God's Promises

In Joshua 21:43-45, we read this:

So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the LORD gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass. (NASB)

God had kept His promise to the patriarchs, the children of Abraham now possessed and lived in all the land that God had promised. God had kept His word. Not only did God give the land to the people, this passage tells us that not one of the promises he made to Israel failed, but all of them had come to pass. Every promise he made came true.

How hard it should be for any human to make a promise. The reason being that we can't control all events around us to make sure the promise we make will come to pass. In fact, we can't control our next breath or the next beat of our heart. But God can make promises to His people because He controls all things. My pastor said in his sermon this Sunday about taking what Paul refers to as a "trustworthy statement" "to the bank." Why can we guarantee the promises of the Bible? Why are the promises of the Bible, trustworthy statements? We can truly trust every promise of God that He makes for He alone has the power to make sure it happens. If He promises it, you can bet on it. It will happen. Charles Spurgeon has a wonderful quote on the control or sovereignty that God has over every atom in the universe:

I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes—that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit as well as the sun in the heavens—that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses. The creeping of an aphis over the rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence—the fall of sere leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche. He that believes in a God must believe this truth. There is no standing-point between this and atheism. There is no half way between a mighty God that worketh all things by the sovereign counsel of his will and no God at all. A God that cannot do as he pleases—a God whose will is frustrated, is not a God, and cannot be a God. I could not believe in such a God as that.

God controls every atom, so every promise will come true. Read your Bible and see the hundreds of promises God makes to His people. If you are a believer, they are sure because He has the power to see it through. Think for example of all the promises in Romans 8. I really like the verse Romans 8:32, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things" Paul tells us that if God has given His own Son for us, he will most certainly give us all things. What an amazing statement.

What is also amazing is that God's faithfulness to His promises is secure outside of our ability to be faithful to Him. Though we have been regenerated by the Spirit of God, we are still sinners, and we still fail. Is our hope in our ability to obey? Thank God it is not! Our hope is in the promises of God that all who put their trust in the work of Jesus Christ as their substitute will be forgiven of sin and have eternal peace with God. Our hope is outside of ourselves - it is in the hands and promise of another. Will we trust him to keep His word? Do we believe that He is faithful and able to keep His word? Let us not be like the first generation of freed Israelites who did not enter the promised land because they "were not able to enter because of unbelief" Hebrews 3:19. Let us hope in Christ alone. That is our only assurance because only "He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" Hebrews 7:25.

I Will Not Fail You

In Joshua 1:5, we read the following as God talks to Joshua as he is about to lead the people into the promised land:

“No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you" (Emphasis Added).

Have you ever been awakened in the middle of a night by a fear that grasped your soul whether it was a circumstance you were facing or a situation in which you absolutely had no control over at all. We humans really control very little with respect to the events of our lives. Sure, we try to control what we can with respect to ourselves, but controlling other things is beyond us. Joshua is about to lead the people into Israel. Remember, he was there 40 years ago, when the people had failed to believe and were sent to wander in the desert for 40 years until the older unbelieving generation had died off. Joshua is now leader for Moses has died. He is now with a new group of people. But, the task remained the same - take the land of promise.

Joshua had believed 40 years ago, yet God still in Joshua 1 continues to tell him over and over not to fear, but to have courage (Joshua 1:6-9). And here in Joshua 1:5, we see why Joshua should not fear.

1. God would be with him just as He was with Moses.
2. God would not fail him.
3. God would not forsake him.

Joshua had seen the great wonders of the LORD over the last 40 plus years. He knew God could accomplish what He asked him to do. But I bet these words of encouragement were a key to strengthening Joshua's faith. Just as with Joshua, God will always be with us, He will never fail us, and He will never forsake us. What great comfort that should give us. What great courage it should give us to be faithful in the task God has given us to do. The next time you do wake up with that fear in your heart, remember this verse or the many others, such as Hebrews 13:5, that remind us once again that God, unlike us, has in Himself the ability to control everything in our lives. We indeed should never fear. He is sovereign. And I am glad He is.

Real Assurance

In the book, Assured by God: Living in the Fullness of God's Grace edited by Burk Parsons, Richard Phillips ask the question, "Can we find a securely established assurance of salvation?" He then begins quoting John Murray in his work, "The Assurance of Faith", found in Collected Writings of John Murray. Phillips writes, "John Murray shows this is a quest limited to those convinced of Reformed theology." Did you get that? Only those who are convinced of the doctrines of Reformed theology have any business discussing the idea of assurance of salvation. Phillips continues from Murray:

Roman Catholics do not pursue assurance of salvation and are strongly discouraged from doing so, since for Rome justification is a process that can be sure only when it is completed. The Roman Catholic is no more secure than his or her most recent visit to the priest. The only assurance is in continued good performance. The situation is little better among Arminians, who deny assurance on the grounds that salvation may be lost at any time. The Arminian insistence on a general salvation rather than a particular one - that is, a salvation that is open equally to all but effectually to none - effectively rules out assurance in this life. Murray writes, "Every brand of theology that is not grounded in the particularism which is exemplified in sovereign election and effective redemption is not hospitable to this doctrine of the assurance of faith." This is why assurance of salvation is a field of theology and Christian experience plowed only by the Reformed. Murray observes, "It is no wonder that the doctrine of assurance should have found its true expression in that theology which is conditioned by the thought of the divine atonement or effective redemption, the irreversibility of effectual calling, and the immutability of the gifts of grace."

Whether one wants to admit it or not, Murray is right. Outside of the doctrines of grace, there is no room for assurance of faith. If my assurance rests in me, then I am in big trouble. If my assurance rest in the faithful, immutable sovereign God, I can truly be assured that He will complete what he started in me. In Tom Nettles book, By His Grace and For His Glory, Nettles points out how Dale Moody who taught at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1941-1982 hated the doctrines of grace including the perseverance of the saints. In fact, he was finally let go for his attacking this doctrine. You have to admit, however, that he was at least consistent. I would also hope that all those, who like Moody hate these precious doctrines, would be equally honest and admit that they have to believe that any Christian can loose their salvation based on their understanding of how one gains salvation. You really can't have it both ways. If salvation depends on man to obtain it, he certainly can loose it. But, if salvation is all of God, what great rest, peace and assurance does the believer have knowing that nothing can pluck him from the Father's hand. My times, and indeed my assurance, are in God's hand.