July 02, 1999, Friday

Why would a person disregard the promises of God and the blessings they bring? Who

receives the promises of God? How did the Patriarchs receive the promises of God?

The Lord desires that we should have great certainty concerning His promises. Our God does

not want us to be plagued with apprehension concerning the fulfillment of His promises. In all

that God has promised, He intends for us to stand in bedrock assurance: "that the promise

might be sure to all the seed." This certainty is based upon two interwoven sets of spiritual

relationships: one between His promises and His grace, and another between His GRACE

 and FAITH in Him....

The first spiritual relationship mentioned here (that makes the promises sure) is between His

promises and His GRACE. Living by God's promises allows us to walk in the all-sufficient

GRACE of God. The heavenly dynamic behind the promises of God is the GRACE of God.

If God's promises are to be sure in our lives, we must relate to them "according to GRACE."

If we are counting on any other hope besides GRACE to make God's promises certain, we

will never stand in full assurance of the promises being fulfilled. If God's promises depend upon

our performance, we will never walk in full assurance. If His promises depend upon the

faithfulness or ability of others, full assurance will always elude us. The fulfillment of God's

promises depends wholly on His GRACE.

Now, how do we treat God's promises in a way that does not disregard the grace that is

behind them? The only acceptable response is FAITH. "Therefore it is of FAITH that it might

be according to GRACE." Every other response creates a discord with GRACE.

This was the great mistake that Abraham and Sarah made early in their pilgrimage with the

Lord. When they relied upon their own ingenuity (using the slave girl, Hagar, to try to supply

the son God had promised), they were operating outside the realm of dependence upon God.

Basically, they were trusting in themselves.

Behind all of the promises of the gospel is the promised Savior, who would die on the cross for

our sins. If we attempt to base any of God's saving work on our performance, we are setting

aside God's GRACE. We are inferring that His death for us was unnecessary or inadequate.

"I do not set aside the GRACE of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then

Christ died in vain"

This is how Abraham is the father of those justified by FAITH, God’s people. Know ye

therefore that they which are of FAITH,  the same are the children of Abraham. And the

scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through FAITH, preached before the

gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of

FAITH are blessed with faithful Abraham. (Galatians 3:7-9)

God’s promise to Abraham is completed in Jesus Christ. For the promise, that he should be

the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, not through the law, but through the

righteousness of FAITH (Romans 4:13). We are children of Abraham through FAITH; we

are heirs of the promise through that same Abraham-like FAITH in Christ Jesus. That kind of

FAITH is what transforms our lives.


It is the Abraham-like FAITH, made possible by accepting the indwelling of the Holy Spirit

upon salvation, that leads to the good works James teaches about. Was not Abraham our

father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how

FAITH wrought with his works, and by works was FAITH made perfect? (James 2:21-22)

Abraham knew what James teaches, that FAITH is a two part commitment. It is an act of the

will to accept that God is true to His Word and a commitment to live out that FAITH through

our actions. Abraham chose to believe God and he acted according to that FAITH. That

belief and action combination is what saved him and it is that same kind of belief plus action

FAITH that God expects us to have in Christ. His FAITH was the beginning of our FAITH;

his FAITH is the model for our FAITH. By our FAITH, we are made heirs to the promise

that God made to Abraham; we are heirs to the world.

Let us remember who is the God that remembers all things. God's Name is Jehová El Berith.

He is the God that makes promises to His people, and does not forget. He does not have the

frailty of our human frame, and He is mindful that we are but dust. Lift your hands to Him and

Praise Him today for the fact that He is the faithful God that remembers His promises to us!

Make your promises to Him today and see the difference!