God’s Guarantee

Introduction

Romans 8:38–39 NKJV

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

How can you be sure that God guarantees His love?

I. God Gave His Son as a Sacrifice

Would God waste the life of His Son if there was a chance it wouldn’t work?

There is no way that I’d every sacrifice my Son for anyone, much less if I couldn’t guarantee it would work.

John 3:16 NKJV

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

In our text, a sacrifice is pictured. And because of the Love of God, a much greater sacrifice was given.

Genesis 21:27 “So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.”

A. When we Transgressed, God Provided the Atonement

Atonement simply means payment for sin.

That is, sin must be paid for with blood. Therefore, a blood atonement is required.

This time, Abraham wasn’t to blame. The rebuke was against Abimelech.

Abimelech told Abraham that he could dwell wherever he wanted to dwell, and that there would be peace.

Genesis 20:15 NKJV

And Abimelech said, “See, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.”

The conflict that is happening now is that Abimelech’s men have taken over a well that was owned by Abraham, which means the men of Abimelech “transgressed” against Abraham.

Transgression literally means “crossing over.” It speaks of when someone steps over the boundary.

There were boundaries that established and agreed upon by both Abraham and Abimelech, but Abimelech’s men transgressed them.

Genesis 21:25 “Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had seized.”

But it wasn’t the Abimelech that provided the sacrifice, it was Abraham. It was the one who suffered transgression that provided the sacrifice.

That is a great expression of love!

God’s Word teaches us that we transgressed against God. The whole world did.

Romans 3:23 NKJV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Yet, even though we transgressed against the commands of God, He was the One that provided the Sacrifice.

“For God so loved the world that He gave…”

“God demonstrated His love in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

B. By Providing Atonement, God Provided Peace

It wasn’t just Abimelech that benefited from the sacrifice made from Abraham, but Abraham also benefited from it.

Before this sacrifice was offered, there was an offense, and there was a dispute, and there wasn’t peace between the two parties.

But now, since there was atonement from the blood sacrifice of the sheep and the oxen, peace was restored between both Abraham and Abimelech.

This means that a reconciliation took place.

Where there was previously disunity, now there is unity.

God gave His Son as a sacrifice, so that humanity could be reconciled to Him.

2 Corinthians 5:18–19 NKJV

Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

It was God that first had the desire that we should be reconciled with Him.

This is because of His great love.

And His love was not actionless, but He sent His Son to accomplish this reconciliation, to create peace where there was no peace.

C. Only the Blood of Jesus can Bring Peace

I am convinced that if God could have saved humanity any other way He would have.

But, because God is holy and just, He must do things in a legal way.

When Adam sinned, Adam gave the world to sin in a legal transaction.

From then on, the world was owned by sin and deserved the judgement of God.

Only through a legal process, could the wrath of Almighty God be satisfied.

That legal process was the sacrifice of the Spotless Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In our text, it was the blood of animals that made up the legal process of reconciliation. And, for a time and because of the mercy of God, the blood of animals was accepted.

But the blood of animals could not satisfy the wrath of God.

Hebrews 10:4 NKJV

For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

Seeing that it was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin, and because of His great love…God thought of our salvation.

God thought it, Jesus bought it, the Holy Spirit brought it, and thank God I’ve got it!

For there to be peace with God (salvation), justice must take place. If justice did not take place, there could be no peace with God, because the Holiness of God will not allow Him to overlook sin.

For justice to occur, there must be a payment.

That payment must be acceptable and meet the requirements.

The requirements are perfection and spotlessness, something only God Himself possesses, because everything else was marred by sin.

Therefore, when the Lord Jesus offered His body as a blood payment for sin, it fulfilled the righteous requirements of God.

Then, by faith in Him, that blood payment is applied to our account, and we have peace with God!

Romans 5:1 NKJV

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

How can we know that nothing can separate us from the love of God? First, because He gave His Son as a Sacrifice.

II. God Gave His Spirit as a Witness

Genesis 21:28–30 “And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. Then Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?” And he said, “You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well.”

