People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.
Hebrews 6:16
Where I come from, swearing means to use words that are off limits. Words that are out of bounds. You don’t talk like this in front of your mom or your grandparents. That is, unless you’re looking for a smack in the mouth.
My dad, while only having about a second-grade education, had a great and expansive vocabulary. Especially when it came to cursing. He could string together curse words like William Shakespear. He must have gone to some swearing university because he could paint such a colorful picture of swearing that people just sat there in amazement. Or maybe it was the extraordinary swearing education he received in the Navy during World War II.
Now, my dad could swear. Even my mom could swear. But my brother and I couldn’t. To use certain words was a bridge too far. But this wasn’t unusual. Perhaps this is why I really like the soap scene in A Christmas Story[1].
Swearing seemed to be woven into the very fabric of my life. My aunts on my father’s side of the family could swear more and better than my uncles. I especially remember my Italian grandmom swearing while cooking a big pot of spaghetti. When it boiled over, throwing hot pasta water everywhere, she let loose. Even through her thick Italian accent, you could understand her swearing.
But the writer of this letter isn’t talking about that kind of swearing. He’s telling the Hebrews that when God speaks, it’s a promise. God swears whenever he speaks. His words are an oath that cannot be broken[2]. Since God cannot lie[3], we can depend on everything he’s ever said.
Think about it like this. In the movie, The Freshman, Marlon Brando plays this Godfather-like character. He takes Matthew Broderick under his wing and puts him through one crazy stunt after another. Towards the end of the movie, Mather needs to ask Marlon some very important questions. When asked if he promises, Marlon says those immortal words, “Every word I say by definition is a promise[4].”
God’s promises to us are great. They are guarantees that we can depend on. We can put our lives and eternal destiny on. There is the greatest security in the divine promises made by God. They are more solid and dependable than the concrete beneath our feet.
And even though every word of God is a promise, some are more important than others. Some are more trustworthy. There are some promises that seem to be higher and greater than other promises.
You’re asking yourself, “How can this be? If all of God’s words are promises, how can some be more important? How can some be greater than others? What could possibly make some promises ones that we should pay more attention to?
I agree, but God seems to say that some promises are more important. And he says that right here. Notice that not just any oath is talked about here. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill promise. No. It’s “the oath.” An oath that stands above the other ones.
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 1:20
There are lots and lots of truths that God’s said to us. There are many great and precious promises that he’s offered to us. And they are to be received and enjoyed throughout our lives. They are a gift that can and should change our daily lives and the way we think.
But the promises that point us to Jesus are something else. Those promises are what separates Christianity from all other religions. All other faiths. All other philosophies. All other ways of living and thinking.
You see, in God’s mind, if you get Jesus wrong, then everything else is nothing. You can claim and follow all the other promises of God, and that would be great. But if we don’t connect with God our Heavenly Father through Jesus, then we’ve missed the boat. Jesus is in a class all his own.
Without Jesus, there is no real forgiveness. There’s no total and complete restoration with God. We’re just plain lost, apart from God without Jesus. We can try all we want. We can stand on our head and try to do good works to earn God’s kindness till the cows come home. But anything we try to do to pay God back for our sins are like dirty, filthy rags[5]. Jesus payment for all our sins is so good, that God himself will take an oath that we’re clean from all unrighteousness[6]. Now that’s really good news.
Noodling Questions
How is everything God says by definition a promise?
Explain how Jesus is the “yes” and “amen” of God?
Why are our good works like dirty, filthy rage? How does that make you feel?
[2] John 10:35
[3] Titus 1:2
[5] Isaiah 64:6
[6] 1 John 1:9, Ephesians 4:32
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