Definition: A church
pledge
(or faith promise) usually refers to a written promise
(or agreement or covenant) made before God that a certain sum of money
would be donated to the church community in the coming year. Church
leaders seeking financial security might argue that such a pledge
would cause church members to do their best to fulfill their stated
commitment, no matter what hardships they might encounter. After
all, failure would trigger feelings of guilt, both before God and
church leaders.
Question:
Are pledges or faith promises Biblical? Do the illustrations of New
Testament giving support the practice of church pledges? We know God
calls us to share what we have, but does He want us to pledge to
give what we don't yet have?
What the Bible
tells us: The main answer came from the heart
and mouth of Jesus, our Lord. He said,
"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." Matthew 5:33-37
That's strong language.
Two key words here
are "swear" and "oaths" -- which will be defined below --
imply an absolute commitment to a future task. The apostle James gave us a similar
message. He exhorts us to pray, exercise faith and be patient in the
midst of uncertainties (not unlike our times). Therefore, he
emphasizes faithfulness to God, not vows to man.
"See how the farmer waits for the
precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it
receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient.
Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at
hand. Do not grumble against one another.... Indeed we
count them blessed who endure....
"But
above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by
earth or with any other oath. But let your 'Yes' be
'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No,' lest you fall into judgment.
"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him
pray. Is
anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among
you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let
them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name
of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and
the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he
will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one
another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The
effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."
James 5:7-16
Day by day, our confidence must rest in
our sovereign God, not in our own plans or resources. Only He, not we, knows what
will happen in the coming year.
"Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge,
One of those who is surety for debts;
If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he take away your bed from under you?"
Proverbs 22:25-27
"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."
Numbers 30:2
Apparently, such oaths or agreements
were often sealed with a simple statements like those highlighted
below:
"Now therefore, arise, go out and
speak comfort to your servants. For I swear by the Lord,
if you do not go out, not one will stay with you this night.”
2 Sam 19:7
"And you shall swear, ‘The
Lord lives,’ in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;
the nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him they shall
glory.”
Jeremiah 4:2
But in the next verse we see that
such affirmative references to God only mock our Lord when spoken to
validate something that clashes with His Truth:
"Though they say, ‘As the Lord
lives,’ surely they swear falsely.”
Jeremiah 5:2
Now, in New Testament days, those who
are "crucified with Christ" and joined to
Him by His grace, His very life is within us: (See
Gal. 2:20) We are His ambassadors, and
everything we do and speak should be a witness of His gracious love
and wisdom. He is watching and listening to us, and what we promise
must always be "as He lives" in us. In other words, He holds us
accountable. As Jesus said, it is not enough to "perform your oaths to the
Lord." His way is not to swear (speak an oath or promise that
assures certainty) at all -- but simply 'let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes.’..."
The Old Testament
meaning of
"SWEAR" (shâba’):
From Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament, Vol. 2, by R. Laird Harris, Glason L. Archer, Jr. and
Bruce K. Waltke. (pp. 899-900)
"To swear
['shâba’] in the Old Testament was to give one’s sacred unbreakable
word in testimony that the one swearing would faithfully perform
some
promised deed, or that he would faithfully refrain from some evil
act (Gen 21:23, “swear... that thou will not deal falsely with me”)....
"Often
[but certainly not always]
one would swear by another who was tacitly and mutually
assumed to be greater or more precious than the one making the oath.... In such cases God, or a false deity, would be invoked to witness the truth and sincerity of that
which was sworn, and by implication, to judge
the one swearing if he should either be lying or fail to live up
to his pledge in the days and years to come..."
The Old Testament
meaning of "OATH" (shebü~â):
"An oath,
'shebü~â', should be contrasted to a
covenant, berit, in order to better understand
both. An oath in the OT is a solemn verbal statement or pledge that is affirmed,
while the covenant is the substance of an agreement itself.
"Oaths
were made by Jehovah to show the absolute certainty of
his performance of that which he promised.... They are
a teaching method of God, a gracious instrument to help the weak
faith of every generation to believe that God will someday absolutely accomplish his promises to his people, despite discouraging external circumstances." (pp. 899-901)
Matthew Henry's
commentary
-- on Matthew 5:33-37
"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.... But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’
and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the
evil one."
Now the mind of Christ in this matter is,
1. That we must
not swear at all, but when we are
duly called to it, and justice or charity to our brother, or
respect to the commonwealth, make it necessary for
the end of strife
(Heb. 6:16), of which necessity the civil magistrate is
ordinarily to be the judge....
2. That we must
not swear lightly and
irreverently, in common discourse: it is a very great sin
to make a ludicrous appeal to the glorious Majesty of
heaven... [I]t
is a gross profanation of God’s holy name....
3. That we must in a special manner
avoid
promissory oaths, of which Christ more particularly speaks here,
for they are oaths that are to be performed. ...
[A] promissory oath
binds so long, and may be so many ways broken, by the surprise
as well as strength of a temptation, that it is not to be used
but upon great necessity: the frequent requiring and using of
oaths, is a reflection upon Christians, who should be of such
acknowledged fidelity, as that their sober words should be as
sacred as their solemn oaths."
In churches that
have embraced the world's new management systems, the focus
of ministry has
shifted. The new emphasis is on numerical growth and
people-pleasing, not on preaching
the Truth, sharing the actual Gospel with the lost, and encouraging each other in His Word.
This unholy "church" is
built on a soft, shifting foundation. Positive visions,
pragmatic missions and shallow sermons produce shallow comforts without
Biblical faith. In such compromising churches, there's
little difference between "believers" and unbelievers --
or between the reward-driven world and today's
purpose-driven [in contrast to Spirit-led] churches.
Both require certainty and resources in order to make
their all-important 1-year, 3-year or 5-year plans.
"'Woe to the rebellious
children,' says the Lord,
'Who take counsel, but not of Me,
And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit,'" Isaiah 30:1
See
Unity & Community
and
Re-Inventing the Church
Back to the
Scriptures:
God's oaths and promises:
“By Myself I have sworn, says
the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not
withheld your son, your only son..."
Genesis 22:16
The Old
Testament oaths
"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."
Numbers 30:2
"Then Jacob made a vow, saying, 'If God will be with me,
and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat
and clothing to put on, '1 so that I come back to my father’s
house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. And this
stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and
of all that You give me I will surely give tenth to You.'”
Genesis 28:20-22
The Old
Testament pledge called for some kind of security
"So she said, 'Will you give me a pledge till you send it?'
Then he said, What pledge shall I give you?”
So she said, Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in
your hand. Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she
conceived by him. So she arose and went away...."
Genesis 38:17-19
"Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge,
One of those who is surety for debts;
If you have nothing with which to pay,
Why should he take away your bed from under you?"
Proverb 22:25-27
God tells us to walk by
faith, not by sight.
We don't know what lies ahead,
but we do know Jesus -- and He is our Shepherd!
"But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven
or by earth or with any other oath. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,'
and your 'No,' 'No,' lest you fall into judgment."
James 5:12
"By
faith Abraham obeyed... And he went out, not knowing where he
was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise... for he
waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder
and maker is God....
"These all died in faith, not
having received the promises, but having seen them afar off
were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. ...they desire
a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not
ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city
for them."
Hebrews
11:8-10, 13, 16
See
Hope, God's
covenant with His people, The Kingdom
of God