Faithful

Faithful Rom 3:3-4

3 What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Let God be true though everyone were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged."

Character of Faithfulness

Two incredible traits of God are mentioned in the text: The faithfulness of God (v3) and the integrity or truthfulness of God (4).

The attributes classified as integrity relate to thee matter of truth. There are three dimensions of truthfulness: 1) genuineness-being true; 2) veracity – telling the truth; and 3) faithfulness –proving truth. Genuineness is the most basic dimension of truthfulness from which the other two traits are derived. (Erickson)

Genuineness expresses that God is real and true unlike the idols in the world. Jeremiah 10 (Ps 115:2-9, contrasts the fabricated gods of the people with the one true living God. The gods of the people are constructed by their own hands and are unable to speak or walk (Jer 10:5, Ps 135:15ff, Is 46:5ff)). The true God is a living God and the everlasting king (Jer 10:10, John 17:3, 1 Thess 1:9, 1 Jn 5:20; Rev 3:7, 6:10). God is real; he is not fabricated or constructed like the gods of the world. (Erickson) God is His own law; that He is bound by what He is, and that He never can be, in the smallest degree, anything contradictory to, or falling beneath, the level of His own equable, consistent, and uniform Self. He must be true to the character of goodness and wisdom which the very name of God brings with it. (Alexander MacLaren) He is true to himself and true to all that comes forth from him. Let God be true. Faithfulness is essential to His being, without it He would not be God. For God to be unfaithful would be to act contrary to His nature, which is impossible: (Deu 7:9, 2Ti 2:13). Faithfulness is one of the glorious perfections of His being. He is as it were clothed with it: (Ps 89:8). Far above all finite comprehension is the unchanging faithfulness of God. (Ps 36:5) (Pink) God is the only one who is 100 percent faithful – to His Word, His promises, His people, and His character – because He cannot be otherwise. His faithfulness is intrinsically part of who He is! (Chip Ingram)

Veracity emphasizes the telling of truth. God speaks the truth he can’t lie, it is against his nature (v:4, Num 23:19a, Titus 1:2, Heb 6:18, 1 Sam 15:29). His words are true (John 17:17,19). Like God his people are to be truthful both in what they assert and what they imply (Erickson Deut 25:13-15) “God’s immutability presupposes His faithfulness. If He is unchanging, it follows that He could not be unfaithful. Upon God’s faithfulness rests our whole hope of future blessedness. Only as He is faithful will His covenants stand and His promises be honored.”—A. W. Tozer Everything about God is great, vast, and incomparable. He never forgets, never fails, never falters, and never forfeits His Word. To every declaration of promise or prophecy the Lord has exactly adhered, every engagement of covenant or threatening He will make good (Num 23:19, Heb 6:18). Therefore the believer

exclaims, “His compassions fail not, they are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lam 3:22-23).(Pink)

Faithfulness means that he proves true. God keeps all his promises (Josh 21:43-45, 23:14). He never has to revise or renege on his promises. (Num 23:19, 1 Thess 5:24, 1 Cor 1:9, 2 Cor 1:18-22, 1 Peter 4:19) God proved himself to be a God who always fulfills what he says he will do. (Heb 10:23,11:11). He does not make promises lightly. The promises he does make, he keeps (Erickson) God’s words are both true and the final standard of truth. This means that God is reliable and faithful in his words. With respect to his promises, God always does what he promises to do, and we can depend on him never to be unfaithful to his promises. Thus, he is “a God of faithfulness” (Deut. 32:4). In fact, this specific aspect of God’s truthfulness is sometimes viewed as a distinct attribute: God’s faithfulness means that God will always do what he has said and fulfill what he has promised (Num. 23:19; cf. 2 Sam. 7:28; Ps. 141:6; Prov 19:21). He can be relied upon, and he will never prove unfaithful to those who trust what he has said. (Phi 1:6). Indeed, the essence of true faith is taking God at his word and relying on him to do as he has promised. (Grudem) He is perfectly faithful. (Is 25:1). His faithfulness is great (Lam 3:22,23). His Faithfulness is abounding (Ex 34:6). His faithfulness keeps his covenant and his people (Deut 7:9, Phil 1:6, Rom 9:6,).

Criteria for Faithfulness

The faithfulness of God is a tremendous encouragement in days when people’s hearts are failing them for fear. If you build your life on people or on the things of this world, you will have no hope or security; but if you build on Christ, the Faithful One, you will be safe forever.

1) He is faithful to chasten and through suffering (Ps. 119:75, 1 Pet 4:19).);

2) He is faithful to forgive when we do confess our sins (1 John 1:9). God wants to show us that he is faithful even when we sin. The problem is that we don’t receive the forgiveness and cleansing that he faithfully promises and so we walk in disbelief and doubt his faithfulness to accomplish it, so we become faithless. Faith acts in response to a faithful God.

3) He is faithful to sympathize when we have burdens and problems (Heb. 2:17–18; 4:14–16). We never need fear that He is too busy to listen or too tired to help.