Now, a little ewe lamb is to a lamb what a fawn is too a deer. It is just a little female lamb under a year old.

Those seven lambs were to serve as a witness that Abraham owned that well.

God, in like manner, when we become a Christian, gives us His Holy Spirit as a witness that we are owned by Him.

A. Those Ewe Lambs Were Living Witnesses, The Spirit of God is a Living Witness

He’s not some cosmic force. He is a person of the Holy Trinity.

Never once will you find Jesus referring to the Holy Spirit as “it.”

John 14:16–17 NKJV

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

1. We Know He is Alive Because He Speaks

Let’s say you own a little ewe lamb and it gets lost.

You’d go looking for it.

And. if you couldn’t see it, and you couldn’t touch it, but you could hear it, you’d know that it was alive!

We cannot see the Holy Spirit, and we cannot touch the Holy Spirit, but we know that He is a living witness because He speaks and we can hear Him.

Revelation 2:7 tells us that it is the Spirit of God that spoke to those churches in Revelation.

Revelation 2:7 NKJV

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

We also know that it was the Holy Spirit of God that delivered to us the Scripture.

2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

That word “inspiration” is literally, “the breath of God.”

When we see the Holy Spirit in the Bible, we see Him addressed in the same way.

In Rev 2:7, when it says to hear what the “Spirit” says to the churches, the word Spirit is the word pneuma. There in 2 Tim 3:16, the word “inspiration” is the Greek Word θεόπνευστος (they-ope-new-stos). That word (they-ope-new-stos) is a compound word. The first word is theos (God), the second is pneuma (Breath).

B. Those Ewe Lambs Were a Proof of Purchase, The Spirit of God is our Proof of Purchase

If God asks why He Should Let You Into Heaven, What Will You Say?

A great way to find out if someone understands the gospel or not is to ask them what they would say if God asked them, “Why should I let you into Heaven?”

If they don’t understand it, they’ll say something like, “I was a good person.” Or, “I tried my best.” Or, “God, I’m sorry, will you forgive me?”

That opens the door for you to share with them about how the Lord Jesus is the only way.

Now, let’s say you go to Heaven, and you’re there on trial in the courts of Heaven, and God asks you why He should let you in?

You say, “Because the Lord Jesus saved me!”

There is Satan, he’s the prosecutor, and he is there to accuse you, and he says, “No they didn’t God! They’re lying!”

The Apostle Peter might counsel you and say, “Well, you say you did, and satan says you didn’t…are there any witnesses you want to call to the stand?”

If you truly have accepted the Lord, you will say, “yes! I have a witness. I have proof that I belong to God…Holy Spirit, would you take the stand as my witness?”

You see, the Holy Spirit is the witness that you truly belong to God!

Romans 8:16 NKJV

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

And once we have the Spirit of God, we cannot lose the Spirit of God. He is our “proof of purchase” in the heavenly places.

I want you to notice that those seven ewe lambs dwelled with Abimelech once the transaction was made.

They didn’t leave him, they were there with him at all times as a witness.

In the same way, the Holy Spirit dwells in you, at all times, as a witness.

Ephesians 1:13 NKJV

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

We never have to worry God forgetting us, because God Himself bears witness that we have been purchased by Him.

C. Those Ewe Lambs Completed the Process, The Spirit of God Completes the Process in Us

The reason that Abraham gave Abimelech seven little ewe lambs is because the Hebrew word for “swear” as in “to make a covenant,” translates into “seven.” So, by those seven witnesses, the transaction was complete.

Now, the Spirit of God lives in us, and that means that the transaction is complete.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

That righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ is given to us instantly by the inner working of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit of God enters in, He cleanses us, and we become new! The transaction is complete.

But we are also being completed.

2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

That phrase, “with unveiled face” is referencing Moses having to veil his face because the glory of the Lord was shining on his face after he returned from being in the presence of God.

