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Magnificent Promises

 

You might say that the entire Christian life is built on promises- the promises of God… 

        1. We read the promises of God in the bible. 
        2. We believe what He says. 
        3. We step out in faith.  

Consider what was happening in Matthew 14:29,  

And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

Peter didn't go walking on water one morning just for the fun of it.  But at Jesus' beckoning, he first trusted Jesus and then stepped out in faith. 

We do the same thing every day (though not usually as dramatic).

 Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.  (2 Peter 1:3–4)

We can see here in chapter one of second Peter that God has already provided everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him.  That's a great promise indeed.  But it goes on to say that we become partakers of the divine nature through the promises He has granted to us.  And these promises are precious and magnificent.  In other words, the transformation that happens in us is primarily caused as we believe the promises of God- as we walk by faith.

I'm sure we can think of several promises that have already shaped us…

    • God loves us
    • We are a child of God through faith in Christ
    • We are forgiven of all our sins
    • We have received eternal life
    • We will have a new body and home in heaven
    • And the list goes on…

So, when we receive the promises of God in faith, they are life-transforming!  We become partakers of the divine nature.  We are progressively transformed into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 But life transformation is not from simple mental assent to these promises.  True faith involves action.  Consider the famous "Hall of Faith"" found in Hebrews chapter 11...

    • Abel: Offered God a better (more acceptable) sacrifice than Cain;
    • Enoch: Was taken from this life without experiencing death
    • Noah: When warned about things not yet seen, built an ark to save his family;
    • Abraham: Obeyed when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, even though he did not know where he was going;
    • Sarah: Received power to conceive (even though she was past childbearing age)
    • Isaac: Blessed Jacob and Esau concerning their future.
    • Jacob: When dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
    • Joseph: When nearing the end of his life, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt
    • Moses’ parents: Hid him for three months after his birth, not afraid of the king’s edict.
    • Moses: Refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing mistreatment with God’s people rather than the fleeting pleasures of sin;
    • The people of Israel: Passed through the Red Sea as on dry land (while the Egyptians were drowned);
    • Rahab the prostitute: Welcomed the spies and was not killed with those who were disobedient.
    • Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets (and unnamed others): Through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, escaped the edge of the sword, had weakness turned to strength, became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies; women received back their dead, raised to life again; others were tortured (refusing release so they might gain a better resurrection), faced jeers and flogging, chains and imprisonment, were stoned, sawn in two, put to death by the sword, or went about in sheepskins/goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated—wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and holes in the ground (people of whom the world was not worthy).

In every case these men and women of faith demonstrated their trust in God by taking bold action. I think this is what James means in James 2:26,

                For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.[1]

You might know the saying, "you can take it to the bank."  This means that a statement, promise, or piece of information is an absolute certainty, completely trustworthy, and guaranteed to be true. That's what we mean when we say that our Christian life is built on the promises of God.

Notice how faith is connected to action.  When we believe the promises of God, we will "take it to the bank".  We can depend on these promises for everything in our lives.  And we will step out in faith, taking bold action for the cause of Christ.

 For your consideration: 

    1. Which of the promises of God have had the greatest impact on your life?
    2. How would you say you have changed because of these promises?
    3. When was the last time you acted on something because of the promises of God? (like walking on water)
    4. How did it turn out?

[1] All passages in this post were taken from New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995).


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