We are all know about promises. Promises we made or that were made to us. Promises that were broken or that we broke. If our kids or grandkids want to make sure we will do something they will often ask, “Do you promise?” But what is a promise?

Webster’s Dictionary says a promise is, “a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified’” or a “reason to expect something”. When someone promises us to do something or to refrain for doing something we have an expectation that it will happen just as promised.
Often a promise is all that is needed to settle a conflict.

To make a vow is similar to a promise, except it is a much more formal and public way of doing so. We
are all familiar with wedding vows. Those vows are public promises to act in certain ways toward the person we marry. Such promises should not be taken lightly; vows are like that. In our marriage vows we promise to love, honor and cherish our mate as part of our obedience to God.

God and Promises

We really love God’s promises us. He has promised to care for us as he does the birds of the air. He has
promised to welcome us into heaven. He has promised to never leave us.

But what about our promises to God? When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we made many
implied promises. We promised singular allegiance to God. We promised to be faithful and obedient. We promised to give Jesus full reign and veto power in our lives. Wait, what?

In the scriptures, vows made to God are taken very serious indeed:

When a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. — Numbers 30:2

 If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not postpone fulfilling it; for the Lord your
God will surely require it of you, and you would incur guilt. But if you refrain from vowing, you will not incur guilt. Whatever your lips utter you must diligently perform, just as you have freely vowed to the Lord your God with your own mouth. — Deuteronomy 23:21–23

When you make a vow toGod, do not delay fulfilling it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill whatyou vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and notfulfill it. — Ecclesiastes 5:4–5

God takes vows seriously. But as humans, we often do not. We make promises, give our word, and then back out of those vows if they become difficult or inconvenient. We often break promises and
commitments without a regret in the world. In Psalm 15, one of the marks of a righteous person is that they, “who stand by their oath even to their hurt” (Psalm 15:4c). righteous people keep their promises even when doing so causes them difficulty.

In Disciple Bible Study, Bishop Wilkie gives us the definition of a covenant, a formal vow; it is choosing to be bound in a time of strength, so that in a time of weakness we can not be unbound. That is the way it is with marriage. In front of our friends and relatives, on the happiest day of our lives, we make
promises which many people give witness to. Truth be told, anyone who has attended our wedding has the right to call us on the carpet if we violate our vows, because they witnessed the covenant.

When we baptize our children or become members of the church we make vows to God and the rest of
the congregation reaffirms the vows they made. This is not a light thing; we are making promises to God. In these promises, God has every right to expect us to fulfill our vows, and so do our brothers and sister.

So it is with our vows of membership in the church. First, we declare that we have renounced evil
and sin in our lives. We confess Jesus as Lord and Savior and promise to serve him all our days. We also promise to faithful the the universal church, the body of Christ in every place and represent Jesus everywhere we go. We promise that our loyalty to Christ will be lived out in the context of the United
Methodist Church, as specifically the congregation we are formally joining.

Finally, comes the five vows we take to live out our membership covenant in specific ways; by our
prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. In other words, we are not free to define what church member is, our vows have done that for us. We have promised God and the other members of the church that we will uphold this local expression of the Body of Christ through our heartfelt prayers, our faithful and frequent attendance, our financial gifts, our service, and by bearing witness to the world about the good of God.

So how do we find the strength to fulfill the vows we made? We find that strength in the vows themselves and in our brothers and sisters around us. Every time we think about our church and our vows; every time we hear others take those vows we are reminded of our promises and that gives us strength. Our sisters and brothers in Christ are there to help to, because they also made vows. They can be our source of strength when our is waning.

We also draw strength from God’s grace. In fact it is only by God’s grace that we can keep any of these vows and, as the membership vows state it is all, “according to grace given” us.

In the month of October, we will take a look at these vows in particular and discover the strength and grace they offer to us as we live out our connection to Christ.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alan