Fundamental to placing confidence in another
person is the solid conviction that the person will abide by his word. People
who do what they say they will do are the people who are trusted by others.
One’s faith in another person cannot exceed the person’s trustworthiness in
keeping his word. Trust is placed in those who prove themselves trustworthy by
being dependable. Deception, irresponsibility, unpredictability, and
undependability stand as insurmountable barriers to being the recipient of
others’ confidence.
There are numerous ways to say that a person is deserving of the faith of
others. A person worthy of trust is said to be one “who abides by his word,” who
“can always be counted on,” who “is trustworthy in all matters,” who “is honest
and honorable,” or who “is a person of integrity.” While all such phrases may
have differing shades of emphasis, they all have one essential thing in common.
All such phrases refer to one who keeps his promises. If a person does not keep
his promises, it is impossible for him to abide by his word, be dependable, be
trustworthy, be honest, be honorable, or be a person of integrity.
Promises come in many forms. A declaration of commitment, a verbal assurance, a
pledge, an acceptance of responsibility, and a contract agreement are some
common forms of a promise. When one affirms that he will or will not do
something, or makes a declaration which gives another the right to hold specific
expectations of him, he has made a promise. His faithfulness in keeping that
promise provides the rightful reason for others to place their faith in him.
Broken promises dig the grave of human confidence.
Divine promises are a fundamental part of
God’s relationship with people. God’s promises provide the primary reason for
man, the free moral agent, to choose to belong to God. The divine promises of
eternal life to those who live in a covenant relationship with God and of just,
eternal consequences for those who reject His covenant constitute the greatest
reason for people to give serious consideration to surrendering their lives to
God. Were it not for the promises of God, mankind would find little reason to
seek a living relationship with God.
God’s Word bears eloquent testimony to the importance of divine promises in the
God-man relationship. God’s promises were the reason for people accepting the
responsibility of a covenant relationship with God throughout the Old Testament.
Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the nation of Israel, Saul, David, and Solomon were
all challenged to establish a powerful faith relationship with God by virtue of
divine promises. The Old Testament prophets sought to move the Israelites to
repentance and to spiritual restoration by extensive use of divine promises.
Among the many promises the prophets made in God’s behalf were the physical
restoration of the nation (Ez. 37:24-28), security from their enemies (Jer.
30:7-11), the return of prosperity (Ez. 34:25-31), times of peace and well-being
(Isa. 35:5-10), and the coming of the Messiah (Isa. 53). Even when Judah was in
captivity, the prophets urged the people to repent and to renew their faith in
God because of God’s promise to return them to their land and to reestablish
them as His people. Throughout the Old Testament, from Noah through the
prophets, the reason for a person or a people having faith in God was the divine
promise.
In the New Testament, a new covenant with God was made possible by Jesus’
sacrifice. With the new covenant came better promises (Heb. 8:6).
With the death of Jesus, the covenant between God and man changed. The nature of
the relationship between God and man changed. The proper concept of how to
relate properly to God changed. The means of living within God’s security
changed. The means of acquiring forgiveness and atonement changed. The nature of
God’s kingdom and people changed. Jesus’ sacrifice for the sins of mankind
brought basic, sweeping changes to the whole concept of how man belonged to God
and what it meant for man to belong to God. However, one thing did not change.
The basic motivation, the fundamental reason for developing and
maintaining faith in God continued to be the divine promise. The
promises of complete forgiveness, salvation in Christ, the constant caring of a
personal God, the strength to endure trials and pain, and an eternal life free
from all earthly woes provided a person the reason for having faith in God.
God always has wanted people to understand one basic truth about His divine
nature: God the promise maker is also God the promise keeper. God established
the rainbow as a symbolic reminder to man that God would never forget His
promise to Noah (Gen. 9:16). Sarah conceived because God kept His promise (Gen.
21:1). Moses declared that Jehovah is God, the faithful God who keeps His
covenant to a thousand generations (Deut. 7:9). God would not forget His
promises to the Jews’ forefathers (Deut. 4:31). In Joshua’s farewell address to
Israel, he testified that God had not failed in one good thing which He had
promised (Josh. 24:13). In Solomon’s dedication prayer for the first temple, he
declared before all Israel that God the covenant keeper had fulfilled every
promise which He made to David (I Kings 8:22-24). The psalms contain many
references to God’s faithfulness (Psa. 40:10; 89:1, 8, 33; 119:90). When Daniel
read Jeremiah’s writings and understood God’s promise of deliverance from
captivity he prayed to God the covenant keeper (Dan. 9:14).
The New Testament frequently stresses the same truth. God is faithful (1 Cor.
1:9; 2 Cor. 1:18; 2 Thess. 3:3). It is impossible for man’s unfaithfulness or
deceit to make God unfaithful (Rom. 3:3, 4). God’s being faithful means God
keeps His promises; He does that which He says He will do. Paul told the
Corinthian Christians that God would not permit temptations to exist which
exceed the ability of humanity to endure. The validity of this promise was
assured in these words: “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able.." (1 Cor. 10:13). Paul prayed that God would preserve
the Thessalonian Christians’ spirits, souls, and bodies until the Lord returned.
This was the assurance that such could happen: “Faithful is he that calleth you,
who will also do it” (1 Thess. 5:23, 24). Paul declared this promise to Timothy:
“For if we died with him, we shall also live with him: if we endure, we also
shall reign with him ...“ The surety of that promise was this fact: “...He
abideth faithful; for he cannot deny himself’ (2 Thu. 2:11-13). The writer of
Hebrews urged the Christians to whom he wrote not to apostatize. They must draw
near to God with true hearts and must hold fast the confession of their hope.
