Keeping your Vows/Oaths, Biblically.

A little background information is helpful in understanding Jesus’ words here. The religious leaders of the day advocated keeping a vow if it was a public vow using God’s name; however, if the vow was made in the course of everyday conversation, referencing only “heaven” or “earth” or “Jerusalem,” it was not really binding. People had a loophole. They could lie or exaggerate in their conversations and lend themselves an air of credibility by saying, “I swear by heaven that this is true!” They could not be held to account because they did not specifically swear by God’s name and the vow was private. Jesus countered that idea. If you swear something, it had better be true, He says. In fact, all you need to say is “yes” or “no.” Your word should be good.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He  has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. Eccl. 5:4‭-‬5 NKJV

If a man makes a vow to the Lord , or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. Num. 30:2 NKJV

Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord,

Num. 6:2 NKJV

6:2 The Nazirite was either a man or woman who dedicated himself or herself fully to God for a stated period of time. Parents could dedicate their children as Nazirites for their whole life. This was done in the case of Samson, the only person in the Bible mentioned by name as being a Nazirite (Judges 13:5). It is possible that Samuel was one, judging from his mother’s vow in 1 Sam 1:11. Certainly he was dedicated to the Lord for life (1 Sam 1:27-28). There were other Nazirites too but we are not told any of their names (Amos 2:11-12). It is said of John the Baptist that he would drink no wine (Luke 1:15), possibly indicating that he was to be a Nazirite. In this Church age all believers are to fully dedicate themselves to God (Rom. 12:1-2), they are to be spiritual Nazirites – which has nothing to do with not eating grapes or having long hair.

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.’  But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;  nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. Matt. 5:33‭-‬37 NKJV

5:33-37 “Swear”– refers to the voluntary (and often very careless) use of oaths in every day life to convince others that one is telling the truth. Jesus tells us to be men of our word, absolutely truthful in all we say and promise. As Jesus’ disciples we must never say yes when we mean no, or say no when we mean yes. Lying and deception are hateful to God and have no place in God’s kingdom. And as God’s children we should never take God’s name in vain or use it lightly, but show proper reverence for His name and all that pertains to Him (Ex 20:7).

The principle here is clear for Christians: be careful about making vows, either to the Lord or to one another. Further, the informal vows we make (“I swear by all the angels in heaven!”) are completely unnecessary. Our word is our bond.

Baptism and being Baptized.

Why Baptism?

The purpose of baptism is to give visual testimony of our commitment to Christ. 

Baptism confirms our position “in Christ” and affirms the blessings of the Father on us as his children. Baptism is a symbol. It’s meant to show the world that that you love, trust and have put your hope in Christ. 

Baptism is a Public Declaration:

Baptism declares that you are a follower of Jesus Christ. It is a public confession of your faith in, and commitment to, Jesus Christ. It is the next step after salvation through repentance and faith and is an important foundation for Christian life.

We bury the “old life” and we rise to walk in a “new life”. 

Baptism is like the outward symbol of our commitment which we made in our heart, a commitment that has to be followed through and lived out on a daily basis.

Origin of the Word:

The word “baptized” comes from the Greek word “baptizo”. A famous Greek-English dictionary gives its meaning thus: “Dip, immerse...plunge, sink, drench, overwhelm.

John’s baptism signified repentance and the forgiveness of sins, but it did not produce them. 

No water ceremony of any kind or in any place can take away sin or change men’s hearts. Only God can do so. And He does so when men receive His Son by faith.

Meaning of Baptism:

"Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead". Col. 2:12 NKJV

We were therefore buried with Him through this immersion into death”. “Immersion” would thus mean immersion into Christ, not in water. It would indicate union with Christ, entering into a special relationship with Him, being made members of His body by the Holy Spirit.

Going into the water speaks of death and burial with Christ. Coming out of the water speaks of resurrection with Christ. 

Who and When should be baptised?

Every person who has made the decision to believe in Christ.

As soon as a person decides to believe in Christ, he/she can be, and is encouraged to be baptised.

Does Born Christian have to take Baptism? YES.

"Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit". Acts 2:38 NKJV

Peter’s meaning here seems very clear – “Change your mind about Who Jesus is, turn from your wicked rejection of Him as the Lord from heaven and the Messiah. Being baptized as an open declaration of our faith in Him, and as a sign of the forgiveness of sins which He freely gives to those who believe in Him”.

"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned". Mark 16:16 NKJV

Baptism is not essential for salvation, but those who trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour should be baptized and publicly acknowledge their faith. 

Notice Jesus does not say “whoever is not baptized” will be condemned, but “whoever does not believe”. “Condemned” here must mean condemned to hell.

If a person says he believes Christ, and yet refuses to be baptized we have reason to doubt the genuineness of his faith.

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight. True Vision and True Blindness. John Chapter 9.

Whenever we see God makes a miracle, it's pure purpose is to bring glory.

Now, here we see a person who is blind from birth. In those days among the Jews it was a common thinking that a person’s own sins were the cause of any sickness or disability that might come to him. The disciples were trying to understand if this applied to a person born with some defect. Was the man’s blindness a punishment that came because of his parents’ sin? or did the man somehow sin himself before he was born?

Jesus says that the man was born blind for a much higher purpose that the disciples imagined. A mighty work of God was about to take place in the man, and glory and honor would come to God through it. 

God may have the same purpose in any sickness, disability or defect that brings suffering to us. It may be that a similar work of God will be revealed in us. Or a different work which will also glorify Him – a work in the heart that will make us humbly, faithfully, joyously endure any kind of suffering for Him.

Remember, to receive any miracle in our life, God checks that if you are eligible to receive it or not. To receive it, you must contain the dareness and willing to give thanks to the Lord for doing such a miracle.

Here in this story, we'll see that the God makes a mud and paste it on his eyes and says to wash it in a pool. In those days or some pools have steps, this Blind person goes alone to wash his eyes without anybody's help. This maybe a dare I guess. 

We can see that some of God's miracles are taken place on Sabbath Day. Here, Jews/Pharisees are against it. They follow the Moses law book. 

Pharisees, ofcourse doesn't like Jesus, after this miracle took place they start interrogate the healed person, asking him: How does Jesus did this wonder? The Healed person answers them more than 3-4 times and gets frustrated, and asks them that maybe they are willing to become Jesus's disciple. 

When we receive any miracle or wonder, most probably we don't give thanksgiving or worship God, if some of you does, then it's great. After hearing that blind person was exiled by the Jews and his parents, Jesus here visits that healed person and sees whether he is misusing his vision or sharing the miracle.

In few vesres Jesus teaches something amazing to those people, which is useful to us in now-a-days. HE is saying that HE is the Light of the World, with Him we can receive light and able to see the things, the things which are in darkness with the light of the Lord we can see very clearly.

And Jesus said, “For judgement I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”

In this verse Jesus is obviously speaking of spiritual blindness and sight. When He says those who “see will become blind”, He means those who have light, who think they see and even pride themselves on seeing, will be made completely blind. This was a judgement they brought on themselves by refusing the light of Christ.

Men are responsible for what they do with the light God gives them. 

In other words, we can say that light as salvation, having the salvation and doing wrong things would bring judgement on them.

Whenever we seek God's help, try to receive it humbly by praying and reading Bible. And after receiving the miracle/help/wonder try to say thank you Lord (thanksgiving).

If God wants you to add dareness in receiving the miracle, then don't hesitate, what will others think and what this world will say. As this Blind person dared to receive the vision and after being exiled by the Jews and by his parents, he believed in the son of God, and started telling to others How Jesus healed him when he was blind by birth.

Notes:

“Pharisees”– a strict, conservative, very religious sect among the Jews. They emphasized the law of Moses and the religious traditions that had come down from previous generations. Many of them were very self-righteous and separated themselves from others, thinking they were holier than anyone else (the name “Pharisee” came from the Hebrew word “pharash” which means to separate or set apart). But their deeds did not match their words and Jesus severely condemned them for their hypocrisy. In the New Testament they are usually seen in opposition to the Lord Jesus.

Moses was their accuser. He meant that the God-inspired writings of Moses (the first five books of the Bible) condemned them. This was because they did not really believe what he wrote (though they may have thought they did) and did not practice the truth he recorded.