Gentled by mercy

Gentled by mercy

The people Jesus congratulates are those who show mercy. They are the ones who will receive mercy from God[1]. This teaching is not new. King David has already recognised that God will have mercy on those who show mercy[2].

People who need mercy are in trouble. They may be desperate. They may be the reason for their own problems. But people who show mercy see beyond this and give what they can to help. They have been gentled by mercy and know that God does more than expect everyone to ‘do the right thing’.

Jesus himself often shows mercy to needy people. In this Gospel, two groups of blind men cry out for mercy[3]. A distressed father kneels and ask for mercy for his sick son[4]. A foreign lady cries out persistently and kneels to ask for mercy for her sick daughter[5]. And Jesus helps them all.

He has compassion on the crowds because they are leaderless[6], or sick and hungry[7].

In seeking mercy, some call Jesus ‘Son of David’—Israel’s promised deliverer. They may know the promises God has made to send a Messiah who will act mercifully[8]. So, showing mercy is important for Jesus, and for us who belong in his kingdom.

Our tendency is to expect justice and forget mercy. But while we’re doing this, God is upholding us, being kind to us, generous to us. He’s not asking if we are worthy. He’s just seeing us as needy people and reaching out to help. Jesus doesn’t come into the world to help people who think they are righteous. He comes to help those who are undeserving[9].

God has already shown Israel that he wants them to do what is right, but also, to love mercy[10]. He doesn’t just teach this. He shows it in how he treats them[11].

And, of course, this is what God is doing when Jesus dies for our sins (Romans 3:25). If anyone has had reason to complain, it is Jesus. He is misunderstood, maligned and nailed to a cross. But he endures being the focus for all our hatred of God. And he expresses the mercy of God for us sinners.

He can truly say, ’Father forgive them’. He knows we don’t understand the love of God, don’t know how far our pride has taken us from being warm and real. Not yet, anyway. When he is ‘lifted up’, he will draw us to himself, and to God. And then, the mercy of God will create mercy in us.

If all we want is for things to be ‘right’, we lose our way, and our peace, and God’s mercy. And if we think someone is not worthy of our attention, we’re thinking legally, not mercifully.

Jesus makes an issue of this in a story he tells[12]. A man badly in debt pleads not to be sold as a slave, and promises to find the money. Instead of this, his creditor forgives the whole debt. But then, this forgiven man demands payment of a very small sum from someone else. When the first creditor hears of this, he runs the ungrateful man off to jail.

Jesus tells this story to warn us. If we don’t forgive others as we have been forgiven, we have not understood forgiveness. Effectively, we’ve not been forgiven. The results of being without mercy are severe.

But this story isn’t just a warning. It tells us that mercy doesn’t begin with us. Jesus is among us. He is going to reveal and secure God’s mercy to us[13]. He simply asks us to acknowledge the compassion we’ve received and to share it with others.

On three occasions in this Gospel, Jesus explains to Pharisees that they should offer mercy to the needy rather than parade their performance[14]. Twice, he quotes God’s word. ‘I desire mercy rather than sacrifice’[15].

Perhaps we need mercy from God for our legal mindset. And certainly, all of us need to know that we have not deserved anything we have received. Without Jesus as Lord, we also would be lost and hopeless. We need to know how pitiable we are. This is when we truly say, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David’.

This is the way that our life becomes beautifully uncomplicated, and attractive—like our Saviour’s. And Jesus says we should be congratulated!

[1] Matthew 5:7

[2] Psalm 18:20-25

[3] 9:27; 20:30-34

[4] 17:15

[5] 15:22

[6] 9:36

[7] 14:14; 15:32

[8] Luke 1:68-72

[9] Matt. 9:13: 12:7

[10] Isa. 1:17; 58:6-10; Hos. 12:6; Mic. 6:8

[11] Isaiah 30:18

[12] Matthew 18:21-35

[13] Luke 1:77-78

[14] 9:13; 23:23

[15] 9:13; 12:7

Being pure, and seeing God are what matter

We continue looking at the beatitudes in the teaching of Jesus. Here, it’s the pure in heart who should be congratulated. They are going to see God (Matthew 5:8).

Jesus is showing us what life is like when he is in charge—when he establishes God’s kingdom. So, what he teaches is a call for us to choose. Do we admire the bold and the beautiful? Is that what we want to be like? Or do we want to be pure in heart? Jesus says it needs to be the latter.

Seeing God is not a rare experience for saints and mystics. Everyone needs to know that they will see God. We’ve been made in his image. He is our goal. Without this promise we are living at odds with our proper destiny.

So, purity of heart, the only way to get to see God, is a deep need. To ignore it is dangerous.

Someone with a pure heart is a very practical person—someone we’d like to have as a neighbour. David tells us that they do what is right, speak what is true, and never hurt a friend. They do what they say they will—even when it turns out to be a bigger job than they thought it would be (Psalm 15).

Purity is everything we do in life—with all its compartments being focused on one thing. David wants an ‘undivided heart’—focused on God and on receiving his favour (Psalm 86:11, 17).

So, how do we come by a pure heart?

First, we need to receive what Jesus does on our behalf.

God promised a Savior who would purify his people (Malachi 3:1-4). This is who Jesus is. He will purify his people totally (Matthew 3:10-12).

