Faithfulness of God

God is faithful. It is a part of who he is. What does it mean to be faithful? The dictionary lists these synonyms for faithful: loyal, constant, devoted, dependable, reliable, true, trustworthy, unswerving, unwavering, steadfast, dedicated, and committed. How is that for a description of God!

I think God's faithfulness is the most important Biblical truth we can come to understand. Without that one attribute, our entire faith would crumble. God is faithful. That is a factual statement. It is stated many times in the Bible. If this one fact isn't true, then God is a liar. If you can't trust Him on this fact, then you can't trust Him on anything and your entire faith is gone.

When someone makes you a promise, you usually think about that person's "track record". How has he done in the past? Has he done what he said he would do? Is he reliable? If you apply that same procedure to God, you would have to admit that God has never done anything contrary to what He promised He would do. Historical and Biblical facts back up His reliability. Nothing can compare with the faithfulness of God. He doesn't put conditions on His promises. What he promises will happen. What He says, is truth – always. This is so contrary to the world we live in. Hardly a day goes by without some news story about a famous politician or sports figure that has lied.

If God is not faithful, how can we trust that he will forgive our sins? How can we trust that He will take us to heaven when we die? If God is not faithful, and we are not 100% committed to the fact of God's faithfulness, it leaves everything about our Christianity in question. In a world of increasing hopelessness, God's faithfulness is the one thing that we can hold on to for security and real hope.

I am reminded of the hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Want to explore this further. Do a study on all the verses in the Bible that deal with the faithfulness of God. (Be sure to have plenty of time - as this could take awhile.) I'll give you a few to get you started ...

1 Thessalonians 5:24 "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. "

1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Psalm 36:5 "Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies."

Hebrews 10:23 "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

2 Timothy 2:13" if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

Psalm 119:89-90 "Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures."