Grace makes Guarantees

No one likes living in a fog. Stock markets hate uncertainty. Voters hate uncertainty. Sick people hate uncertainty. The new and wonderful abilities of the scientific community make us hate it even more. Most expectant parents don’t even want to live with a few months of not knowing the gender of their baby. Perhaps some people like the uncertainty of being spontaneous, but that is generally concerning enjoyable things that they can control to a degree. We are creatures of habit and routine for numerous reasons, and one of those reasons is that uncertainty is uncomfortable.

Isn’t it surprising, therefore, that these same people who want to know who, what, when, where, why, and how seem to shrug off knowing about eternity? If you ask most people about eternity, in my experience 8 out of 10 people will say, “I hope I am going to heaven”, or “I think I am going to heaven.” Why the switch? Why the new found tolerance for the gigantic question mark hanging over the eternal? I think it is for the same reason people fear death and avoid the topic: this is the arena of finality and the possibility there is a certain terrifying judgment. This is so fearful and so distasteful that just the possibility of being ok is enough to cling to. They choose an uncertain possibility of eternal life rather than risk discovering they will be certainly condemned under God’s wrath.

The one thing people need is a guarantee of eternal life. They have to know beyond a rumor of a glimpse of a shadow of a doubt that life is theirs for sure. And here is where we discover the downfall of every "works" religion. If you bring self-effort into the salvation equation at even just 1%, the guarantee is shattered. Why? Because salvation becomes like a chain, and you are one of the links, a weak link that will fail. All the links God provided are secure, but yours will snap. Being carried 10,000 miles is no help if the last mile you must walk on your own, blind and with broken legs.

If the guarantee of life cannot be found, then the best you can do is to just not think about the guarantee of condemnation, which is what most do.

So can a guarantee of eternal life actually be found and possessed? Yes! If you are a necessary part of the salvation equation, there is only a guarantee of condemnation. But if you are removed as a necessary part, and all that remains is God’s work, that is where the guarantee is found. God can guarantee life. Why? Because God is no weak link. He will not stumble or fail or falter. He can guarantee life, but there is a huge “if” at this point. God can guarantee life, if and only if, God wants to. There is no obligation upon God to do this. Justice demands our condemnation, but God is under no constraints to give us a single good thing.

This is where the good news breaks forth. God is gracious. God is compassionate and slow to anger. He delights to be a Savior and display his all-sufficient power through mercy and grace. All of this discussion has been a build up to the following amazing verse.

Romans 4:16 (NASB95) — 16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

Read that verse carefully. There is a reason that all we do is trust (have faith) in what God will do. That reason is so the promise of eternal life could be guaranteed. There is a real guarantee of life. It is by the absence of our insufficient works and singular presence of God’s grace displayed in Christ and His cross. That is why faith, and not works, is the way to get in on this guarantee. We trust in what God says He will do. Period. And God guarantees that He can and will save us to the uttermost. Or as Hebrews 7:25 says, “Therefore, [Jesus] is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

One of the best questions you can ask people around you is this, “Do you know for sure, with absolute assurance, that you are right with God and will be with Him forever? Why or why not?”
As Christians, we operate in the realm of divine promise, guarantees, and absolute truth. Those themes should be present and dominate when spiritual matters are initiated and carried on. Additionally, we get to know the joy of living with a divine guarantee. May that mark your perspective today, and become a light to the world.