DAY 8.
The Promises of God are so very precious to the Christian as they become alive in us, so we are going to look at some of them ans seek to apply them to our lives in these days.
Let us begin with the most famous promises of scripture that the Holy Living God is willing and able to forgive our sin when we confess it too Him.
The Lord Jesus met with the intellectual Nicodemus recorded in John 3 and three features stand out to us.
The first is in v 15 He is 'not willing for any to perish' we are all sinners there are none righteous under self effort or of self righteousness.
That the Creator has concluded this, is vitally important the Judge of all the earth has stated the fact Romans 3 v 10 and Psalm 52..
In the light of that no human being can see or dwell with God because sin is rebellion against Him with whom we have to face in judgement or in grace.
Nicodemus was well aware of these facts and he listens to the Lord Jesus opening up the way back to God so that the rebellion can cease and Gods peace be experienced.
The principles are laid out for Nicodemus and for us that we need to be 'born again' v 3 that is to have a completely new beginning.
We must be born anew distinguishing between natural birth and spiritual birth, the former produces sin whilst the latter brings us into a living relationship with the Creator God.
The natural birth is earthy and it lives for a space of time before facing the reality of death and the passing from this earthly scene.
Now the Lord Jesus brings us to a new dimension of living, living under the control of the Holy Spirit who brings out the eternal nature of life.
The fact is life on earth ceases to be as the old shell returns back to the dust from where it came from but the 'spirit' goes on into eternity.
There is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun, God dwells in His heaven as we see in Ecclesiastes 5 v 2 and we are living on earth.
It is only through the new birth that anyone can actually come into the presence of the Living God, without it we would be withered up in seconds.
In the new birth the Holy Spirit of God comes to dwell within us so that He will bring us into divine contact with the Father in the heavenly place.
In an instant we are brought out of darkness to live in His glorious life, we are brought out of death into eternal life.
So we turn to our second thought for the day God not only saw the mess that we were in but He did something about it, 'God gave His Son'.
Now the Master goes on to reveal this marvellous promise not just to Nicodemus but to the whole world that it is the Creators desire that all men and women should come to have eternal life.
He has come to not only present eternal life to us but that we should know and apply it to our life v 16.
The key to the promise is a simply one that of 'belief' or to trust fully in what has been stated to us in Gods word.
We can talk about belief foolishly saying 'I believe' but carry on living as we always have done, without repentance of sin and a change of life.
To believe as the Lord Jesus said implies knowledge that gives confidence to apply it to our life, sin is repented of and we begin to live in the new standard of righteous living that brings a change of living in us.
The fact that the Creator God sent His beloved Son into the world not just to reveal this to us but to actually aid us in meeting the standard is terrific news.
The truth is clear the Saviour Christ came from heavens glory to rescue such folk as us and to bring us back to God to live in a righteous relationship with Him.
God 'loves us' with a love that is beyond words, it is self giving without looking for reward from the recipients, He gave His Son to become our covering sacrifice to enter His presence.
What an amazing truth that Jesus came voluntarily to die on the cross at Calvary in absolute shame, crucified by the hands that He had originally created.
He was willing to go through death so that we can be transformed and making us acceptable by the Creator God and fit for His presence for eternity.
So we come to the third thought to ponder and apply from this promise God is willing to forgive us through the work and merit of His beloved Son.
We can trust the word spoken by the Lord Jesus because He cannot lie, deceive or speak untruth, His absolutely holy.
'Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life', death is the gateway to eternity and for the Christian believer the presence of God.
Those unbelieving are faced with the stark reality that the Lord Jesus was right and they are wrong and only fit for an eternity in hell.
The 'believer', those trusting in the Lord Jesus complete work on Calvary for them, 'shall not perish' that is shall not be cut of from Gods presence.
They shall enjoy 'everlasting life', living a life that is endless in the presence of the Living God in the heavenly place.
The distinguishing fact here is that our earthly life is limited to the world, time and death whereas eternal life does not have these limitations.
We live in time and are governed by time but the spiritual life in Christ has no end or limitations it is ageless.
The promise is given to those who believe the Lord Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour that they will enjoy His divine presence for eternity.
The transformation is not making religious people out of irreligious people but it is the remaking of the person turning them from living death into eternal beings.
In the act of being 'born again' we are brought into light out of the darkness that pervades our life beforehand even though we did not realise it.
We suddenly realise that we are sinners in the sight of God but that He is willing to forgive us so that we can walk in the light for the rest of our days on earth and then on into eternity.
In a moment we 'pass from death into life' death is not the end of things only of our time on earth, we then face the awesome judgement of the Creator who was not there seconds before.
We are whisked from time into eternity to face the inevitable judgement that the Lord Jesus revealed so often during His ministry on earth.
The transformed life sees us seeking to walk humbly with our God in the light of His word and that produces holiness and righteousness of living.
We note in v 21 'doeth the truth' our believe is mirrored in the practical application of the truth and the promises are there for us to apply.
The application of the truth is 'manifest' or shown to the world by the way that we live in accordance to Gods word.
