Statement #6: Being People of Our Word

“I will seek to live a life above reproach. I will be just and honest in my dealings and faithful in my responsibilities and commitments to this body and in the community.” (Matthew 5:37; Philippians 2:14-15; James 5:12; 1 John 2:5)

Living “a life above reproach” does not mean that we will live wholly sinless lives. No Christian lives an entirely sinless life this side of heaven. Above reproach means that the Christian’s life should be seen as being free from habitual and casual sinful behaviors that would impede them setting the highest Christian standard and model for one who professes to love Christ and bring glory to His name. Question: Should we hope for and expect individuals from our church (whether a pastor, a deacon, or any other covenant member of RRBC) to live above reproach? Answer: Absolutely!

While we must all seek to live above reproach in our daily life and ministry, in the context of statement 7, we are asking every covenant member to seek to be men and women of their word, promises, and commitments in the life and ministry of the church. Simply put, if we say that we will do something, we must endeavor with all due diligence to do it and to show up.

We understand there are moments when a previous commitment/promise cannot be kept in the life of the church (emergencies and calendar conflicts do occur). However, each member of RRBC must seek to live out the encouragement/admonition of Matthew 5:37 – “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’, as best as you can.

We live in a world of low commitment, lip service, and flippant faithfulness. Our world is one in which promises are broken every single day … And sadly, I have even learned to shrug it off as a normal part of life. However, what should we expect the world to see from the church? The same? Not at all! Should you or I simply shrug such behavior off in the community of the redeemed as being normal? No, not at all.

Whenever I meet people of their word, they tend to earn my trust and respect. This is precisely why I worship a God who is faithful to His promises. The cross shows me that God’s talk isn’t ever cheap. He doesn’t back out of a promise when times get tough. Jesus never backs out because he is inconvenienced or has something better that just came up. Jesus was committed to God’s plan for salvation, and he persevered through blood, sweat, and tears to complete his mission and promise. Amen!

In his book Deep Discipleship, J.T English has written:

“In ministry, we often are not clear about what we are asking people to commit to, so they don’t. If you are struggling to get people to commit, it is probably because you have not been clear about what you are asking them to commit to. We need to stop apologizing for asking people to commit to discipleship as if they are too busy. We often say things like, “We know how busy you are, and we are really sorry to ask this of you, but can you make space for [example: a Bible study with others in the church, four family life meetings throughout the year, a night of prayer]? We will never make deep disciples if we apologize when we ask people to make commitments. [emphasis added]

Honestly, this is one of the overarching reasons for our church covenant. We are merely seeking to be transparent and open in helping others understand clearly as to what it means to be a member of RRBC, as we simply invite others to join in on the task of making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) for God’s glory, our joy, and for other's good.

Helpful Article:

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/ray-ortlund/promises/