THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD

BY PASTOR T. O. BANSO

God is faithful. 1 Peter 4:19 calls Him the faithful Creator. “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19 NKJV). Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary defines faithfulness as “Dependability, loyalty, and stability particularly as it describes God in His relationship to human believers.”

Beyond God’s faithfulness as a faithful Creator or Maker, God is also dependable, loyal, and stable in His relationship with those who believe in Him. Faithfulness is God’s major character. “O LORD God Almighty! Where is there anyone as mighty as you, LORD? Faithfulness is your very character” (Psalm 89:8 NLT).  The New King James Version says, “Your faithfulness also surrounds You” (Psalm 89:8b). The psalm was written by Ethan the Ezrahite, a man renowned for his wisdom in Solomon’s time (1 Kings 4:31). God is faithful.

Verse 2 of Psalm 89 says, “For I have said, ‘Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens’” (NKJV). And verse 5 says, “And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints” (NKJV). You also should praise God for His wonders and faithfulness because you are a beneficiary. Great is His faithfulness (Lamentation 3:23b).

The Bible tells us many times about the faithfulness of God. As a child of God, you should know what the Bible says about the faithfulness of God to help you to understand what we mean by God is faithful. This will enable you to appreciate and enjoy maximally God’s faithfulness. Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (NKJV).  God is faithful in keeping His promises.

For example, Abraham and Sarah were able to enjoy the fulfilment of God’s promise because they knew God was faithful – He would keep His promise. “By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11 NKJV). The subject of the faithfulness of God is very important.

David had a deep understanding of the faithfulness of God and enjoyed its benefits. He said, “Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds” (Psalm 36:5 NKJV). David said again, “I have not kept this good news hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power. I have told everyone in the great assembly of your unfailing love and faithfulness.  LORD, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me. My only hope is in your unfailing love and faithfulness” (Psalm 40:10-11 NLT).

When David fled from Saul and went into the cave, he sang Psalm 57. In verse 3b, he said, “My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness” (NLT). He was depending on the unfailing love of God and His faithfulness to deliver him from fierce lions who greedily devoured human prey, whose teeth pierced like spears and arrows, and whose tongues cut like swords (verse 4).

David, many times, talked about both the unfailing love of God and the faithfulness of God to him. The two are inseparable. In verses 9-10, he said, “I will thank you, Lord, in front of all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds” (NLT).

You and I need to cultivate the same attitude of meditating on the faithfulness of God and telling others about it. In Psalm 30:9, David said, “What will you gain if I die, if I sink down into the grave? Can my dust praise you from the grave? Can it tell the world of your faithfulness?”  (NLT).  Also, Isaiah 38:19b says, “Each generation can make known your faithfulness to the next” (NLT).

How often do you thank God for His faithfulness? Suppose God doesn’t keep His words or promises, where would you be? But glory be to God! He remains faithful from generation to generation. With Him, there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17).

The power of God’s faithfulness

1. God’s faithfulness helps us to put our trust in Him. This is because we know that it is impossible for God not to keep His promises. Hebrews 6:18 says it is impossible for God to lie. He is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19a).

Understanding this makes you trust God because you can rest assured that His Word will not fail. He is the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments (Deuteronomy 7:9).

Why is it that the Word of God, the commands of God, the promises of God, will not fail? Psalm 138:2 tells us the reason: “I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name” (NLT). Because His promises are backed by all the honour of His name; He has invested all the honour in His name in His Word. And because God cannot allow Himself to be dishonoured, He will ensure that there is no failure.

Psalm 119:86 says all His commands are faithful (trustworthy). Verses 90-91 say, “Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides. They continue this day according to Your ordinances, for all are Your servants” (NKJV).

Time and eternity cannot change the faithfulness of God. He remains forever faithful. So, we can depend on His faithfulness. “Your testimonies, which You have commanded, are righteous and very faithful” (Psalm 119:138 NKJV). 2 Timothy 2:13 says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (NKJV).

Others may fail you, but God won’t. He won’t fail you, no matter what you’re going through. He says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” (Isaiah 43:2 NKJV). God is always faithful. At a time when people abandon you or run away from you, you can be sure that God won’t leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:8; 1 Chronicles 28:20; Hebrews 13:5).

In 2 Timothy 4:16-18, Paul testified about how God stood with him when everyone forsook him at his first defence. God is ever faithful. But make sure you don’t leave Him or forsake Him. Be faithful to Him.