Jesus spends a lot of time teaching us how to live well but knows that purity must be alive before it can grow. Our affections are hopelessly compromised—basically dead. We don’t really want to see God.

So, Jesus must give himself to us, and for us—as a husband to a bride—to purify us (Ephesians 5:26). He purifies us to be a people who are eager to do good things (Titus 2:14). Our hearts must be cleansed by faith, not by gradual improvement (Acts 15:9).

When we believe Jesus died in our place—for our sins, we are purified (1 Peter 1:17-22). We are ready to stand in God’s presence! We can never be the same again!

Jesus knows what he is going to do, and he knows it will be effective. That’s why he can promise that we will see God.

Second, we need to make purity a way of life.

The person who writes Psalm 119 asks how a young person can keep himself pure. He or she must carefully read and be led by God’s word (v. 9).

This Psalm goes on to show how we need this word every day and for every situation. God is our Maker after all (v. 73), and he must know what is good.

But the writer is not suggesting we should read our Bibles like a text book. The whole Psalm is really a prayer. He knows God. He knows God is altogether good and strong. This is why he wants to be pure.

So, with this writer, we can ask God to give us understanding. We can talk with him about the difficulties we have getting things right. And we can ask for wisdom. In his presence, we can accept the knocks that come our way—to show us we are off track and that we need to take his word more seriously (v. 67-71, 75).

Purity is not just about us getting our life in order. It’s about sharing life with the Lord. He’s what makes purity worthwhile—and possible. So, we need to seek him eagerly (v. 10).

As we continue to read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), Jesus gives examples of practical purity—not just keeping rules to impress people.

And Paul tells us … that those who have been purified by Christ will be eager to do good things (Titus 2:14).

Sometimes, we do need to take ourselves in hand. As James says, we need to purify ourselves because we have divided loyalties (James 4:8).

Finally, when Jesus says we will see God, he’s talking about our future.

We will see Christ. And in seeing Christ, we will be seeing God. The event will be so powerful that we will be transformed to be like our Saviour in an instant (1 John 3:3). This is a powerful incentive to purify ourselves in readiness for that day.

In fact, we have already seen the glory of God in the face of Christ—through the word of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:6). And if we keep looking there, we are being transformed little by little while we wait for the final day (2 Corinthians 3:18).

If this is how you see your life, Congratulations!

God’s children—the real peacemakers

Jesus is showing us what it’s like to live when he is King. And here, he says his subjects will be peacemakers—and they should be congratulated. They will be recognised as God’s children (Matthew 5:9).

It’s not surprising to find that we are being given this task. God is the God of peace (Heb. 13:20). It’s what he’s like. It’s how he operates and what he’s creating.

And then, Jesus is the Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6-7). He’s come to implement this purpose of God.

Making peace between people may be one of the hardest things we ever do in this world. All of us start off going our own way. Making peace between us is not going to be easy!

It starts with parents sorting out squabbles among siblings. It continues as counsellors, managers and negotiators struggle with competing interests—and egos.

So, peacemakers are going to need all the qualities already commended in these beatitudes—humility, mercy and meekness for example, mourning for the pain being caused and purity that can be trusted.

As this Gospel proceeds, we find Jesus creating division rather than peace (10:34). That’s because there’s a rival ‘peace’ and Jesus must expose it. Clearly, the peacemaking of God’s children isn’t just negotiating human interests.

Peace with one another begins with peace with God (Ephesians 2:14-18). Without this, we’re trying to be our own ‘god’—defending our territory and securing the interests of our group. We’ll look at this further in the next article.

So, being a peacemaker is not just being the ‘nice’ person in an angry crowd.

In the end, Jesus makes peace by dying for us (Colossians 1:19-22). He reconciles us angry sinners to his Father!

We are going to need all the perspective and all the power that comes from having our own irritable self-concern put to rest by this wonderful reconciliation.

We don’t know what this is like until it happens! But when it does, we understand how deep the need of everyone around us is for God’s mind-boggling peace (Philippians 4:5-7).

And now, the Lord is sending us out as peacemakers (Isaiah 52:7)! All of us would like peace to be created for us—a change of circumstances. But Jesus reconciles us to his Father so we can be his servants in a hostile environment.

The letter of James has many similarities to the Sermon on the Mount. This is not surprising because its writer is probably the step brother of Jesus. He has spent years watching what peacemaking is like!

Here’s what he says about making peace (James 3:13-18).

It starts with living well—or wisely. This is not simple. We need to stop thinking we are great! We need to say ‘No’ to our selfishness! We need to know that what we’ve been given is so others will benefit.

This will make us realise that peacemaking comes down from our Father in heaven and from our Saviour. Many times, we will need to go back to what Jesus has done, learn from his patience, receive his forgiveness, be settled by his faithful presence and strengthened by his love. In other words, we’ll need to know these beatitudes!

What happens next—whatever it produces among others—will be pure, peace-loving, considerate, merciful, impartial and sincere. People may recognise the Father in his children.

But whether they do or not, the Father will recognise his children, and congratulate them!

Persecuted—and joyful

Here’s the last of our Lord’s beatitudes. He says that if we are being persecuted for being righteous (Matthew 5:10), we are still on the right track. The kingdom is ours. We’re already in its flow, and we will share in its coming glory (13:43).

