The Certainty of God's Promise

In my former life as an unbeliever, I found Christians who were so assured of their faith to be superbly annoying. "How could they know?" Ironically, I also found myself making certain and assured and firm statements about my lack of belief in God, that I am sure made me superbly annoying. I still find certainty to be an interesting and intriguing topic. Having gone from being an unbeliever to a follower of Jesus Christ, I have placed my faith with certainty in Jesus Christ for my salvation and hope. Certainty is the topic I want to look at in this post, namely from the Christian worldview.

How can Christians be certain?

Certain can be defined as fixed, settled, reliable, inevitable, destined or assured in mind or action.  For this post I want to examine the certainty of God's promise. Namely, how God's promise is reliable and inevitable. Secondly, I want to examine how certainty about God's promise can give us assurance in mind and action. I want to look at Hebrews 6:13-20:

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:13-20 ESV

First, we must look at the promises that God made to Abraham. God's promises to Abraham can be found in the following passages: Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 17:1-22, and Genesis 22:16-17.  

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” (Hebrews 6:13-14 ESV)

Here is a summary of God's promises to Abraham:

a. I will make of you (Abraham) a great nation...in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
b. (I will make you) the father of a multitude of nations...I will make you into nations and kings shall come from you...I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring...an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your offspring after you...and I will give to you and your offspring all the land of Canaan to be an everlasting possession and I will be their God.
c. The promise of Isaac - I will give you a son by Sarah, Isaac, & I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
d. By myself (God) I have sworn...I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore...and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

Consider for a second the amazing life of Abraham! He is a man living among pagan nations, with no knowledge of God at all. Then, one day the God of the universe begins a relationship with him, and begins making him these astounding promises for the future. This lowly man who is aging rapidly and has a barren wife is now told that in his line God will bless every nation, and be their God in an everlasting covenant. Abraham is also promised a son to be born of his barren wife, Sarah, and told that from his son Isaac the everlasting covenant will continue! Lastly, Abraham is promised by God that his offspring will be as the stars of heaven and the sand of the seashore!

One day, Abraham was minding his business in the land of Ur with no knowledge of God and then later he receives these immense and practically absurd promises from the very God of the universe!

And thus Abraham, having patiently waited (Hebrews 6:15a ESV)

Abraham waited patiently on God. He persevered in his long-suffering, he had a patience that was set on God, because of his faith in God and trust that God would do what He said He would do. Abraham's assurance of God's nature, God's certainty of purpose, God's holiness and inability to lie in His promise motivated Abraham's patience in waiting.

Abraham persevered in patience because He trusted God to act according to His holiness and purpose. 

The Apostle Paul helps fill out Abraham's high (and correct) view of God in Romans:
No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 
(Romans 4:20-21 ESV) 

Abraham didn't waver, but grew stronger in his faith, giving glory to God in full conviction that God was able to do what He had promised. It can be so hard in our lives when our circumstances and situations seem to press upon us hopelessness and fear. How radically transformed can our lives be when we remember that in even the bleakest and most hopeless of circumstances, God is able to deliver us!

Having patiently waited on God, Abraham "obtained the promise." (Hebrews 6:15b ESV)

Abraham obtained the promise of seeing Isaac born. Out of Sarah's barrenness and both Abraham and Sarah's old age, yet Isaac was miraculously born because of the power and purpose of the Lord! God delivered on his promise to Abraham to give him a son. Because God fulfilled the promise of giving Abraham his son Isaac, God can be trusted to establish His covenant with Isaac as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

We can trust God with our immediate needs and our future hope!

The Apostle Paul helps us understand how the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham directly impacts our hope.

That is why his [Abraham's] faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:22-25 ESV)

Abraham demonstrated his faith in God by his works of obedience. Abraham's works didn't save him, his faith saved him. Paul reminds us that Abraham's justification comes through faith, and so will ours be.

When we believe in God who raised Jesus from the dead, we receive the righteousness that comes by faith. 

