“(As it is written, I have made thee a
father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth
the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.”
Romans 4:17.
Paul,
writing here about the relationship between God and Abraham, has been explaining
how Abraham, by faith, became the father of the faithful. But, he also has
something to say about the personality of God. God quickens (brings to life)
the dead and he speaks of things that don’t yet exist as if they already
existed. For example, when there was no light God said, “Light be,” and there
was light. When God says something---it happens.
Often
times when God speaks, things happen very quickly; as in the case of light.
However, that is not always the case. God’s promise to make Abraham the father
of many nations took generations to come about. Peter warned his readers, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one
thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years
as one day.” God is not subject to time in the way we are and His promises
are not dependent on our schedule. God will do what He says He will do and it’s
not for us to know the times and the seasons. While time may not be important
here, the order of things is of absolute importance. First, God says it; then
it happens. Sounds simple and it is.
Now,
let’s apply that simple principle. A person surrenders his life to Christ in
sincere repentance. God says that person is born again. That is, he has been
granted a new life; the slate of sin has been wiped clean. But the change is
more fundamental than that. The new man is declared to be righteous, faithful,
and the very image of Jesus Christ. This declaration doesn’t come from the
church, a minister, or the man himself. It comes from God and the angels in
heaven rejoice over the new born. Okay, got it—God said it. What comes next?
As
you may have guessed, it happens. Some new births are quite dramatic in effect;
others not so much. However, it doesn’t take a self-proclaimed non-judgmental
judge to see there may be a big difference between what God says about a
Christian and the way that Christian sometimes behaves. Sin is sin and no one,
no matter what church he goes to, gets a free pass. But before anyone decides
to shout “hypocrite,” consider the promise of God. Like the old song says, “I’m
just an old lump of coal, but I’m going to be a diamond someday.” I’m not trusting
in my strength of will, my faith, or my good looks to make that happen. God
will make it happen because He said He would. God “calleth those things which be not as though they were” and that
includes Christians. Don’t judge the end product yet. If you really want to
test a person’s Christianity, judge it by persistence. If they’ll only hang on
to God by faith, that person will be a saint one day.