Jesus never holds back from telling us we will attract the world’s hatred and violence if we believe he is God’s King. Here, he tells us to endure this with dignity, and joy.

Until now, all the beatitudes have been about what we do. This one is about what happens to us. But it completes the picture Jesus is presenting and promises the same kingdom blessing as the first beatitude.

And this is the only beatitude with some extra encouragement (vv. 11-12). Jesus knows we’ll find the going hard. But he knows we’ll be glad we endured.

If we’ve grown up in a community that’s nice to Christians, we will find it surprising that Jesus refers so often to the trouble we can expect as his followers. We may have been welcomed by unbelievers. Even listened to. Or perhaps just tolerated, or ignored.

But the acceptance of the world is not deep. And it never lasts. People who don’t want God or his Son can see that our way of life comes from somewhere they don’t understand and can’t control. For them, it’s coming from an alien power.

They must find means to silence our voice and shut down our influence. God’s gracious authority has been launched on enemy territory, and we begin to feel the heat!

Because we’ve trusted in Christ and are now enjoying the dynamics of his being King, we can’t help representing him to those around us. So, while we are for peace—as in the previous beatitude, they are for war (Psa. 120:7).

People being nasty to Christians doesn’t just happen. It can only occur by God’s will (1 Pet. 3:17). And there’s good reasons why it needs to be this way. Here’s some help Jesus gives later in this Gospel.

First, persecution gives us opportunity to demonstrate God’s love to our enemies (5:44).

People who say they don’t believe in God must still live with the fact that he is not far away from them (Acts 17:27-28). He remains to them a distant, threatening or hated thought—whatever they may say.

We need to love these people with the love we are experiencing in God’s kingdom—especially while they are hating and hurting us. This is their best chance to see the truth of what we say. And our witness may be persuasive.

Second, persecution scatters us Christians further afield than we may have otherwise ventured. We suffer, but the kingdom prospers (10:21-23). This is what happens in the early days of the gospel spreading out from Jerusalem (Acts 8:3-4; 11:1-20). `

Third, persecution shows we are one with Jesus in his sufferings (10:25-33). And we are one with him in knowing the intimacy of our Father’s care for us. And if we acknowledge Jesus Christ while we are being abused, Christ promises to welcome us when our time comes to stand before God. This is a great comfort.

Fourth, persecution tests our faith to see if it is real (13:18-23). Jesus knows we can be flippant, emotional or preoccupied. So, he calls on us to really hear the gospel—not treat it as an option. Those who hold on to their faith when it is attacked, grow stronger. Those who are just on a religious picnic fall away.

Fifth, persecutors reveal their own deep hatred of God (23:34-35). They’ve not just been mistaken or misled. They really don’t like God. They’d rather live anywhere without him—and without Christians.

People need to see their own hostility exposed. This is a terrible part of the gospel, but a clear part of what is going on. It may lead to someone realising how much they need Christ. This is what happens to the apostle Paul (Acts 22:6-16).

So, suffering for being a Christian is not something strange. It’s normal, and necessary. Even good.

And Jesus is telling us to be joyful. This is not a feeling that overtakes us. It’s a choice to value what Jesus values. It’s us determining that the lasing treasure of the eternal kingdom is far greater than any temporary truce we may arrange for ourselves on this planet.

Look at how these beatitudes will be fulfilled when the kingdom comes in its fulness.

Everyone will know that everything good has come from Christ. Sorrows will be gone forever. Meekness will control every relationship. Everyone will love how God does things. Everyone will know that they’ve received mercy. And everyone will be good—totally. We’ll be living in and sharing God’s peace—forever. And no-one will oppose any of this.

But we’re not waiting until the kingdom comes. While Christ is Lord and we belong to him, we’re already in its flow. We’re practicing for the final day, walking by faith.

So, congratulations! You and I belong to Christ. Our life is totally different to what it would otherwise be. But we’re on the right track.

Life forever. What does it look like?

There are some things in life we can live without—lots of them really. But there’s one thing we can’t do without—eternal life. John writes a letter in our New Testament, especially so we can be sure we have eternal life (1 John 5:13-21).

This life forever is not just living after we die. It’s personally knowing the God who made everything—and knowing him as our Father (John 17:3). And this is what Jesus promises to those who believe he is God’s Son (John 10:28).

We need this sense of permanence and of knowing our Maker, not just when our time comes to die, but for everyday living. We need it so we can be who we really are. Those who don’t know God as their Father, and who expect to be simply snuffed out after a few decades are not really ready to live (Hebrews 2:15).

We have a sense of eternity built into us (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Whole cultures and religions grow up around this reality, as well as many vague ideas. So, we need to know what is true.

Jesus shows us that the alternative to having eternal life is perishing or remaining under God’s judgement (John 3:14-18). He tells us he will be ‘lifted up’—a reference to his crucifixion—and that we need to look to him. Only Jesus, who has dealt with death, can promise eternal life and this is why we need to confess that he is God’s Son.

From one point of view this is very simple. We read or hear about Jesus. We are drawn to him. We believe God has sent him to us, that he is his Son. We are persuaded that he is speaking to us in love (John 6:68). We believe him. And we have eternal life.

But then, it’s not so simple. None of us comes to Christ naturally. It’s a gift (Matthew 11:27; John 10:29). If you find yourself confessing that Jesus is God’s Son, it’s because God has shown this to you, and drawn you to himself.

