Not One Word

Has anyone told you they would do something – then failed to do it?

We all experience such disappointments time and again. Why?

The person may have lied, making a promise while having no intention of carrying it out.

Or perhaps they were not aware at the time that they could never fulfill the promise. (One of my children, after a discussion at age six of the nature and consequences of sin, stated with wide eyes and complete sincerity, “I will never, ever sin!”)

Alternately, although sincere when stating their intentions, circumstances may have changed:

  • They may change their mind and no longer want to fulfill the promise;
  • They may have forgotten their promise;
  • Or although they remember the promise and want to fulfill it, they may no longer be able to. Perhaps they have lost the money they planned to give you. Or their health has failed so they can’t take you on the promised trip. Or they have died.

Thus, people often fail us. Consequently, we learn to be skeptical about promises others make.

We wrongly also become skeptical about promises God makes.

Scripture gives us plenty of examples of humans failing to live up to their promises – promises made to one another, and promises made to God. But the Bible assures us: God always fulfills every promise.

The book of Joshua underlines this point. The rescued Israelites have promised repeatedly to obey all that God says (Exodus 19:8, 24:3 & 7). Yet they have made and worshiped a golden calf; they have grumbled and complained and have wanted to choose a different leader to bring them back to slavery in Egypt.

What about God? Joshua 21:45 provides a summary:

Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

Note that the identical Hebrew root underlies “word,” “promises,” and “made.” We get a taste of the way an ancient Israelite would hear this verse by rendering it: “Not one word of all the good words that Yahweh had worded to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”

Not one! Every word God spoke proved to be true!

And that is still the case. God will fulfill His every promise. For God is not liable to the human weaknesses listed above that lead us to make promises we don’t fulfill. Consider them in turn:

  1. God doesn’t lie.
    1. Numbers 23:19: “God is not man, that he should lie”
    2. 1 Samuel 15:29: “The Glory of Israel will not lie”
    3. 2 Samuel 7:28: “O Lord GOD, you are God, and your words are true”
    4. Titus 1:2: God, who never lies
    5. Hebrews 6:18: It is impossible for God to lie
  2. God doesn’t forget. We often feel as if He does, and Scripture records such feelings among those who are His (see, for example, Lamentations 5:20, Psalm 42:9, Psalm 77:7-9, and Isaiah 49:14). But God tells His people, “You are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me” (Isaiah 44:21). Furthermore, He addresses their doubts directly in Isaiah 49: Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”
  3. God doesn’t change His mind.
    1. Numbers 23:19 again: “God is not … a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”
    2. Romans 11:29: The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
  4. Nothing can prevent God from fulfilling His promises
    1. Genesis 18:14: “Is anything too hard for the LORD?”
    2. Jeremiah 32:27: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?”
    3. Job 42:2: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”
    4. Luke 1:37: “Nothing will be impossible with God.”
    5. Mark 10:27: “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
    6. Mark 14:36 “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.”
  5. Even we cannot prevent God from fulfilling His promises in us and through us

We see this in the Old Testament in the repeated failures of the people of Israel – yet God’s promises still prove true. Not one word of all God’s good words to them fails! We see this similarly in Jesus’ disciples: they fail Him, they desert Him, Peter denies Him – yet He indeed makes them fishers of men, and builds His church through such weak, fallible humans.

 So listen to God’s Words. Every one is true. Every one is sincere. He will fulfill every one.

When you are tempted to think of God as if He were a man, when you are beginning to doubt His promises, reflect on the Scriptures cited above. Consider the context of each. And have confidence: God’s Word is more certain than anything in all creation: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

God’s Regret and Ours

On Sunday June 2, we considered the seemingly contradictory statements that God is not a man that He should have regret (1 Samuel 15:29) and that He regretted making Saul king (1 Samuel 15:11). In the sermon (available soon at this link) I highlighted three reasons that we humans regret our past actions:

  1. First, we make sinful decisions. Sometimes we make the decision knowing it is wrong; other times we do not realize the decision is sinful until later. In either case, we may come to regret the decision itself.
  2. Second: We make unwise decisions. Given the information we have at the time, we should have made a different decision.
  3. Third: We make decisions that, given the information available at the time, are right and wise, but then unexpected events occur that make us wish we had made different decisions. A trivial example: Driving home recently from an evening bike ride in Concord, I checked Google Maps, which told me the quickest way home was via I-85 and I-485. But on the way home I discovered that the Harrisburg exit on I-485 was closed for repaving, so going on that route took much more time than the alternative. I regretted making that decision – though given the information available, it was the right decision.

God is not a man, and thus He does not regret in any of those three ways. He never does wrong. He is all-wise. And He knows all things, even the end from the beginning, so nothing surprises Him (Isaiah 46:9-10 among many other verses).

But what about the case of Saul? This first king of Israel played a role in God’s great plan of redemption. Saul’s sin was no surprise to God, no new information. For it was always God’s plan for the Messiah’s kingly ancestors to be from the tribe of Judah, David’s tribe, not from the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s tribe (Genesis 49:10). In the event, all events happened according to God’s plan. In that sense, God did not regret making Saul king.

So in what sense does God regret? What does the statement in 1 Samuel 15:11 mean?

God hates sin. He hates the sin itself, as well as the pain the sin inflicts on those around the sinner. So God hates Saul’s rebellion against Him. God hates Saul’s fearing the people instead of fearing Him. God hates the impact these sins had on the nation in that day. In that sense, He regrets making Saul king.

And yet, Saul is part of God’s perfect plan – as Judas and his betrayal of Jesus is part of God’s perfect plan. God uses even the sinful acts of sinful men to accomplish His righteous purposes (Acts 4:27-28, Revelation 17:17). God did not sin, He did not make an unwise decision, He was not surprised by what happened. He was always working out His perfect plan.

