Standing on the Precious Promises of God

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires (2 Peter 1:3-4).

I want you to notice a few things about the promises of God. First they are called precious. What does the bible mean by precious? The Greek word for precious is “timios” which means: costly – of such extreme value that the price cannot be estimated – priceless – very highly esteemed or cherished. The Bible considers some things to be priceless; these are called precious. Here are seven things the Bible says are precious:

The Promises of God -- 2 Peter 1:4

Faith -- 2 Peter 1:1
The Blood of Christ and Christ Himself--1 Peter 1:18-20, 1 Peter 2:5-7
The death of a saint -- Psalms 116:15
God's Law -- Psalms 119:72
Unity -- Psalms 133:1-2
Wisdom -- Proverbs 3:13-18

All these things are precious, but the promises of God are not just called precious they are called very great and precious. The King James Version says they are “exceeding great and precious promises”. I believe all the promises of God are precious but that some are exceeding great and precious because of what they accomplish. These exceeding great and precious promises accomplish two things:

1. They enable us to be a partaker of God’s divine nature

2. They help us to escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires

What are these very great and precious promises? I believe Peter gives us the answer in his two epistles. Here are some promises that are in this category.

1. Promise of salvation and preservation -- 1 Peter 1:3-7

2. Promise of answered prayers -- 1 Peter 3:7-12

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil (1 Peter 1:12).

3. Promise of victory over cares and the devil -- 1 Peter 5:6-11

7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you… 10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast (1 Peter 5:7, 10).

4. Promise of living eternally in a new heaven and a new earth -- 2 Peter 3:10-13

By standing on these great and precious promises you will live a life that pleases God. ---

Pastor Earl