When this happens, everything in this life has an eternal feel to it. Nothing is just going to be snuffed out—not us, not what we’ve done, and not the relationships we have shared with others who have eternal life.

So, John is writing his letter to say we can be sure we have eternal life—that is, everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son. John tells us three things about this eternal life—how it works out in three particular circumstances. (The references below are to this passage.)

First, when we pray. Second, when we see fellow Christians sinning. Third, when the world calls our faith fairy tales. Any of these things can threaten our confidence that we actually have eternal life.

So, first. We can expect God to hear our prayers (vv. 14-15). If we ask for things in line with God’s purposes, we will get what we have asked for.

If we want to work for a particular company, or play for a certain club, we would find out what they want, how they work, what their goals are. Then, we would throw ourselves into help make this happen.

It’s like this with our praying. We’ve found that God is trustworthy and generous. We know him as our Father. So, we find out what he is about, and then ask for things that fit his plan. And things happen.

This is deeply satisfying and very useful. But it’s also eternal—that is, what happens will be not just create history. It will be immortalized in God’s coming kingdom (Mathew 25:37-40; Revelation 14:13).

Then, second. We might be anxious when we see a fellow Christian caught up in some wrong-doing. But we can tell the difference between a sin that is fatal and one that isn’t (vv. 16-18).

Putting it simply, a person who commits a sin that leads to death doesn’t have eternal life. That’s obvious. But John has already told us that Christians do sin (1:8; 2:1) and feel guilty (3:20). But some sins don’t lead to death. And our prayers at this point can make a difference.

An example may help. Peter denies Jesus after promising that he will be faithful. Clearly, he sins.

But Jesus has already told him that he will pray for him—that his faith will not fail (Luke 22:32). He also anticipates his repentance and future helpfulness to other Christians. His sin does not cause him to lose eternal life. It isn’t a sin that results in death.

A sin that leads to death is one we won’t confess (1:9). It’s one we won’t believe Jesus dies for (2:1). It’s one we have no real intention of stopping (3:8-10).

But, if you or I have been drawn to Christ, we have been born into the Father’s family and can’t keep on sinning. We hate what we’ve done. We run to Christ, are washed clean and eagerly desire to remain so.

It’s only by knowing God and walking honestly before him that we can recognise the difference between sins. But any sinning remains dangerous. So, we pray for one another as Jesus prayed for Peter. I’m sure there are fellow Christians who have seen me playing with fire, and prayed that my faith would not fail.

Eternal life enables us to share with God in his great project to save his people. We pray. God gives life. Satan can’t ‘get to’ this person and take them captive.

And third. We can know we are genuine or real when the world calls our faith a fairy tale (vv. 19-20). Eternal life come to us with its own built-in authenticity.

John says there are three things we know are real. Translations usually read ‘true’ here but the word actually means real. [There are two Greek words for true: alétheia—the opposite of false, and aléthinos—the opposite of unreal. This is aléthinos.]

Christians know God. They know he is real. They understand that all reality begins with him and with our confession that this is so.

The world begins with what it can see and control. That’s what it calls real. Everything else, they say, arises from that—things like ideas, beliefs, ideologies and laws.

But the reality is that God has made the world. He is what is real. Everything else exists because he makes it. It’s the opposite of what the world is saying. Encountering God as Father through Jesus breaks through this lie and shows us God who is true, or real.

Then, we are in him who is true. This is because eternal life is a relationship. We don’t just know about God. We know him. And we know he knows us. We live in his presence and by his speaking and his loving.

If there is any reality about a Christian, this is it. We have all messed things up—badly. And we go on getting things wrong. Our reality is not what we are, or what we may promise to be. Just ask Peter.

Our genuineness is from being in him who is true (John could mean God or Jesus). For example, love is not from us. It’s from God (4:10).

It’s God who is real. And what he makes shares in that reality (3:9; 4:4-6). Our whole life is what it is because of Jesus Christ (cf. John 7:37-39). Nothing else can last forever.

That’s why we need Jesus to have eternal life. Only Christ can stand before God and hold his head high. We need to know and confess that he is the Son of God—the one who washes us clean with his blood.

Satan, by clever talk and deception presents an opposite view of what is real—but it’s only ideas—an ideology.

The world looks at us and only sees a human being but our life is ‘coming down’ from God. We can see the God who is real, and live in him. That’s reality! And all this happens simply by confessing that Jesus is God’s Son.

So, don’t settle for idols which are have no real correspondence to what is real (v. 21). They can’t offer eternal life.

The whole human race is divided into two groups—those who know God is real and that their life comes from God, and the rest of the world which ‘lies in the power of the evil one’.

Here’s how the comparison works out. Jesus is totally real. He has come, and has given understanding—the verbs indicate something that goes on being effective. Jesus is entirely authentic—unselfish, holy and powerful.

But Satan is pure sleight of hand, ambition and pride. Well may we shudder over what Satan is capable of and of what it means to be in his power (John 12:31).

So, let’s trust in the name of the Son of God. He has come, given us understanding to know the real God, and be in the real God through his Son. He is the real God and eternal life.

God’s love for fearful people

Uncertainty is part of life, but there’s some things God wants us to be sure of. In this chapter of John’s letter (1 John 4:14-21), there are two that he mentions. First, we can be sure we are loved by God (v. 16). And because of this, we can be confident to stand before God on judgement day (v. 17).