2. God’s faithfulness provides the assurance of the forgiveness of our sins. It is the faithfulness of God and justice that forgive our sins and cleanse us of our unrighteousness. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John1:9 NKJV).

Without the unfailing love of God and His faithfulness, no sinner will be saved. It was the unfailing love of God that made God send His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins (John 3:16). Jesus is the manifestation of God’s love and faithfulness. John 1:14 says, “So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father” (NLT). The New King James Version renders the phrase “unfailing love and faithfulness” as “grace and truth.”

Verse 17 goes further to say: “For the law was given through Moses; God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ” (NLT). The phrase “unfailing love and faithfulness” is rendered “grace and truth” in the New King James Version.

Suppose God is not faithful! Then there is no guarantee that He will keep His word to forgive our sins. Unlike human beings, God cannot change His mind that He is no longer forgiving our sins that He has forgiven just because we have annoyed Him or for another reason. It is not in the character of God to do so. David, a man who enjoyed the forgiveness of God because of His faithfulness, said, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12 NKJV).

The distance between the West and the East cannot be measured. When you go East, you will never come to the West; you will always go East. The same thing is true of the West. East and West will never meet. God says, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34b NKJV). Hebrews 8:12 also refers to this. Moreover, Hebrews 10:17 testifies to this promise of God.

God is so faithful that your unfaithfulness can never make Him unfaithful. “For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?” (Romans 3:3 NKJV). Without God’s faithfulness, every sinner is doomed. Thank God for His faithfulness.

3. God’s faithfulness makes possible wonderful fellowship with His Son. It is God’s faithfulness that brought sinners into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus. “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9 NKJV). As sinners, we were alienated, far away from God, but through His Son, Jesus Christ, God brought us close to Himself (Colossians 1:19-21).

4. God’s faithfulness delivers us from temptation. He provides a way of escape for us. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV).

How many times God’s children who sincerely want to obey His Word have been delivered from temptation just because God made available a way of escape? They were nearly trapped but something just happened that saved them. That was God’s faithfulness at work. While each child of God should keep himself in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life (Jude 21), he must also know that God is able to keep him from falling and to present him faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24). Without God’s faithfulness, our efforts will be in vain.

5. God’s faithfulness guarantees our establishment and divine protection. “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3-4 NKJV). David prayed in Psalm 61:7, “May he reign under God’s protection forever. Appoint your unfailing love and faithfulness to watch over him” (NLT). The phrase “unfailing love and faithfulness” is rendered mercy and truth in the New King James Version. You can see God’s unfailing love and faithfulness as a divine personality watching over your life! God appoints goodness and unfailing love (mercy) to follow you everywhere you go (Psalm 23:6 NLT). “Unfailing love and faithfulness protect the king; his throne is made secure through love” (Proverbs 20:28 NLT).

6. God’s faithfulness enables us to live a life of integrity. You’re a child of God, and, therefore, you should manifest the attributes of God. God’s Yes is Yes; His No is no. He is not Yes and No. Paul told the Corinthians, “But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us — by me, Silvanus, and Timothy — was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes” (2 Corinthians 1:18-19 NKJV).

Understanding the faithfulness of God helps you to be a faithful person, too. Faithfulness is part of the fruit of the Spirit that should be evident in the life of a child of God (Galatians 5:22-23). According to Paul, it is required in stewards that he should be found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2).

Be faithful in both small and big matters. Be faithful in what belongs to others. Be faithful in monetary issues (Luke 16:10-12). In Matthew 25:20-23, the master of the three servants commended and rewarded, for being faithful, the two servants who invested and doubled the talents they were each given. But he collected from the unfaithful servant the talent he had given him and gave it to the servant who had ten talents. He then cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:26-30). That won’t be your portion in Jesus’ name. Be faithful. “Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful” (Psalm 31:23 NKJV).

Conclusion: Are you so faithful to God and to fellow human beings that God and people can describe you as faithful?  What is your character? Paul talks of faithful men in 2 Timothy 2:2.

You can be faithful as Abraham was (Nehemiah 9:8). You can also be faithful as Daniel was (Daniel 6:4). Learn from the faithfulness of Moses (Hebrews 3:5). More importantly, emulate the faithfulness of Christ (Hebrews 3:6). Have a good testimony from God and men that you’re faithful.

Appreciate the faithfulness of God every day. Meditate on it. Sing about it. Talk about it. And you’ll continue to enjoy more of His faithfulness. God is ever faithful.

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.

I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org