In sports it is said, “records are made to be broken.” Unfortunately, too often with humans the same can be said of promises. Broken promises are often the source of our deepest hurts. Thus, it is no surprise the comfort Christians take from God and his steadfast commitment to truth and keeping his promises. That being said, a healthy zeal for God’s promises, if not guarded by sound principles of biblical interpretation, can also lead to pain and frustration if we do not rightly discern how God keeps promises, when he keeps promises, and to whom he keeps promises. Today we will consider some common missteps people make in understanding or applying God’s Word.

1) Not seeing the “if”

One broad categorization of the promises of God separates his “conditional” promises from his “unconditional” promises. Often, his conditional promises follow a logical “if/then” pattern, but failing this, make sure you notice any obligation on our part that is tied to God’s promise. For example, Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” It is those who delight that receive God’s good desires. God gives conditional promises to encourage us toward right living: he who asks is answered, he who seeks finds, he who knocks has a door opened.

2) Ignoring Context

Like location, location, location in real estate, context is of critical importance when understanding what kind of promise God has made in a particular scripture text. Consider who or what God is speaking to: is it a particular person or situation? In these cases, a promise is likely not to be applied beyond the context, although we may draw principles relating to how God deals with his people. Moreover, the context helps us determine the scope to a promise. Consider the following promise from Philippians 4:13: “I am able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Many Christians misapply this verse and presume it is to be taken as a literal “all”. So, I can go to the gym and with enough faith say, “I am going to bench press 500 lbs today because I can do all things!” If we take time to simply read the previous two verses we understand that Paul is talking about the ability to live a contented life regardless of our circumstances, which is very different from able to do anything we want to do.

3) Time

In comedy, timing is everything. It is also important with God’s promises. Some of his promises have been fulfilled, but others are reserved for eternity. Jesus told us that the kingdom of God is both “coming” and “now is”. Paul says that we are “blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3)” yet also taught about our glorious future inheritance (Eph. 1:18). Do not presume to know precisely when or how God’s promises will be fulfilled in our lives.

This is not to discourage us from trusting in God, but to exercise godliness in doing so, for with faith and patience we inherit the promises of God (see Heb.6:12). Moreover, the bible generally instructs us to trust and rest in the certainties of God rather than look for certainties in life. Toward that end consider the many general promises of God made to all, for all time, like the ten I highlighted yesterday.