Being confident about what will happen to us when we die gives us confidence about life generally. And its God’s love working in us that will make the difference.

It is fashionable in our communities to ridicule the idea of life after death and a judgement to come. Some think it’s a cruel fiction to keep people under control. Many treat it as a joke.

But a judgement day is coming. Jesus speaks about it often. And the apostles are clear about it. God has raised Jesus from the dead to give us clear evidence that there is life after death. And Jesus is the one to whom we will have to answer (Acts 17:31).

Whatever we think about this, we can’t escape the reality of being responsible to God. He’s made us so that we are always aware that we should be doing good things and turning away from what is bad—even if our definition of this is different to God’s. We have a conscience. We are incurably moral!

Having a bad conscience is painful. Some people spend years ‘making up’ for what they have done. And keeping a good conscience is hard work. We have to have reasons why our critics are wrong.

Conscience is like an early warning system—an alarm to tell us that danger is coming. If we do wrong, we fear we will get what we deserve.

Conscience is also like a shadow. If we are in the light, it’s there. God shines on us—his creatures. And his light casts a shadow we can’t avoid. We know we’re responsible to someone.

Many try to deaden this sense, but it turns up anyway. The fear of there being a God to whom we must answer one day won’t go away (Heb. 2:14-15).

That is, unless we discover that we are loved by God. Here’s some points that John makes. They all begin with ‘c’ to help keep them in mind.

First, Christ has come. God Son has come into this world to be its Saviour (v. 14). John has seen him. He’s telling us what he’s heard and touched. And there’s no-one else who can promise us eternal life (John 6:68)—that is, life beyond judgement.

Sending his Son is a very personal act for God to take and he means us to take notice (Luke 20:13).

He sent him among us to make propitiation, or be a sacrifice for our sins (v. 10). Propitiation is Jesus preventing God’s anger from reaching us.

God feels very deeply about our sins. We try to be a small target and make little of what we do wrong. But God is offended by our ignoring him. If he wasn’t, he would be saying that we don’t matter. But we do matter to God—and what we do matters. That’s why our conscience tells us our sinning is not OK. The ‘shadow’ is there.

And Jesus sees this is the trouble we’ve got. He wants us to know his Father like he does and is willing to bear God’s offence with us—instead of it reaching us. Everything here is very personal.

Second, we confess that Jesus is the Saviour of the world (v. 15).

Confessing something like this is more than just doing some history or theology. We’ve discovered God loves us and is speaking to us. We know Jesus is his Son. We know he’s laid down his life for us. From now on, God is very close and personal.

We sometimes talk about people bouncing off each other like billiard balls. But the gospel penetrates our exterior toughness. We were being stalked by our ‘shadow’. But then, a Saviour is announced. He comes closer to us than this shadow. And we find ourselves confessing, gratefully, that Jesus is God’s Son.

Third, we are being courted (vv. 15-16). This may not the best word to use but it does start with ‘c’!

When we confess that Jesus is God’s Son, we have come to live in God and God has come to live in us. This is the language of love—personal giving to one another. We have come to know the love God has for us. This is what happens in a courtship.

In fact, we are in a covenant with God—like a marriage. And the bond is validated by Christ’s blood. That’s more than courting, but in fact, we are discovering love. God is giving to us what is precious to him and what we deeply need. God is living for us and we are now living for God.

Fourth, all this leads to confidence.

John tells us two things that will give us confidence.

We—on earth, are like Jesus—in heaven. Think about this. Jesus is in God’s presence—magnificent in holy victory. He’s made an end of the offence we caused God. And God loves his Son for what he has done. And the Son is delighting in that!

And we are like that—now, in this world! That is, God’s love for us and delight in us is the same as it is for his Son. We are accepted ‘in the Beloved’ Son (Ephesians 1:6).

Then, this amazing love of God is ‘made complete among us.’ What starts in heaven is now operating among us. We know God is true, we know what he has done, and we love. Love has changed our whole situation. Bitterness, suspicion, anger and envy are gone.

And so has fear! Love throws fear out of the picture. We are ready for judgement day (v. 17)—happy to meet God.

God’s love has landed, not just on our planet but right here. He lives in us so that his love is formed in us and among us. And we live in him, dependently and gratefully.

And the result of all this is confidence for judgement day! People with confidence like this are also ready for life here and now.

We all have fears to face—of what happens in our world, of what the doctor might say, of what our family is doing or how the bills will be paid. But none of this comes as accusation and blame. That’s been settled. We know where we stand—with God. And we have access to his grace.

We are ready to serve God and our neighbour. We’ve heard the early warning of judgement and run to Christ. We know that the shadow we make is created by a Light we now know as our Saviour.

Is the world safe?

The Bible is peppered with God’s promises. They are the certainties we need to know as we navigate our way through all that happens in this world.

Politicians know they must promise something to have us vote for them. But they can’t ensure that what they promise will happen. Only God can do that!

Here’s some of the first promises God makes (See Genesis 3:15; 8:20—9:17).

The first is announced to Adam and Eve in Eden. They have asserted their independence from God and want to determine what is right and wrong for themselves. Because of this, as God had told them, they will die.

