Text: Hebrews 6:13-20
Introduction
Last week, we talked about the things that we have to do instead of backsliding. Today, we will be talking about the doctrinal truths why backsliding is not a good idea.
Doctrinal Truths:
There is no one else above God
Thus, God swears by himself because there is no greater than God nor someone above him. As God gave his promise to Abraham, we can see here that God never used any other name. We humans, as we swear, we use other names, that are credible in order to enforce our promise. Here we can see that God does not need to enforce his promise because his promise is readily enforceable.
He cannot swear in the name of someone above him, the reason that he swore to Abraham by himself and not in the name of someone else. God, whose name is the unpronounced Tetragramatton YWVH, I Am Who I Am, is the God of all gods.
It is not a good idea to backslide because we already have known the God of all gods. We already have a glimpse of his glorious power. We already have been adopted as his children, enjoying all the priviledges that he gave for those who love Him or for those who chose to obey Him.
Knowing that our God is the God of all gods, it is therefore, stupidity if we turn our backs from the God of all gods. There is no benefit that we can get in turning our backs against the author and perfecter of our faith.
At the time of Abraham, people believes in different gods. Even at the time of Moses. It has been a battle between gods. This is why Moses asked Yahweh about his name so that when someone asked him about this God, he will be able to tell them his name. Then God won the contest against the magic of the Egyptian magi, the Pharaoh did fell down before the power of Yaweh. Though his heart was hardened and still pursued the Israelites, God free the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt.
This incident just showed that there is only one mighty God.
God is immutable. When God made a promise, he keeps his word thus, God never loses his integrity. There are times that it takes a long time of waiting for God's promises to be fulfilled, but know that his promises will be met.
There are threee main things that we can learn under the immutability of God. First is that, God does not change. When he promise, it means a promise. It does not change. Prophecies are just some examples on how God worked through history as he made into fulfillment the promises that he gave to His people.
The second thing that we can learn under the immutability of God is that God works in ways that is not like our ways. Though he gave a promise, we can never rationalize on how and when God should fulfill his promises. All we have to do is to trust him as he fulfill his promise to us. We even do not possess the right to give conditions to God.
It is impossible for God to lie where we can take hold of the hope in Him. In verse 19, the passage assured us that the hope that we have is an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast. This means that we can indeed hope for the salvation that God gave to us a gift. Thus, his plans never changed, as he the book of Ephesians pointed out that he chose us even before the beginning of the world. And this promise has been authenticated by Jesus Christ.
Jesus himself received that which that has been promised. He became the high priest in the order of Melchizedek. He is the only way to the Father, the eternal mediator between God and humanity. This truth cannot be changed for the Bible itself testified for this truth that all authority in heaven or on earth has been given unto Jesus feet, that every tounge in every nation will confess that Jesus Christ the Lord.
No matter how people deny the reality of God, truth will prevail that in the end, we will face God, and that we will answer to our hard headedness.
The last is, God's promise sometimes takes time. One of the sins of humanity that is prevalent is impatience to wait. Humans find it really difficult to wait for God's answer. Sometimes, we even have all the gutts to give a condition to God while He is suppose to be giving a condition to us. But no matter what promise that we gave to God, still, we will most likely fail because it was only driven by our human emotions. And such things results to catastrophic events in our lives sometimes.
There are times that God's promises takes time to be answered. But know that God's time is always the perfect time. God's time is not the same as our time. Our time maybe close to perfect, or sometimes seems best. But for God, his time is perfect time.
Conclusion
How do we take God and treat him as God? Do we really recognize God as just another god who grants favor to his followers?
Brothers, God is the God of all creation.
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