The Promises of God

Q: What does the Bible say about the promises of God?

The Bible states that all the promises of God are fulfilled in Christ, affirming His unchanging nature and faithfulness. In 2 Corinthians 1:20, it is expressed that 'all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him Amen.' This indicates that every promise made by God finds its fulfillment in Christ, reflecting God's faithfulness. God's promises are reliable; they are not like human promises which are often contingent on circumstances. Instead, God’s promises rest on His immutable character and the eternal work of Christ, who does not change. Understanding that these promises are secured in Christ helps believers place their faith not in the fallibility of mankind but in the perfect Savior.

Q: How do we know God's promises are true?

God's promises are true because they are anchored in His immutable character and fulfilled through Christ. The certainty of God's promises comes from His unchanging nature. Hebrews 13:8 states, 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,' underscoring that the essence of His character does not shift like shadows. Furthermore, Paul emphasizes that God's promises are fulfilled in Christ; therefore, we can have complete assurance that they are true. They are not subject to human weakness and deceit but are founded in God’s infinite wisdom and power. Our assurance lies not in our understanding but in the truth that God will always act consistently with His divine nature.

Q: Why is the concept of God's unchanging promises important for Christians?

The unchanging promises of God provide Christians with confidence and hope amid life's uncertainties. Understanding the unchanging nature of God’s promises is foundational for a robust Christian faith. In a world filled with change and uncertainty, believers can find stability and security in the assurance that God’s promises endure. As Paul notes, our faith should rest not on human vessels which are prone to failure but on Christ, who remains eternally faithful and true. This foundational truth allows Christians to navigate trials and tribulations without losing hope, knowing that God's promises for eternal life, forgiveness, and salvation are accomplished through Christ and depend solely on His faithfulness, not ours.

