2LCF Chapter 23 - Of Lawful Oaths and Vows

Jim Butler

Lawful oaths and vows, treated in 1689 London Baptist Confession chapter 23, are grounded in the third and ninth commandments and constitute genuine acts of religious worship — invoking God's omniscience, omnipresence, and vindictive justice as witness and judge. The confession distinguishes oaths (promises made to men before God) from vows (promises directed to God himself), insisting both require solemn care and plain sincerity without equivocation or mental reservation. Against Anabaptist denial and Roman Catholic abuse, the sermon defends the legitimacy of lawful oaths in matters of weight and moment, refutes the reading of Matthew 5 as a suspension of oath-taking, and condemns popish monastical vows — perpetual celibacy, professed poverty, and regular obedience — as superstitious snares without scriptural warrant. Hearers are called to prize truth-telling as a reflection of the character of God and to take every solemn oath with a full awareness of its theological gravity.