Understanding Paul’s Call for Integrity in Promises

Posted on by korgrocker

“But I am sending these brothers to be sure you really are ready, as I have been telling them, and that your money is all collected. I don’t want to be wrong in my boasting about you. We would be embarrassed—not to mention your own embarrassment—if some Macedonian believers came with me and found that you weren’t ready after all I had told them! So I thought I should send these brothers ahead of me to make sure the gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly.”
2 Corinthians 9:3-5 NLT

Taking these verses out of context may give the impression that Paul sent the bailiffs to collect the Corinthian offering for the poor in Jerusalem. But the last part of verse 5 reads, “But I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly”. Paul just seems to be putting a little pressure on in case what they had said wasn’t what they had meant. Were they in danger of backtracking on a promise made previously? Paul continues in 2 Corinthians 9 with some instructions about voluntary giving that have helped countless Christians ever since, but more on that later.

Paul was obviously a little unsure about the state of readiness with the Corinthian offering. It was one that they had apparently promised to collect, because we read in a previous verse, “For I know how eager you are to help”. In fact, Paul was sure that they had been ready to send in their offering a year before. Perhaps because of the communications problems and the distances involved, Paul seemed to have a little niggle of doubt in the back of his mind. Paul had spent most of the previous chapter in 2 Corinthians also writing about this offering, but the situation was coming to fruition, and a party of “brothers”, fronted up by Titus, carrying Paul’s letter, were on their way to collect it.

Had the Corinthians made a promise to collect an offering, or was it just something they had discussed as a possibility, without any firm commitment? That they were going to make a collection did not seem to be in any doubt, so I suspect that there was a promise involved. Paul was just including a reminder that it was time to start the journey to Jerusalem with what had been collected, in case there were any stragglers still to give, and fulfil their part of the promise. 

The Bible says much about making promises, because they reflect a person’s character. We all know about disappointments that come from believing a promise that doesn’t materialise. A father might promise his child that a certain present will be in their Christmas stocking, only for the child to find that he didn’t keep his promise. So, Scriptures emphasise the importance of integrity, caution, and reliability when making promises. Apparently, in Jesus’ day, vows or promises were made by referring to something sacred to lend them weight. Jesus taught about this in Matthew 5. In fact, Jesus said that we shouldn’t make any vows at all in these verses, finishing the example He gave with “Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:37). James repeated this instruction, “But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned” (James 5:12). From these verses we gain the picture that promises should be made with care, and, once made, the promise is an important part of a person’s integrity, and to break a promise goes against what God desires. The one legacy of making promises in a public setting can be found in our law courts, where witnesses are asked to swear an oath with their hand on a Bible or another holy book. But Jesus taught that a person’s character should be so reliable that elaborate oaths are unnecessary.

God’s faithfulness is beyond dispute, and He always keeps His promises. In Numbers 23:19, we read, “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” Joshua had no doubts about God’s integrity, as we read in Joshua 23:14, “Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!” As we read through the Bible, we find, time and again, that God’s promises come true. The greatest of them all was the coming of Jesus, and Jeremiah prophesied, ““For the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. And this will be his name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety”” (Jeremiah 23:5-6). Whenever we find a verse that includes “Says the Lord” we sit up and take note, because what God says will come to pass.

We pilgrims must be a people of integrity. There is no other way. He or she “breaks a promise” must never appear as a statement in a pilgrim’s list of character attributes. And whenever we find ourselves in a situation that calls for a promise, we make it with care and integrity, carefully considering the consequences. 

Dear Heavenly Father. You have made us in Your image and because You have never broken a promise, then neither must we. We pray for Your help when faced with situations requiring a promise. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Promises

Posted on by korgrocker

“Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? … Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honour the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts.”
Psalm 15:1, 4 NLT

We spend another day looking at the qualities required for those desirous of worshiping the Lord in His presence. David wrote that those who make promises must keep them “even when it hurts”. From God’s perspective, the Bible is full of His promises. Take 1 Chronicles 16:34 for example, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever“. God promised to never stop loving human beings, and yet, when we see the hurt that we have caused Him, we perhaps think that this is one promise too far. Look at Genesis 6:6, “So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart“. What a poignant response to the way the ones He loved were treating Him. But nevertheless, God never stops loving us.

We too have an opportunity to make a promise to God. The writer to Ecclesiastes noted, “When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it” (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5). The writer implied that those who fail to keep a promise are fools and shouldn’t have made a promise at all if there was any doubt that they would keep it. Notice too that the writer said “When” and not “If”. Promises should be made to God, and especially the one that we made when we knelt at the cross in repentance, asking for forgiveness. 

There are too many examples of broken promises in the world today. Take for example our politicians, quick to make all sorts of promises in the run up to an election, but forgetting they ever made them once elected. Another common example is a promise made by a couple getting married, only to find that the promise, “to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God’s holy law. In the presence of God I make this vow“, is abandoned at some point down the road when the going gets tough. Apparently, 42% of marriages officially end in divorce, but many more happen in people’s hearts, I’m sure.

