath.
It
was wrong to make such an oath in the first place. It would be doubly
wrong to keep it after discovering it was sinful. Herod is guilty of a
double sin: the swearing to do sin, and the keeping of his oath.
Seventh: Considering all these things, are the following lawful vows: a vow of a perpetual celibacy? A vow of professed poverty?
Celibacy: Lawful or unlawful?
Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. ”
Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD.”
1 Corinthians 7:1-2, 9, “1 Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband...but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”
1 Timothy 4:1-3, “1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”
Vows of Poverty: Lawful or unlawful?
Ephesians 4:28, “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”
Proverbs 30:8-9, “8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9 Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the LORD?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.”
Genesis 3:19, “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
1 Thessalonians 4:11, “that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,”
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12, “7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor
did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and
toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.”
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