Our Promise Keeping God
The Bible is a book of promises. They represent the good will of God and serve as the anchor of His will.
The difference in a promise by God and one made by a person are defined for us in Numbers 23:19, saying: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Yes will!
Promises are “irreversible obligations and declarations of God, which He has freely made. Edward Leigh says the promises are the grounds of our hope, the objects of our faith, and the rule of prayer.” Indeed they are. Whether espousing good or condemning evil they embody His will. If He says to do something it is good for us to do it. If He says not to do something is for our good not to do it.
There are absolute promises and there are conditional promises. There are absolute promises that make known a certain and sovereign purpose, while conditional promises reveal what God will do if the fulfillment of those promises glorifies Him and is best for His people. We might say that with absolute promises we are passive recipients of God’s sovereign pleasure, while with conditional promises something is first required of us. If we fail to meet this requirement, we may lose much spiritual comfort.
Absolute promises, such as God’s sending His Son into the world, have no condition annexed to the performance of them, while conditional promises, such as the promise that he who believes shall be saved, require some condition to be met by the Christian before the promise is fulfilled.
Avoid self-deception. Don’t be fooled into thinking you cannot forfeit promises. God is faithful always, but we can of our own free will walk away from Him. Live mindful of the fact, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalm 1: 1 – 3).
With every promise of great blessing, there comes also a responsibility and requirement for us. What God has promised we have a responsibility to perform. You can be confident God will keep His promise if we perform our responsibility.
God’s promises are based upon an “if, then” condition. His word always says that “if” we will do our part and remain obedient and faithful, “then” God can send the promised blessings to us.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10: 23). As He is faithful so must we be.