THE CONFIRMATION VOWS
by C. H. Mackintosh
Editor’s note: While ritualistic Romanism and Protestantism have continued to practice “confirmation vows,” the evangelical church has embraced “promise-keepers.” This article should be thought provoking for either (excerpted from “The Mackintosh Treasury”).
All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” Such were the memorable words with which the
people of Israel virtually abandoned the ground on which the blessed God had
just been setting them, and on which, too,
He had dealt with them in bringing them up out of the land of
Egypt. “Ye have seen,” said He, “what
I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you
unto Myself.” All this was grace –
pure, perfect, divine grace. He heard
the groans and beheld the sorrows of the people amid the darkness and
degradation of Egyptian bondage, and in His unmingled mercy He came down to
deliver them. He sought not their aid,
He looked not for aught from them. “His own arm brought salvation.” He acted for them, with them, and in them;
and that, too, in the solitariness and sovereignty of His own unfailing grace.
He said to Moses at the opening
of the book of Exodus, “I am come down to
deliver them.” This was absolute
and unqualified grace. There was no “if,” no “but,” no condition, no vow, no resolve. It was free grace, founded upon God’s eternal counsels, and
righteously displayed in immediate connection with “the blood of the Lamb.”
Hence, from first to last, the word to Israel was, “stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah.” They were not called to “resolve,” or to “vow,” or to “do.” God was acting for them – He was doing
all: He placed Himself between them and
every enemy, and every evil. He spread
forth the shield of His salvation that they might hide themselves behind its
impenetrable defenses, and abide there in peace.
But, alas, Israel made a vow – a
strange, a singular vow indeed. Not
satisfied with God’s doings, they would fain talk of their own. They would be doing, as if God’s salvation
were incomplete; and in lamentable ignorance of their own weakness and
nothingness, they said, “All that the
Lord hath spoken we will do.” This
was taking a bold stand, a high ground.
For a poor worm to make such a vow proved how little grace was really
understood, or nature’s true condition apprehended.
However, Israel having
undertaken to “do,” they were put to
the test, and the most cursory view of Exodus 19 will be sufficient to show
what a marked change took place the moment they had uttered the words “we will do.” The Lord had just reminded them of how He “bare them on eagles’ wings, and brought them unto Himself”; but now
He says, “Set bounds unto the people
round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount,
or touch the border of it; whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to
death.” This was a very different
aspect of things. It was the simple
result of man’s having said, “I will do.” There is far more involved in those words
than many might imagine. If we take our
eyes off from God’s actings, and fix them on our own, the consequences must be
disastrous in the extreme. But we shall
see this more fully ere we close this paper.
Let us now inquire how the house of Israel fulfilled their singular
vow. We shall see that it ended like
human vows in every age.[1]
Did they do “all” that the Lord commanded? Did they “continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do
them?” Alas, no. On the contrary we find that ere the tables
of testimony were given, they had broken the very first commandment in the
decalogue, by making a golden calf, and bowing down thereto. This was the earliest fruit of their broken
vow; and then, onward they went, from stage to stage, dishonoring the name of
the Lord – breaking His laws, despising His judgments, trampling under foot His
sacred institutions. Then followed the
stoning of His messengers whom, in patient grace and long-suffering, He sent
unto them.
Finally, when the only-begotten
Son came forth from the bosom of the Father, they with wicked hearts rejected
and with wicked hands crucified Him.
Thus we pass from Sinai to Calvary:
at the former we hear man undertaking to do all the Lord’s commandments,
and at the latter see him crucifying the Lord Himself. So much for man’s vows, so much for man’s “I will do.” The fragments of the tables of testimony scattered beneath the
fiery mount told the first melancholy tale of the failure of man’s audacious
resolution: nor was there any real break in the narrative, which has its
closing scene around the cross of Calvary.
All was failure – gross, unmitigated failure. Thus it must ever be when man presumes to vow or resolve in the
presence of God.
Now there is a very striking
resemblance between Israel’s vow at the foot of mount Sinai and the
confirmation vow of the establishment.