Paul said in verse 13, 2 Corinthians 1, 13, For we write
none other things unto you than what you read or acknowledge,
and I trust you shall acknowledge even to the end. As also you
have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicings,
even as you also are ours in the day of our Lord Jesus. Now
watch this right here, and in this confidence I intended, I
purposed, I was minded to come unto you before that you might
have a second benefit. Let's pause there just a moment.
Now Paul intended to visit with this church at Carlet again.
His first visit, you remember, he was there for 18 months, and
he brought the gospel to them, and they were converted, they
came to know the Lord. And he felt like that a second
visit to them would bring them a second benefit, or more blessings. You see, in verse 15, he said,
in this confidence I was minded to come to you. that you might
have a second blessing, a second benefit, that you might be blessed
through my visit, or mercies and grace. But he had to cancel
that visit. He was led to cancel the visit.
He didn't go. Evidently, he told them that
he intended to come, he wanted to come, purposed to come, but
he didn't go. He changed his mind. And this
offended many of them. They were greatly offended because
Paul said of coming and he didn't come. And some of his enemies
said this, they said, now Paul promised to come and visit us
and he didn't come. Therefore his word is not reliable. And his preaching is not reliable.
That's what they say. Paul said he was coming, he didn't
come, therefore you can't trust him, you can't believe him. And
he said in verse 16, now listen to this, and to pass by you into
Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you. That
was my intention, and of you to be brought on my way towards
Judea. Now, verse 17, when I therefore
was thus maddened, when I purposed to do that, did I use lightness? In other words, he said, was
I fickle? In my decision to visit you,
and then in my decision to cancel that visit, did I use likeness,
frivolity? Was I fickle in it? Verse 17. Or the things that
I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there
should be yea, yea, and nay, nay? When I say yes, I mean yes. When I say no, I mean no. But
what Paul is declaring here is that he has no power over circumstances. He fully intended to visit them. He fully intended to go to Corinth
again. That was his intention. But God
prevented it, and he couldn't go. They said he can't be relied
upon. His words no good. His preaching
can't be depended on. He said, I didn't use likeness.
When I say yes, I mean yes. When I say no, I mean no, but
I don't govern circumstances and I don't govern providence.
A hymn writer has picked up on that. He said, I don't know about
tomorrow. I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from its sunshine, for its clouds may turn to gray. I don't know about tomorrow.
It may bring me poverty. But the one who feeds the sparrow
is the one who stands by me, and the path that be my portion
may be through the flame or flood, but his promise goes before me,
and I'm covered with his blood. Many things about tomorrow I
don't seem to understand, but I know who holds tomorrow And
I know he holds my hand. So that's what this is up until
now. Paul intended to go back to Corinth,
hoping to bring them greater blessings. But he couldn't go,
and he had to counsel it. And that offended many of them,
and folks got the word out, well, you can't trust him, you can't
believe him, you can't depend on him. He says yes, and he means
no. He says no, and he means yes,
no. He says, I'm not using likeness. When I say yes, I mean yes, and
when I say no, I mean no. But I don't govern circumstances
and I don't control God's providence. He does. But now watch verse
18. But as our God is true, our preaching toward you was not
yes and no. My preaching toward you is not
yes and no. Our gospel toward you is not
uncertain. It is sure. Now, learn this lesson
here and learn it well. Don't ever be guilty of judging
the gospel of Christ by the vessel. Don't ever judge the Lord by
his servant or by the vessel, either by its strength or by
its weakness, either by its consistency or its inconsistency. That's
consistency. That's what Paul is saying here.
I may have said I'm coming, and didn't come. But don't judge
my preaching by that. My preaching is always yes, in
Christ Jesus. The vessel is uncertain, the
gospel is certain. The vessel is changeable, the
gospel is immutable. The vessel is earthen, the gospel is from above. And
the vessel is subject to the winds of change, but not the
gospel. You can't have confidence in
me. Don't ever be guilty of putting your confidence in me. And don't
be overjoyed by the strength of a vessel, and don't be disappointed
in its weakness. Don't let your faith in Christ
be governed by your confidence in me." And Paul tells us that
again and again and again. Turn to 1 Corinthians 2. Let
me show you this. 1 Corinthians 2, verses 1 through
5. Now listen to this. And we may say yes and have to
do no. But I beared it in chapter 2,
verse 1. When I came to you, I didn't
come with excellent speech or wisdom declaring unto you the
testimony of God, for I determined not to know anything among you
save Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness,
I was with you in fear, I was with you in trembling. And my
speech and my preaching was not with persuasible words of man's
wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and power that
your faith should not, ought not, must not
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. It must
not. Back to the text. Also in Philippians 3, Paul said
this, We are true Israel who worship God in spirit, who rejoice
in Christ, who have no confidence in this flesh. Now, back to the text, look at
it, verse 18. Now, whatever you may think of
me, he said, I still contend my yes is yes and my no is no.
But I don't govern circumstances nor God's providence. This vessel
is subject to the winds of change. But verse 18, our God is true,
