Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about what we say when we share the Gospel and whether we are misleading people, either deliberately or with good intentions, about what to expect if they become Christians.
I’ve been reading books like, Hell’s Best Kept Secret and God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life (The Myth of the Modern Message) by Ray Comfort. What many don’t realise is that Ray Comfort was also using the modern message but after seeing vast numbers of people falling away post conversion, he started to examine what was going on by taking a closer look at what the Bible actually says.
If we are going to share our faith both biblically and effectively, I thought it would be good to take a look at exactly what God does promise Christians and also what is not promised so that we can be sure we are communicating the truth.
God Promises:
1. Forgiveness of sin (1 John 1 vs 9)
This is one of the best things that we are promised but it is conditional upon repentance. We are only forgiven when we repent (stop going our way and decide to go God’s way) and believe Jesus died for our sins. Then we receive full and complete forgiveness for all of our past, present and future sins.
2. Peace with God (Romans 5 vs 1) and Inner Peace (John 14 vs 27)
This forgiveness makes it possible for us to be at peace with our Maker. Before this transaction takes place, we are at war with God and He is angry with us because of our sin. When our sin in forgiven, the consequence of death is removed and that most important relationship with our Creator is restored.
Jesus also promised a personal peace to guard us against worldly anxiety in John 14 “ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” This is based on reconciliation with God not the absence of external conflict.
3. Eternity in Heaven (Revelation 21 vs 4 and 22 vs 5) (2 Corinthians 5 vs 1) (John 14 vs 1-3)
The Bible tells us that we can’t even imagine what God has prepared for those who love Him. In Heaven there will be no more crying, pain, suffering or death because there is no more sin. The Bible tells us that Jesus is preparing a place for us in Heaven and that we will be there with God and all other believers forever. The other side to the coin is that we will also avoid eternity in Hell which is a terrible place of punishment where people will want to die but won’t be able to. God promises that Christians will avoid judgement and the wrath to come.
4. His Presence (Ephesians 1 vs 13) (1 Corinthians 3 vs 16) (Hebrews 13 vs 5)
All true believers have God’s Holy Spirit living within them. This means that when trials and difficulties come our way, we are not alone even if everyone earthly abandons us. God is with us in the struggles and will remain with us throughout. He promises never to leave us or forsake us.
5. Way Out of Temptation (1 Corinthians 10 vs 13)
This is different to saying that we won’t be tempted. We will face ongoing temptations as we are still living in the world and the devil will also try to bring us down. However, we are promised that we won’t be tempted beyond what we can bear and that a way of escape will be opened to us in these situations allowing us to resist.
6. To Supply our Basic Needs (Philippians 4 vs 19) (Matthew 6 vs 33)
Notice the promise is to supply our needs not the things we might think we need. We need food, clothing and shelter. God cares about us far more than the sparrows who rely on Him for their everyday supplies. There are stories of dramatic things happening when Christians in great need pray to God for help.
7. To Love us (Romans 5 vs 8) (Romans 8 vs 35-39)
God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus, to rescue us from our sins and get us safely to Heaven. He makes us His children and we become part of His Kingdom here on Earth. He loves us as His children in a special way that is different to the way He loves all of humanity.
8. To Hear and Answer our Prayers and to Pray for us. (Philippians 4 vs 6-7) (1 Peter 3 vs 12)
The Bible tells us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. None of us are righteous apart from Jesus so we know that this is referring to believers. God always hears every prayer uttered by a believer and He will answer although it won’t always be in the way we hope. Sometimes, He says no. Once we are saved, Jesus also prays for us! (John 17)
9. To Discipline and Sanctify us (Hebrews 12 vs 6)
As Christians, we often go astray and God wants to keep us on track. As we grow spiritually, He refines and cleanses us so that we begin to look more like Jesus, not perfect but different. We call this process sanctification. Sometimes, this involves discipline which is for our own good and is evidence of God’s love. In Ezekiel 36 vs 26 He promises to give us a new heart and a new spirit and to bring us to maturity as believers.
10. To Use us in Evangelism (Matthew 13 vs 8 and 23) (Acts 1 vs 8) (Luke 12 vs 11-12)
Christians have a part to play in reaching lost souls by sharing the Gospel with them. God promises He will bring people to faith through this method of evangelism. In the Parable of the Sower, the Bible tells us to expect 30, 60 or even 100 fold growth. When the Gospel is preached or spoken one to one, people will hear and believe. God doesn’t want people to perish and He delights in saving them using us as His messengers.
11. The Bible as our Guide-Book (Psalm 119 vs 105) (2 Timothy 3 vs 16-17)
I hesitated with this one as not every Christian has access to the Bible in their language. However, we are told that God’s law is written on our hearts and revealed through our conscience. Most Christians reading this will have access to a Bible. God promises to use His Word to guide us in our lives and speaks to us through it.