We have rapidly glanced at the former; let us now refer to the latter.
In “the ministration of public baptism of infants,” after various prayers
and the reading of the Gospel, the minister addresses the godfathers and
godmothers on this wise:
“Dearly beloved, ye have brought this child
here to be baptized; ye have prayed that our Lord Jesus Christ would vouchsafe
to receive him, to release him of his sins, to sanctify him with the Holy
Ghost, to give him the kingdom of heaven and everlasting life. Ye have heard also that our Lord Jesus
Christ hath promised in His gospel to grant all these things that ye have
prayed for: which promise He, for His
part, will most surely keep and perform.
Wherefore, after this promise made by Christ, this infant must also
faithfully, for his part, promise by you that are his sureties (until he come
of age to take it upon himself), that he will renounce the devil and all his
works, and constantly believe God’s holy Word and obediently keep His
commandments. I demand, therefore, Dost
thou, in the name of this child, renounce the devil and all his works, the vain
pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the
carnal desires of the flesh, so that thou wilt not follow nor be led by them?”
Answer: “I
renounce them all.” Again: “Wilt
thou obediently keep God’s holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all
the days of thy life?” Answer: “I
will.”
Both the above vows the
children, when come to years of discretion, deliberately and solemnly take upon
themselves, as may be seen by reference to “The
Order of Confirmation.” Thus we
have, in the first place, people vowing and resolving, on behalf of unconscious
infants, to “renounce the world, the
flesh, and the devil,” and to keep all God’s commandments, all the days of
their life; and, in the second place, we find those children, in due time,
placing themselves under the weight of those awful vows; and all this,
moreover, as a necessary condition to the fulfillment of Christ’s promise. That is to say, if they allow aught of the
world, the flesh or the devil to adhere to them; or if they fail in the
faithful keeping of all God’s commandments, then they cannot be saved, but
must, so far as they are concerned, inevitably be condemned.
In short, salvation is here made
to depend on a covenant to which man makes himself a party. Christ is represented as willing to do His
part, provided always that man accomplishes his; but not otherwise. In other words, there is an “if” in the matter, and, as a
consequence, there never is, and never can be, the certainty of salvation; yea,
there can only be the constant terror of eternal condemnation hanging over the
soul; that is, if there is any thought about the matter at all.
If the heart is not perfectly
assured of the fact that Christ has in very deed done all; that He has put away
our sin; that He has forever canceled our debt; that He has settled, by His
perfect sacrifice, every question that could possibly arise, whether it be the
charges of conscience, the accusings of Satan, or the claims of divine justice;
that He has not left a cloud on the prospect; that all is perfectly done – in a
word, that we stand before God in the power of divine righteousness, and in the
same favor with His own Son; if, I say, there be any doubt in the soul as to
the eternal truth of all these things – then there cannot be settled peace. And that there is not this settled peace in
the case of those who have taken on themselves the above tremendous vows is but
too evident from the clouds and darkness which hang around their spirits as
they tread the next stage of their ecclesiastical journey.
We could hardly expect that
persons who boldly vow to renounce all evil, and perfectly to fulfil all good,
could approach the Lord’s table with any other acknowledgment than the
following, namely: “The burden of our sins is intolerable.” It would need an obtuse conscience to be
able to shake off the conviction that those vows have been unfulfilled; and
then, assuredly, the burden must be intolerable. If I have taken vows upon me, they will, without doubt, prove in
the sequel to be dishonored vows; and thus the whole matter of my salvation
comes to the ground, and I find myself, according to the terms of my own
self-chosen covenant, righteously exposed to the curses of a broken law. I have undertaken to do everything; and yet
I have in reality done nothing. Hence I
am “cursed;” for the word is, “Cursed is every one that continueth not in
all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”
Nor will it at all alter the
matter to say that those extraordinary vows are entered into in dependence upon
divine grace; for there cannot be such a thing as dependence upon grace when
people are placing themselves directly under the law. No two things can be more opposite than law and grace. They are put in direct contrast in Paul’s
Epistles to the Romans and Galatians. “Whosoever of you are justified by the law
(evn novmw),[2]
are under the curse, ye are fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:4).
