Last week while we were on vacation I was flipping
channels, and caught the telecast of a famous TV preacher. He has the largest
audience in America, and is well-known for encouraging people to “live their
best life now.”
He is handsome, smooth, and sincere in his delivery.
Here’s what I heard him say: “All the promises God has spoken over you will
come true. You will achieve financial
success, you will overcome that
addiction, you will meet the right
people, you will recover from that
illness.” (That’s not an exact quote, but pretty close).
Giving
people hope and encouraging them from God’s promises is a good thing. But the
Bible speaks of those promises differently than the TV preacher did. For
example, hear what Peter says in his second letter: His
[Jesus’] divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him
who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us
his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is
in the world because of sinful desire. 2 Peter 1:3-4, my emphasis.
Notice
that God’s promises are granted through
the knowledge of Jesus. God’s promises are not handed out like party
favors, but are for those who have come to know the glory and excellence of
Jesus. Not only that, but God’s promises are given that we might become like the Lord: so that through them you might become
partakes of the divine nature. They are not primarily to make us healthy,
wealthy, and successful.
Or
consider another passage, this time from Paul: For the
Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy
and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter
our Amen to God for his glory. 2 Corinthians 1:19-20, my emphasis
The
smiling TV preacher never mentioned Jesus. But all of God’s promises are given in Christ, and they are only true in
Christ. The purpose of the promises is His glory: “that we utter our Amen to God for his
glory.”
You can't (and shouldn't) speak of God’s promises apart from Christ. The Bible’s message is
not about self-fulfillment, but about the glory and greatness of God. Jesus is
the beginning and ending of all things, and the author, guarantor, and fulfillment
of all promises.
How
grateful we must be to have a Savior like Jesus. Yes!
