Faith and Faithfulness

S
"Faith and Faithfulness"

The Godly Man Series
Godly men are men of faith.
The Bible's whole message can be

summarized by that famous
scriptural phrase, "The righteous
will life by faith." Godly men by
definition are men of faith.
Without faith it is impossible to
please God. God through our faith
shapes our lives. Faith is the door
in which God speaks and works
through man. Hudson Tayler
wisely described faith as "holding
onto the faithfulness of God."
God is greatly concerned that we would have faith in Him alone. It is our creed, our life and hope. Throughout
our study we will take a brief look at some great men of faith. Their faith actually moved the world. God
Himself seeks men of faith who would act as His conduits of grace into this dark world. We could spend our
whole time living with Abraham, walking with Moses, conquering with Joshua, fighting giants with David but
never reach the 'Faith Academy' of Hebrews 11.
We are also very interested in the connection between faith and faithfulness. When we find faithlessness, we
will be lacking faith. Genuine faith in God breeds faithfulness in our lives. Our faith in God forms the
backbone of our lives. What we believe, we eventually
live out. When broken relationships, job problems,
Root of our Paralysis of Unbelief
marital problems, family problems seem to dominate the
Christian community, we should note the root problem:
“… We carry with us an affinity toward the status
no faith in God. Secularism's arms are craftily reaching
quo (instead of the kingdom of God) and toward
into our churches.
idolatry (instead of the character of God). These
two predispositions lie at the root of our paralysis
We must plod on to greater faith. We dare not
of unbelief".1
remain where we have so far gone.
We cannot live on past faith. We cannot just enjoy the stories of past faithful men. They are inspiring but faith
doesn't count unless it is embedded in our own lives. We need a new generation of men full of faith. We must
by God's grace strike down those enemies that weaken our faith. Peter and the other disciples could have
walked on in faith if they properly responded to Jesus' words just before that great distressful day. God is
speaking to us, "Pray and watch.'
Either we will actively follow Him by a growing faith or we will bow our minds to the shouts of the world.
My desire is that all of us by our growing faith will be more godly men through deeper encounters with our
mighty and glorious God. May we all hear in the end,
‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many
things, enter into the joy of your master' (Matthew 25:21).
FUNCTIONAL DEFINITIONS OF FAITH

Faith is trusting and obeying God despite our circumstances.
Faith is trusting in and responding to God's purpose and power in my life. (– Hugo Cheng)
Purpose of this study on faith:
 That we may come to have a much greater faith in God.

 That we may regularly grow in our faith toward God.
 That we may better understand the spiritual dynamics of faith, that is, how faith works.
 That we may grow in our faithfulness to those around us because of our growing faith.
Index of Faith and Faithfulness

Click here for the study page to go with these pages.
Faith & Faithfulness All about faith and faithfulness ...... Table of Contents
The Tie between Heaven & A closer look at the faithful ... Hebrews 11
Earth
Biblical Faith vs. World's What does the counterfeit faith look like?
Faith
The Righteous Shall Live by How did the Reformation begin?
Faith
God's Rich Faithfulness How does God show His faithfulness? ... 2 Chronicles 6
Studying the Words of Faith Discover how the title of this series came from a Greek word.
Developing Faith into How does faith practically bring faithfulness? .... Philippians 2:3 ....
Faithfulness Meditating
God's Faitfulness in Us What is wrong with being unfaithful? Why? How do we recover His
faithfulness?
God's Faithful & Demonic How does Satan tempt God's people regarding God's faithfulness?
Scheming
Testimonies Testimonies on faith and faithfulness.
* How has God personally shown His faithfulness to you ?

* How does one grow in faith?
* What are some practical steps you have taken to be have more faith?

Here is a short index. Click the blue circle . They follow in order or just click here for next page.

BFF Homepage | Top | Study sheet | Next
Biblical Foundations for Freedom
NASB Bible used unless noted
Notes
1) By David Bryant in The Hope at Hand, p. 109.