Hence, to think of depending
upon grace when putting myself under law is precisely the same as if I were to
look to God for grace to enable me to subvert the entire gospel of His Son
Jesus Christ. “As many as are of works of law (evj ev’;gwn novmou)2
are under the curse.” Could I depend upon God’s grace to enable me
to abide under the curse? The thought
is preposterous in the extreme. And be it
observed that the apostle, in the last-quoted passage, does not merely say, “As many as fail to keep the law are under
the curse.” This he distinctly
teaches, no doubt; but the special point is, that as many as attempt to stand
before God on the ground of “works of law,”
are of necessity under the curse, for the simplest of all reasons, that they
are not able to satisfy His claims.
In order for man to satisfy
God’s claims, he must be what in himself he cannot be; that is, without
sin. The law demands, as its right,
perfect obedience; and those who take upon them the confirmation vows promise
perfect obedience. They promise to
renounce all evil, and to fulfil all good, in the most absolute manner; and
moreover, they make their salvation to depend upon their fulfillment of those
vows, else why make them at all?
This, when looked at in the
light of the apostolic teaching in Romans and Galatians, is the most complete
denial of all the fundamental truths of the gospel. In the first place, it is a denial of man’s total ruin, of his
condition as one “dead in trespasses and
sins,” “alienated from the life of God,” “without strength,” “ungodly,” “enmity against God.” If I
can undertake to renounce all evil, and to do all God’s commandments, then,
assuredly, I do not know myself to be a lost, ruined, helpless creature; and,
as a consequence, I do not need a Saviour.
If I can boldly undertake to “renounce”
and to “do,” to “keep” and to “walk,” I am
manifestly not lost, and hence I do not want salvation; I am not dead, and
hence I do not want life; I am not “without
strength,” and hence I do not want the energy of that new, that divine life
which is imparted by the Holy Ghost to all who, by His grace, believe in the
Son of God. If I am capable of doing
for myself, I do not want another, even the Lord Jesus Christ, to do all for
me.
Again, as flowing out of what
has already been stated, those vows do entirely set aside the essential
glories, divine dignities and sacred virtues of the cross of Christ. If I can get a godfather and godmother to
take vows on them on my behalf until I am capable of taking them on myself,
then it is evident I cannot possibly know the deep blessedness of having all my
vows, all my responsibilities and liabilities as a lost sinner, all my sins and
shortcomings – everything, in short – fully and eternally answered in the
Cross. If there is anything in my case
which has not been perfectly settled in the Cross, then I must inevitably
perish. I may make vows and
resolutions, but they are as the morning cloud that passeth away. I may get a sponsor to renounce the devil on
my behalf, and I may in due time talk of renouncing him for myself; but what if
the devil all the while has fast hold of both my sponsor and myself? He will not renounce me, unless the chain by
which he binds me has been snapped asunder by the Cross.
Again, I may get a sponsor to
undertake to keep all God’s commandments for me, and, in due time, I may
undertake to keep them for myself; but what if neither my sponsor nor I really
understand the true nature of spirituality, the majesty or stringency, of that
law? Yea, more. What if both he and I are, by our very vows,
made debtors to do the whole law, and thus shut up under its terrible
curse? What then becomes of all our
vows and resolutions? Is it not plain
that I am throwing overboard the Cross of Christ? Truly so. That Cross must
either be everything or nothing to me.
If it is anything it must be everything; and if it is not everything it
is nothing. Thus it stands. The gospel of the grace of God sets forth
Christ as the great Sponsor and Surety of His people. The confirmation service sets one sinner to stand sponsor for
another, or for himself. The gospel
sets forth One, who is possessed of “unsearchable
riches,” as the security for His people; the confirmation service sets one
bankrupt to stand security for another or for himself. What avails such security? Who would accept of it? It is perfectly valueless to God and
man. If I am a bankrupt, I cannot
promise to pay anything, and if I could promise, no one would accept of it –
yea, it would be justly regarded in the light of an empty formality. The promissory note of a bankrupt is little
worth; and truly the vows and resolutions of a poor ruined sinner are not
merely an empty formality, but a solemn mockery, in the presence of Almighty
God. No one who knows himself would
presume to vow, or resolve, to keep all God’s commandments – such an one would
have the full conviction that he could never do anything of the kind.
