The Oberlin Evangelist

May 22, 1839

Lecture XI.

THE PROMISES--No. 1

by the Rev. Charles G. Finney

Modernized by Cliff Collins

“By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2 Peter 1:4)

I. I will preface what I have to say on this subject with several preliminary remarks concerning the promises Scripture.

II. What is the purpose of the promises?

III. I will show that the promises are adequate for their purposes.

IV. I will show why they are not fulfilled in us.

I. I will make several preliminary remarks on the nature of the promises.

1. The promises made to the Church under the old dispensation belong emphatically to the Christian Church. Thus, the promise made to Abraham was designed more for his posterity, and for the Christian Church than for Abraham. That part of the promise that related to the earthly possession of Canaan was never fulfilled to him. He lived and died “a stranger and sojourner in the land of promise”. In Hebrews 11:13 we are clearly informed that Abraham did not receive the fulfillment of the promises, but that the promises belonged especially to Christians under the New Testament dispensation. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” In other words, Abraham and the patriarchs died without receiving the fulfillment of the promises. Again, in verses 39-40, “And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.”

The New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34 says: “Behold, the days are coming”, says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them”, says the Lord. “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says the Lord, I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord’, for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Also, Jeremiah 32:39-40 says: “then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.”

Also, Ezek. 36:25-27: “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

There are numerous other similar promises, made to the church under the Old Testament Dispensation that particularly belongs to the Church under the Christian Dispensation. As a result, the Apostle in Hebrews 8:8-12 maintains that the covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-32 is particularly for the Gospel Dispensation. “Behold, the days are coming”, says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them”, says the Lord. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days”, says the Lord, “I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord’, for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

2. The promises made to the Church as a body, belong to individuals of the Church. The Church is composed of individuals, and the promises are only valuable if they can be applied to individuals.

3. Promises made to the Patriarchs and Individuals under the Old Testament Dispensation, as well as under the new, belong to all individuals, in every age and land, under similar circumstances. Thus, we find that the inspired writers recognized this principle everywhere in their writings; in the way they used the promises. As an illustration, look at Hebrews 13:5. “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” If you turn to Gen. 28:15, you will see that the promise that the Apostle applies to all Christians was originally made to Jacob on his way to Padan Aram. “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” Therefore, in Heb. 13:6 the Apostle continues, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” This is quoted from Ps. 56:4, 11, “In God I have put my trust; I will not fear what man can do to me”.

Let these serve as examples of the way in which inspired writers apply the promises. In the experience of every Christian, it is clear that the Spirit of God applies the promises in the same way. Thus, the promises are a kind of common property for the saints. Who has not been edified and refreshed by reading the biographies of highly spiritual men, and by observing the abundant use of the promises that the Spirit of God makes in refreshing the souls of the saints.

4. The promises made to Israel and Judah in the Old Testament, are promises made to the whole Christian Church, both Jews and Gentiles. That is why the Church of Christ is called the “Israel of God” in Galatians 6:16. The Apostle also clearly affirms that, “they are not all Israel which are of Israel”. (Romans 9:6) But this fact is abundantly confirmed, that the true Israel of the Scriptures is the true Church of God in every age, to whom, collectively and individually, all the promises of the Bible belong.

5. The promises mean everything they say. In other words, we interpret the promises by the same rules by which we interpret the commandments. For example let’s look at the promise in Deut. 30:6. “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” We are to interpret this promise by the same rule that we interpret the commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul”. (Matt 22:37) The same is true with the promises in Ezek. 36:25-26. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh”. We are supposed to understand this passage as implying just as much as the commands in Ezek. 18:30-31. “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways”, says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die O house of Israel?” The same is true with the promise, “then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezek 11:19-20) These promises mean just as much as the commands, “walk in My statutes”, and “keep My commandments” mean.

6. We only keep the commandments as we take hold of the promises. By this, I mean that grace alone enables us, from our heart, to obey the commandments of God. Therefore, it is only when we grab a hold of the promises by faith, and we receive their fulfillment, that we really, in heart, obey the commandments of God. For example, we never truly love the Lord our God according to the first great commandment until we grab a hold of, and receive the fulfillment of a promise like this promise: “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” (Deut 30:16)

7. The promises are held out to all who will believe them.

8. The promise of spiritual blessings cannot be fulfilled for us without exercising faith on our part. Spiritual blessings are naturally impossible without faith.

9. We cannot believe the promises, unless we know that they exist. This is obvious.

10. We cannot believe the promises, unless we understand their application.

11. We cannot believe promises of particular blessings, without a general confidence in the character and truth of God. Our confidence in any specific promise of any being must depend upon our confidence in his truth, willingness, and ability. Thus if a person comes to God to plead any promise, he must, from the beginning, believe that “God is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. (Hebrews 11:6)

12. There are promises in the Bible of all kinds of blessings, suited to all our needs and circumstances, material and spiritual.

13. There are promises suited to all classes and conditions of human beings.

14. There are promises suited to all possible states of mind.

Later, I will be able to discuss these things in more detail.

15. Some of the promises are without any condition, expressed or implied. The fulfillment of these promises does not depend on our own agency at all.

The covenant made with Noah is an example of this kind of promise. “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” (Gen 8:22)

16. However, there is usually at least one condition implied in every promise. Although they are not mentioned, these conditions come from the nature of the situation. For example, if I promised to pay a sum of money for an object of equal worth, although no condition is mentioned, it is clear that the individual must agree to receive it. Therefore, if a testator leaves an inheritance to an heir, the terms of the bequest may be absolute, and without condition, yet it is always implied that the heir believes that a bequest was made, and takes the necessary steps to receive that inheritance. The same is true with the promises of God. Many of them appear to be absolute, because there is no expressed condition. Nevertheless, a condition is implied, for example, that we believe the promise, and are willing to receive the offered blessing.