"Faith: The Tie between Heaven and Earth"
Hebrews 11
Paul J. Bucknell
We cannot be godly men without being men of faith.
The Bible's whole emphasis is to create a people of faith, a people who would be shaped and characterized by
the God of their faith. We see this clearly laid before us in Hebrews 11, "The Academy of Faith." Actually,
'The Academy of the Faithful' better describes them because these men and women lived out the faith deep
within them. They were men of faith, but they were not just empty professors. They were people God
delighted to associate with.
Daniel (12:1), Jesus in Matthew 24:21 and Paul in 2 Timothy 3 all portray the escalating of good and evil at
the end of time. We might think persecution and affliction is something new. They are not. Our difficulties
depend upon our many kinds of circumstances. These men of Hebrews 11 clearly showed their resistance
against lusts, disloyalty, temptations and sufferings so that they could gain something greater and enduring.
Their strong faith made them faithful. And so we pursue this same kind of faith, regardless of its effect upon
our lives. For only one thing matters to them who know God - to obey and enjoy Him.
Below is a special study of Hebrews 11 where we focus on the test and faith each person listed faced. As the
author of Hebrews, we left the last blocks empty for lack of space. But each person would become a great
study. Undoubtedly, we will run up against on of these foul fiends. We will do well to keep these models
before us so that we too might be strong.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of
old gained approval. (Hebrews 11:1,2).
People in
Test of secularism. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of
general
God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
If I recognize a (Hebrews 11:3).
creation Creator, I am
obligated to obey
Him.
Abel
Test of Materialism By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which
he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about
sacrifice I can get by with his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. (Hebrews
offering less. 11:4).
Enoch
Test of Intimacy By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; AND HE
WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the
taken up I love God more witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.
than life. (Hebrews 11:5).
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6).
Noah Test of Obedience

By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in
Obey in spite of reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which
the ark
ridicule. he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness
which is according to faith. (Hebrews 11:7).
Abraham Test of Insecurity

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place
Could not be sure which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not
the land
of what he would knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8).
face.
Sarah Test of
Miraculous By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the
proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised;
conception
Ability to conceive (Hebrews 11:11).
beyond proper
time.
All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed
them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For
those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if
they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity
to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not
ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16).
Abraham Test of the

Impossible By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who
had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;
offered son
Trusting God to (Hebrews 11:17).
bring back life
Isaac Test of the Future

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.
Confident God's (Hebrews 11:20).
blessing
blessing would
come.
Jacob Test of Allegiance

By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and
Trusting God to worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. (Hebrews 11:21).
blessed and
worshiped work out Joseph's
anger
Joseph Test of God's

Promise By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the
sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones. (Hebrews 11:22,).
his bones
Somehow God
would take His
people back.
Moses' Test of Fear

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his
parents
Chose to fear God parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not
more than man. afraid of the king's edict. (Hebrews 11:23).
hid their son
Moses Test of Indulgence

choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to
Chose God's enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; (Hebrews 11:25).
riches of
Egypt promises over
many riches.
Moses Test of
Confrontation By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured,
as seeing Him who is unseen. (Hebrews 11:27).
left Egypt
He would trust God
with Pharoah's
army
Moses Test of the

Unusual By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he
Trust God this odd who destroyed the first-born might not touch them. (Hebrews 11:28).
kept
Passover new tradition was
important
Moses Test of Surrender

By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing
Willing to trust through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were
crossed Red God with lives drowned. (Hebrews 11:29).
Sea
Israel Test of Strategy

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for
Never heard of seven days. (Hebrews 11:30).
encircled
Jericho walls falling down!
Rahab Test of Risk

