What Does It Mean to Live By God's Promises?

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As we walk together as a congregation through the book of Acts, we sometimes see the apostles, as specially-commissioned leaders in the Church, doing things that are foreign to average Christians. And one of those moments seemingly pops up in Acts 23:11, when Jesus promises Paul, who is under legal threat in Jerusalem, that he will make it to Rome.

And, while we aren’t apostles, and we aren’t in prison, threatened by a band of assassins… While Christ hasn’t visited us to tell us how we’ll preach the gospel in a foreign capitol.

But we’re just like Paul. Because, just like Paul, we’re living by God’s promises before they’ve fully come to pass. And, in this in-between time, so often it looks like… where is God? What’s he doing? Why aren’t his promises coming true?

What do I mean, “We, like Paul, live by God’s promises”?

You and I, just like Paul, are called to live by God’s promises: The promises he has given his whole Church, and the promises he has given to each of his blood-bought children.

We are meant to live by his promises:

God’s Gospel Promise

First, and foremost, we are alive at all because of the promise of the gospel. The first promise we need is: “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Rom 10:13

We live by this promise in several ways:

  • We “live” for the first time by this promise: We are born again, from death to life in the gospel.

  • And we live - that is live our lives - by this promise as we hope each day in the resurrection.

What are some further promises we are to live by? That haven’t yet come to fruition?

God’s Promise of Inheritance

We live by the promise of God the Holy Spirit:

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Eph 1:11–14

God’s Promise of Victory

“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matt 16:18

God’s Promise of Completion

We live by this promise: “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Phil 1:6

God’s Promise of Presence

We live by God’s promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb 13:5)

Living By These Promises

What does it mean that we “live” by these promises? Christians’ lives are changed by these promises, when we truly lay hold of them - that is, when we truly trust the One who made them and center our hearts on them:

  • Knowing that he is ultimate reality, not the things this world deems important, is going to change my priorities.

  • Inheritance: Knowing we have inexhaustible treasure we cannot lose is going to change the way we assess risk.

  • Presence: We walk by the knowledge that he is with us always. This was the climax of our contentment series. We walk in contentment because we already have him, the treasure of the ages, with us.

  • Knowing your life is hid with Christ and he will raise you on the last day will help you obey Christ’s command: “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matt 10:28

  • Because I he promised, I knowing that the one institution in history guaranteed not to fail is Christ’s Church. That’s going to change where I invest my time, money, attention, and energy.

We, like Paul, live in light of God’s promises. This is the Christian life.

So, while we aren’t Paul and this particular promise isn’t for us individually, we are called to this same life: Walking by promise.