Consider the following analogy, which I think comes as close as possible in human experience to this type of regret:

Imagine that you and your spouse have a daughter, whom you raise in the faith. You are diligent, loving, grace-filled parents. When the time is right, you teach her about God’s good plan for sexuality and how it is for His glory and our joy to delay sexual relations until marriage.

And yet when she is in her late teens she comes to you, confessing her sin and telling you she is pregnant.

You love her. You weep with her. You pray with her. You meet with the young man. After prayer and further counsel from others, they decide to marry. Your daughter gives birth to a baby girl.

Though there are struggles in the marriage, in the end by God’s grace it is solid and strong. They are good parents. Your granddaughter is a delightful young girl who brings great joy to her parents and to you.

Do you regret the pre-marital sex?

Yes. Your regret of the pre-marital sex is similar to God’s regret for Saul’s kingship. The act was sinful, as the couple harmed themselves and were rebellious against their Creator and Savior.

And yet God used this sin for good for all involved. You can rejoice in God’s plan, in His superintending of all events, even while you regret the sin that initiated those events.

God does not change His mind. He does not look back and see how He could have managed events better. He is all wise. So trust Him, and be confident that in His sovereign reign He is working all events together – even sinful acts that in some sense He regrets – for His glory and His people’s good.

(Thanks to Bill Teal for helping me to think of this illustration during our service discussion and prayer time Tuesday morning. We’d be delighted if you would join us and participate in the discussion: 6:30am Tuesdays, Panera Bread, J.W. Clay Blvd, University City. )

Our Only Hope

How serious is sin? How serious is your sin?

How would you answer that question? Would you describe the impact of your sin on those you love – your family, your friends, your neighbors? Or would you focus on the impact of sin on yourself – destroying what you love most, changing you into something you hate?

Sin does hurt others. Sin does destroy us.

But so often we fail to consider the greatest impact of our sin: The affront against a holy and loving God.

John Bunyan’s The Holy War highlights this truth in startling terms. In this allegory, the town of Mansoul rebels against its King Shaddai and makes Diabolus its ruler. King Shaddai sends his armies, led by Captain Conviction and Captain Judgment, to battle against the town. They eventually call for more assistance, so the King sends His Son, Emmanuel. Emmanuel offers them mercy, but, spurred on by Diabolus, Mansoul continues to resist. So Emmanuel’s forces break down the gates, conquer the town, throw out Diabolus, and execute a number of his commanders.

At this point, frightened of impending judgment and seeing the foolishness of their past actions, the town sends a petition to Emmanuel asking for mercy. What does Emmanuel do?

Bunyan’s picture of Emmanuel’s response is almost shocking to our contemporary ears. He initially does nothing, sending the messengers back. They send petition after petition. Finally, Emmanuel speaks to the messenger:

The town of Mansoul hath grievously rebelled against my Father, in that they have rejected him from being their King, and did choose to themselves for their captain a liar, a murderer, and a runagate slave. For this Diabolus, your pretended prince, though once so highly accounted of by you, made rebellion against my Father and me, even in our palace and highest court there, thinking to become a prince and king. But being there timely discovered and apprehended, and for his wickedness bound in chains, and separated to the pit with those that were his companions, he offered himself to you, and you have received him.

Now this is, and for a long time hath been, a high affront to my Father; wherefore my Father sent to you a powerful army to reduce you to your obedience. But you know how these men, their captains and their counsels, were esteemed of you, and what they received at your hand. You rebelled against them, you shut your gates upon them, you bid them battle, you fought them, and fought for Diabolus against them. So they sent to my Father for more power, and I, with my men, are come to subdue you. But as you treated the servants, so you treated their Lord. You stood up in hostile manner against me, you shut up your gates against me, you turned the deaf ear to me, and resisted as long as you could; but now I have made a conquest of you. Did you cry me mercy so long as you had hopes that you might prevail against me? But now that I have taken the town, you cry; but why did you not cry before, when the white flag of my mercy, the red flag of justice, and the black flag that threatened execution, were set up to cite you to it? Now I have conquered your Diabolus, you come to me for favour; but why did you not help me against the mighty?

Many of us today picture God as sitting in the heavens, desperately hoping that we might turn to Him. When we make the least step towards regret for past sins, we then think God is overwhelmed with joy.

But God desires much more than regret for past actions. Remember Esau: As Hebrews 12:15-17 tells us, he regretted selling his birthright – he even wept over that – but God rejected him.

Bunyan rightly pictures Emmanuel opening the eyes of the petitioners to the depth of their sinfulness. The fundamental problem was not that Diabolus was a tyrant, though he was; the fundamental problem was not that the town failed to flourish under him, though it did. The fundamental problem was that the town spurned its rightful king and submitted to His enemy.

What can the petitioners say in response? Why did they not cry before? The only answer: They are desperate sinners, and have absolutely no basis on which to approach Emmanuel except his mercy.

Does Emmanuel offer any hope? He concludes His speech with these words:

Yet I will consider your petition, and will answer it so as will be for my glory.

That is the town’s only hope: That Emmanuel might be glorified through His mercy.

Just so with us. God saves us “to the praise of His glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:6).

My friends, regret does not save. Acknowledging the negative consequences of sin does not save. Wanting to live a better life, to be a better person, does not save.

We are rebels. We deserve execution. Our petition to the King we have so grievously offended can be based on nothing else except the mercy that He offers us by the blood of His Son, to the praise of His glorious grace. May He be pleased to grant such true repentance to you. And may He open our eyes to the extent of His majesty and holiness, so that we might comprehend the enormity of His grace.

(A free Kindle version of The Holy War is available at this link.)