Baptist Confession of Faith (1689)

Chapter 23
LAWFUL OATHS AND VOWS

23.1 A lawful oath is an act of worship in which the person swearing in [the light of God’s] truth, righteousness and judgement, solemnly calls God to witness what he swears, and to judge him according to the truth or falsity of it.¹

(1) Deu 10:20; Exo 20:7; Lev 19:12; 2Ch 6:22-23; 2Co 1:23

23.2 People should swear by the name of God alone, and his name is to be used with the utmost holy fear and reverence. To swear vainly or rashly by that glorious and awesome name, or to swear at all by any other thing, is sinful and to be abhorred.¹ An oath is sanctioned by the Word of God in weighty and momentous matters to confirm truth and end strife, so a lawful oath imposed by lawful authority ought in such circumstances to be taken.²

(1) Deu 6:13; Exo 20:7; Jer 5:7
(2) Heb 6:13-16; Gen 24:3; 47:30-31; 50:25; 1Ki 17:1; Neh 13:25; 5:12; Ezr 10:5; Num 5:19,21; 1Ki 8:31; Exo 22:11; Isa 45:23; 65:16; Mat 26:62-64; Rom 1:9; 2Co 1:23; Act 18:18

23.3 Whoever takes an oath sanctioned by the Word of God ought to consider the seriousness of so solemn an act, and to affirm nothing but what one knows to be the truth. For by rash, false and empty oaths the Lord is provoked and because of them a nation is brought to misery.¹

(1) Exo 20:7; Lev 19:12; Num 30:2; Jer 4:2

23.4 An oath is to be taken in the plain and ordinary sense of the words, without ambiguity or mental reservation.¹

(1) Psa 24:4; Jer 4:2

23.5 A vow is not to be made to any creature, but to God alone,¹ and it is to be performed with the utmost care and faithfulness.² But monastic vows of a perpetual single life, professed poverty, and regular obedience, are far from representing degrees of higher perfection, rather, they are superstitious and sinful snares in which no Christian ought to entangle himself.³

(1) Num 30:2-3; Psa 76:11; Jer 44:25-26
(2) Num 30:2; Psa 61:8; 66:13-14; Ecc 5:4-6; Isa 19:21
(3) 1Co 6:18 with 7:2,9; 1Ti 4:3; Eph 4:28; 1Co 7:23; Mat 19:11-12

Chapter 1: The Holy Scriptures
Chapter 2: God and the Holy Trinity
Chapter 3: God’s Decree
Chapter 4: Creation
Chapter 5: Divine Providence
Chapter 6: The Fall, Sin and its Punishment
Chapter 7: God’s Covenant
Chapter 8: Christ the Mediator
Chapter 9: Free Will
Chapter 10: Effectual Calling
Chapter 11: Justification
Chapter 12: Adoption
Chapter 13: Sanctification
Chapter 14: Saving Faith
Chapter 15: Repentance to Life and Salvation
Chapter 16: Good Works
Chapter 17: The Perseverance of Believers
Chapter 18: The Assurance of Grace and Salvation
Chapter 19: The Law of God
Chapter 20: The Gospel and its Gracious Extent
Chapter 21: Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience
Chapter 22: Worship and the Lord’s Day
Chapter 23: Lawful Oaths and Vows
Chapter 24: Civil Government
Chapter 25: Marriage
Chapter 26: The Church
Chapter 27: The Fellowship of Believers
Chapter 28: The Ordinances
Chapter 29: Baptism
Chapter 30: The Lord’s Supper
Chapter 31: The State of People after Death and the Resurrection of the Dead
Chapter 32: The Last Judgment
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