Lk. 14:25-33 DEPENDABILITY vs. inconsistency

1)    Definition: fulfilling what I consented to do even if it means unexpected sacrifice.

2)    Scripture: Psa. 15:4-5; Prov. 3:9,27-28; 6:1-5; 20:25; 25:14,19; 26:6,10; 28:1,20; Eccl. 5:4-5; Matt. 5:33-37; 2 Cor. 1:15-20; Jas. 5:12.

3)    Underlying Principle: God is faithful (dependable, 1 Cor. 1:9; 1 Th. 5:24), always honoring His words (Josh. 23:14; Isa. 55:11).

4)    Illustration:  1 Sam. 1, the story of Hannah who made a commitment to the LORD with respect to God giving her a son.  True to her word, she brought Samuel and left him at the tabernacle to serve.  Life events often have a connection to dependability so many Bible stories could provide illustrations.  Judges 11:29-40 is an interesting study, where Jephthah vowed to give to the LORD whatever came out of his house first, if the LORD gave him victory in battle.  When the person was his daughter, he still kept his word.  Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) illustrate lack of dependability.

5)    Bible Study:

a)    What are we like when we are inconsistent (when we don’t honor our word)?

i)      Prov. 25:14: We are like clouds and wind without rain.  We make a lot of positive noise but with no blessing or benefit.

ii)   Prov 25:19: We are like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.  Those are small problems that render us useless.

b)    To help avoid breaking our word, what can we do before ever agreeing to do something?  Prov. 20:25 cautions us against making rash promises, without considering what is involved.  In today’s passage, Jesus said the same about discipleship, warning against failure to count the cost.  Eccles. 5:4-6 also warns against making rash vows to God.

c)    Our words need to be dependable.  The previous passages might sound like we are more bound to keep our word if we make a vow of some sort.  But in Matt. 5:33-37 Jesus taught us not to swear at all but to let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your “No,’ ‘No.’  For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.  James 5:12 repeats this truth.  In 2 Cor. 1:15-20 Paul relied on this truth, that he was true to his word in his relationship to the Corinthian Church.

d)    Part of being dependable is handling those times when we find that we will be harmed by keeping our word.  First, go and humble yourself, plead with your friend with whom you made the agreement (Prov. 6:1-5).  But then we believe Ps. 15:4 still fits, describing a righteous man as he who swears to his own hurt and does not change.  Reliability is that critical to a godly reputation.  A faithful man will abound with blessings (Prov. 28:20).  An illustration of this is found in 2 Chron. 25:5-13.

I would encourage memorizing Psalm 15:4.