Assurance in the promise

Romans 4:13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring--not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"--in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

Throughout the time which I was struggling with belief, I had no idea how I could consider myself a believer.  After all, believers are supposed to be changed people.  This is true, but the promises don't rest on a changed life, they result in a changed life.  What kind of assurance do I have that I will come to the end of my life and wake up an heir to the world?  That's the question that I seek to answer now.  In the above passage we read of "the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world".  We know that Abraham's children are those who are of Abraham's faith, namely you, dear reader, and me if we have come to a saving faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.  We are therefore recipients of the promise to Abraham, and are heirs of the world.  Before I go on, think about that.  Selah for a minute!  You are going to inherit the world.  This means that any object, person, or ideal that you and I are unwilling to wager in our service to God is an abused idol which has made a sucker out of us, and we are no smarter than a child who is unwilling to surrender his chocolate chips to the cookie dough because he doesn't understand that he will get them back, perfected.

But we aren't really that dumb, what we lack is assurance.  Abraham wasn't dumb either, yet he was uncertain, and he went to God for assurance, and in verse 16 above, we have a stark contrast between the two answers which God could have given him.  He could give him an answer that is according to Law or an answer that is according to grace.  Let's read the dialogue between Abraham and God.

Genesis 15:2 But Abram said,  "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But [Abram] said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 

This is absolutely pivotal, so I pause here to emphasize (partly to myself as I write it) what is at stake here.  I MUST know the answer to this question.  How do I KNOW that I will arrive, at the end of my life, faith in tact, trusting in Jesus, having lived a life of repentance which shows fruit commensurate with saving faith?  Or, to put the question in terms presented in these passages, how do I know that I will possess the world?  How do I know that I will receive the promise?  How do I know that having placed my faith in God for salvation, that I will wake up from the sleep of death a victorious inheritor of life?

Let's hear God's answer.

9 [God] said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

Tim Keller has pointed out that as soon as God had said "Bring me a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon," Abraham knew exactly what was going on.  God was going to make a covenant.  Abraham would cut the animals in half and form an aisle (as Keller points out, notice God didn't have to tell Abraham to do this).  God was going to tell Abraham the terms of the covenant, and then God and Abraham would walk down the aisle symbolizing their willingness to end up in the same pitiful state as the animals if they don't hold up their end of the covenant.  But God does something shocking.

12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I givethis land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates...."

Every once in a while a covenant would be made where only one person would walk down the aisle, as if to say, "The terms of this contract will be fulfilled by me.  I will see to it that the contract is carried out or I will be torn in two like these dead animals."  Keller again points out that the flaming torch and smoking fire pot was probably very much like the column of fire the Israelites saw in the wilderness.  One might suppose that Abraham stood up, ready to do his part by walking down the aisle when he was knocked off his feet by a bolt of lightning which struck the entrance to the aisle, and held its form.  I imagine that this is the time when Abraham understood what God meant.  As Abraham repeated back in his mind what God had just said, "I will bring judgement on the nation your offspring serve.  I will give your offspring this land.  You will be buried at a good old age," he watched as the shaft of lightning passed through the pieces alone.  Consider this, dear reader, God passed through the pieces alone.  If you, having placed your faith in Christ for salvation, Christ who is the "yes" and "amen" to God's promises, if you do not wake up from death as an inheritor of the world, omnipotent God offers up his immutable body to be torn in two and all of creation will perish.  Christ was indeed Abraham's offspring, he has earned the inheritance that the Israelites did not, and we are found in Christ by faith, and God will not go back on his promise.  Your inheritance is SURE, dear reader.

Confidence in an uncertain world?  If your rich uncle left you an inheritance of ten million dollars and you only had to wait till Monday of next week to get it, would that change your week?  Would the plans you had before be put on hold as your life takes on a whole new meaning?  The things you could accomplish, the good you could do, the ministries you could start, the goods and services that would be at your disposal!  Now suppose you found out that your uncle had a great deal of debt which he never settled.  The inheritance would indeed be yours on Monday, but there's a chance that paying off the debt MIGHT reduce the amount you received, in fact after your uncle's affairs are settled on Monday you might get no money at all.  What would become of those plans you had made?  

What has become of all of the risks you will be taking for Christ, since you are so unsure of your inheritance, or your confidence in the imagery of Heaven you hear about, or your confidence that the life of a Christian is a life of joy and hope and light burdens.  What becomes of our willingness to be vulnerable and submissive to our church, we who are so unsure that the world is ours and cannot be lost, even if we lose it because of our submission to the church.  Consider this, dear reader.  God has passed through the pieces alone.  Your part is only to receive the promise.  The changed life can come later.  God will do both his end AND your end of the covenant, you who through faith have received righteousness by grace.

Soli Deo gloria.