How Sure Are God’s Promises?

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How can we be sure that God’s promises are true? Well first, we have to believe in the Word of God, that is is complete truth and understanding for us. The Bible says:

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth – John 17:17

Many people scoff at such a statement without realizing that what comes of man, through the carnal senses, is always a mixture of truth and error. That which proceeds from God however is free of error, because  God is perfect (Matt. 5:48) and CANNOT lie (Titus 1:2). Therefore if He says something to us through His word of truth, it can be taken at full face value as His promises stand sure – Pet. 3:9.

Of course, this hinges on faith as well. Those lacking faith fail to wrap their mind around the concept of complete and utter trust in a supernatural being. But it is something the true Christian must do to please God. Without faith it is impossible to please God – Heb. 11:6.

So what is the biblical definition of this complete trust in God (faith)? Hebrews 11:1 states it this way”

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

“There is no verse in the Bible more important than this, for it states what is the nature of all true faith, and is the only definition of it which is attempted in the Scriptures. Eternal life (a promise from God) depends on the existence and exercise of faith, and hence, the importance of an accurate understanding of its nature.

The word rendered “evidence” – ἔλεγχος  elengchos – occurs in the New Testament only in this place and in 2Tim. 3:16, where it is rendered “reproof.” It means properly proof, or means of proving, to wit, evidence; then proof which convinces another of error or guilt. It is the evidence not yet seen, but which will surely come to pass.

Is faith a good argument?

Can faith be used as a consideration which should satisfy a rational mind? The unbeliever will say “no;” but consider that a man who has never seen the city of London may believe in the numerous testimonies about it, which may provide a good proof of its existence. He could well then act on that belief without hesitation. Further, when a son credits the promise of a father who has never deceived him, and acts as though that declaration and promise were true, his faith is to him a ground of conviction and of action, and he will act as if these things were so.

In like manner the Christian must believe what God says. He has never seen the spiritual realm; the third heaven, an angel; a body raised from the grave, or Jesus Christ. But he has evidence (God’s word of truth – John 17:17) which is satisfactory to his mind that the subject is true, and the Spirit of God within that Christian prompts him to confide in the declarations of his Creator. These declarations are to his mind more conclusive evidence than the deductions of his own reason. They are superior to all the reasonings and declarations of the unbeliever to the contrary. He acts, therefore, as if these things were so, showing the power of unwavering confidence in God in times of trial.

In faith, the Christian also believes God will sustain him. If he obeys, God is bound by His promises to help that Christian. He says in Matt. 6:25:

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”

Even more, “saving faith” is the same kind of confidence we must have. Without faith, Mark 16:16 says we cannot have eternal life. Whatever we ask for, we do it in the name of Christ, and He says it is as good as done. Therefore, God’s promises are sure, upon the conditions that the Christian believe what God says and follows the directions of the word of God.