God Is Faithful to His Promises

God's Peace!

The 104th Apostolic Lutheran convention that was held last weekend was a real time of blessing! Thank you to everyone who prayed for that time. I hope everyone will enjoy this week's article by Pastor Travis Seppala.

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 
As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 
(Genesis 17:1-8) 

When examining the life of Abraham and the many descendants who followed after him, it becomes very evident that these people were in no way perfect. Instead, the Bible tells of people who made mistakes, who often lacked trust, and who proved to be undeserving of the promises of God.

Abraham and Sarah tried to take matters into their own hands and ended up with Ishmael, Hagar and conflict. Jacob and Esau fought over the birthright. Joseph was betrayed and sold into slavery by his own brothers. Upon being rescued from Egypt, the Israelites were quick to worship idols rather than God.

Time and again this chosen people turned their backs on God and proved to be unworthy of the promises made to Abraham, and yet, through it all, God remained faithful to these promises. Even when they were in captivity, He watched over His people and raised up men like Daniel, Nehemiah and Ezra. Though they did not always seek after Him, God continually made Himself known and still held to the covenant He had made with this people.

In doing this, God clearly demonstrates that His promises and His Word do not depend upon the ability of the human race to be found worthy of them. What is evident in the Scriptures is that Israel was never really able to demonstrate a worthiness of the promises. Rather, what is revealed is that God remained faithful even when His people were not able to do the same. God is faithful even when His people lack faith and break the covenants.

His promises do not depend on us; we depend on His promises. This is something that is all too easy to lose sight of: people can easily think that God's grace and forgiveness depend on their good behavior and righteousness. What the Scriptures show is that though people fail on a regular basis, God continues to remain faithful and, ultimately, it is because of HIS faithfulness that He sent His Son. The promises of God are fulfilled by Him through the work of Christ Jesus, and though one does not have to be righteous to come to Him, one does have to come to Him in order to be righteous.

Pastor Travis Seppala