12. Persecution and Trouble (John 15 vs 17-20) (John 16 vs 33)
You might be thinking this is in the wrong place or on the wrong list. However, the Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 3 vs 12 that “all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” We are told that in this life we will have trouble as believers but we are advised to take heart because Jesus has overcome the world. Paul faced much persecution and trouble the minute he became a Christian, all of the disciples, except John, were martyred for their faith.
Christians today face terrible things in different parts of the world. Here in the West, we can be ostracised, rejected, shunned, mocked, excluded and hated for our beliefs. We can lose our jobs, friends, money and even family members. We are beginning to see arrests, fines and imprisonment for speaking the truth. We cannot throw up our hands in horror as we have been warned in the Bible to expect these things as the norm.
God Does NOT Promise:
Now to the list that I’m guessing will be more controversial:
1. Health and Healing (James 5 vs 14-16)
If a Christian is ill we are told to gather the elders of the church around them to pray and to anoint them with oil. We know, however, that this is not a guarantee that they will be healed. God teaches people many things through sickness and in the Bible, not everyone is healed. In 1 Timothy 5 vs 23, Timothy was told to take wine for his stomach problems and frequent illnesses. In 2 Corinthians 12 vs 7-9, Paul had a thorn in the flesh. Others, like Epaphroditus in Philippians 2 vs 25-27, was ill and almost died. Various remedies were offered apart from the miraculous.
Illness and disease are a consequence of sin so God doesn’t promise perfect health. We can pray and hope but blaming the sick person for a lack of faith if they aren’t healed is cruel. Likewise refusing doctors and medical care is foolish when God has allowed medical knowledge to advance so people can be treated. Faith healers are often presumptuous and at risk of incurring God’s anger if they proclaim healing in His Name when He hasn’t spoken. Many get rich at the expense of people who are desperate for a cure. It’s a horrible business and nothing to do with true Christianity.
2. Wealth (Matthew 19 vs 16-30) (Luke 12 vs 13-21) (Matthew 6 vs 19-21)
I don’t really understand why people get this one wrong as there are terrible consequences for people in the Bible that chase riches. The rich young man was told to give away everything he owned and he went away sad, presumably to a lost eternity as Jesus comments that “it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter God’s Kingdom.” The rich fool who tore down barns and built bigger ones had his life taken from him and was called foolish because he wasn’t rich towards God. We are told not to store up wealth which can be stolen and destroyed here on Earth but instead to store treasures in Heaven.
Why would the Bible say these things if we are promised wealth in the here and now. We aren’t promised wealth, only that our needs will be supplied. Those that are wealthy often find that their riches become a snare.
3. Happiness and Satisfaction (Mark 8 vs 34) (Luke 9 vs 23) (Romans 6 vs 6-7)
Christians often tell people that the only way they can be happy and satisfied is if they fill the God-shaped hole in their lives. Recently, it’s been called the missing piece; the idea that people are like jigsaws with a gap that needs to be filled to make their lives complete. But anyone who has been a Christian for any length of time will tell you that they aren’t always happy or satisfied because this world is broken by sin and its consequences. God does want us to be happy but not at any cost. The Bible does tell us to "delight ourselves in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our hearts." Generally, this is taken to mean that as we get closer to God our desires will become His desires rather than that He will give us everything we want.
The pursuit of happiness is not a theme of the New Testament. Instead there are commands to take up our cross, deny self and consider oneself dead to sin. We won’t experience true happiness or satisfaction until we reach Heaven where there is no sin and suffering. When our joy and hope are based on things that cannot be taken away we have found true happiness and God is pleased.
4. Fulfilment, Purpose and Success (Ecclesiastes 9 vs 11) (Luke 9 vs 58) (James 4 vs 13-15)
More and more people are attaching themselves to Christianity or Jesus because they are lacking purpose in their lives. They are seeking fulfilment and are being told that the only way to be fully fulfilled is in the Christian faith. Is this right, though?
What if the person still can’t get a job or is still stuck on benefits? What if their circumstances don’t change at all when they become a Christian? The only thing that will definitely change when someone is truly converted, is their attitude to their situation and perhaps, how they deal with things as a Christian. God doesn’t promise fulfilment or purpose, if we find these things as a by-product of our faith that’s great, but they aren’t guaranteed. We might find fulfilment and purpose in evangelism but most people who are seeking these things are thinking of earthly fulfilment and purpose or success in personal ambitions. The Bible encourages hard work and faithfulness but it doesn’t guarantee earthly success or fulfilment. It teaches that life will involve hardship and that God’s focus is primarily on spiritual growth and endurance rather than worldly achievements.