and my preaching toward you is not yes and no. Now, watch this. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silas and
Timothy, was not yea or nay, but in him was yes, yes. All the promises of God in Christ
are yes, not yes and no, but yes. He is and he was and he
always will be the Son of God, yes. He was, is, and always will
be that prophet, yes. He was, is, and always will be
that great priest after the order of Melchizedek, yes. He is, was,
and always will be that king, son of David, yes. He is the
same yesterday, today, and forever, and he was, is, and always shall
be unchangeable in his position, in his person. in his purpose,
in his promises, in his power. Whatever the vessel does, the
Lord Jesus never changes. I had a dear friend, many, many
years. Many in this congregation knew
him, and knew him real well. Brother I met Brother Griswold 40 years
ago, and I knew then he was a special chosen vessel to preach the gospel
of God's grace. We walked together, worked together,
preached together, fellowshiped together for years and years
and years. He loved the gospel. He was a studious man. He was
a dedicated man. He was one of the best preachers
I've ever heard. He knew the gospel and preached
it powerfully. And when he was preaching the
gospel, there was no better preacher in this country. And then a few years ago, shockingly,
and many people have not gotten over the shock of it. Many people
in Alabama where he pastored for a long, long time still haven't
gotten over shock of what he did. He took a pistol and put
it to his head and blew his brains out. Well, someone said, well, you
weren't God's servant. Now, what Paul is saying here
is just the opposite. He says, don't judge the gospel
by the vessel. You must not do that. Your faith
must not stand in the consistency of a man or inconsistency, in
the weakness or strength of the vessel. This vessel is unpredictable. I don't know anything about that
kind of depression, do you? I did have another preacher tell
me who was sick for a long period of time. and went through a great
valley of depression, he said, I know where he was. I know how
he felt. Because there were times in that
sickness and depression that I could have easily taken my
life and put an end to all of this. So this verse 19 says this,
the Son of God, yes, whatever we are, he is unchangeable. Do you understand
what I'm saying? And that's why it's so vital
that we elders preach Christ and not ourselves. You see, it's
so vital we preach Christ to our healers. There's so many
things we have to learn about Christ. You know, Paul said that. He said, Oh, that I may win Christ
and be found in him. This is a man who had already
been preaching Christ for 15 years, when he wrote that. Oh,
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection. Didn't Paul know Christ? Sure
he did. He wanted to know him better. And there are so many
things we have to learn. We are so subject to change,
but he is not subject to change. He is the same. And we preach
Christ. We preach not ourselves, but
Christ Jesus our Lord, and ourselves your servants for Christ's sake. You're not here sitting in this
pew with that Bible open, hearing the gospel, believing the gospel,
and believing Christ, because this man is perfect. He's imperfect. But so are you. That's the reason the gospel
is good news. That's the reason Christ is good news. Whatever
becomes of me, or whatever becomes of you, must not shift our confidence. And if it's all in Christ, it
won't affect it. Oh, we'll be sorrowful. I'm brokenhearted
over things that happen to God's people. But that doesn't make
them any less God's people. That's right. We must learn two
things. We elders must preach Christ
to our hearers. Secondly, our hearers must look
to Christ alone. Not to us, but to Him. And don't
allow, don't ever allow your relationship with any person
to affect your relationship with Him. You must not do it. You
must not do it. I tell you, if you do, Now, Brother
Griswold was my friend, as good a friend as I've ever had. We
were as close as any friend I've ever known. But his death did not alter my
confidence in Christ. Not one bit. Nor the way he died. Didn't affect it one bit. Did not alter that relationship
not one iota, not one smidgen. It didn't even cause me to question
the sufficiency of Christ, not even for a moment. It led me to see what any of
us will do except by the grace of God. That's right. Why did God permit David to follow? Have you ever thought about that?
Why did he do that? This man, to this kind of embarrassment,
humiliation and shame, I think to teach us, to teach us, that
we must not put any confidence in the flesh. And maybe to teach
those who are around him, that their confidence must be encrusted
alone. Can you learn that? I'll tell you another thing,
if anyone's position or fall affects your relationship with
Christ, you better examine your relationship with Christ. Maybe it's not what it ought
to be. That's right. I've known folks
to get upset with folks and quit worshiping God. There's something
wrong when a man quits worshiping God. You know, the scripture, the
poet says this, the poet says this, swift to its close ebbs
out life's little day. Its joys grow dim, its glories
fade away, change and decay in all around me I see. What am
I going to do? O thou that changest not, abide
with me. If you're anchored to the rock,
it doesn't matter how many other rocks slip away, you're not going
to move. If you're anchored to the rock,
Christ Jesus, there's but one rock, one tribe stone, church
stone, settle stone, foundation stone, that's Christ. And we
may have a lot of rocks that help support us, but He's my
rock. And every one of them may drift
away, but I'm anchored in Christ Jesus. Actually, Jim, our anchor
is within the veil. And I'll be disappointed and
heartbroken over things that occur, traumatic things and things
like this, but not to the point where I question for one second
the sufficiency of my Lord. My hope is in Him. That's right. Whatever men do. Why? This is the reason. This
is the reason we preach Christ, why you live to Christ, and why
it doesn't matter if, you know, I could name any one