Why? “For he is faithful that promised” (Heb. 10:19-23). John declared that the
Christian who would confess his sins can be assured that God will cleanse him
from all unrighteousness. Why? God is faithful and righteous (1 Jn. 1:9). The
fact that God is faithful was the reason for persecuted, suffering Christians to
commit their souls to God’s keeping (1 Pet. 4:19).
The reason for Abraham placing his trust in God was God’s promises. Abraham
demonstrated the faith of righteousness by placing full trust in God’s promises
rather than in his own ability and power. The reason for Christians placing
their trust in God is God’s promises. Christians demonstrate the faith of
righteousness by placing full confidence in God’s promises rather than in their
own abilities and powers. They trust the faithful God, the God who keeps His
promises.
Few Christians ever determine why they
experience crises in believing. When a Christian struggles with doubt or endures
a stressful trial, he readily will admit that his faith is inadequate. He will
identify the reason for his struggling as being “too little faith." He will
acknowledge that the solution to his problem is “having more faith."
Having “too little faith” and needing “more faith” are vague, indefinable ideas.
Of what specifically does he have too little? Why specifically does he have too
little of it? Precisely what is it that has caused this deficient faith? What
specifically needs to be done to increase that faith? Precisely why did the
faith crisis occur?
The greatest single reason for any Christian experiencing a faith crisis
is his failure to trust God’s promises. Behind every faltering faith is
a distrusted divine promise. The basic challenge in believing to any Christian
is the challenge to trust God’s promises. The struggle to believe is the
struggle to place full confidence in God’s promises. Any time the Christian
doubts that God can do what God said He could do, the Christian experiences a
faith crisis.
This truth is easily illustrated. A Christian man lived a horrible life of sin prior to conversion. He committed sins which debased him and hurt others. His conversion was genuine, and his change of life dramatic. However, the more spiritual maturity he gained, the more aware he became of the terrible sinfulness of his past life. After years of faithful devotion to Christ, he still was plagued with an enormous sense of guilt for the sins of the years of his alienation. That guilt worked against his faith. He could not believe that God could forgive him of such horrible sins. Why was his faith in crisis? He did not trust God’s promise of forgiveness of all past sins.
In an unusual set of circumstances, in a time
of great loneliness, and in a time of severe personal stress, a devout Christian
woman committed fornication. Though her repentance was genuine, she never was
able to forgive herself. She continued to be so guilt-stricken that she regarded
herself as unworthy of Christian association. She held herself in such contempt
that she felt her presence in any assembly of the church offended God. She
desperately desired full, renewed relationship with God and His people, and many
Christian friends reached out to her, encouraged her. Yet, her faith was in deep
crisis. Why? She did not trust God’s promise to cleanse His penitent children
from all unrighteousness.
A properly baptized believer seriously doubted the validity of his baptism. He
was baptized with a penitent heart in the full conviction that the resurrected
Jesus is God’s Son. He confessed his faith, was immersed, and was baptized for
the remission of his sins. However, every day was plagued with doubt because he
wondered if he really belonged to God. Did he know enough when he was baptized?
Could he be sure that he responded for the right reasons? How could God accept
his baptism when he knew and understood so little? His faith was in crisis. Why?
He did not trust God’s promise to transform a believer into a full child of God
at the moment of baptism.
A faith crisis involves a question which
raises a terrifying doubt. The question involves a promise of God. The crisis
exists because the person cannot trust the promise. “Will God be with me as I
face this trial?” “Did God make me a new creature when I was baptized?” “Will
God hear my prayers?” “Will God forgive me?” “Can God sustain me in this
crisis?” “Will God raise me from the dead?”
Every Christian needs to determine if he is standing on the promises or if he is
resting upon traditional habits. He needs to ask himself, “Do I trust God, or am
I mindlessly following ritualistic practices?” God’s promises and human faith
are inseparably linked. God’s promises form both the foundation of faith and the
crisis for faith.
1. Explain how a person gains the trust of another person.
2. List different forms of a promise. Illustrate each form of a promise.
3. Discuss the importance of God’s promises to people.
a. What role did God’s promises play in His relationship with the following people: Noah? Abraham? Saul? David? Solomon?
b. Read the following passages and discuss their promises to the Israelites: Ezekiel 37:24-28; Jeremiah 30:7-11; Ezekiel 34:25-31; Isaiah 35:5-10; Isaiah 53.
4. What does Hebrews 8:6 say about the new covenant?
5. List the things which changed when the new covenant of Christ became authoritative and the authority of the old Mosaical covenant ended.
6. What did not change?
7. God always wanted people to know that He kept His promises. Use the following passages to demonstrate that fact: Genesis 9:6; Genesis 21:1; Deuteronomy 7:9; Deuteronomy 4:31; Joshua 24:13; 1 Kings 8:22-24; Daniel 9:1-4.
8. What does the statement, “God is faithful’ mean? What is the significance of that statement in the following passages: 1 Corinthians 10:13? 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24? 2 Timothy 2:11-13? Hebrews 10:19-23? 1 John 1:9? 1 Peter 4:19?
9. What is the greatest single reason for Christians experiencing a faith crisis?
Have the class make a list of serious “faith
crisis” situations. Discuss what divine promises need to be trusted in each
crisis situation.
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