| Author | Message | ||
| Jim02 Registered user Username: Jim02 Post Number: 67 Registered: 5-2007 |
Is there any example of where a rash or made in error promise or vow can be forgiven and recalled? From what I have seen in the OT. A vow was impossible to cancel once spoken. Even if it was a mistake. In the NT , Jesus said simply let your yes be yes, no be no. I know there is a difference in breaking a covenant agreement such as a marriage vow. But in matters where a promise to do or not do a specific thing, made as a promise only to be relaized was a mistake. It appears that there is no reversal from that. I can live with keeping my promises. In any event, when we discover a mistake. Is there a way to correct it in view of imortalizing a decisoon by way of a vow. This is a "hard saying", so to speak. The reason I maintain a promise made to God must be kept is because God holds himself up to the same accountability. The only exceptions are that we cannot promise a sin act. But a sacfifice or commitment made to God , to my thinking cannot be reversed once made. Any thoughts? | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 6080 Registered: 12-2003  |
Jim, it's really hard to address your question directly because I'm not sure just what kind of promise you're referring to. But here's what I understand from the NT examples. When we make promises to God in ignorance and/or unbelief, God does not hold us responsible for upholding those promises because they were not made in a framework of knowing Him—particularly if those promises are actually destructive in some way. Paul, for example, devoted his life to serving God by persecuting and killing Christ-followers. He was not just angry and acting out at them; he truly believed they were heretics and needed eliminating. He was utterly sincere. In 1 Timothy 1:12-13 he says, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent aggressor. But I received mercy, because I acted ignorantly in unbelief…" So, Jim, while I cannot specifically answer you, God does redeem our mistakes and provides ways for us to extricate ourselves from promises we made in ignorance or unbelief. Sincerity is never a substitute for true belief. Sincerity does not provide the power for us to keep promises or to be good/righteous. Further, sincerity does not give us spiritual insight. Only the Holy Spirit can give us the insight to reocgnize the truth. If, as we accept Jesus and begin to grow in His grace and in the knowledge of His will, discover that we have made a promise that is counter-productive to truth, reality, and growth, God does not ask us to keep that promise. He asks us to trust Him for the outcome and to surrender to Him the situation and the people involved. Sometimes reversing promises made in unbelief or ignorance causes disruption in other people's lives. But if we are being true to Jesus and walking toward Him in the light of the truth He reveals through His word, He can use these situations to call the other people involved to truthfulness and integrity as well. I am not giving "permission" to break promises! I am merely suggesting that as the Holy Spirit reveals truth, we often have to extricate ourselves from alliances and promises we made that do not honor God nor promote integrity and truthfulness in our relationships. Also, lest anyone read into my words what I do not intend to say, Paul does admonish, regarding marriage, in 1 Cor 7, that if an unbelieving spouse wishes to stay with a believing spouse, the believer is to allow the unbeliever to stay (assuming, of course, that the realtionship is not dangerous/abusive). But in general I am referring to promises/commitments we make that are outside the circumstances of knowing Jesus. He asks us to break those ties and surrender those situations to Him for resolution and healing. Colleen |