By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were
Had everything to disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace. (Hebrews
welcomed
the spies lose or did she? 11:31).
Gideon
who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness,
obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire,
Barak
escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong,
became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. (Hebrews 11:33,34).
Samson
Jephthah
David
Samuel
Prophets
Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were
tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a
better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings,
yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn
in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they
went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-
treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts
and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:35-38).
And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made
perfect. (Hebrews 11:39,40).
We can be sure that though faith is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8), we will be faced with situations to apply our
faith. Genuine faith produces faithfulness. Faithfulness is the appropriate response to what God would
expect in a given situation. What areas have you been tested with? Each test is a test of faith. If we fail, we
cannot go on. "For without faith, it is impossible to please God." Jesus was full of faith. During His baptism,
God spoke, "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased" (Mark 1:11). The Spirit was fully upon
Him because of His faith. For us to have a greater portion of His Spirit, we must exercise our faith in the areas
that He gives us. We would always succeed if we did what God wished.
In order for God to deal with us in the context of a material-filled place, He often has to remove us from our
securities either through job loss, change, death, illness, conflict, etc. These situations are our opportunity
to trust Him. Even if the difficulty is our fault, with a change of heart, that same circumstance can become an
opportunity of growing in faith.
In hope against hope he (Abraham) believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations,
according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE." And without becoming
weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old,
and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but
grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, (Romans 4:18-20).
Abraham's very weakness was also his opportunity to show his trust in God.
A Prayer
Dear Lord, no matter what our present circumstances, give us the faith to trust you in them. We just don't want
to get by. We want to see you in our very difficult circumstances to come through in your great and
impossible ways. Only You can help us out. We wait on You, our Faithful One. In Christ's Name we pray,
Amen.
BFF Homepage | Top | Faith Index | Previous | Next
"Biblical Faith vs. The World's Faith"

If faith is what empowers and guides a Christian, we should expect to find a counterfeit form of this faith that the evil
one uses to confuse him. The world's version of faith can be recognized by different coats that it wears. However its
deceptive heart is essentially the same throughout the generations of human mankind. We need to ask two questions.
(1) What does today's version of counterfeit faith look like?

(2) What is the world's faith like at the heart level?
Biblical faith shapes the lives of God's people. Faith is not the end but the means. God is the end. Faith allows man's
soul to come in contact with God in Christ. From this heavenly faith, his earthly life is changed.
The world believes faith shapes their lives too, but they have something else in mind.
Rooted in humanism, their faith is dependent upon what they can dream up. Their
faith is limited to man himself. This faith never goes beyond himself. Even their
devoted religions and philosophies are but reflections of their own heart. Because of
this, his announced life's goals is to reach 'himself.' They need to work harder at
dreaming, being more inspired, etc. so that their faith might develop to its full
potential.
Today the breeding of confidence in man is more structured than ever. This means we
have yet to see the world's worst. Just like the schools of Al-Qaida have produced
thousands of men who are willing to kill themselves so they could kill others, so our
educational systems are breeding humanists. They do this both through destroying
allegiance to their parents and by emphasizing self-esteem and self–confidence.
Advances in medicine, science and knowledge have regularly deceived man so that
now he is inflated into a balloon of pride. Man is more confident than ever that he can handle whatever comes. We
wish that man would humble himself a bit and stare at the mess that we are now standing in.
We only have to view the horizon of history to see some of the greatest 'reaches' of man. For example, the world's
idealized utopias are but secular versions of heaven. They build upon many biblical principles but substitute man for
God. God is stripped along with His holiness. Mao killed literal millions; Stalin did too. The Cambodia Fields are still
red–stained by ruthless murders. Why? All to accomplish an ideal of man's.
Their faith is in their selves. This idea has been popularized by 'having confidence in oneself' or even the distorted
version of 'self esteem.' They believe just so they believe something, it can be done. This self-faith provides the
needed positive orientation to be accomplished in life. They are happy to focus on what can be done rather than what
cannot be done. They defy fear by substituting a blind confidence in themselves. We might ask, "What is wrong with
this?" Let's go to the next point.
Man and his goals haven't changed but only accelerated. Indeed the modern tools we now possess for travel,
information, processing and technology are simply amazing. We see this human potential revealed thousands of years
ago in Genesis 11:6-7,
And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began
to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them."
Man will naturally think that they can do well. And to some degree that is true. God said 'nothing which they purpose
to do will be impossible for them." One might wonder why did God have to hold back this progress? It was not
because God was threatened. We read from Daniel 12:4 that the end of time will amass great amounts of knowledge.
He will allow this knowledge to increase but at His time. When He allows it, then man will reach a point where his
pride will keep him from seeing God and being restrained from their evil. God held back man so that the world would
be preserved longer for man will literally destroy himself. Two main problems are inherent in the humanism model
from of old.
Their vision is astray.