Now, at one time Moses veiled his face to hide the glory of God, but later we see that Moses veiled his face to hide that the glory of God was fading.

And so it says that we have an unveiled face “beholding as in a mirror.”

A mirror never stops reflecting. We, in our lives, despite our best attempts, will never stop reflecting the glory of God…not because of our doing, but because of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit of God.

For it says, “we are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.”

That is, the Holy Spirit has completed us, and is working to complete us.

Our completion is this, that we become like the Son of God, perfect in every way.

John 17:22 NKJV

And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:

The glory that He has given comes from the witness, the Holy Spirit.

We can know that nothing will separate us from the love of God…First, because He gave His Son as a Sacrifice. Second, because He gave His Spirit as a witness.

III. God Gave His Word as a Promise

Once Abraham provided the sacrifice, and once he provided the witnesses, he makes a promise.

Genesis 21:31 “Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there. Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba.”

Here’s the thing about promises. A promise is only as good as the one who makes it.

A. The Word of God is Everlasting

Genesis 21:33 “Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.”

Abraham calls God the Everlasting. It is the name El Olam.

Abraham used this name to acknowledge the power of God, and to declare that nothing can stop the will of God.

There are those attributes of God that make this true.

Omniscient

Omnipotent

Omnipresent

All-Truthful

Immutable

Isaiah 40:8 NKJV

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

That tree that Abraham planted at Beersheba would die, but the Word of God was going to stand forever.

As time passed, and generations moved, it was through that son of promise delivered to Abraham that the Lord Jesus came.

And the Bible calls this the eventual arrival of the Lord Jesus, the mystery that was later revealed.

The Lord Jesus coming, dying, and resurrecting is the greatest proof we could ever receive of God’s ability to keep His word!

B. The Word of God is Without Error

This is called the inerrancy of God’s word.

When it comes to the Word of God:

1. We must read it as it was intended to be read

The reason that so many believe that there is error in God’s word is because they read it how they want to read it.

We cannot. We must read the Bible as God intended us to read it.

When we read the Bible the way that God intended for us to read it, it stops all of the “blab it and grab it” prosperity.

This is called “taking a verse out of context.”

And so, we must be careful how we handle God’s word. If we begin to read things that aren’t in there, we open ourselves up to a world of disappointment.

We’ll begin to believe that God cannot keep His promises. And we’ll become discouraged. Much like Abraham and Sarah became discouraged many times when they didn’t rely on God’s Word.

Sarah asking Abraham to impregnate Hagar is a prime example of what happens when we apply the promises of God in the wrong way.

What we will attempt to do, if we are not careful, is we will attempt to say, “Maybe what God really meant was…” It’s a trick as old as time.

We can only read the promises of God as they were intended to be read.

2. We must read it knowing it is totally accurate

Knowing that the Word of God is totally accurate allows us to live a life that brings honor to God.

When we know that what we are reading in Scripture is the real deal, it takes away any excuse we have for not doing what the Bible says.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NKJV

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

It is by the Word of God that we are made complete.

If we simply pick and choose which parts of the Bible we are going to accept, then we can never be complete.

We will always be in a condition of wandering.

God doesn’t want you to wander, He wants you to make your home in His presence, through prayer and the reading of His Word.

C. The Word of God is Authoritative

Just like there is nothing on earth that can stop the will of God, there is no one that has the right to disobey the Word of God.

This is because God Himself is in authority over all of creation, and thus, His word is in authority over all of creation.

1. By His Word, He Created the World

Genesis 1:1–3 NKJV

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

God’s Word has authority over all of creation because all of creation was formed by the Word of God.

2. By His Word, He Established Nations

Genesis 12:1–3 NKJV

Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

3. By His Word, He Saved Humanity

John 1:1–3 NKJV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

John 1:10–11 NKJV

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

We must understand that God’s Word is the authority.

When we live by our own authority, we make a mess of things.

Even the Lord Jesus didn’t live by His own authority!

John 5:19 NKJV

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

Conclusion