How Sure Are God’s Promises?

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How can we be sure that God’s promises are true? Well first, we have to believe in the Word of God, that is is complete truth and understanding for us. The Bible says:

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth – John 17:17

Many people scoff at such a statement without realizing that what comes of man, through the carnal senses, is always a mixture of truth and error. That which proceeds from God however is free of error, because  God is perfect (Matt. 5:48) and CANNOT lie (Titus 1:2). Therefore if He says something to us through His word of truth, it can be taken at full face value as His promises stand sure – Pet. 3:9.

Of course, this hinges on faith as well. Those lacking faith fail to wrap their mind around the concept of complete and utter trust in a supernatural being. But it is something the true Christian must do to please God. Without faith it is impossible to please God – Heb. 11:6.

So what is the biblical definition of this complete trust in God (faith)? Hebrews 11:1 states it this way”

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

“There is no verse in the Bible more important than this, for it states what is the nature of all true faith, and is the only definition of it which is attempted in the Scriptures. Eternal life (a promise from God) depends on the existence and exercise of faith, and hence, the importance of an accurate understanding of its nature.

The word rendered “evidence” – ἔλεγχος  elengchos – occurs in the New Testament only in this place and in 2Tim. 3:16, where it is rendered “reproof.” It means properly proof, or means of proving, to wit, evidence; then proof which convinces another of error or guilt. It is the evidence not yet seen, but which will surely come to pass.

Do Liars Always Lie?

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Epimenidis said, “The Cretians are always liars” (Titus 1:12). But Epimenides was a Cretan! Was he lying or telling the truth about Cretans?

If he were telling the truth, he was a liar. If he were a liar, he was telling the truth. What is the answer?

The resolution of this ancient paradox clarifies several misunderstandings about the Bible. It explains why Satan (and his ministers) quote true scriptures (Matt. 4:1-10; II Cor. 11:13-15), why the false prophet Balaam uttered true prophecies (Num. 22), and why the demon who impersonated Samuel seemed to be so “honest” (I Sam. 28:3, 12-20).

The answer hinges on a principle — someone who is always a liar does not always lie! Once this is understood the paradox vanishes. (Fenton violates this principle in giving a logically absurd translation of Titus 1:12. Also, many of the commentaries seem to be unaware of the paradox connected with this verse.)

If a liar could be “depended upon” to lie consistently, one could always extract the truth from him. Consider the story about a logician who is captured by a tribe of savages (Kemeny, Snell, and Thompson, Introduction to Finite Mathematics, 1957). The tribal chief decides to give the logician a “sporting chance” to escape. He places the logician in a jail having two exits and two guards. One exit leads to freedom, the other to death. One guard is always truthful, the other always lies. He is allowed to ask only one question of only one guard. The logician asks, “If I ask the other guard whether this exit leads to freedom, will he say yes?” No matter which guard he asks, he can determine from the answer which door leads to freedom. So, he escapes!

A little thought will show that if the guard says “yes,” the logician has picked the wrong door; if the guard says “no,” the logician has selected the correct door. In any case, no matter which guard he asks, the truth can be determined and thus he escapes. However, if the lying guard — like Satan — sometimes told the truth, the logician would be hopelessly confused. “Effective” liars do not always lie!

In order to be “effective,” liars often mix truth with error. The statements of Satan in Genesis 3:4-5 are an excellent example. Many people use these verses as an argument that human beings cannot be born into the Family of God. They reason that since Satan is a liar (John 8:44) and since Satan said, “Ye shall be as gods …” (Gen. 3:5), then men shall NOT be as gods. WRONG! Satan told the truth about the ultimate destiny of mankind. Jesus Christ said so! (John 10:34-35.) But Satan lied about HOW to become as God (Gen. 3:4-5).

Keep in mind that a quotation from the Bible may be false, if the one quoted is a liar, but it should not be assumed to be false just because the one quoted is a liar. Just as Epimenides spoke the truth when he said (by implication) that he was a liar, someone quoted in the Bible also spoke the truth when he said, “I will be a lying spirit” (I Kings 22:22).

Source: Tomorrow’s World, October 1971