They sought things that were a mere shadow of what God desires. They are chasing after a picture of a flower rather
than holding and treasuring a genuine one in their hands. Man's utopias are but fully secularized versions of biblical
faith. They do this by stripping God out of the equation. Biblical faith brings courage and vision because God is doing
something special. Their focus and glory is in God. Man's worldly faith accentuates his
own works, accomplishments and goals. It will end where it began - in the dust. Satan
tempts man with having all the treasures without the submission of their hearts and wills
to their creator. Satan is himself self–deceived and still believes his version is better.s
Their method is corrupt.

The other problem mentioned is that these men were evil. They not only sought things
that did not please God, but their ways of accomplishing these things were evil in
themselves. Human cloning, stealing of brain cells from infants, 'freedom to spread evil
information such as pornography, the usury of credit card companies, the calling of
gambling gaming are just a few of the steps of evil that are commonly accepted today. If given the chance, the
secular touch always turns into terror. Every great communism utopia in the 20th century ended in mass graves.
Hitler's millennium dreams used extermination camps to implement their plans. The plan came before man.
Summary
The world's faith is in corrupt man. Sinful man has sinful plans which will end in corruptness.
Biblical faith sprinkles and even pours forth extra grace, love and joy into God's people while
they live in the midst of the world.
"The Righteous Will Live by

Faith"
Heavens truths penetrated the world of men during the
Reformation. God's kingdom reordered man's world. There is
no doubt that the world was greatly affected by this seemingly small and inconsequential movement. The
effect was not as great and thorough as it could have been. There were tragedies that took place because God's
truth did not enter different areas of man's mind. Notwithstanding, God reached down and began to touch
men's lives in a great way.
We need to ask, "Why is it that the Reformation was so influential?" We are not attempting to negate the
many papers that have been written on this topic or oversimplify the issue. The development of the moveable
press had great ramifications for the publicity of the truth. The corruptness of the church served as a large
black backdrop in which one could see a tiny flame.
But we would skirt the main issue if we denied it was the release of truth itself that changed man. In a sense,
this certain truth opened a whole new world to these reformers starting with Martin Luther. This one truth was
as a hallway that led to new perspectives on many other truths. The plethora of revelation of God's Word
ignited a mighty flame in the hearts of His people that still goes on strong into the twenty first century.
What was this truth? The truth was called 'justification (righteousness) by faith.' The phrase "the righteous
shall live by faith' is mentioned four times in the Bible. The three New Testament passages quote from the
original Old Testament source. We will further examine this one truth here with hopes that we too will be
greatly impacted by this foundational truth.
"I greatly longed to understand Paul's Epistle to the Romans, and nothing stood in the way but that one
expression, 'the righteousness of God', because I took it to mean that righteousness whereby God is righteous
and deals righteously in punishing the unrighteous .. Night and day I pondered until ... I grasped the truth that
the righteousness of God is that righteousness whereby, through grace and sheer mercy, he justifies us by
faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of
Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before 'the righteousness of God' had filled me with hate,
now it became to me inexpressible sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gateway to
heaven." - Martin Luther
Eerdmans' Handbook to the History of Christianity, p. 364.

Perhaps a chart will help us concentrate on the similarities and slight variances in the way this crucial phrase
is used.
Passage Context Purpose Significance

