In the last 5 days, we have studied various scriptures on the promises of God. Let us spend the last two days meditating on the promises made by and through Jesus.

1) The promise of eternal life

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

This emphasizes initial and continuing belief in Jesus. The offer is for anyone (whoever) with no special distinction of any kind. God provides a covenant – He initiates (gave his one and only Son) and expects a response (to believe in him).

2) Only, if we acknowledge Him before men, will He acknowledge us before God

Matthew 10:32-33
32 Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.
33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

Christ and our decision to follow him (Christianity) must be personally and publicly acknowledged and obeyed. One who refuses these does not belong to the family of God. This is reiterated in Mathew 12:50

Matthew 12:50
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.

3) In order to receive LIFE, we must lose our life for Christ

Matthew 10:39
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Jesus calls us to lose our life (our self-interest), in light of Jesus’ interest. For eternal life, we must be willing to lose all possessions, relations, reputation, time, energy and everything else. All is demanded from us so that ALL can be given to us eternally. This is emphasized in Mathew 16:26 and John 12:25

Matthew 16:26
What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?

John 12:25
The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

4) If we hold to his teaching, we will be set free

John 8:31-32
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
32 Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

God’s word is to be believed and obeyed continuously. Also emphasized in John 5:24

John 5:24
I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

The knowing of truth (John 8:32) indicates a ‘personal relationship’ and not ‘intellectual knowledge’. This results in freedom from legalism, ritualism, and performance based religion.

Life application

Let us ask ourselves
- “Do I believe in each of these promises listed above?”
- “Do I acknowledge Christ before men (my family, my colleagues, my friends …)?”
- “Is there anything I am not willing to lose for Christ?”

Challenge

Based on the scriptures we studied today, decide to have a continuous personal relationship with Christ.