It’s our sin, rather than God’s stinginess, that creates a blockade separating us from God’s promises. But we know that Christ has remedied our sin problem, removing the condemnation that we deserved and granting us the power that is necessary to meet God’s conditions. This is why being a recipient of God’s promises should never lead to self-exaltation, but rather self-humiliation that God would choose to be so gracious to one who is so wicked.
In his sermon in Acts 13, Paul is going to bring piercing clarity by indirectly charging the Jewish people with expecting God’s promises and blessings while refusing to deal with their sin, even when their sin led to killing the Promised Messiah. Likewise, a big problem exists in our hearts if we expect all of God’s promises and goodness despite a half-hearted love for Christ or a life which ignores him altogether. This kind of life is lived with the mindset: “As soon as God gives me what I want, then I’ll give him what he wants.” That is not representative of the humble and contrite heart that he looks for and responds to.