Bruce Collins, Evangelist

Psalm 15:1 LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
Psalm 15:4 In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change.

When I was young, there was a period of time when my dad did not have a car. He did the shopping and he went to work on a bicycle. One day he was coming home while carrying groceries as well as one of my brothers on the bicycle. When he was almost home, he stopped and asked my brother to walk the rest of the way while he turned around to go back to the store. He told my brother that he had promised one of the younger children Ice cream and that he had forgotten to pick it up. But in his words, “you don’t want to break a promise to a child, they will never believe you again!”

How many of us understand the importance of keeping the promises that we make, particularly when that promise turns out to be a promise that we shouldn’t have made? Today people sign business contracts expecting to “renegotiate” the contract if the business expectations are not met. I had a lady sell a business on contract when I was in business as a CPA where I knew that the buyer intended to do just that. He gave her an unreasonably high bid to get the business and a year later told her that unless she renegotiated with him, she would get nothing. I had warned her not to sell to him because I could see that was his plan.

Some people seem to make promises with their fingers crossed so that in their mind the promise doesn’t have to be fulfilled. I think some people take their marriage vows that way. Others make sure that their promises are so clouded by legal language that they have a loop hole out if they decide they want it.

A person of character keeps His promises. If we borrow money and cannot make the payments when due, we should honestly go to the creditor and tell them that we know that we owe the money and then ask them if there is any way that we can work out some repayment plan. We should not ignore the debt or find something wrong with the original promise that allows us to avoid our responsibilities. Our character is determined by how we live up to our promises.

I am glad that the Lord’s promises are dependable. He says that He is Truth (John 14:6). We read that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). That is why I tell people that if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved (Acts 16:31), it works one hundred percent of the time. And if you are not saved it is because you have not trusted the Lord. That too is true one hundred percent of the time. God has no reason to lie and when He makes a promise, He has the ability and the authority to perform the promise. My assurance of salvation does not come from the decision I made or from the confession I made or from any invitation to ask the Lord in to my heart. It comes from the fact that God has made me a promise that, “while I was a sinner, Christ died for me (Romans 5:8).” If man had made me that promise, I would not be absolutely sure that I was saved. But since God has made that promise, I can know that my sins are forgiven and that I have a home prepared for me in heaven.

God keeps His promises. That is why I expect the Lord to return. That is why I anticipate an eternal home in the glory with Christ. If we are truly “born again” (John 3:7), we should also be known as people who keep their promises.

Bruce Collins