Habakkuk 2:4 The righteous man Habakkuk wanted an answer on God's people are often confused
listens to God. The how God would use a more wicked on the way God allows His
"Behold, as for the proud one, however, is people to judge His own people. He people to suffer abuse.
proud one, His soul led by wrong desires. stood waiting upon God for an Tragedies are hard to
is not right within The righteous will be answer (2:1). Part of God's answer understand. If we are going to
him; But the guided by his faith. is seen in the contrast between the get a good handle on this issue,
righteous will live by
wicked and the righteous. The we need to always go back to
his faith."
haughty would be judged for his the fact that the 'righteous will
wicked deeds (his unright soul). But live by faith.' They will trust God
God would protect and keep the even in the most difficult of
righteous by his faith. times.
Romans 1:17 The gospel is the Paul the apostle uses this verse as a Paul bridges the gospels with
power of God for diamond in a ring. The ring is like the NT epistles with this verse
"For in it the salvation. The the book of Romans, the diamond as he shows their inter-
righteousness of God righteousness of God this truth. The 'from faith' refers to relationship. Martin Luther was
is revealed from faith is revealed in it, and it the perceiving of God's revelation mightily moved by the powerful
to faith; as it is results in righteous of salvation through Christ truths of righteousness gained
written, "BUT THE
living. (chapters 1-4) and the 'to faith' by faith.
RIGHTEOUS man
SHALL LIVE BY refers to the resulting righteous life
FAITH."" obtained by Christ's righteousness
(rest of book). Faith's fruit is
righteousness.
Galatians 3:11 Believers are exhorted The Apostle Paul has just used the This is a powerful argument
and taught not to live argument as to how Abraham was against the attempt to gain
"Now that no one is by the Law but by saved by faith. The Gentiles were righteousness by doing good.
justified by the Law faith. This verse is likewise saved. The believer does Man cannot be justified by his
before God is used to prove that no not focus on works of the Law but own works. Paul uses this verse
evident; for, "THE one is made right by on faith centered around Christ's to demolish the pretense of the
RIGHTEOUS MAN
observing the Law. own righteousness. The Law legalist and to establish the way
SHALL LIVE BY
FAITH."" demands satisfaction which we of faith for Jew and Gentile
can't do because we haven't fully alike.
complied to the Law.
Hebrews 10:38 Those believers that The author of Hebrews sees God's All the debate about the
have and will suffer people wavering in the midst of necessity of a Christian to live a
"BUT MY persecution are persecution. In order to encourage righteous life is rather silly. If in
RIGHTEOUS ONE exhorted to endure on them, he reminds them of the need a n environment of persecution,
SHALL LIVE BY in their faith. The to live by faith. There is the Christians are to live righteous
FAITH; AND IF HE emphasis is on the constant need to keep going on. lives, it is all the more apparent
SHRINKS BACK,
future faithfulness of They cannot look to the past but to that in our indulgent and
MY SOUL HAS NO
PLEASURE IN the one living by faith. being faithful in the present. entertainment society, we are
HIM." expected to live righteous lives.
I just spoke to a twenty one year–old Christian brought up in a 'good' Christian church and home. I simply
asked him whether he knew how his faith in Christ saved him. He was greatly confused when I told him that
God can never overlook sin. He must judge all sins. This brother was very confused. He did understand the
words of what Christ did at the cross but never could really understand their implication for his own life.
I wonder with the modern evangelical movement whether we have really done a disservice to God's people.
Let me mention two reasons evangelicalism is morally and spiritually floundering.
Firstly, we have separated the acknowledging of faith as the same as living faith. We further this
confusion by stressing what we have done rather than what we are presently doing (cf. Heb 10:38). We keep
pointing people, even those flagrant in their sin, back to their confession of Christ. Once saved always saved.
Somehow, we can't understand how we are often affirming the pagan that he has part in Christ's kingdom. A
raising of hand is not he same as believing upon Christ. It seems to be a silent and unquestionable doctrine to
question a believer's security in Christ. These people would mistranslate this phrase to say, "My righteous
one shall live by his profession of faith." We have compounded this problem by not preaching the
righteousness of God.
Secondly, we have not preached true repentance. If so, it is a revival, teary kind of regret, that humbles us
for a weekend but not for a life. We focus on the given righteousness of God in Christ. If God is happy, I am
happy. Somehow evangelicals have forsaken holiness in the last generation. Now we commonly hear, "It is
okay just so we try hard." If we are sincere, that is all that counts. Before this, and perhaps this is where we
got waylaid, we confused righteousness with legalism. We defined righteous living with doing what was good
in our own sight. As a result, we could have a terrible temper just so we did not smoke cigarettes. We would
mistranslate this phrase above to say, "My unrighteous one shall live by faith."
We personally might be in for a great surprise if we studied these verses. We might find that we need this new
faith ourselves! Maybe I can point out one more tension in the church. Because evangelicals are shunning her
reformed roots in exchange for a popular religion, an increasing number of dissatisfied evangelicals are
looking elsewhere. They criticize, and rightly so in many cases, the lack of genuine faith among the
evangelicals or traditionalists (which are not very traditional - they only use traditional buildings).
They would be wise to emphasize the passage in Habakkuk. Don't get discouraged. Hang in there. God has
not deserted His people so that those in real faith have lost God or that God has deserted them. No. Not at all.
God is still in control doing wonders about the world. The righteous will live by faith. Nothing around them
should take their eyes off of their Lord. Neither should they get haughty, for pride is the quickest way to join
those that we are disdaining (Gal 6:1).
We seem to keep tripping over our own feet. When we emphasize faith, we lose the need for personal
righteousness. When we emphasize righteousness, we get caught up in legalism. This phrase needs to be
buried in our mind like Paul did in Romans 1:17.
"BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!"
Notes
(1) Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of
gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. (Galatians 6:1, NASB).
God's Rich Faithfulness
God's unchanging person leads to unchanging principles. It is absolutely wonderful to set apart some time and
meditate on how God's faithful workings derived from His unchanging character and plans. Just as we see the
sun regularly rising and setting and the seas waxing and waning, so we see God's regular dealings with
mankind. These are beautiful truths to reflect upon. However, if we are going to practically understand God's
faithfulness, we need to go to the sinfulness of our lives to find the utter rich and glorious faithfulness of God.
When things remain good or the same, we do not expect God's dealings with us to change. For example, we
would never expect His dealings to change with respect to His angels. We do not need to talk about God's
faithfulness to them because there is no change of circumstance that challenges His faithfulness. God simply
does not change with respect to them.
We get to see the full glory of His faithfulness only when we observe His dealings with the waywardness of
man.
"THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE
IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD." (Romans 3:10,11)
God's redemptive plan becomes a special place where His grace,