David wrote that a prerequisite to being able to worship the Lord in His presence is being able to keep a promise, no matter what it takes. From Gotquestions.org, “Promises can be beautiful and honourable and made for the good of others. But they must be kept. As we are imperfect humans, we should only make promises with care and introspection so they do not turn into sin. Promises can be easily broken or made with the wrong motivation, which may result in damage to ourselves or others”. So there we have it. But we pilgrims are promise keepers, no matter what, because we want to worship our amazing Saviour in His sanctuary.

Dear Father God. We make this promise today, that we will follow You all the days of our lives. For Jesus’ sake, amen.

Breaking Promises

Posted on by korgrocker

“They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭31‬ ‭NLT

Yesterday we looked at the background to Paul’s first attribute in verse 31 – the “refus[al] to understand”. Paul’s second character trait is that wicked people, those who “thought it foolish to acknowledge God”, also “break their promises”. Are these any promises or just those concerning God? The dictionary describes a promise as a declaration assuring that someone will or will not do something. We shouldn’t make promises lightly, but sadly, many do and then break them, if it suits them better. Or promises are made rashly without thinking of the consequences or how they can be implemented. Sometimes people make promises just to get themselves out of a hole, with no intention of fulfilling what they had promised. The days of a word being a bond are long forgotten. But to answer our question, Paul was referring to all promises, not just vows for or to God.

God has made many promises. In fact, the Bible is full of them. Take for example Isaiah 41:10, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand”. Or how about Isaiah 43:2, “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you“. Here’s a verse from the New testament, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you“. (1 Peter 5:7). The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 5:14-15, “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”‭‭ For those of us concerned about our countries, 2 Chronicles 7:14 is a verse worth camping around for a while. “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land”. 

But we shouldn’t think that God only promises good things. Right back in Genesis 3:17, we see the consequences of Adam’s sin, “And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it”. And ever since, mankind has found life hard. Because of Adam’s sin, human beings in subsequent generations found themselves unable to easily access the plentiful supply of food originally planned by God.

But these are not just divine words, implanted in the Bible to make us feel good. These are promises God has made, and if there is one thing that God is incapable of doing, it is that He is unable to break a promise. If God has said He will do something in His Word, the Bible, then He will keep that word. We need to heed everything God has promised.

But Paul highlights the wicked behaviour of those who make promises and then break them. Why would that be a character trait of “sinful, wicked people” (Romans 1:18). The very cohesion of society relies on people behaving in a way that builds it, not breaks it down. And promises are one of the roots of a secure society. One of the promises that is broken far too readily is the one made in a marriage ceremony. Here in the UK, over four in ten marriages end up in divorce. A tactic of our enemy, the devil, is to break up families because he knows that broken families can contribute to broken societies. Marriage was ordained by God. We receive a glimpse of God’s heart in Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church. In Ephesians 5:31-32 we read, “As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one”. A broken marriage promise strikes at the very heart of God’s plan for His church. But for those despairing in a broken relationship, God’s light and guidance will bring illumination and the right course of action. There is always hope, no matter how hopeless things might appear. God will always bring forgiveness to a penitent sinner.

We pilgrims must be careful in making promises, treating them as being sacrosanct. They are not something we should make lightly. A man or woman who keeps their word oils the wheels that keeps our families and communities together. In many ways we are living in the light of a promise. One day we will be welcomed into God’s presence in Heaven. A promise He made and will never break.

Dear Father God, we worship You and thank You for the loving promises You have made to each one of us. Please help us too, to keep our promises and extend Your promise of Good News to all we meet. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Promises

Posted on by korgrocker

“I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
    I will sing your praises before the gods.
I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
    I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
    by all the honour of your name.”
Psalm 138:1-2 NLT

David is back behind the writer’s desk; another Psalm emerging from the experiences of His long life with God. Right at the start of this Psalm, he declares that he doesn’t care what people might think. He will sing praises to God regardless. And we certainly found that in the passage in 2 Samuel 6 where David, wearing nothing other than a linen ephod, danced in front of the Ark as it was brought to his city. As he said later in the chapter, “I was dancing before the Lord“. He didn’t care that his wife was unimpressed. And neither did he care about the “gods” other people worshipped. 

David declared that he would praise God for His “unfailing love and faithfulness”. Because, and here’s the thing, God’s promises are backed by His name. In this country, an arrest of a criminal might take place with the phrase “I arrest you in the name of the Law”. And I have in front of me a Scottish banknote which says, “The Royal Bank of Scotland promises to pay the bearer on demand…”. But both the Law and the Bank cannot guarantee 100% of the time that they can fulfil their promises, because the name of both has limitations. The “name of the Law” means nothing in a state of anarchy. The Bank might go bust, and unable to pay out. Now, the Creator of the Universe and everything within it – God Himself – His name has weight. If God makes a promise, and the Bible is full of them, then that promise will be delivered. No doubts. And when He puts His name behind the promise, the result is absolute.

So it’s no wonder that David gives thanks to the Lord with all his heart. And sings His praises. On our pilgrimage through life, God’s promises ring in our ears. Make a step – thank You God for Your love for me.  Make another step – thank You God for Jesus. Make another step – thank You God for Your faithfulness. And somehow the rigors of our journey becomes easier, step by step. As we call out to God in response to His promises, He delights in us and our faith. His promises are not green-backs – they are God-backs. Worth so much more.