Are We Allowed to Make Vows?

Can Christians Make Vows?

In Matthew 5, it is written:  “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil," (Matthew 5:33-37 NASB1995).
This is a difficult passage to understand, so let us take it piece by piece. Verse 33 speaks of a false interpretation of the Law (i.e. the Torah), specifically in reference to Leviticus 19:12 and Deuteronomy 23:23. Jesus then adds commentary to this confusion, noting a person should not make an oath or swear by Heaven, the throne of God, the earth, Jerusalem, or their own head; rather, a person should merely say: "'Yes, yes' or ' No, no'". 

"It appears, however, from this passage, as well as from the ancient writings of the Jewish rabbins (or rabbis), that while the Jews professedly adhered to the law, they had introduced a number of oaths in common conversation, and oaths which they by no means considered to be binding. For example, they would swear by the temple, by the head, by heaven, by the earth. So long as they kept from swearing by the name Yahweh, and so long as they observed the oaths publicly taken, they seemed to consider all others as allowable, and allowedly broken. This is the abuse which Christ wished to correct. "It was the practice of swearing in common conversation, and especially swearing by created things." To do this, he said that they were mistaken in their views of the sacredness of such oaths. They were very closely connected with God; and to trifle with them was a species of trifling with God. Heaven is his throne; the earth his footstool; Jerusalem his special abode; the head was made by him, and was so much under his control that we could not make one hair white or black. To swear by these things, therefore, was to treat irreverently objects created by God, and could not be without guilt," (Barnes). In fact, such practices even persist in recent times (Thomson 284). Jesus is not condemning the making of oaths or contracts in everyday life; rather, he condemns the habit of making oaths in conversation, that a person should have integrity and merely have to say "yes or no". Adding such swears can be blasphemous and ambiguous. It is better to be simple and straightforward, ensuring that one's words are reliable and truthful without the need for additional assurances.

References:

Barnes' Notes on the New Testament. United Kingdom, Kregel Publications, 1962.

Image by Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash

NASB 1995 Bible. United States, American Bible Society, 1995.

Thomson, William McClure. The Land and the Book: Or, Biblical Illustrations Drawn from the Manners and Customs, the Scenes and Scenery, of the Holy Land, by William M. Thomson. United Kingdom, Harper, 1886.