God’s Promises
Good Morning Friends,
Who have you chosen to love? Who have you chosen not to love? Ok think about it and be honest. There is something about the way God becomes real and actual in our lives in the tension of this question. God loved Jacob but hated Esau. Now there is a story that engages our relationship with God by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit that can guide us in the possibility of our lives being purposeful. But let’s get this straight. If we understand and have an answer for it then it is not the peace of God. Got that? It is a mystery and if you think you have it all figured out then you have figured something else out. Sure it might even feel good. But get this clear, you have not figured out God and all the theology that tries to put God in a box falls short because God is bigger than any theological box. Oh theology has its place and we study it. But, what I have found helpful and I share with you this morning, even as I am thinking about the debate over who are the elect and chosen, is the rest I feel in the faith and purpose of God’s Promises.
Scripture: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
1 Peter 1-2 (NRSV)
For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.'”
Romans 14:9-11 (NIV)
And the peace of God, which surpasses all
comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 (NASB)
Message: That God is in charge of everything but we still need to be righteous is the dynamic that allows us to share in the purposes of God. And this morning it is my hope for us to gain some insight into the purposes of God’s promise. So here for meditation are thirteen passages that use the word promise:
They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;
Romans 9:4 (NRSV)
For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,
Romans 15:8 (NRSV)
For in him every one of God’s promises is a “Yes.” For this reason it is through him that we say the “Amen,” to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NRSV)
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God.
2 Corinthians 7:1 (NRSV)
Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, “And to offsprings,” as of many; but it says, “And to your offspring,” that is, to one person, who is Christ.
Galatians 3:16 (NRSV)
Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could make alive, then righteousness would indeed come through the law.
Galatians 3:21
(NRSV)
so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Hebrews 6:12 (NRSV)
But this man, who does not belong to their ancestry, collected tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises.
Hebrews 7:6 (NRSV)
But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises.
Hebrews 8:6 (NRSV)
All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth,
Hebrews 11:13 (NRSV)
By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son,
Hebrews 11:17 (NRSV)
who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,
Hebrews 11:33 (NRSV)
Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants of the divine nature.
2 Peter 1:4 (NRSV)
Ok too much. But there is more. More than 3000 promises are in the Bible. In addition to the covenants: God has promised to supply every need we have. God has promised that His grace is sufficient for us. God has promised that His children will not be overtaken with temptation. God has promised us victory over death. God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully according to His purposes. God has promised that those who believe in Jesus and are baptized for the forgiveness of sins will be saved. God has promised His people eternal life. So, what can be said about God’s promises to us?
Friends, the Promises are as a gift available to those with faith so we might join the divine nature. For sure this faith will be tested and we will experience alienation for the promise is in a kingdom not of this world. But know this, even the new promise in Christ requires patience and obedience if we are to inherit them. Friends be a witness of faith.
Pray we have a purpose in God’s promises. Pray we not try to second guess God. Pray we realize that God calls nobodies and makes them somebodies. Pray we know that Jesus in love is offered as the best promise because He was the point of the promises in the first place. Pray we rejoice in the promise that God calls the unloved and makes them beloved.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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