Assured By Greg GilbertSample

The Promises of God

If the gospel of Christ is one of our sources of assurance, another is the promises of God. Yet, we find it difficult to embrace even God’s promises as a source of assurance—we inwardly believe we’ll do something that will cause God to reconsider. Let’s be honest: having the courage to put a voice on some of the fears that lurk in the back of our minds does wonders to reduce the false power we give them!

For all our general distrust of promises, though, the fact remains that the Bible presents God’s promises as solid and irrevocable. Think about how Paul described Abraham’s faith in Romans 4. Abraham became “fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (v. 21), and as he did so, “he grew strong in his faith” (v. 20). Do you see the progression? Abraham’s increasing conviction of the solidity of God’s promise resulted in a strong faith and sense of assurance.

The same lifeline shows up again in Hebrews 10:23: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” The exhortation in this verse is another way of saying we should have assurance of our inheritance with Christ. But look carefully at the second half of that verse. Do you see what the author says is the source of holding fast without wavering? It’s that “He who promised is faithful.” The onus is rightfully, fully, and freely on God. Let that drive us to hope and not to fear.

As we become more convinced God will keep His promises, our faith and assurance becomes stronger. For the author of Hebrews, it is axiomatic that our faith and therefore our assurance are driven and fueled by our considering the promises of God—and by extension, also the character of the God who makes the promises.

Don’t miss the point in all of this: our sense of assurance and confidence parallels our level of trust in God to keep His promises. As we doubt God’s determination to do what He says, our sense of assurance and confidence will indeed waver. But the more we understand the simplicity and beauty of God’s promises, the more we understand how unthinkable it is for Him to break those promises, and the stronger and more solid our confidence becomes.

What promises has God given you that are hard to believe at times?