LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for December 4: Stay true to your commitments

Discipline is necessary for advancement. Promises are made for the difficult times. The lessons of Numbers 6 revolve around these two statements.

Consider the necessity of discipline for advancement. There are some things in life we seem to pick up naturally and effortlessly. We learn to talk by hearing our parents and repeating what they say.

It happens naturally, but becoming an effective public speaker requires discipline. We must do some things that do not come naturally or easily, but we do them so we might advance in our mastery of language and communication.

As children, we naturally progressed from crawling to walking, but if we want to become world-class athletes, we must discipline ourselves. We must spend our time training, abstaining from other things we might be doing and giving our energy to developing our minds and bodies for the rigors of competition.

The word “Nazarite” comes from a Hebrew term meaning “to separate or abstain.” In taking the Nazarite vow, a person was willfully choosing to separate themselves from certain things as an act of worship and devotion. Normally, this promise was intended for a limited period of time, but there also are examples of parents dedicating their children to be lifelong Nazarites (Samson and Samuel).

Whether short-term or lifelong, however, the emphasis of the vow was on dedication to God. This dedication was seen in the choices a person made to abstain from the fruits of the vine, the cutting of hair and contact with anything dead. These choices were symbols of separation (v. 7) that reflected the deeper reality: “he is consecrated to the Lord” (v. 8).
    
As there are certain things in our natural lives that come to us easily, so there are things in our spiritual lives that come effortlessly. Our salvation, our relationship with God, and our hope of glory come to us by God's grace and not through our own efforts. Yet the testimony of Scripture and Christian experience is that disciplined action helps us grow and mature in our relationship with God.

Prayer may begin simply, but we grow in our understanding of God, ourselves and our place in the world when we discipline ourselves to pray regularly. We may pick up certain stories and principles of the Bible by listening to sermons and Bible teachers, but the word of God truly comes alive for us when we discipline ourselves to study it on our own, meditate on it, memorize it and apply it to our lives.

Love begins with those we like, but our love is deepened and enriched when we discipline ourselves to love those we don't like, even if they are our enemies.

Discipline is necessary for advancement, and God’s people have long found a way to encourage such discipline within the community of faith for the purpose of worship, devotion and a more profound experience with God.
    
The awkward thing about discipline, though, is that it is not easy. It is not meant to be. Growth and advancement require our minds, bodies and spirits to be stretched in new ways. Our endurance increases as we push past our comfort levels.

What can help us maintain our discipline when the times get tough? The answer: promises. By our promise, we are inviting accountability. By our promises, we are calling God and others to bear witness to our commitment to something. The promises are not for the times when the activities are easy, the victories plentiful and joy easily found. The promises are to keep us going when the road gets hard, we've forgotten what victory looks like and joy is scarce.
    
In writing about the promises to God associated with marriage, C. S. Lewis illustrates in this book Mere Christianity the power of a willful commitment when feelings change: “The promise made when I am in love and because I am in love, to be true to the beloved as long as I live, commits me to being true even if I cease to be in love. A promise must be about things I can do, about actions; no one can promise to go on feeling a certain way. He might as well promise never to have a headache or always to feel hungry.”

The vow of the Nazarite is about actions. A person is not promising to feel a certain way about God, but to act a certain way for God. These actions may be hard (6:7), but when emotions fail, the promise remains to strengthen the will.

This lesson from the Nazarite vow should inform our commitments before God. Our commitments should be about actions. Some days, we may feel like doing the works of faith. Other days, we may not feel like doing these things. Our promise to God, our willful commitment is for those days when our feelings fail us.
    
How are you disciplining yourself for the purposes of worship and devotion? Is there some commitment you need to make that will help you move toward Christian maturity? Is there some promise to God you need to honor? As a class, pray for each other that you may keep your commitments and grow in grace.