And since then, we all die. And we must deal with many threats and uncertainties along the way. Death, and the fear of it, lingers closely.

But immediately, God makes this promise. Adam and Eve will have a child who will undo the mischief caused by Satan’s deadly temptation (Genesis 3:15). It will come at a cost to the promised child, but shows, immediately, that God’s enemy will never have the last word.

We can think this is just a quaint story, or we can see it he one chance we have to live a full life.

The story that follows in the book of Genesis bears this out (chapters 3—5). The people who believe God’s promise find some poise and certainty, and generosity in life. Those who won’t believe this promise feel threatened, become angry, grasping and even cruel.

The child God has promised will be no less than his own Son—Jesus Christ. And the rest of the Bible is the story of this unfolding—as we shall see. But, already, God’s promise changes how people live.

Then, there’s another great promise.

By the time of Noah, the earth has become so violent that God promises to destroy it. Except for Noah and his family. God will gracious to him (Genesis 6:8). He must build what amounts to a floating zoo to house his family and many animals.

The flood that then comes is so comprehensive that only those floating in the ark survive. God is starting again with a new couple. The story is quite long (Genesis 6—9), but, at the end of it, Noah says thankyou with a sacrificial offering.

And God makes a promise. ‘I will never again strike down every creature as I have done’ (Genesis 8:21-22). And the next line is very important—seasons and harvests will continue as long as the earth remains.

This is a promise to all of us—all of Noah’s descendants. God is establishing a relationship or covenant with the human race. He will never again reduce the world to a single family with a flood like the one they have just had. This is what we are to remember when we see a rainbow in the sky. Seasons and harvests will continue.

Think of the difference it makes if you have a promise that the Creator will see to it that harvests will continue.

But most interesting is the reason why this is so. ‘The intention of men’s hearts is evil from his youth’. This is the same reason God has for flooding the earth (Genesis 6:5). Nothing has really changed. But God’s relationship to what he has made is a relationship of grace. We are not going to get what we deserve. We’ll get what he has promised.

If this is what we believe, it makes a huge difference! Without it, we become threatened, anxious, angry, grasping, and even cruel. But believing God’s promise can make us trusting, settled, and even generous.

As we think about people around us, we can tell them what Paul says. ‘We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. … He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy’ (Acts 14:15-16).

Right now, we are facing a massive food shortage around the world. But, in fact, the world is producing more food than ever before. We don’t do very well distributing it evenly. But think of the difference it will make if we believe that God has promised never to destroy the means of production.

God has promised this, not because we deserve it. We never will. He’s promised it because he is kind. And not for any other reason.But there’s still the promise of a child to come. And this is where the next promises will take us.

Who can we trust?

Everything we do in life needs some confidence that it might work out well. And God has not left us in the dark about this. From the beginning, he has surrounded us with promises.

For example, a Psalm tell us that ‘the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity’ (Psalm 37:11). Jesus reflects this in his Sermon on the mount, saying that the meek are blessed because they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).

Really? The world looks like it belongs to those who take it by storm. So how can this promise, and many others, settle our hearts to trust in God and in Jesus whom he has sent?

From the beginning, humanity decided it wouldn’t trust God. And ever since then, that’s been our problem. We’d rather be the ones who are trustworthy. God must painstakingly demonstrate that he is the only one who can guarantee our future (Isaiah 48:3-8). And this is what he does.

The numerous promises made by prophets, or by Jesus and his apostles belong in a structure of promises—covenants of promise (Ephesians 2:12). If we know what these are, it helps us understand all the others.

The first of these is a promise made to Abraham. His whole story is in Genesis (chapters 12—25), but here is how Paul describes him coming to trust in God’s word (Romans 4:13-23).

First, God tells Abraham that he will inherit the world (v. 13).

This means he will have a family, his own country and become a nation. That’s just a start. He will become the father of nations (v. 17). God will bless him so he can be a blessing in the whole earth (Genesis 12:1-3).

Abraham’s family has come through a time when people gathered together to secure their own future—by building a massive tower—at Babel (Genesis 11). It all comes to nothing because God confuses their languages.

God is showing Abraham, and us, a better way. Paul says God’s promise is for all of us who don’t trust in ourselves but in his goodness (v. 16). (What he’s doing in this letter is comparing Abraham with people who are trying to justify themselves by being good law-keepers.)

Paul says we are added to Abraham’s family and share the family inheritance. Abraham will ‘inherit the world’ (v. 13), and so shall we.

This might sound a long way from what we are interested in, but think about the promise Jesus makes to us all: the meek will inherit the earth. We all need to know that God will provide for us and give us our place in life. Our future is important—and it matters to him.

The disciples of Jesus give us an interesting example of this (Matthew 19:27-30).

We may be thinking of inheritance as property or wealth, but God is thinking of us being a blessing in it—not being concerned with ourselves but with those we can serve. This is the way Jesus Christ will inherit the earth, and it’s the same for us.

We don’t have to make ourselves significant, important, rich and powerful. God is promising, not just to keep the world functioning (the promise to Noah) but to make us significant in his kingdom (Matthew 25:34)—to bless us and make us a blessing.

Second, here’s how God evokes trust.

Simply, God speaks to Abraham (Genesis 12:1). We don’t know what this looks like but it gets Abraham going. The God of glory has come to him (Acts 7:2).