17. Most of the promises of God are made on expressed conditions. Thus the promises in Ezek. 36:25-27 appears to be expressed in full without any condition. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them”. However, in the 37th verse the following condition is mentioned, “I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them”, says the Lord. Also, in James 1:5 you find this promise, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him”. This passage seems to be expressed without any conditions; but in the sixth verse the condition is clearly added, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting”, and so, we are informed that without faith, this promise shall not be fulfilled.

In Matthew, 7:7 you have another illustration of this same principle. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Here asking (of course in faith) is the condition of receiving.

18. I have already said that many of the promises are made to particular states of mind, and they apply only to people in that state of mind, for example:

(1) There are promises made to the impenitent sinner. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:7) Now the conditions of these promises are that the sinner “forsakes his way” and “returns unto the Lord”. Without the fulfillment of these conditions, the sinner can never receive the benefit of the promise. In Isaiah 1:18, there is another promise to the sinner, “Come now, and let us reason together”, says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” And, in the 19th verse the condition is expressed, “if you are willing and obedient”.

(2) Again, there are promises to the backslider.

“My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, none at all exalt Him. How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred. I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man, the Holy One in your midst; and I will not come with terror.” (Hosea 11:7-9)

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him. I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, and lengthen his roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread; his beauty shall be like an olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon. Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall be revived like grain, and grow like the vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim shall say, ‘what have I to do anymore with idols?’ I have heard and observed him. I am like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in Me. Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them. (Hosea 14:4-9)

“Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel’, says the Lord, ‘and I will not cause My anger to fall on you; for I am merciful’, says the Lord, ‘and I will not remain angry forever. And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.” “Indeed we do come to You, for You are the Lord our God.” (Jeremiah 3:12,15,22) In these last two passages, the conditions lie on the face of the promises.

(3) Again there are promises especially to weak believers.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; they shall be as nothing, and those who strive with you shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them those who contended with you. Those who war against you shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing. For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you. Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you,’ says the Lord and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 41:10-14)

“Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are fearful-hearted, ‘be strong. Do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; it shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:3-10)

“He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:29-31)

(4) Again there are promises to those who are spiritually blind, and in darkness.

“To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house.” (Isaiah 42:7)

“I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.” (Isaiah 42:16)

(5) Again there are promises to those who are tempted.

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Cor. 10:13)

“The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.” (2 Pet. 2:9)

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalms 34:17-19)

(6) There are promises to those who are struggling to overcome sin, and are weighed down with a sense of guilt. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:28-29)

(7) There are promises to those who are seeking sanctification.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Matt 5:6)

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen diligently to Me, eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you the sure mercies of David.” (Isaiah 55:1-3)

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” (1 Thess 5:23-24)

“Behold, the days are coming”, says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them”, says the Lord. “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says the Lord, I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord’, for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them”, says the Lord. “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jer 31:31-34)

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezek. 36:25-27)

(8) There are also promises to those who fear future relapses into sin.

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.” (Psalms 121)

“The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.” (Psalms 37:31)

(9) Again there are promises to those who are seeking divine influence.

“"If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:11-13)

“I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.” (Rev 21:6)

“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come’! And let him who hears say, “Come”! And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev 22:17) That the water here mentioned is the divine influence is clear from Isaiah 12:3. “Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink’, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:10,14)

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39)

(10) There are promises to those who pray for their friends.

“And He said to them, ‘Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you?’ I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. And I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:5-9) One thing taught in this passage is that we may come and expect to receive blessings for our friends.

The same is true in Matt. 15:22-28. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us”. But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me”! But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she said, “True, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table”. Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

(11) There are promises to those who pray for the Church. Every promise in the Bible that relates to its future prosperity is held out to all who will pray for the Church.

(12) Again there are promises so general in their nature as to cover all our needs, material and spiritual. Let Mark 11:24 stand as an example of this kind of promises. “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Concerning these promises that cover all our desires, I remark,

(a) We must desire right things, in other words, things that will glorify God.

(b) It is implied that we desire them for right reasons, that that we have an unselfish, and not a selfish purpose for wanting to obtain them.

(c) That the petitioner should be under a divine influence in his request, and that his desire should be produced by the Holy Spirit. Only the highly spiritual will ever rightly understand and apply these promises.

(13) There are promises to parents for their children.

“I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.” (Isaiah 44:3) Now this promise is as appropriate to every Christian parent, as it was to any parent that ever belonged to the Church of God. The Apostle clearly informs us in Eph. 2, that the Gentiles are made fellow heirs with the Jews, and inheritors of the same promises. So that if this promise could ever have been claimed and appropriated by a Jew, it can be, and should be appropriated by every Gentile.

(14) A lot of promises are made to people under all kinds of trials and afflictions. These promises are so numerous that I don’t have to quote any of them.

(15) Again there are promises to widows, and to the fatherless.

“A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.” (Psalms 68:5) “Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let your widows trust in Me.” (Jer 49:11)

“In You the fatherless finds mercy.” (Hosea 14:3) This group of promises is also numerous.

(16) Again there are promises to people in all the walks and relations of life.

Let these suffice as examples of the vast multitudes of promises in their application to all kinds of people. You who read your Bibles know, that I have quoted only a few under each topic, of the great multitude of promises that are made to each of these particular groups; and I could easily quote these promises indefinitely that applies to all people in all walks and relations of life.

I must postpone the remaining points of this discussion until my next lecture.