But, as a further reply to the
statement that those confirmation vows are made in entire dependence upon the
grace of God, I would observe that grace can only be known or trusted by those
who are His. “They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee,” and none
else. Now, the Word of God connects
eternal life with the knowledge of Him.
“This is life eternal, that they
might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent”
(John 17:3). If, therefore, I have
eternal life, I need not make vows to get it.
If I am eternally saved, I need not make vows to get salvation. If my sins are all canceled by the precious
blood of the Lamb, I need not make vows to get them canceled. Neither baptismal vows, confirmation vows,
sacramental vows, nor any other vows are necessary for one who has found life,
righteousness, wisdom, sanctification, redemption – yea, all things in Christ.
The comfort and peace of the
feeblest believer are based upon the fact that Christ took all his vows, all
his liabilities, all his sins, all his iniquities entirely upon Himself, and,
by His death upon the cross, gloriously discharged them all. This sets him entirely free. Hence, it follows that if I am not a child
of God, I cannot keep vows; and if I am, I need not make them. In either case, I deny man’s fallen
condition, and set aside the true glories of the Cross. It may be in ignorance – it may be with the
most sincere intention – no doubt; but the most profound ignorance and the
purest sincerity cannot alter the real principle which lies at the root of all
manner of vows, promises, and resolutions.
There is, beyond all question, involved therein a plain denial of the
great foundation-truths of the Christian religion. A vow assumes the competency to fulfil. Well, then, if I vow to keep all God’s commandments perfectly,
all the days of my life, I am not lost or without strength. I must have strength, else I could not undertake
such a ponderous responsibility.
And remark further the strange
anomaly involved in this system of vows; that while it denies my lost estate,
it robs me of everything approaching to a certainty of ever being saved. If I resolve to keep God’s commandments as a
necessary condition of my salvation, I never can be sure of being saved until I
have fulfilled the condition; but inasmuch as I never can fulfil it, I,
therefore, never can be sure of my salvation; and thus I travel on, from stage
to stage, from baptism to confirmation, from confirmation to communion, and
from communion to the deathbed, in a state of miserable doubt and torturing
uncertainty. This is not the
gospel. It is “a different gospel which is not another.”
The immediate effect of the work
of Christ, when laid hold of by faith, is to give settled peace to the conscience;
the effect of the system of vows, is to keep the heart in constant doubt and
heaviness. How many have approached the
ordinance of confirmation with trembling hearts, at the thought of having to
take upon their own shoulders the solemn vows which, from the period of their
baptism, had rested on their godfathers and godmothers. How could it be otherwise with an honest
mind? If I am really sincere, the
thought of having to take on myself those solemn baptismal vows, must fill me
with horror. Some, alas! go through
these things with thoughtless hearts and frivolous minds; but it is evident the
confirmation service was never framed for such. It was designed for thoughtful, serious, earnest spirits; and all
such must, assuredly, retire from the ceremony, with troubled hearts and
burdened consciences.
With what different feelings we
gaze upon the Cross of the Son of God!
There, in good truth, Satan was renounced, and his works destroyed. There the law of God was magnified and made
honorable, vindicated, and established.
There the justice of God was fully answered. There Satan was vanquished; there conscience gets its full
answer; there the cup of God’s unmingled wrath against sin was drained to the
dregs by His blessed Son. Where is the
proof of all this? Not in the
unaccomplished, dishonored vows of poor frail mortals; but in a risen,
ascended, glorified Christ, seated at the right hand of the Majesty in the
heavens.
