THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF PROMISES: CONDITIONAL / UNCONDITIONAL
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“By which have been given to us
exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you maybe be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust”—2 Peter 1:4
The Scriptures records two kinds of
promises from God—unconditional and
conditional. An unconditional promise is one whose fulfillment rests solely with
the Lord; His commitment is independent of people, circumstances or
situations. An example would be God’s
covenant never to send another flood to destroy the entire earth, “Thus I establish My covenant with you:
Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again
shall there be a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 9:11). No matter how people act, He will not
cause a flood to cover the earth.
The second type of divine promise is
conditional. This means that something that will be done
or will happen only if and when another thing is done or happens. What this means is that, the Lord is willing
to act under certain circumstances. Most
often it is written as an “if-then”
statement and involves our cooperation.
To understand more about conditional
promises, we will look at three; salvation, forgiveness, and wisdom.
Salvation—Salvation
is promised to those who confess with their mouth and believe in their heart
that Jesus is Lord, “That if you confess
with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised
Him from the dead you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). The conditional
promise is that we are saved from eternal damnation when we genuinely believe
in our heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead and confess with our mouth
the Lord Jesus.
Forgiveness—The
Christian is assured of forgiveness when she or he comes to the Lord with sincere
confession of sin, “If we confess our
sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The
fulfillment of this promise of forgiveness depends on our following the required
condition of the promise—confession.
Wisdom—There
are times when we need to have “good sense” in making a decision, judgment or
action. James 1: 5-6 instructs us to ask
God for wisdom without doubting that we will receive it, “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. But let him ask in
faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and
tossed by the wind’ (James 1:5-6). The condition: Must approach the Lord with faith. The
promise: He will give the understanding—good sense.
God will do exact what He has promised. But He requires our obedient cooperation
before fulfilling His conditional promises.
To receive the stated blessing, we must satisfy the conditions He has
set. If you are waiting for the Lord to
fulfill His promise to, check to be sure that you are carrying out your part.
Prayer—Father
I thank you that when I follow the required condition of the promise You will
fulfill Your par—every time, in Jesus Name. Amen.