of these dear people who have been here so long, and I love
you, and I hope by God's grace that He protects us from anything
of this nature, but if it occurs, I'm not quitting. That's right,
I'm not quitting. Because it's like my uncle said,
folks don't expect much out of me, and I usually don't disappoint
them, you know. My anchor's in Christ. And learn the meaning of this
verse here, and you'll have a knowledge of the redemptive glory of our
God. For the promises of God are not in the preacher, they're
in Christ. You see that? For all the promises
of God, not some of them, all the promises of God. Whose promises? God's promises. The promises
of God. He's the only one who can promise
and keep a promise. There's no other creature in
heaven as a hero who can make a promise and be sure to keep
it. But Him. Him. And His promises are the promise
of life, the promise of forgiveness. Someone said to me when this
tragedy occurred, my son Paul, I told Paul what
had happened. All of my children were very
close to Brother Griswold, and I told Paul what had happened.
Brother Griswold had taken his life. I'm so sorry," he said, but I
tell you, the blood of Christ that's able to cleanse us from
the first sin will also cleanse us from the last sin. Isn't that
right? The promises of God are not in
you or me, they're in him. All the promises of God, the
promise of life, forgiveness, grace, mercy, eternal glory,
are in Christ. We're chosen in Christ, we're
accepted in Christ, we're redeemed in Christ. Actually, listen to
this, when the promises of God were purposed and made, Christ
was the only one who existed. Is that right? Ronnie grunted then. That's a good place to grunt,
isn't it? There wasn't anything but Christ. When God purposed
to save a people, He purposed in Christ to save a people. He
chose us in Christ. That's right, that He in Christ.
And all the promises of God, look at this verse again, I tell
you there's so much here, all the promises of God. There isn't anything God has
for any sinner anywhere but in Christ. Nowhere. All the promises of God, the
only one who can make a promise and keep it, are in Christ. And
all the promises of God in Christ are yes. Yes. Will God save a believing sinner?
Yes. Will God put away all sin? Yes. Any sin? Yes. The worst of sin? Yes. I tell you the reason that yes
is because they're like the covenant which contains them, unchangeable. The promises of God are like
the offer of them, unchanging, everlasting, faithful. The promises
of God are like the Savior who bought them, he can't fail. The promises of God are like
the gospel which proclaims them, true and faithful. All the promises of God, verse
20, in Christ are yes, and in Him, what? What does Amen mean? So be it. So be it. So be it. Turn to Romans 9. Let's read something over here.
Romans chapter 9. Well, brethren, how do you feel
about Brother Griswold's messages now? Just as great a blessing
to me as it were then. I listened to one by him not
so awful long ago on the broken heart. I'd never heard a better
message. You see, I wasn't listening to
a man, I was listening to God speak through a man. Somebody says you throw cold
water in a man's face. face that will shock you and wake you up.
I wish I could throw some cold water over there, hold out there
and shock you into seeing it's not the man, it's the message. It's not denominational, it's
not occupational, it's not an organization, it's Christ. We better learn that or die and
go to hell. The promises of God in Him, in Him are yes. Nowhere else in him, and so be
it. Romans 9, listen, verse 15. He said to Moses, I'll have mercy
on whom I will have mercy, and I'll have compassion on whom
I will have compassion. So it's not of him that run,
it's of God that shows mercy. The promises of God For the scripture
said to Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised you
up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might
be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy
on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will heal hearten." I tell you, salvation is of the
Lord. It's not of a preacher. It's not of a penitent. It's
of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. It's not of a church
nor of a convert. It's of the Lord. Salvation is
of the Lord. It's not of works nor of workers.
It's of the Lord. And it's all of grace. We sing that old song, He that
hath made us and not we ourselves. And that's not only true physically,
that's true spiritually. He hath made us and not we ourselves. It's by his grace. You know,
one of the prophets raised a token of faith to God, and he called
it Ebenezer. Ebenezer. You know what that
means, Ebenezer? You know what Ebenezer means? Hither by thy
help I am come. Here I raise mine Ebenezer. Hither by thy help I am come. and thy hope by thy good pleasure
safely to arrive at home. It won't be by anything I've
done or haven't done or might do. It'll be by Christ. That's it. That's the singularity
and simplicity of Christ and sufficiency of Christ. All right, look at this next
two verses. Four things I want you to see from verse 21 of 2
Corinthians 1, verse 21 and 22. And you see how Paul brought
this in, don't you? I tell you, God, the Word of
God is inspired by God. The Holy Spirit moved men of
old to write the scriptures. They're infallible, they're God's
word. But God uses situations, circumstances, and things that
happen to these men to make a point in the scripture. And this church
at Conrad was upset with Paul. They were offended. And some
of the folks were capitalizing on it. Don't listen to it, don't
pay attention to it. He said he's going to do something good,
and on that. Boy, he used it to shut him up to Christ. Shut
him up to Christ. Now, not intentionally. He said,
my yes is yes and my no is no. But I don't govern circumstances
or providence. But I'll tell you who's always
yes, and that's Christ. And all the promises of our God
in Christ are yes. You can bank on that. You can
trust it. You can rest in that. He never changes. Whatever happens,
