BANK NOTES
All God’s promises, (1) unconditional
and (2) conditional alike, are backed by the whole truth of
Heaven and endorsed by Deity. An inscription was found written on
the back of a bank note, and it reads something like this:-
This piece of paper in your hand
Declares to you
that, on demand,
You ten shillings * shall receive;
This simple promise you believe:
It puts your mind as much at rest
As if the silver you possess’d.
So Christ, who died, but now doth live
Doth unto you this promise give –
That if you on His name believe
You shall eternal life receive.
(John 3: 16.)
Upon the first you calmly rest;
Which is the surest and the best?
The bank may break,** Heaven never can,
‘Tis safer trusting God than man.
[*
Ten shillings are ten silver coins similar in size to the new ten pence coins
of today.
**
In recent times we know what distress and sufferings were inflicted upon people
when the banks actually did break; and we remember the British Prime Minister,
standing in Parliament saying his policy, ‘saved the world!’ Yes, it was a slip of the tongue; but if it
wasn’t in his thoughts, then the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth. Then, there was the disgraceful behaviour of
certain Christian ministers going ‘cap in hand,’ begging for compensation from
the authorities on behalf of Christians who had lost moneys invested at a high
interest rate! and expecting their greed for more
money, to be handed to them out of the ‘Public Purse’!]
Among
the curiosities of the Bank of England may be seen some ashes: the remains of
some of their bank-notes that were burned in the great fire of
Moreover,
divine promises will survive the conflagration of the
world’s, with value unaltered:* Bibles may be burnt in their millions,
but God’s recorded words, and divine promises are
all true.
[*
When the British currency changed and new bank notes were introduced, the old
ten shilling bank note became redundant. After some time Banks refused to accept any
old notes as legal currency.]
"For what worthless ambitions souls are lost!
Some years ago a young Englishwoman was hung for murder, committed for a five
pound note, and the note proved to be a counterfeit."
1 GOD’S UNCONDITIONAL
PROMISES
"The gifts and calling of God are
without repentance," (Rom. 11: 29).
In other words, all who
have by His grace placed their faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ as Saviour, receive eternal
life: and no change of
mind on God’s part will ever alter that transaction.
God’s
currency - (i.e., His values, and promises, both unconditional and
conditional) - can never change, because He is unchangeable:"For I the Lord CHANGE NOT," (Malachi 3: 6).
Nor
is it possible for anyone else to attempt any change of the value of His currency,
by adding to it or subtracting from it. That is, Jesus at
Payment, God cannot twice demand,
First at my bleeding Sviour’s
hand,
And then again at mine!
‘Eternal life’ is therefore unconditional! Full Payment
has been made by our Saviour Jesus, Christ/Messiah. Do you believe
it? have you received it through faith
in His Name? (Acts 4: 11, 12)
GOD’S CONDITIONAL
PROMISES
But
not every promise of God is unconditional; there
are also a number of conditional promises:-
"Let us fear
therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into His rest, any one of you should seem to have come
short of it" ... "Seeing
therefore it remaineth that some should enter thereinto, and they
to whom the good tidings were before preached
failed to enter in because of disobedience, He again defineth a certain day."
... "There
remaineth therefore a sabbath-rest FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD"
... "Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that
rest, that no man fall after the same example of disobedience,"
(Heb. 4: 1, 6, 7a, 9, 11, R.V.).
In
the above quotation, the Divine promise is unquestionably a conditional
one! If His conditions
are not met and fulfilled on our
part, we will not ‘enter into that rest!’
The ‘rest’ spoken of in this instance will be upon
this earth; it will not be in heaven or in "a new heaven and a new earth" (Rev. 21: 1). God has described it as: ‘His rest,'
‘a certain day,’ and ‘a sabbath-rest’. It is the
seventh Millennium! (2 Pet. 3: 8.)
"For I would not, brethren,
have you ignorant, how that our fathers were all under the cloud, and
all passed through the sea; and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and
in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same
spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the
rock was Christ. Howbeit with most
of them God was not well pleased; for they were overthrown in the
wilderness. Now these things are our
examples to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also
lusted. ... Now these things
happened unto them [redeemed
Keep in mind: GOD EXPECTS HIS
REGENERATE PEOPLE TO ACT RESPONSIBLY AT ALL TIMES: THEIR DECISIONS AND ACTIONS TODAY,
CAN DETERMINE THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS JUDGMENT TOMORROW! Luke 14: 13, 14. cf. Acts
5: 1-11; 16: 19-31.
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