4) He is faithful to deliver when we cry out for help in temptation (1 Cor. 10:13). When we’re struggling with temptations, it’s easy to think that our struggle is unique and no one else is going through what we’re going through. It’s during these times we often isolate and move away from God and others. But we don’t have to suffer alone. God will always provide a way of escape. And he will often use other people in our lives to help us. (Ingram)

5) He is faithful to keep us in this life and unto life eternal (1 Tim. 1:15; 1 Thes. 5:23–24). We can commit our lives and souls into the hands of the faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:19) and know that He will do all things well.

God is not like humans who are prone to make mistakes, lie and change their minds. As an infallible and perfect being, He is faithful in all of His ways.. God is faithful even when we’re tired and we don't want to do something even when we know it’s the right thing to do. He’s faithful even when something is demanded of us and we don’t have anything to give. (Ingram)

Call to Faithfulness

Because he is faithful, God desires faithfulness from his people. For the believer there is much comfort in knowing that God has been faithful to His promises. Since God's word is always truth the Christian can place complete trust in His promises. (1 Thess 5:24). God desires faithfulness for those who have trusted Him. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (1 Cor 4:2).

God is true. His Word of Promise is sure. In all His relations with His people God is faithful. He may be safely relied upon. No one ever yet really trusted Him in vain (Job 42:2, Gen 18:14). We find this precious truth expressed almost everywhere in the Scriptures, for His people need to know that faithfulness is an essential part of the Divine character. This is the basis of our confidence in Him. But it is one thing to accept the faithfulness of God as a Divine truth, it is quite another to act upon it. God has given us many “exceeding great and precious promises,” (2 Peter 1:3-4) but are we really counting on His fulfillment of them? Are we actually expecting Him to do for us all that He has said? Are we resting with implicit assurance on these words, “He is faithful that promised” (Heb 10:23)? There are seasons in the lives of all when it is not easy, no not even for Christians, to believe that God is faithful. Our faith is sorely tried, our eyes bedimmed with tears, and we can no longer trace the out workings of His love. Our ears are distracted with the noises of the world, harassed by the atheistic whisperings of Satan, and we can no longer hear the sweet accents of His still small voice. Cherished plans have been thwarted, friends on whom we relied have failed us, a professed brother or sister in Christ has betrayed us. We are staggered. We sought to be faithful to God, and now a dark cloud hides Him from us. We find it difficult, yea, impossible, for carnal reason to harmonize His frowning providence with His gracious promises. (1 Kings 19:4-5) Ah, faltering soul, severely tried fellow pilgrim, seek grace to heed Isaiah 50:10, “Who is among you that fears the Lord that obeys the voice of his servant that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.” (Pink)

Our faith corresponds with and is the answer to God’s faithfulness. We act in faith to his faithfulness. As with two instruments tuned to the same pitch, when a note is struck on the one, the chords of the other vibrate it back again, so God’s faithfulness should awake the music of answering faith in our responsive and vibrating hearts. If He is worth trusting let us trust Him. Unwavering faith is the only thing that truly corresponds to unchanging faithfulness. Make your faith to match God’s faithfulness, and ‘commit the keeping of your souls to Him in welldoing, as unto a faithful Creator, leaving all things in His hands, and trusting them absolutely unto Him. Let us turn away from the illusions of vain hope, from all doubtful refuges, from all the fleeting defenses and treasures that earth can give. Why should we build upon a sandbank when we can build on the Rock of Ages? Why should we trust mere wealth, creatural love, success, to do for us what only the faithful God can do? All these deceive or betray or fail or pass. They are unworthy of trust. ‘God is faithful’; Christ is ‘the faithful and true witness.’ If we will join ourselves to the faithful God and accept the faithful saying of His faithful witness, our hearts will be calm, our lives will be steadied, we shall be delivered from the misery of leaning on props which, like rotten branches, break beneath our weight. (Alexander MacLaren)

Confidence in Faithfulness

Our affirmation in the faithfulness of God will:

1) Preserve us from worry. To be full of care, to view our situation with dark forebodings, to anticipate the morrow with sad anxiety, is to reflect poorly upon the faithfulness of God. He who has cared for His child through all the years will not forsake him in old age. He who has heard your prayers in the past will not refuse to supply your need in the present emergency. Rest on Job 5:19, “He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.”

2) Prevent our murmurings. The Lord knows what is best for each one of us, and one effect of resting on this truth will be the silencing of our petulant complaining. God is greatly honored when, under trial and chastening, we have good thoughts of Him, vindicate His wisdom and justice, and recognize His love in His very rebukes. (Ps 51:4, Rom 3:4)

3) Produce confidence in God. “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (1Pe 4:19). When we trustfully resign ourselves, and all our affairs into God’s hands, fully persuaded of His love and faithfulness, the sooner shall we be satisfied with His providences and realize that “He doeth all things well.” (Pink).

We learn through our own history that He has never failed us, either. One command God often gave the Israelites was “Remember” (Deut 8:2; Is 46:9). When they remembered all God had done for them, they could more easily trust Him for the future. We need to intentionally remember all the ways God has provided for us and delivered us in the past. Keeping a prayer journal can help with this. When we recall the ways God has answered our prayers, it equips us to continue asking and expecting answers

Because of God’s faithfulness we can always count on God even though the picture is as bleak as the Arctic and the circumstances impossible. Though faced with the desolation of Jerusalem because of the nation’s sin, the prophet Jeremiah could say of the Lord, “Great is Your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:23). (MacLaren).