By Lloyd L. Streeter
“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.” (II Peter 1:4)
There are thousands of God’s promises to men in the Bible. Exactly how many is a point of disagreement because students of Scripture have differed about what constitutes a promise of God. Lockyer says, in the Introduction of his book, All the Promises of the Bible, that a Canadian Bible student spent a year and a half studying and counting the promises in the Bible. The student found 7,487 promises of God in Holy Writ. Lindsell and Woodbridge, on the other hand, said that “the Bible contains nearly five thousand different promises.”
Christians love to think about the promises of God, as well they should. They love to sing about God’s promises that cannot fail, “When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, By the living Word of God I shall prevail, Standing on the promises of God.”
Sometimes, we sing a chorus about the promises of God: “Every promise in the book is mine, Every chapter, every verse, every line,” etc. However, the words of that chorus are not true! All of the promises of the Bible are for our learning, but not all of those promises are to us. Many of God’s promises are to Israel. The Jewish people are called the “children of the promise” (Romans 9:8). Nevertheless, many of God’s exceeding great and precious promises are both to and for us, the church, and/or individual Christians.
God’s promises to us are immutable. “God is not a man, that he should lie” (Numbers 23:19; cf. Hebrews 6:18). Humans “go back” on their promises, many times. Contracts are breached. Commitments are not kept. Vows are broken. Politicians’ campaign promises are not even expected to be kept but are just things said to get elected! But God is a God of Truth; so, He keeps all of His promises. He keeps all His promises because He loves us. He keeps all His promises because He has the power to fulfill them. And He keeps His promises because He loves the truth and hates a lie.
God has promised us guidance. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord” (Psalm 37:23).
God has promised us forgiveness when we repent. “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17).
God has promised peace to those who put their trust in Him. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
God has promised to answer our prayers. “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (I John 3:22).
God has promised us eternal security when we know Christ as our personal Savior. “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29).
God has promised to give us faith. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
God has promised to help us to overcome temptation. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (I Corinthians 10:13).
God has promised to give us wisdom if we ask Him for it. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5).
These are only a few of the wonderful promises of God to His children. He has also promised safety (Psalm 4:8; 112:7); material needs (Philippians 4:19); food and clothing, and comfort in persecution, sickness, and old age (Matthew 5:11-12; Job 5:19; Psalm 12:5; 41:3; 71:9 & 18).
All of God’s promises are resounding “yes!” in Him (II Corinthians 1:20). They are for God’s glory and our blessing. His perfections, His plans, and His promises are as unchanging as His Person. God does not change, equivocate, or morph into someone that is different from who He has always been.
Tozer’s excellent statement about God’s immutability is a good way to close this discussion. He wrote:
In this world where men forget us, change their attitude toward us as their private interests dictate, and revise their opinion of us for the slightest cause, is it not a source of wondrous strength to know that the God with whom we have to do changes not? That His attitude toward us now is the same as it was in eternity past and will be in eternity to come?
What peace it brings to the Christian’s heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself. In coming to Him at any time we need not wonder whether we shall find Him in a receptive mood. He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as to love and faith. He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one. Neither does He change His mind about anything. Today, this moment, He feels toward His creatures, toward babies, toward the sick, the fallen, the sinful, exactly as He did when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die for mankind. [The Knowledge of the Holy, by A. W. Tozer]
[This article was taken from Dr. Streeter’s book, The Attributes of God.]