STANDING ON THE PROMISES

Promises are only as good as those making them; they must have the ability to do what they promise, and have the integrity to follow through. In other words, the person making the promise must be a "man of his word." The Bible is full of the promises of God, and as certain as I am that He loves me, I know He will live up to His promises to man. The Word tells us that God is not inclined to, nor is He capable of, lying (Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29; Ps. 89:35; Titus 1:2). In fact, He tells us that His Word is to be respected more than His name (Ps. 138:2). His name, YHVH in the Hebrew, is so sacred that man does not even know how to pronounce it. And He tells us we should respect His Word even more! Christians can stand on the promises of God!

There are a few things about the promises of God that we need to keep in mind. Not all promises apply to us; For instance, God's promise to Abraham that he would produce a son when he was one hundred, and his wife was ninety (Gen. 17:17) does not mean we will live that long (God forbid!), or that we will produce children at that age (Again, God forbid!). God also promised that through Abraham's seed, all the nations of Earth shall be blessed (Gen. 22:18; 26:4). Christians know that He was referring to Jesus, the Son of God (Matt. 1:17; Lk. 3:34).

Some of God's promises are conditional. In order for Him to do some things, the individual had to first meet His requirements. In Acts 16:31, Paul told the Philippian jailer that if he believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, God would save him and his family. Does that mean that the family of everyone who believes will automatically be saved? No. If that were the case, we would not be burdened to witness to them, and they would assume they were already saved because I am. God has no grandchildren! The Philippian jailer was the only person in the entire Bible that was told that.

Some of God's promises are unconditional. The entire Old Testament is God's promise to send His Son to die for sinners. The fact that John 3:16 says it merely shows that His promised coming had taken place. Jesus told His disciples that He would die, and be raised again the third day; it happened just as He promised (Matt. 16:22/28:1; 1 Cor. 15:1-8). Though it has not happened yet, He promised to return for His Church (Jn. 14:3; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1Jn. 3:2; Rev. 1:4; etc.).

To sum up, some of God's promises are made to individuals, some to Israel, some to the Church, some are conditional, and some are unconditional. He also promises that the lost will be able to stand on His promise, when they stand before Him on judgment day (Rev. 20:12). So some will praise Him for His faithfulness to fulfill His promises, and some will not. I pray that all reading this will be able to rejoice while standing on the promises of Christ, our King!