It’s the same now. When we hear the gospel preached, God’s word comes to us. The God of glory has appeared in the person of Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:6) and his glory has been revealed in what he has done. We have more to go on than Abraham did.

Faith comes by hearing this word of Christ (Romans 10:17). We don’t know how this happens, but it’s how God brings us to trust him.

Abraham doesn’t sit easily with this. He doesn’t have a son, let alone a family or a nation. And this continues for some time. What God is promising is impossible. It’s not easy trusting what we can’t see.

Our natural habit is to want immediate gratification. But trusting God involves waiting. We need to stop pumping up our own importance and see that God is ‘waiting to be gracious’ to us (Isaiah 30:18). There’s no other way to know that God is good.

God persists with Abraham. And, he grows strong in faith (vv. 18-19).

Third, two miracles now happen.

Abraham confesses that God is good and true and reliable (v. 20). This is a reversal of all that went wrong in Eden. Abraham doesn’t need to make himself great. He’s found that God is the one with all the glory—he’s good, and he’s trustworthy.

This is what happens to every Christian. We can see that the one who made the world knows how to look after it. We know he is being kind to his creatures and that he’s making a world community that reflects his kindness. We know God has the power to do what he promises (v. 21).

The second miracle is that God calls a sinner righteous (v. 22-25). We’d sought to be the ones who were right and good—and made a thorough mess of it. Now, when we stop seeking to create our own righteousness, God gives it to us.

We have more to go on than Abraham ever did. We’ve seen the God of glory in the face of Christ because he gave up his Son to death for our sins.

We’ve also seen him being raised from the dead, not just to prove that he was in the right all along, but to reckon this justification to all of us who trust him. Being called ‘right’ by God changes everything.

We can now hear God’s promises clearly. We will inherit the earth. We will inherit the world over which God reigns—his kingdom (Matthew 25:34). We will have eternal life (Matthew 19:29). And if this is the way we are living, we will have his promise that he can look after all our needs and take us through our troubles as well (Matthew 6:31-34). Life is good!

Why Jesus Christ?

God starts making promises after we become sinners. He gives us an opportunity to start trusting him again—to discover that he is worthy of our love. So, it’s not surprising that every promise he makes (in the Old Testament) is based on what Jesus will do, or (in the New Testament), has done among us.

The Bible has many promises that God will be with us or help us (Psalm 37 and 91:14-16 are some well-known examples). We may be comforted by them. But then, if we imagine that these promises will be fulfilled because we are nice people or because we feel good when we read them, we are deceived. We need what Christ does to receive what is promised.

Jesus says ‘Yes’ on our behalf to everything God promises (2 Corinthians 1:20). We are slow to believe and reticent to trust. Not Jesus! He wants God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

For example, he has power to lay his life down and take it up again because his Father has commanded it—or we could say, promised it (John 10:18). That’s amazing certainty to have in a world that’s full of danger.

It’s Christ’s ‘Yes!’ that enables us to say ‘Amen!’ We learn from him that God means what he says, wants do us good and can bring about what he has promised.

Notice how confident Paul is when he says this. Because God’s promises are being fulfilled in Christ, he can be definite in making promises to other people. The reliability we need to make a good future comes from what Christ does.

This is why, when Jesus is born, that there is so much joy (Luke 2:8-14). A promise made to King David—that he would have a great Son—has come. All the things God will do to save our broken world and damaged lives are now going to happen (Luke 1:67-79).

What God promises David is central to all the promises God makes. A descendant of his will reign forever (2 Samuel 7:12-19).

Finally, someone will come who can deal with this world, and with us—given our capacity for deceit and distrust. He will be greater than David—his ‘lord’ in fact (Psalm 110:1; Matthew 22:44-46). He will sit beside God until all opposition is overcome.

He will be a priest as well as a king. That’s because we need more than a leader to solve problems. We need someone to bring us to God.

As Israel’s history becomes worse and worse, God’s promises about his King get better and better. This son will be God’s Son. And the idea that any power could frustrate his purpose is laughable (Psalm 2).

Later generations are told that he will be called ‘Wonderful Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace’ (Isaiah 9:6). Through him, the whole earth will be given peace, and will know God (Isaiah 11:1-9).

When Jesus comes, promises made about David’s Son are quoted to show that he is the one promised. Everyone needs to decide if Jesus is this Christ or Messiah—like Peter (Matthew 16:15-16), or Jewish leaders (Matthew 26:63-64) or the people at Pentecost.

This is what Peter talks about after Jesus ascends and sends his Holy Spirit. God’s people have killed their anointed Leader and King. But God has raised him up. They need his forgiveness—urgently (Acts 2:36-38).

This is why it’s so important to hear God’s promises brought to us in Jesus’ name. He’s taken account of our preference to trust ourselves, our ungratefulness and resentment. And, he comes to us, raised from the dead, with the offer of new life.

This promise is not only being made to Peter’s audience. It’s being made to us—as many as God calls (Acts 2:39; Romans 15:8). Our sins too can be forgiven. We too can be reconciled to the God we have offended. And we can hear all the promises Christ came to fulfil and be persuaded that God really means to do us good.

We can read Psalm 37:4: ‘Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart’. We can hear the same thing from Jesus: ‘If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you’ (John 15:7).

