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Promise
(Wordnet 2.0) a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future.
(Bouvier 1856) (Contract) An engagement by which the promisor contracts towards another to perform or do something to the advantage of the latter.

When a promise is reduced to the form of a written agreement under seal, it is called a covenant.

Covenant
(Wordnet 2.0) (Bible) an agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in return
(Easton 1897) a contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means "to cut," and hence a covenant is a "cutting," with reference to the cutting or dividing of animals into two parts, and the contracting parties passing between them, in making a covenant.
Promise
(Wordnet 2.0) a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future.
(Bouvier 1856) (Contract) An engagement by which the promisor contracts towards another to perform or do something to the advantage of the latter.

When a promise is reduced to the form of a written agreement under seal, it is called a covenant.

Covenant
(Wordnet 2.0) (Bible) an agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in return
(Easton 1897) a contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means "to cut," and hence a covenant is a "cutting," with reference to the cutting or dividing of animals into two parts, and the contracting parties passing between them, in making a covenant.

Far too often lately, I've been hearing people say, "I can't promise anything." And I'm not talking about something hard. I'll hear someone say, "See you in church tomorrow!" So I answer back, "Promise?" And they say, "No, I can't promise anything."

Why not? God makes promises. Why can't you make promises?

Well, I'm not God.

But you're supposed to live godly in Christ Jesus.

I've even heard brothers, seasoned "old-heads," try to justify their "I can't promise" attitude with scripture. Sometimes they use this one:

Matthew 21:28-31
  1. But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
  2. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
  3. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
  4. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

So they say, "I'd rather be like the one who said, I will not, but afterward repented." Okay, given a choice between one who says and does not and one who does and says not, I'd take the latter, but I wouldn't depend on either one to fill a watchbill. Jesus said to the Pharisees, "The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you." He didn't say that to justify the publicans and the harlots.

When someone doesn't want to commit, and they try to justify themselves, here's the scripture I hear most often:

James 4:13-14
  1. Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
  2. Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

  1. For that ye ought to say nothing at all.

Oh, that's not what it says? Let me try again:

  1. For that ye ought to say, We can't make any promises, but we hope the Lord will bless us just the same.

Wrong again? One more try:

  1. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and as long as nothing unexpected happens, and we don't feel too sick, or tired, or inconvenienced, we shall do this, or that.

Okay, what does the scripture really say?

James 4:15
  1. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Am I hearing this right? Does the Bible say that we ought to make promises?

How many of you, by a show of hands, have ever called the church for a ride? What did you hear when you called? What did you expect to hear?

How many of you have called the church to provide a ride? How often did you check in? Why?

What would have happened if nobody was willing to commit to being available? What if everyone just showed up when they felt like it?

Let's look at some promises in the Bible:

Genesis 17:1-8
  1. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
  2. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
  3. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
  4. As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
  5. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
  6. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
  7. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
  8. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Genesis 17:17
  1. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
Genesis 17:19
  1. And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
Genesis 17:21
  1. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

God made a promise to Abraham, but Abraham had to do something, too. In order to conceive a child, these two people, both of them over ninety years old, had to put their faith into action. So they did, and God found that praiseworthy, for he later said:

Genesis 18:17-18
  1. And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;
  2. Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

Why Abraham? What made him so special?

Genesis 18:19
  1. For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

Abraham kept his word; that's what made him special. He was a promise-keeper. And when the Pharisees claimed Abraham as their father, Jesus rebuked them:

John 8:39
  1. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Matthew 23:1-3
  1. Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
  2. Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
  3. All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

Abraham was the father of promise. Are we the children of promise?

Galatians 4:28
  1. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Acts 2:39
  1. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.

And if we are the children of promise, do we do the works of our father?

What if I get run over by a freight train? What if I suddenly come down with malaria? What if... ? Another scripture people take out of context to justify their "what if?" attitude is this one:

Ecclesiastes 5:1-6
  1. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
  2. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
  3. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.
  4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
  5. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
  6. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

Promising too much is just as wrong as promising too little. Pointing at someone who is just as wrong (in the opposite direction) doesn't make you any righter. The fat man doesn't justify the anorexic. Still, those who are afraid to commit to anything will say, "Better not to vow than to vow and not pay," as if that were justification. Think about it. Would an employer be happy with someone who never promised to show up at work on time? Would an investor be happy with a company that never promised to make a profit? Well, God isn't happy with someone who never promises anything, either.

Paul gave this advice to some people who had promised a little more than they were able to give:

2 Corinthians 8:10-12
  1. And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.
  2. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.
  3. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

Let's look at verse twelve and read it back-to-front. If a man promises what he can't, and gives what he can, that's acceptable, if there first be a willing heart. And how do you know whether there is a willing heart?

Luke 6:45
  1. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Romans 10:10
  1. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

God wants you to have an abundant heart. God wants you to speak good things. God respects those who keep their promises. Remember the story of Jephthah? He said something pretty silly.

Judges 11:30-31
  1. And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
  2. Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

And you know the story, how God gave him the victory, and his daughter ran out to meet him as he returned home from the battle.

Judges 11:34-35
  1. And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.
  2. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.

As much as his daughter meant to him, his word meant more. If it's true what they say, that a man is as good as his word, then Jephthah must have been a pretty good man. And you know, I don't read where the word of God condemns him for keeping his promise, silly though it may have been. To look at it another way, if a man is as good as his word, and he never says a word, then what good is he?

There was once a young sailor who had the opportunity to share a Bible study on baptism with a foreigner, and he said, "If you decide to get baptized, call this number and I promise you that my pastor will fly halfway across the world just to baptize you."

Some people might think that was pretty foolish of him to make such a promise. Well, call me a Doubting Thomas, but I don't think there would be ten Christian Fellowship churches in Sri Lanka if young Daniel Lantis had said something wishy-washy like, "If you decide to get baptized, call this number and maybe the next time someone gets around to visiting this part of the world we'll try to accomodate you."

1 Corinthians 1:27
  1. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
Hebrews 11:6
  1. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

God wants us to step out in faith. God wants us to make promises, and keep them. God doesn't want any wishy-washy Christians:

Revelation 3:15-16
  1. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
  2. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Making and keeping promises requires sacrifice. And God desires sacrifice, not the sacrifice of fools, but the sacrifice of wise men who have carefully counted the cost before opening their mouth. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son; Jephthah sacrificed his daughter. God sacrificed his only-begotten son. And God desires us to make a sacrifice, to render the calves of our lips. We all make promises. We promise to show up at work in the morning; we promise to pay our bills on time; we promise to support and defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We count those promises as right and honorable and praiseworthy. It is also right and honorable and praiseworthy to say,

If the Lord will, I shall live, and I'll see you in church tomorrow.

And if that's too hard a sacrifice to make, I'll say the same thing that Joshua said:

Joshua 24:15
  1. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.