Who that knows aught of the pure
and most excellent grace of God, or that has tasted aught of the true
blessedness of divinely-accomplished redemption, could tolerate such language
as, “Christ for His part” and “this
infant for his part”? Who that has
listened, by faith, to those words, “It
is finished,” issuing, as they do, from amid the solemn scenes of Calvary,
could endure a sinful mortal’s “I do,”
or “I will”? What a total setting aside of grace! What a tarnishing of the brightness of God’s
salvation! What an insult to the
righteousness of God, which is by faith, and without works! What a manifest return to a religion of
ordinances and the poor works of man!
Christ and an infant, or the infant’s sureties, are placed on the same
platform to work out salvation. Is it
not so? If not, what mean the words, “Christ
for His part, and this infant for his part”? Is it not plain that salvation is made to depend upon something
or some one besides Christ?
Unquestionably. The vows must be
fulfilled, or there is no salvation!
Miserable condition! Christ’s
accomplished work abandoned for a sinner’s unaccomplishable vows and
resolutions! Man’s “I do” substituted for Christ’s “I have finished”!
Can you own such a fearful
surrender of the truth of God? Are you
content with such a sandy foundation?
Whither, think you, will such a system lead you? To Heaven, or to Rome? Which?
Be honest. Take the New
Testament, search it from cover to cover, and see if you can find such a thing
as infants making vows by proxy, to renounce the world, the flesh, and the
devil, and to keep all God’s commandments, in order to obtain salvation. There is not so much as a shadow of a
foundation for such an idea. “By works of law shall no flesh living be
justified.” “But now the righteousness of God, without law, is manifested, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets.”
“To him that worketh not, but
believeth on Him that justified the ungodly, his faith is counted to him for
righteousness.” “For by grace are you saved, through faith;
and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” “Not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He
saved us.” (See Rom. 3:20-28;
4:4-5; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7.)
These are but a very few of the
numerous passages which might be adduced in proof of the fact that the
confirmation vows are diametrically opposed to the truth of God – totally
subversive of the grace of God. If my
vows mean anything I must be miserable, because I am in imminent danger of
being lost forever, inasmuch as I have not kept them, and never could keep
them.
Oh! what sweet relief for the
wearied heart and sin-burdened conscience in the atoning blood of Jesus! What full deliverance from my worthless and
worse than worthless vows! Christ has
done all. He has put away sin – made
peace – brought in everlasting righteousness – brought life and immortality to
light. In Him may you, my beloved
reader, find abiding peace, unfading joy, and everlasting glory. To Him and His perfect work I now most
affectionately commend you, body, soul, and spirit, fully assuring you my
object in this paper is not to attack the prejudices, or wound the feelings of
any, but simply to take occasion to show how the perfect work of the Lord Jesus
Christ is thrown into full and blessed relief by being looked at in contrast
with the “confirmation vows.” ¢
Charles H. Mackintosh, known worldwide as C.H.M.
(1820-1896), came to trust Christ alone as Saviour through the witness of his
sister and by reading a tract from the Plymouth Brethren bible-teacher J.N. Darby. By God's grace, he enjoyed a preaching and
writing ministry for some 43 years.
[1] There is a passage in the book of Deuteronomy which, as it may present a difficulty to some minds, should be noticed here. “And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken” (Deut. 5:28). From this passage, it might seem as though the Lord approved of their making a vow; but if my reader will take the trouble of reading the entire context, from verse 24 to 27, he will see that it has nothing whatever to say to the vow, but that it contains the expression of their terror at the consequences of their vow. They were not able to endure that which was commanded. “If,” said they, “we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say; and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it and do it.” It was the confession of their own inability to encounter Jehovah in that awful aspect which their proud legality had led Him to assume. It is impossible that the Lord could ever commend an abandonment of free and changeless grace for a sandy foundation of works of law. (See Notes on the book of Exodus, page 253; or C. H. Mackintosh’s Genesis to Deuteronomy: Notes on the Pentateuch, page 228.)
[2] That is, as many as are on that principle – of “law,” “works of law.” [ED.]