The very center and core of the whole Bible is the doctrine of the grace of God — the grace of God which depends not one whit upon anything that is in man, but is absolutely undeserved, resistless and sovereign. The theologians of the Church can be placed in an ascending scale according as they have grasped that one great central doctrine, that doctrine that gives consistency to all the rest; and Christian experience also depends for its depth and for its power upon the way in which that blessed doctrine is cherished in the depths of the heart. The center of the Bible, and the center of Christianity, is found in the grace of God; and the necessary corollary of the grace of God is salvation through faith alone.
Gresham Machen

VOWS

VOWS

VOWS: Committments, Life-Policies, Quality Decisions: (Ps 188:27) [Please read, & meditate on, & I was created by God, and will maybe memorize, the refs.] be judged by Him. He is the BASIC Ps 139 reality of my life. Col 1:13 I_Cor 6:20 Jesus Christ is my Savior and Rom 10:9-10 Tit 3:5 the Lord of my life. Ps 119:97 II_Tim 3:14-17 I accept the Scriptures of the Mt 10:35 Ps 1:2 Josh 1:8 Old and New Testaments to be the Jn 5:46 Ps 199:105 Pv 7:3 Word of God, my infallible guide Jas 1:25 Rom 12:2 for what I believe and do. I will Jn 8:31-32 Ps 37:31 seek to understand them as well as Lk 24:27,32,44,45 I am able, to memorize as much Ps 119:9,11,16 Dt 6:6 Scripture as I can, to meditate Mt 4:4 Ps 199:18 Ps 40:8 upon it, to apply its teachings to Mt 7:24f Ps 119:34 my own life, and help others Dt 11:18 Jn 2:5 Ac 18:16 understand and obey it as much as I Col 1:5-6 Ps 19:14 am able. [I left out the word “read” deliberately: you can do all of the above and be unable to read.] Jn 12:32 I will acknowledge Jesus Mt 10:32-33 Pv 3:6 Christ publicly as my Savior and Mt 5:16 Ps 20:7 Lord, and will actively seek ways Rom 1:14-15-16 to identify myself with my Savior Ps 34:1-3 in order to bless other Christians Ps 119:74 and bring sinners to faith in Him. Pv 11:30 Lk 24:46-49 I believe that my Prime Mt 4:19 16:26 Mission as a believer in Christ on Mt 12:30 Ps 71:15 the earth is to bring sinners to Mt 28:18-20 saving faith in Christ, and then to Mk 5:19-20 16:15-? strengthen and edify believers. My Lk 11:23 twin mottos will be “Seek first the Mt 6:33 Phil 3:10 Kingdom of God” and “To know Jn 1:37,40-42,45 4:35 Christ, and to make Him known as Jn 12:11 Ps 27:8 96:1-3 the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Jn 14:6 Ac 17:17 2 Tim 2:2 I dedicate my body as a living Rom 12:1 Rom 6 sacrifice to God and willingly lay I Jn 3:16 my life down for my brethren and Phil 1:27 2:20 for the gospel. I am willing to Jn 15:13

risk my physical safety if
necessary when the safety of
another is in danger and I am
within range of helping. I will not deny Christ nor fail to 2 Tim 2:12-13 acknowledge Him as my Savior and Rev 2:11 Lord, even at the threat of death. Mt 24:9-13 Pv 29:5 I recognize that my body is a Gen 2:7 3:20 creation of God, and that people 2 Cor 4:7 will be variously affected by my 1 Cor 16:7 appearance. Since I’m a “Creator’s (Eph 2:10) Original”, uniquely designed and Ps 139:13-16 equipped by God for His “mission” II Cor 5:14-15 for me, I will be unmoved by II Cor 5:16-17 hurtful or flattering comments Pv 31:30(!) II_Cor 3:18 about my features, and I will seek Pv 12:18 Jn 1:12 to reflect in my appearance the Ps 34:5 modest confidence of God’s own 2 Cor 5:20 child. Phil 4:13 II Cor 3:4-6 I will always seek to be a Ps 119:63 122:1 part of a Bible-believing local Lk 17:1-4 church where I can be accountable Mt 18:15 Pv 3:11-12 to others and exercise my spiritual Mt 15:6 gifts. I Pet 4:10 Rom 12:6-8 I Cor 12:4-11 I will acknowledge my brothers Mt 10:40-42 Ps 133:1 and sisters in Christ, even across Mt 25:40,45 Gal 3:28 barriers of denomination, I Cor 1:10-13 Col 3:1 nationality, culture or race. John 13:34-35 I will pray for my brothers Eph 1:15-23 3:14-21 and sisters in Christ, that God Col 1:9-? will give them the grace to Jas 4:6-9 recognize and repent of sin, to Col 4:12 seek His face in prayer, to hunger 2 Tim 2:22 Mt 5:6 for His Word, to obey Him even when Eph 6:18 sorely tempted to sin, and that the Jn 15:26-27 Holy Spirit would direct, anoint I Cor 10:13 and inspire their witness to the Acts 8:29 unsaved and their ministry to the Acts 1:8 8:4 11:15