he never changes. Never changes. William Kalper. who wrote There's a Fountain
Filled with Blood. I was in his home last week where
he lived, where he wrote his poems in his study. He was a
man given to great depression, despondency, terrible depression,
suicidal depression. His dear friend was John Newton,
who wrote Amazing Grace. His pastor was John Newton. Cowper
was not a preacher, he was a poet and an author. They turned his
home into a museum. But right behind him, the house
right behind him is where John Newton lived, in the church right
over the hill. And there was a parry from his
house to John Newton's house. He'd go over there for Mr. Newton
to encourage him, lift his spirits. Then we'd talk to him about the
gospel, because he was so given to depression. Who knows? Who knows? But here's where we
are, verse 21. Now watch it. Now, He which establishes
us with you in Christ. God establishes us in Christ. We're established. God has established us in Christ. We're in His trust. Listen to
me. We're in Christ's hands. The Father put them in my hands,
he said. We're in his love. We're in his
obedience. We're in his blood. We're in
his body. We're seated with him in glory.
He's established us in Christ. Now, we're not established in
this flesh. How so? It's too prone. to change. Not established. We're not established in high
office. Judas held a pretty high office.
Apostle. We're not established in the
ministry. Demas was a co-worker of Paul. We're not established
in baptism. Simon Magus gave that a try. We're established in Christ.
Look at the next line. He established us with you in
Christ. He's anointed us. God, the one
who anointed us is God. When you think of anointing,
what do you think of? I think of two things. I think
of when the anointed Aaron, the priest, poured the oil on Aaron,
made him a priest to God, set him apart, anointed him to be
a priest. And then when Samuel went down
there to Jesse's home and David came in, and right there in front
of everybody, he anointed him king. Can't change that. God told him to anoint Aaron,
and God told him to anoint David. And Aaron was a priest, and David
was a king. And he hath made us kings and
priests to our God. He's anointed us. He did it. I can't do that for you, and
you can't do that for me. Well, Brother Paul baptized me.
No, he said I didn't. I thank God I didn't baptize
anybody, Crispus and Gaius and the household of Stephanus, lest
anybody should say that. God anointed me. Thirdly, what's
this? And God had sealed us. Verse
22, He sealed us. We're secure. He preserves us. You trusted after you heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, by whom you were
sealed in Christ to the day of redemptions. Old Satan came before
God Almighty and talking about Job, and the Lord said, Have
you considered my servant Job? And Satan said, You put a hedge
about him. You put a hedge about him. And
I'll tell you, those whom the Father has sealed, he's put a
hedge about them. There's no enemy can touch them
without his permission. That's right. Whatever takes
place in our lives, the believer's life is ordained of God. And
I'll tell you, no matter how traumatic or severe it may be,
it's for God's glory and our good. Doesn't matter what it
is. It doesn't matter what it is.
He sealed us. All right, watch this fourth
thing. And he has given us the earnest of his spirit. What is
an earnest? Well, it's a pledge. An earnest
is a token or a pledge that's given on a possession. A man
comes and says, I want this piece of land. I'm going to possess
this land. It's going to be mine. And I'll
give you some earnest money. And I'll be back. I guarantee
you, this earnest money tells you I'll be back. Now then, he's
a man. Chances are he might not make
it. But God's not a man that he should lie. And if God stakes
out a piece of property, it's his. If God puts earnest money
on a piece of property, it's his. If God says I'll own it,
he'll own it. And that's what he's done for
us. That's right. He has established us in Christ. He hath anointed us with his
Spirit. He hath put a hedge about us
where he is, and he hath given us the earnest of his Spirit
where? In our hearts. Like I said, it's
not a demonstration. It's something you can't see. It's something you can't explain.
It has to be experienced. It's something that I know that
when my dear friend took his own life, the whole city down
there of pagan religionists and unsaved people would say, well,
he never did know the Lord. I know differently. I know differently. Because you don't judge the Lord
by feeble sense, by outward acts or by outward words or by outward
circumstances. He hath given us the earnest
of his Spirit in our hearts. Now that's the confidence I have.
And like last week when I had that parade around the park walking
for Jesus, I tell you this. As you have received Christ Jesus,
so walk ye in him. Doesn't mean walk around the
park. It means walk in him, here, walk
in him, walk in him, walk in him. And you might run into some
of God's people down, if you run into Abraham at a certain
time in his life, you'd have great reservations about his
relationship with God. If you'd run into Lot at certain
times, you'd have great reservations about his relationship with God.
If you'd run into David at certain times, you'd have had great reservations
about his relationship with God. If you'd run into the Apostle
Peter on one of his tantrums, you'd have great reservations
about his relationship with God, but he never did. And God never
did. And that's the two that count.
Isn't that right? In my heart.

The Promises of God

What does the Bible say about the promises of God?

How do we know God's promises are true?

Why is the concept of God's unchanging promises important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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The Promises of God

What does the Bible say about the promises of God?

How do we know God's promises are true?

Why is the concept of God's unchanging promises important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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