Pledging, Oath taking and making of Vows

Whether we would like to admit it or not, many Christians in the contemporary Local Church are having problems with pledging, oath taking, and making of promises or vows in a fund raising or donation campaign. A likely reason why many Local Churches desire their members to pledge is because the leadership wants them to give more than they can afford at the moment. Not every one has ready cash to donate with a one-time payment. The question is not, whether Christians are willing to donate to a good cause or not, but most are wondering whether these practices are biblical, permissible or necessary in the New Testament Church. Let us search the Scripture for our answers.

"Swearing", oath taking, vow making and pledging come from the Greek word "ommno". An oath is a solemn statement or claim used to validate a promise. The BBC English Dictionary defines a pledge as "A solemn promise to do something". If a person pleges something, he promises solemnly that he will do it or give it. A pledge is also something given as downpayment on a debt. Unless a person fulfills his pledge he is still in debt.

Old Testament Practices

Oath taking, swearing or making a vow are common Old Testament practices. These are permitted by God, but, God commanded that all oaths should be taken in His Name:

"You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name" (Deu. 6:13, NKJV, emphasis added).

But, God gave a solemn warning for His covenant people before they made a vow. Vowing was voluntary. But after a vow was made, it had to be performed. Vows, therefore, were to be made only after careful cosideration:

"It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows" (Proverbs 20:25, NIV).

"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, emphasis added).

"If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth" (Deu. 23:23, NIV).

In other words, God gave His covenant people a choice. To make a vow or not to make a vow; to pledge or not to pledge. But, it is sinful in the sight of God if a person after making a pledge and fails to honour it. Notice that even slow in a paying a vow or a pledge is sinful! The word "slow" is very subjective. Anything that is not done immediately could be considered as slow and consequently guilty before God. The words uttered from a person's mouth are so binding that no one can take back his words. Furthermore, a person is considered, by God, as a "fool" if he fails to honour his vow or pledge. The Biblical principle is, do not pledge or take an oath unless a person is absolutely sure of performing it immediately!

The first mention of a vow in the Bible is of Jacob at Bethel:

"Then Jacob made a vow, saying, 'If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth'" (Genesis 28:21-22).

Jacob made a vow to pay tithe. God did His part to bless Jacob and he honoured his vow.

Sometimes oaths or vows were accompanied by protective curses to make sure they were kept:

"And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, 'Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, befoe I have taken vengence on my enemies.' So none of the people tasted food" (1 Samuel 14:24, NKJV).

David pronounced a curse upon himself in connection with an oath which he had taken. He vowed not to eat until evening with these words:

"God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down" (2 Sam. 3:35). This was a strong pledge on his part that he expected to keep his promise.

New Testament Practices

Christians should always remember that Jesus came to fulfill the Law and not to destroy or abolish it:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell ou the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished" (Matt. 5:17,18, NIV).

Seeing in this light, the principle on pledging, oath taking and vow making laid down in the Old Testament is equally applicable in the New Testament. However, Jesus carried this principle to a higher level:

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all; either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one" (Matt. 5:33-37, NIV, emphasis added).

Notice that, Jesus was laying down the principle that the Christian must not have two standards of truth, but his ordinary speech must be so sacredly true as his oath or pledge that his "yes" and "no" are in point of reliability is equivalent to any oath or pledge. In fact, if he does more than saying "yes" or "no" or later changes his mind to mean "no" after saying "yes", such action is led by an evil spirit. God the Holy Spirit should at all time so vividly present in the life of Christian that he would do anything, including saying "yes" or "no" and mean it, to honour God. Therefore, any Christian Church should not practice pledging, oath taking or vow making.

"Above all, my brother, do not swear - not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your 'Yes' be yes, and your 'No,' no, or you will be condemned" (James 5:12, NIV, emphasis added).

Notice that the early Church practised this principle of giving. Christians were given the liberty to decide to give or not to give, or to say "yes" or "no". There were no mention of pledging, oath taking or making of vows in any of the Epistles.

In fact, Paul advicesd the Corinthians to emulate the christians in Macedonian Churches in the preparation of their finacial gifts to the brethren in Judea. Later, he sent Titus with some brethren to collect and convey these gifts (2 Cor. 8 and 9).