It is easy to become discouraged when it seems that there is no discernible return for our hard work. It is easy to lose heart when it takes a long time to receive what someone has promised us.
God has made many promises to the followers of Christ. Among them are rest from the burdens of this life, release from the guilt of sin, help in overcoming trouble and temptation, that we shall reign with Christ and that we shall be like Christ. Yet, we do not always see evidence that the promises are true. We try our best to live for Christ; we work hard to accomplish what God has asked us to do, yet the results are not always immediately visible. Because of this, we sometimes begin to doubt. We ask whether serving Christ is worth it – particularly when following Him exposes us to hardship or persecution.
The writer of the inspired book of Hebrews tells us that even though the fulfillment of a promise is not always immediate, it is still worth waiting for. In chapter 2 he reminds us that even Jesus had to suffer and die before He was crowned with glory and honor. In chapter 6 he reminds us that it takes faith and patience to inherit what God has promised us. He tells us to imitate God’s people who have set us an example of diligence. God will remember and reward the work we do for Him. If we become lazy or turn away from Christ, we will not obtain the promises.
One of the people who waited patiently for God to fulfill His promises is Abraham. It was 25 years after God promised him a son that Isaac was born. How many of us would be willing to wait that long? Would we not have begun to doubt God? Would we not have wondered whether the promise was true?
These questions are more important than we might think. For, the promises God made to Abraham were not for him alone. They also apply to the spiritual descendants of Abraham. One of the basic teachings of the New Testament is that God considers the followers of Christ to be Abraham’s descendants. For example, the Apostle Paul writes, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29 NIV)
How is this possible? The Bible says that Jesus Christ is the “seed” or descendant about which God made His promise to Abraham. We become followers of Christ by being baptized into Him. That is, Christ joins us to Himself. Because we are now part of Christ, the promise made to Abraham about Christ now applies to His followers as well.
However, this brings up another question: How did Abraham know the promise God made to him was true? How can we know that the promises God has made to the followers of Christ are true? Hebrews chapter 6, verses 13 through 20 says, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he could swear by none greater, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” Thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by a greater one, and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation. In this way God, being determined to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is within the veil; where as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
According to this passage there are two reasons we can have confidence in the promises God has made to the followers of Christ through Abraham. One reason is that God sealed the promise with an oath. Even we humans consider oaths as binding. If someone takes an oath, it settles the question of whether he will do what he says. We take an oath in the name of someone who is greater than we are. Only that greater person has the authority to overturn our oath. In addition, when we take an oath, we call on the one by whom we swear to guarantee what we have said. If we do not keep our word, then we face retribution from the person by whom we swore. Since there is no one greater than God, He swore His oath to Abraham in His own name. The promise will always remain in force because there is no one greater than God to overturn it.
The second reason we can have confidence in God’s promise is the word “surely.” When God made the promise to Abraham, He did not say that He “might” or “maybe” bless. He said He “would.” People often say that God can do anything. But this is not true. There are things which God cannot do. One of those things is God cannot lie. To lie would be to deny His own character. Scripture says, “…God is light; in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5 NIV) To put it another way, we can have confidence in God’s promises because of God’s character. It is impossible for Him to lie, therefore we can believe what He said.
This confidence in the character of God gives us great hope. Even though we may have to wait to fully obtain God’s promises, we know for certain that He will fulfill them.
We have another reason for hope and confidence. We can be sure of God’s promises because we see them fulfilled in Jesus. He has gone before us to secure our salvation. The writer of Hebrews has already said that Jesus has become our High Priest. In accordance with the Law of Moses, the Jewish High Priests entered the presence of God, in the inner room of the Temple, once a year with an offering of sacrificial blood. The purpose of the blood was to make atonement for the sins of the people. However, our High Priest, Jesus, has not entered a man-made Temple, but heaven itself. The sacrifice He offers is not a bull or a goat, but His own blood. Not only does He offer the perfect sacrifice for our sins, He is the perfect Priest to meet our needs.