GREAT AND PRECIOUS PROMISES“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
2 PETER 1:1-4
INTRODUCTION:
There are many promises given to the believer in Christ. The very first promise to him is that of Salvation or Eternal Life, when that person puts their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. This is without doubt the greatest blessing that a person can receive on this earth.
That first blessing is only the beginning of what God has for the believer during his life on this earth. As Peter has said; these promises are “exceeding great and precious promises.” Consider some of these promises:
I. I WILL GIVE THEM ETERNAL LIFE
JOHN 10:28, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
A. This is the ONE THING everyone seeks to obtain, MATTHEW 19:16, “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”
B. There is ONLY ONE THING that can be done to obtain eternal life, FOLLOW JESUS, MATTHEW 19:21, “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”
C. Eternal Life ACCORDING TO HIS WORD, JOHN 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
1. The PRESENT tense: Hears; Believes; Has Life.
2. The FUTURE tense: Never comes into CONDEMNATION!!
3. The PRESENT tense again: IS PASSED from death to life!
II. “MY KINDNESS SHALL NOT DEPART FROM THEE”
ISAIAH 54:10, “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.”
A. God’s KINDNESS will NEVER DEPART from us, PSALM 89:33, “Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.”
1. His kindness is compared to the mountains around Jerusalem (a sign of stability), PSALM 125:2, “As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.”
B. God’s promise of PEACE will NEVER BE REMOVED,
1. It is an everlasting covenant of peace, EZEKIEL 37:26, “Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.”
2. The Lord will KEEP His Word, PSALM 89:34, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”
3. He will NOT ALTER His Word, NUMBERS 23:19, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
C. From the Mercy of God comes all of this, EPHESIANS 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”
1. The declaration of the saved is, PSALM 118:4, “Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.”
2. The declaration of the thankful is, PSALM 118:29, “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
CONCLUSION:
Since God promised us eternal life when we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior; what more can we ask? There are many more precious promises God has given those who receive Christ as Savior.
When we put our trust in Him, knowing that the Bible says that God can not lie; in Titus 1:2 “ In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;” we can have confidence in Him to take care of everything else in our lives.