saints, and to be healed and physically Ps 119:130 strengthened in order to complete their Lk 21:34-36 Dt 7:15 works on earth. Ps 107:20 Jas 5:14-16 Eph 2:10 I will pray for the lost, that John 6:44 I Tim 2:1-6 God will convict them of their sin John 16:7-11 and their need for a Savior, and Mt 9:10-13, 37-38 continually send them Spirit-filled Lk 7:34

witnesses who will testify winningly
of the Lord Jesus. I will speak out against sin Pv 24:25 and point to God’s standards of Mt 5:13-14 righteousness, and yet not with a Dt 4:6-21 judgmental attitude of superiority Mt 7:1-5 or self-righteousness, but in Ps 139:23-24 gentleness, recognizing that I, Ps 32:5 too, am a sinner. I will humbly Pv 28:13 repent of any sin that the Word and I Jn 1:7-9 the Spirit show me. I will confess I Cor 1:30 Christ as my only righteousness, II Cor 5:21 and lovingly proclaim to sinners Mk 5:19-20 the forgiveness found in Him. Pv 14:25 Pv 24:24-25 I will speak out for the Pv 31:8 rights of the helpless, and seek to Pv 28:4 deliver those who are being taken Pv 24:11 28:1 away to death, even at the cost of (Ps 56) my own possessions, my reputation, Lk 6:26 or my life. I will seek to lead my Pv 19:23 family into the same committments Eph 6:4,12 so that if we are threatened as a Mt 5:10-11 family, we can stand together as a (Ps 50:14-15) family, and if necessary suffer (Ps 46:1-3) together for the sake of righteous- ness. We shall have together a “no Pv 29:25 hostage” policy concerning threats Mt 10:26,37 to make us compromise our confession Ps 40:13-14 of Christ or our individual commit- Jn 9:22 ments not to participate in sin. II Cor 5:10 Mt 4:12,17 I dedicate my family and (Pv 31:10…? YOU can, Lord!) especially my (present and/or Mk 10:14 Ps 102:28 future) children to the Lord. I Pv 22:6,15 Dt 6:4-9 will seek to disciple them as the Ps 34:11 Lord’s disciples, to teach them to Ps 37:26 Isa 59:21, 54:13 repent of their sins, to trust in (Ps 78) Acts 4:12 Christ Jesus alone for salvation, Rom 3:23,6:23,5:8,10:9-10 to understand His Word for them- Acts 17:11 selves and obey Him faithfully, to Lk 1:40 2:52 walk closely and directly with Him, Ps 32:8 Jer 1:4-9 and to hear His voice. Jn 10:27 Isa 50:4 I recognize that all that I am Ps 61:10 and all I own belongs to God, and I Lk 14:33 16:14 will manage my body and my I Cor 3:16-17 possessions, my relationships, Pv 18:9 27:23 responsibilities and employments as Lk 12:15 His steward. I commit myself to a Lk 19:13 policy of giving to God through His Pv 3:9-10 Dt 8:18 Church the first 10% of my income, Ps 119:37 Mt 23:23 and administrating what remains to Lk 6:38 (Ps 67) His glory. Pv 10:22 I Cor 4:2 I will seek to explore and Lk 19:11-27 develop all the gifts, talents and Col 3:16,23 abilities God has given me, and I Ex 28:2 31:1-6 will try to employ all my Mk 10:43-44 capacities to the glory of the Ex 15:20-21 Triune God. I Chron 25:1,7 Dan 1:17 I will learn as much as I can Jn 2:25 about people and about God’s world, Ps 8 (esp.v.6) with the Scriptures as my primary Pv 21:30 Textbook and the judge of all other Col 2:8 sources, and seek to employ my Ps 119:128 Mt 13:52 knowledge in building the Kingdom. I Cor 9:23 10:31 I Jn 1:8 I recognize that in me, that Rom 7:18 is, in my flesh, there dwelleth no Phlm v.6 good thing, and that it is God who Jn 15:4-5,16 works in me by His Word and His Ps 119:133 Spirit, to make me willing and able Phil 2:13 to be and do whatever He wants. I Jer 18:6 have no right to be proud or Jn 3:30 arrogant about my blessings, Pv 16:18 because ultimately God Himself is I Cor 4:7 the source of all of them. Jn 1:3, Col 1:16-18 Col 2:6-10 Some folks make vows about daily time in prayer or in Bible

reading, or amounts of Scripture to memorize, or efforts to witness for Christ. Single folks make Scripture-generated vows (“standards”) about traits they would require in a person they would date/marry. Some people make specific vows concerning fasting, or giving certain amounts to the Lord, or percentages of income from specific projects. These vows should be thought-&- prayed through in meditation on Eccl 5:1-6 and Numbers 30. Also read the Westminister Confession Chapter 22 “Of Lawful Oaths and Vows”.

Prepared by
Clyde C. Price, Jr. (404)761-2327
P.O.Box 667, Red Oak, GA 30272-0667 USA (reproduction encouraged).