Preaching about Jesus as God’s promised Saviour starts with forgiveness through Christ’s death, and with the renewal of hope through his resurrection (Acts 13:23, 32, 38; 26:6). By raising Jesus from the dead, the promise made to us is not, ‘You will die’, but ‘You will live!’

Our life is now full of hope. We can be what we really are because of ‘the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus’ (2 Timothy 1:1). Instead of being subject to the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15), we are liberated by the expectation of life and resurrection.

No wonder the promises of God needs this coming King. No-one can guarantee anything unless they are in charge. And here, Jesus has taken charge of everything—our self-sufficiency and troubles and fears on the one hand, but also, all the wonderful purpose of God for us on the other. He has led us into the meekness of trusting in him.

This changes our expectations, our habits, our relationships, our conversations—everything!

Whose promise counts? God’s or mine?

The promises of God we often turn to are those that offer help with our daily life and its battles. But the promise we look at here is a promise that God will make us holy—that is, like himself.

This must be the best of all promises. It’s our one chance to be what we really are. We are God’s image, and if we are not reflecting him, every part of us is working hard to be something we are not built for.

This promise that God will make us holy—or sanctify us, is absolutely necessary. It’s like a parent’s confidence that their baby can walk. God believes we can be holy—and will make it happen. That’s what we need to hear.

Like Paul, we can ask God to sanctify young Christians, and keep them so they will be entirely blameless for when Christ returns. And Paul adds, ‘God is faithful. And he will do it’ (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). To another group, he says God will keep them guiltless—to the very end. And he adds, ‘God is faithful’ (1 Corinthians 1:7-9). This is very different from telling people they are on their own!

If we are going to be godly—that is, trust him and become like him, we will need to know that this is something God has promised to do.

This is illustrated dramatically when Peter promises Jesus that he will be a faithful disciple. The Lord contradicts him. And by morning, Peter knows that his claims have been empty (Luke 22:31-34). But Jesus has prayed for him that his faith will not fail. And this is exactly what happens. He fails, but not his faith.

He thought he loved Jesus. Jesus knows better (John 14:28). But God’s promises are fulfilled, and, after the resurrection, he knows himself better, and he knows he loves Christ (John 21:15-19). His holiness is dependent on Christ’s prayer and promise.

This is the way with all of us. We fail, even often. But because God makes a promise to keep us, we get up again and make progress.

What Jesus is doing here is fulfilling God’s promise to write his law on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-34). In other words, what God commands will become what we want to do. And God vows to relate to us in such a way that this will happen. He will forgive our sins and enable us to know him.

God also promises to fill us with his Spirit. Instead of having hard hearts, he will make them clean and will live in them. And what he wants will be what we want (Ezekiel 36:25-28).

These promises are part of a new covenant that God makes when his earlier covenant has been broken. And it is this covenant that Jesus puts into action. Just before his death, he gives a cup of wine to his followers and says ‘this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood’ (Luke 22:20).

This means that if we take the ‘cup’ he offers—if we entrust ourselves wholly to what he does when he dies for us, God will fulfil the promise he made and forgive our sins, enable us to know him, and his law will be written on our hearts. We will pray the Lord’s prayer with enthusiasm— ‘May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matthew 6:10).

Don’t underestimate what is going on here. Our situation is hopeless. Jesus must do, for us, what we will not and cannot do for ourselves. We should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbour as ourselves. But we don’t. And we should suffer God’s judgement for our failure. And we can’t do this without being destroyed forever.

But Jesus is keeping this new covenant promise. Because we share with Christ—in his body and blood—that is, in what he does with his body and blood, we will know God as he really is. We will want to live as his people. And he will forgive all that has happened beforehand.

We need to know this new covenant promise well. Here’s how it is spelt out by the apostles.

First, the letter of Hebrews tells us that we are forgiven—completely (Hebrews 8:6, 10-12; 9:14, 24-26). Sin has effectively been ‘put away’.

The sacrifice Jesus offers to God for our sins turns a light on inside our conscience. We can stop debating with ourselves about what we have done. We can stop inventing ways to appear righteous. Instead, our cleansed conscience can tell us what to run from and what to give ourselves to.

And when Jesus enters into God’s presence on our behalf, we travel there with him (4:14-16). We are ‘at home’ with God and want to please him.

Second, Peter, as we have seen, is renewed by this new covenant promise. He says there are many promises—great and precious. They enable us to share in what God is like (2 Peter 1:3-11).

Peter is not suggesting we be lazy. He urges us to give everything we have to pleasing God. We need to get some virtue into our faith, and some knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, affection and love. All these take work, but we have the enthusiasm for it because we know God is reliable. He’s guaranteed that our godliness is going to happen.

On the other hand, if we don’t do this, Peter says we have forgotten we are forgiven! God’s forgiveness is not just him emptying our trash can. It’s Jesus showing us that God is totally reliable and gracious. We’ve not just had an experience. We’ve met a person.

Third, Paul tells us how bold this can make us (2 Corinthians 3:4-18). There’s no life in just having instructions. The world is handing out instructions all the time but it has no power to put love in people’s hearts.

The promise we are living under is actually the outshining of God’s glory in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). And while we keep looking at Christ rather than at ourselves, we are being changed—being made more glorious!

With hope like this, we have every reason to be confident. And this is what God wants. We can come to him, we can live in this world, and we can look forward to the future God is making.