Amazingly, this fulfills God's promise to Abraham to bless the nations through his line. Abraham is the father of our faith, the father of "many nations." Abraham's faith was counted to him as righteousness, and he is the father of all of us in Christ who by faith are counted as righteous before God. Throughout all of history and until the fullness of time, everyone who puts their trust in Jesus Christ adjoins themselves into the lineage of Abraham, the father of our faith.

Truly those who have in the past and will one day put their faith in Jesus Christ will measure as the stars in the sky and the sand on the shore! All the families of the earth, all the nations will be blessed who through faith in Jesus, follow in the footsteps of Abraham. God is fulfilling this promise every day as more and more people become followers of Jesus Christ.

Have you put your faith in Jesus?

God's promise is certain.

For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. (Hebrews 6:16-18 ESV)

All who put their faith in Jesus Christ are heirs of God's promise. God's desire to convince us that He will be our God and will deliver us and be our God can be demonstrated through 1) the certainty of His promise and 2) His guarantee of an oath.

1) God is holy, and therefore in His absolute moral purity it is impossible for him to lie. His promise is certain.
2) God has sworn an oath by His own unchangeable character.

In His effort to convince us that He will fulfill his promise, God has given us the double security that He cannot lie and that He has sworn an oath by Himself.

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21 ESV)

God's purpose is as unchangeable as His holy character, and throughout eternity the purpose of the Lord will stand. 

We have the greatest comfort knowing this! We can hold fast to this hope! Our God is a God who fulfills His great promises to us! Our hope for salvation is something we can seize, hold dearly, and keep watch over faithfully.

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul (Hebrews 6:19a ESV)

God is who He says He is, and He will do what He says He will do. This we can be certain of, and this is the anchor for our soul. We can have security and stability because we can trust God to do what He has promised!

Let us be people whose faith is so strong and sturdy in the Lord that it can be said of us that we live unwavering lives, fully believing that God is able to do what He has said He will do. Let us be fully convinced and let us give glory to God!

Our assurance also comes from the fact that Jesus has gone before us into the inner place with God, a forerunner on our behalf.

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:19-20 ESV)

Jesus himself tells us how he will go before us, amazingly even predicting this before his death:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:1-7 ESV)

Jesus goes before us to:

• prepare a place for us to draw near to the Holy God
• assure us that he will come back for us
• be the way for us to the Father
• be the truth that guides us by sending us the Holy Spirit and keeps us in relationship with the Father
• to make known to us the Father

Jesus goes to the cross to be the way, the truth, and the life for us. 

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:11-12 ESV)

Jesus death on the cross atones for our sin and removes God's wrath from us. His life justifies us before God. Through the knowledge of Christ we are accounted righteous. His life purifies us and gives us life. Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit that confirms that we are children of God and assure us of our future glory with him in his Father's house. 

By faith in Christ, following the footsteps of Abraham, we join ourselves to the heirs of the promise. By faith in Christ we are accounted righteous and join into God's family who will number as many as the seashore and have God as their God. Jesus truly is the way, the truth, and the life! 

Without Christ, we can never draw near to the holy God. Jesus has torn down the curtain of our sinful bodies that kept us from the holy God in his death. His death on the cross has made the way. 

God's purpose will stand! Jesus did live the holy and perfect life in his flesh for our sake. Jesus did die for our sins, and Jesus was raised for our justification! 

When we put our faith in Jesus we begin living unto God, we start our eternal lives! Our forerunner Jesus lives so that we can live and be near to God! This is our great comfort, our great anchor, and it gives us certainty. 

Our certainty comes from the reliability of God to fulfill His promises. Our certainty comes from the knowledge that Jesus has been raised from the dead according to God's unchangeable purpose that all nations will be blessed through their faith in Jesus. 

Yet though our boat may be strewn about by the tumultuous waves of this current age, our anchor is firmly affixed to our Rock and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

God's purpose will stand. Christ is risen, he is risen indeed! God's character and purpose do not change and He has always and will always fulfill His promises. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) Therefore, let us hold fast to our hope in Christ with great joy!

Let us sing,

"Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"

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What gives you certainty?