5. Long Life
Similarly to health, God doesn’t promise that Christians will have long or longer lives than other people. There is general advice to honour our parents if we want to live in God's favour but this can't be applied across the board. God knows the date of our death, so we know that we cannot be taken earlier than He intends but Christians die young. Many of you know that my brother, James, died at 18 in a car accident, he was a believer but died young. We’ve all lost people at various stages and being a Christian doesn’t provide protection from death. The only benefit it might bring in this area is that Christians are less likely to drink too much or smoke so there may be a few extra years but in the big scheme of things it doesn’t make much difference.
6. Security and Freedom from Crime
Christians aren’t promised security in this life. Our heavenly home is secure but that’s about it. We can still lose our jobs, face financial ruin, have our houses repossessed or face unexpected circumstances that lead to chaos. We can be victims of crime, even terrible crimes like sexual violence and murder. The difference is in how we deal with the things that come into our lives as believers. Do we get angry with God and ask “why me?” or do we accept the difficulties as God’s providence and look for the lessons we can learn. Sometimes, terrible tragedy can be a great opportunity to witness to someone else enduring the same things with no faith to lean on.
7. Justice (1 Samuel 2 vs 30)
We aren’t promised justice. When I was in the police I was so angry and upset about people seemingly getting away with crime but when I became a Christian, I realised that they would face the perfect justice of Almighty God on Judgement Day. No one really gets away with anything. But, often we won’t see justice in the here and now. We might even have to suffer injustice for our faith or taking a stand on a moral issue. We can’t expect justice from a society that rejects everything we stand for and generally hates the God we serve. The Bible does promise that those who honour God will be honoured in return but the reward might not appear until eternity.
8. Community and Family
Lots of people join the church because they are lonely and are seeking community. It’s true that the church can help in this area and that true believers find a family in their local church. But, not every church operates biblically and there won’t always be a church community for people to join. In parts of the world there are no open meetings and individual believers can be very isolated with no one to meet with. God doesn’t promise us community. If we have access to fellow believers, we should be grateful and take advantage of these blessings, but they aren’t promised. Likewise, we aren’t promised we will find a spouse and/or have children. These are blessings given to some but not all.
9. Freedom from Sin Struggles (1 John 2 vs 1) (1 John 1 vs 8)
Christians may think that they will immediately and miraculously be freed from their addictions or other problems in their lives. There are some that do find this is their experience, but many more that continue to struggle sometimes for years. We will not be perfect until Jesus returns and we are in Heaven. Paul said that he did the things he didn’t want to do and often didn’t do the things he should (Romans 7 vs 15-19). We aren’t promised freedom from sin’s power until we reach Heaven.
10. Peace and Rest on Earth (Matthew 10 vs 34-36)
We give out a leaflet which asks, “How can I find peace?” It is one of those elusive things that most people seek. We have already looked at the kind of peace God does promise but it’s not a freedom from external conflict. Jesus said in Matthew 10 that He “did not come to bring peace but a sword.” He warns that families will be divided over their allegiance to Him. Christians can struggle with the inner conflict of doubt, fear and uncertainty. Mental health professionals advise that the Christmas holidays, the time of “peace on earth” is one of the most stressful times of the year. There is interpersonal conflict and international conflict with wars and rumours of wars and Christians aren’t immune from these difficulties. Real peace and rest will only be found when Jesus returns.
What about the passage in Matthew 11 vs 28-30 when Jesus tells people to “Come to me all who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest”? This passage is frequently quoted today to urge people to accept Jesus so that they can be free of life’s burdens. The context is that the religious leaders had been laying down impossible numbers of rules for the people to keep, there was also persecution of Christians. Jesus is offering freedom from the burden of sin and the rest that comes when we cease striving to reach God via our own efforts. In the same passage he talks about finding rest for our souls rather than just a break from life’s burdens. We won’t have true rest until we reach Heaven.
11. Answers or Explanations from God (Job)
We are promised that God hears and answers prayer. However, we aren’t promised that we will be given explanations from God for the things that happen in our lives. Sometimes, we can look back and see how God has guided us through a particular circumstance but often we don’t get answers that satisfy us. In the Bible, Job had everything taken away from him and no explanation was given. We must learn to trust God. Romans 8 vs 28 is a popular verse that tells us that things are working for our good as believers. We also know that God’s ways are perfect and higher than ours. We can’t promise people that they will always know what God is doing or why He is doing it.
12. The Salvation of our Loved Ones (2 Peter 3 vs 9)
Perhaps the most heart breaking. God doesn’t promise to save our loved ones who have freedom to make their own decisions. The vast majority of people are loved by someone and broad is the road that leads to destruction and narrow the path that leads to life. However, we can pray persistently and urgently for those we care about. We know that God answers prayer and that He doesn’t want anyone to perish but for all to come to repentance.
Let’s be careful not to make promises on God’s behalf unless we are sure that He has spoken. Rather than focusing on promises and blessings in this life, let's point people to eternal blessings in the life to come in Heaven.
