The Things Left Undone

I had asthma as a child, and it didn’t take me long to figure out how to use it to my advantage. Anything I really didn’t want to do — time for an asthma attack, or at least the threat of one. Unfortunately for me, my parents were sympathetic to my plight and bought my ploys : hook, line, and sinker. Unfortunately for me, because it deeply ingrained in me a habit of avoiding anything I didn’t want to do. Combine this with the fact that I am extremely lazy, and you get someone in serious need of some self-discipline. This lack of self-discipline was unfortunate in childhood, but tends to be downright tragic as adulthood runs its course. Nearly all my personal failings as an adult are rooted in this lack of self-discipline. It is the one pit left that I still tend to stumble into when left to my own devices.

Hebrews 6:13 "Now when God made his promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, 6:14 saying, “Surely I will bless you greatly and multiply your descendants abundantly.” 6:15 And so by persevering, Abraham inherited the promise. 6:16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and the oath serves as a confirmation to end all dispute. 6:17 In the same way God wanted to demonstrate more clearly to the heirs of the promise that his purpose was unchangeable, and so he intervened with an oath, 6:18 so that we who have found refuge in him may find strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us through two unchangeable things, since it is impossible for God to lie. 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast, which reaches inside behind the curtain, 6:20 where Jesus our forerunner entered on our behalf, since he became a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. 7:1 Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. 7:2 To him also Abraham apportioned a tithe of everything. His name first means king of righteousness, then king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 7:3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God, and he remains a priest for all time. 7:4 But see how great he must be, if Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe of his plunder. 7:5 And those of the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office have authorization
according to the law to collect a tithe from the people, that is, from their fellow countrymen, although they too are descendants of Abraham. 7:6 But Melchizedek who does not share their ancestry collected a tithe from Abraham and blessed the one who possessed the promise. 7:7 Now without dispute the inferior is blessed by the superior, 7:8 and in one case tithes are received by mortal men, while in the other by him who is affirmed to be alive. 7:9 And it could be said that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid a tithe through Abraham. 7:10 For he was still in his ancestor Abraham’s loins when Melchizedek met him."

God’s nature and His promises are unchangeable. God does not suffer from a lack of self-discipline. His ways are intertwined and identified with who He is: perfect and perfectly holy. He makes promises on the basis of His divine nature – He swears by Himself, since there is no greater guarantee of fulfillment. When He makes promises to us, they are guaranteed eternally, provided the conditions of the agreement are met.

In the ancient Middle East, there was a specific protocol for contracts, agreements, treaties, and so forth. These were typically between a superior and an inferior, in terms of class status. The significant characteristic of these contracts was that they were brought about on the superior’s terms. The inferior party would either agree or disagree with the terms, but they were determined by the superior party almost entirely. This is the form in which God’s promises come in the Scriptures. In the Old Testament, God appeared to Abraham and made promises of land and descendants, on the conditions that Abraham walk before God and be holy (Genesis 17:1-3). Later, God made promises to the children of Israel through Moses about the Promised Land, provided they put away their foreign gods and serve Him only (Leviticus 20:22-24). More recently, God made promises to His people through David, Solomon, Elijah, Hezekiah, and many others.

But now, God has come to the primary component of His plan to save the human race. With Jesus, all the former promises will still be honored, but now those promises are extended beyond the Jewish people to everyone who will agree to the conditions of the contract: Believe, Confess, Repent, Be Baptized, and Obey. We know God will hold up his end of the bargain – the question is, will we?