"fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." (Romans 4:21)
Beloved, Last week we looked at faith and its assurance of things not seen. I admit that it would be quite logical for one to ask, “Well how do I know God is trustworthy to keep up His end of the bargain? After all, I cannot see God and how can I know that He does exist and that He cares enough about me to do what He said He would?” This too involves faith. It is true that no one has ever seen God; we have however, seen God in human form in the man Jesus Christ. Everything we need to know about God can be seen in Jesus. We can know God’s character, integrity, holiness and righteousness simply by looking at the life of Jesus because after all, Jesus was in fact God in human flesh. We can know from the life of Jesus that if He said something would come to pass that it did. We can be assured that if Jesus made a promise that He kept it and by extension, because Jesus is God, if God says or promises something we can count on His word to be upheld. This is what the apostle Paul is saying when he described Abraham’s belief in God’s promises. Not only had Abraham not seen God either but we have not seen Abraham or Jesus. We only have the historical account of Abraham’s and Jesus’ life preserved in scripture and we see them in what has been recorded for us. However, just like those whom Paul addressed when he talked about Abraham, we can trust what God has said as being absolutely true just like Abraham did. You see, Abraham was convinced that not only was God able to do what He had promised but that He would in fact do it because He had promised it. All this Abraham did without signs or visions or manifestations. He simply believed in what God had said and acted accordingly. Paul is therefore calling those who read his words to put that same trust in God (and Jesus Christ) much like Abraham did. The interesting thing about putting your trust in someone is that it affects your behavior. It is not enough to simply say that you trust someone; you have to show it also. There is really no way to be “passively convinced.” By definition, being convinced involves a change of mind demonstrated in a tangible behavior. Abraham was convinced and showed it by leaving his home and moving to a place that was foreign to him. Paul was convinced and rejected all that he had known and been taught to preach the truth of the gospel to people who were not the “in crowd.” Believers throughout history have been convinced that what God has promised will come to pass and they have suffered ridicule and even death as a result. It seems that there is something worth believing in regardless of whether you have seen it or not. There is something worth being convinced of by faith.
Word for the weak
Convinced, πληροφορέομαι [plērophoreomai], vb.; (4135); to be completely certain, be fully assured, convinced or persuaded (Ro 4:21; 14:5; Col 4:12+; Eph 3:19); 2. make happen, fulfill (Lk 1:1+); 3. proclaim fully (2Ti 4:17+); 4. accomplish, fulfill (completely), (2Ti 4:5+)
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