Precious And
Magnificent Promises
The promises of God are described
by the words by Peter.
Introduction
• What is a promise?
• "To give one's word to do or not to do something;
to give cause for expectation; to agree to give; to
assure by a promise; to give grounds for hope."
(Webster).
• This can be illustrated by a "Promissory Note".
• "A written promise to pay on demand or at a
fixed future time a certain sum of money to, or to
the order of, a specified person or to bearer."
(Webster).
Promises play an important part in our
everyday activities:
• We promise to be on the job; the employer
promises to pay.
• The use of credit cards is just another way of
making a promise.
• "New Year's Resolutions" are promises made
to ourselves or to others.
• We should never make promises that we do
not intend to keep.
• This is especially true of parents to their
children.
Promises also play an important role in
the system of Christianity.
• This study today will emphasize three facts
that determine the WORTH of promises:
• VALUE of the thing promised.
• CHARACTER of the promiser.
• The CONDITIONS or nature of the promise.
THE VALUE OF THE THING PROMISED:
• The value of God's promises can be seen in the
language of our text: 2 Peter 1:3-4.
• “seeing that His divine power has granted
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, in order that by them you might
become partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world by
lust”.
They are magnificent because:
• They come from God and no one else can
grant them.
• They have to do with man's most valuable
possession, his eternal soul. Matthew 16:26.
• They include such things as: Peace, Joy,
Forgiveness, and Eternal Life.
• They never fail -- not one promise of God has
ever failed, 2 Peter 3:9.
They are precious because:
• All the wealth of the universe cannot purchase
them.
• The promises of God are not something that
were devised in a fleeting moment of
liberality.
• From the earliest period of human history, at
the fall of man, we have God's promises, Titus
1:2. “the hope of eternal life which God, who
cannot lie, promised long ages ago”
THE CHARACTER OF THE PROMISER
• ALSO DETERMINES THE VALUE OF THE PROMISE
MADE
• As an illustration: Every day thousands make the
traditional marriage vows and promises.
• "Do you promise to love, cherish, cleave to her,
etc. so long as you both shall live?"
• Yet, every day thousands break that promise -which, undoubtedly was not worth much. Why?
• Because the character of the promiser wasn't
what it should be.
Character Of The Promiser
• Other people make promises which we allow to
go in one ear and out the other. Why?
• Because we have learned by experience that they
are not dependable persons.
• One board member said of another: "He is just a
promiser." He promised to attend meetings, work
on committees, etc. but he didn't do it.
• Many Christians are like this: they promise to
work, to visit the sick, to do personal work, etc.
But they seem never to get around to doing any
of it. James 1:22,23. “be ye doers of the word”
God’s Character Is Not Like Ours
• He is unchanging, Malachi 3:6. “I, the LORD,
do not change”
• He is able to fulfill every promise.
• Suppose I promise to give out $100 bills to
each person present after the services.
• You would not be impressed because you
know I couldn't fulfill such promise.
God’s Character In Promising
• But God's omnipotence is behind each and
every promise that He makes, Romans
4:20,21. “yet, with respect to the promise of
God, he (Abraham) did not waver in unbelief,
but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,
and being fully assured that what God had
promised, He was able also to perform”.
• 3. He is also faithful to His promise, Hebrews
10:23. “…He who promised is faithful”.
THE NATURE OF GOD'S PROMISES
• There are some things that God has NOT promised:
• He has not promised us another chance after this life is
over.
• In spite of what is taught by religionists about
purgatory, reincarnation, premillenialism, etc.
• The Bible does not teach such.
• Titus 2:11,12 “…live sensibly, righteously and godly in
the present age;
• Hebrews 9:27 “appointed for man once to die, then
after comes the judgment.;
• 2 Corinthians 6:2. “behold NOW is the day of
salvation”.
The Nature Of God’s Promises
• God does not promise: That we have another day to
live.
• Yet, some live as though they are certain to have
another fifty years of life.
• Just take a look through the obituary columns of your
newspapers. There you will find people of all ages.
• Did most of them think they would die soon? Not
likely.
• Would you agree to obey the gospel next year? Next
month? Next week? Why not? James 4:13,14.
The Nature Of God’s Promises
• God has not promised to save anyone outside of His
church.
• We know that the church itself does not save, Christ
saves, but the saved make up the church. Acts 2:47.
• It is the church that Christ will return to God 1
Corinthians 15:24
• Many cannot see the need for the church. They feel
confident and secure outside of the church, but where
is the promise for such confidence?
• Such claim salvation by the blood of Christ, but the
church was purchased by His blood. Acts 20:28.
The Nature Of God’s Promises
• God has not promised to accept our excuses
for not obeying Him.
• Yet, they are offered every day.
• Luke 14: 16-24.
• I bought a piece of land and must go look at it.
• I bought oxen and must try them out.
• I have married a wife…I cannot come.
The Nature Of God’s Promises
• God has not promised a life free from hardships
and burdens. 2 Timothy 3:12. “persecuted”
• Some think that God has let them down
whenever the going gets rough.
• We need to consider the value of the trials that
we are called upon to bear. James 1:2,3,12.
• We can stumble on the steps before us or we can
use them to climb up higher.
All of God's promises fall into two
categories
• UNCONDITIONAL: No limitation; such are
fulfilled without the recipient doing anything.
• CONDITIONAL: Promises to be fulfilled
providing certain conditions are met.
Unconditional
• Seedtime and harvest come unconditionally.
Genesis 8:22; Matthew 5:45.
• The world will never be destroyed by water again.
Genesis 9:11.
• But the world will be destroyed in the future by
fire. 2 Peter 3:10.
• Christ is coming again. Acts 1:9-11.
• There will be a resurrection of all. John 5:28,29.
• There will be a judgment for all. 2 Corinthians
5:10; Romans 14:11,12.
Conditional
• Remission of sins. Acts 2:38; 10:43.
• Answer to prayers. James 1:6,7; 1 John 3:22;
5:14.
• Spiritual blessings. Ephesians 1:3; Galatians
3:27.
• Eternal salvation. Hebrews 5:9; Matthew 7:21.
Do God's promises ever fail?
• Unconditional promises never fail! Numbers
23:19. “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 it? Or has He
spoken, and will He not make it good?
• 2. Conditional promises are contingent upon
man's obedience -- they never fail when man
meets the stated conditions.
Conclusion
• We can understand and appreciate the VALUE,
CHARACTER, and NATURE of God's promises if
we desire to do so.
• The certainty of His promises should move us
to obey.
• You can stand this day on the PROMISES OF
GOD if you do desire.