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Pottery shops lined virtually every marketplace in antiquity. Most potters, however, were faced with the dilemma of making fine-quality pots that were also durable. For many, the solution was wax. In their efforts to strengthen the constitution of their pottery and extend the life of their handiwork, many potters would add wax to their clay mixture.
Though the added wax would help the durability of the pots and curtail the frequent breakage, it invariably would depreciate their value, as well. Thus, some potters, in an attempt to appeal to their more aesthetically driven customers, refused to use wax in their clay mixture. To distinguish themselves from those who had no aversion to the use of wax, they would often hang a sign in the front of their shops. The sign would contain the Latin words sine cere. These words, from which we derive the word sincere, are literally translated into English as “without wax.”
Today, sincerity of speech is a priceless commodity in our public discourse. Political speech is too often determined by pollsters and pundits. Our clerical speech is too frequently determined by pragmatism. Yet, despite the seemingly overwhelming relativistic nature of public rhetoric, we can be assured that God’s speech is sincere and His promises are true because they are grounded in His character, particularly in what we call His mental attributes: knowledge, wisdom, and truthfulness.
When we say that knowledge is a divine attribute, we are saying that God is omniscient. God is perfect in knowledge and therefore knows all things (1 John 3:20). He is not dependent upon anything, past, present, or future, in order to receive His knowledge; He knows everything at once and completely.
Also, when we say that wisdom is a divine attribute, we are saying that God not only knows all things, but He also decrees the best results and the best means for bringing these results to fruition. Thus, we can trust in the promises of God because they proceed from Him who is all wise (Rom. 16:27) and whose wisdom is incomprehensible (Rom. 11:33).
Finally, we can rely upon the promises of God because He is the God of truth (Deut. 32:4). There is no variation in His words or His actions. When He promises, He is faithful to perform what He has promised (Num. 23:19).
The prophet reminds us: “ ‘All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.… The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isa. 40:6–8). When the Lord speaks, all of His promises are sine cere. And based upon the testimony of Scripture, I can make that assertion with all sincerity.