New Year’s Day, as far as holidays go, has always been somewhat of a dud to me. As a child, it was kind of a let-down since it didn’t involve presents.

It was also something of a non-holiday to me because other than putting up a calendar—and maybe taking down the tree—New Year’s Day seemed a lot like all the others. It was fun to watch the parades and the football games, but not that big of a deal. And, of course, New Year’s Day also suffered under the knowledge that we’d be heading to school the next day.

Still, New Year’s Day would get celebrated at my house, if only in that we’d eat black-eyed peas during lunch. (For those of you who don’t know, it’s an old Texas tradition that you’re supposed to eat a serving of black-eyed peas on Jan 1 to get good luck through the year. I don’t know that it works, but I like black-eyed peas anyway and maybe my years would have been worse if I hadn’t eaten them. [That’s a joke.])

Another New Year’s tradition is the making of resolutions. Now, I have found that the easiest resolutions to keep are the ones you weren’t going to violate anyway. “I resolve to not eat sheetrock this year!”

A lot of us may not call it a New Year’s Resolution, but we still resolve to make some change in the new year. “I’m going to read my Bible every day.” “I’m going to stop biting my nails.” January 1 may seem like kind of an artificial concept, but there is something about making a change at the New Year that’s easier to remember than a change made any other time of the year.

But is this Biblical? [This is a question that needs to be asked more often by all of us. A few years ago a coworker of mine came to me and asked—because he knew I was a Christian—if the Bible had anything to say about getting a tattoo. So I went through the Bible verses about tattoos with him and we talked about what they meant and looked in commentaries. He came to the conclusion that it was OK for him to get one. We might argue with his conclusion (I didn’t—ask me why sometime), but at least he asked. How many of us have made permanent choices in our life—things much bigger than tattoos—without ever asking whether the Bible said anything about such choices?]

Psalm 116:12-14
What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. (ESV)

The Bible is replete with examples of people making and keeping vows. Some of the vows are to other people, many of the vows are made to God. Even God makes vows, “When God made his promise to Abraham, he made a vow to do what he had promised. Since there was no one greater than himself, he used his own name when he made his vow.” (Hebrews 6:13, GNB)

Some of you are thinking, though: wait a minute! I thought we weren’t supposed to make vows at all! Where’d that idea come from?

Matthew 5:34-37
But now I tell you: do not use any vow when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by earth, for it is the resting place for his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. Just say 'Yes' or 'No'—anything else you say comes from the Evil One. (GNB)

There are, then, different kinds of vows. Are you promising (vowing) something based on conditions you have no control over? That’s the kind of vow that’s prohibited. Are you promising to do something that is within your control (providing you live, of course)? That’s permissible. For example, it’s wrong to say, “I swear by God in heaven that I’ll be at your party next Friday.” It’s permissible to say, when invited, “Yes, I’ll come.” By saying even that, you’re putting the one thing you really have on the line: you’re reputation. If you miss the party, you better have a valid reason or your friend’s going to start to doubt your character.

Sometimes, though, in the face of these scriptural warnings, it seems better to never make a vow, though, doesn’t it?
Let me ask you something: have you been immersed into Christ?

1 Peter 3:20-21
They did not obey in the past, when God waited patiently in Noah’s time. This was when the ship was being built. A few people (eight people) were saved in it through water. Today, this is a picture of how immersion saves us through the raising of Jesus Christ from death. Immersion is not getting rid of body dirt. No, it is an appeal to God for a clear conscience. (IEB)

The NIV says it is a “pledge of a good conscience.” Then you have made a promise, a vow.

What do we think of a person who makes a promise then doesn’t keep it? We don’t think much of them, do we?

Now, this sermon could quickly degenerate into a session of looking at each other and thinking, “THAT guy hasn’t kept his promise!” Or crashing into self-incrimination as we lament all the ways we have fallen in regards to our own promise.

What I would rather we do is take a good look at ourselves. Then, we probably are going to say something like, “Whoa! I haven’t kept my promise!” Then, I want you to remember the story of the prodigal son. God is patient, and waiting for you to come back and say, “I wanna make good on that promise.”

What’s it going to take to fulfill that promise? Well, being a sinful person, you’re not going to be able to do it alone. So what you (and I) have to do is commit (and frequently re-commit) to submitting to Jesus. It’s a daily thing. Sometimes it’s an hourly thing.

What Do I DO With This?
1] Commit to living your life for Christ.
2] Get to know Christ well, so you can do that better.
3] Vow to do what you can for the kingdom this year.