holiness, love and faithfulness are highlighted for all of His creation
to see.
King Solomon captured this perspective at the dedication of the

temple. He cleverly prayed for God's faithfulness to His unfaithful
people. Solomon knew about man's unfaithfulness. Perhaps he saw it
in his own soul. We actually see he was convinced that man would
not be faithful.
"When they sin against Thee (for there is no man who does not sin) ..." 2 Chronicles 6:36
"Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins."
Ecclesiastes 7:20
Solomon's was not concerned if man did not sin. He did not have any delusions of man's innocence. If man
did not sin, then God's dealings with man would not be challenged. Nothing would change. His faithfulness
would be taken for granted. God is that way. He knew man, even his nation, would fall in sin. It was then that
God's faithfulness needed to be seen. Actually, Solomon knew more of the temple's real purpose than we. The
temple was needed because man could not simply come before God as if nothing was wrong. Sacrifices were
needed, laws were given, priests were consecrated, etc. all because man did sin and would sin. The temple,
then, is where we would hope to find God's faithfulness largely pronounced. King Solomon very appropriately
pleads for God's faithfulness to unfaithful Israel at the temple's consecration in 2 Chronicles 6.
In verses 1-17 Solomon rehearses the faithfulness of God.

The key word is 'fulfilled.' In other words, God was faithful to His promises. In the NASB we find the word
'fulfilled' three times (4,10,15).{1} The word to fulfill is the same literal word meaning to fill something. We
see in 2 Chronicles 7:1 how 'the glory of the LORD filled the house.'
1) Solomon saw this temple as God's temple, not his. God built it. Note how he mentions it was God being
faithful to what He formerly spoke to David, his father. Solomon actually quoted the Lord's previous words in
verses 5-7. God promised to build a house in Jerusalem and for David to rule over this kingdom.
Solomon continues to record God's faithfulness to His Word by mentioning that even the promise about
David's own son to build the temple was fulfilled.
"Now the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for I have risen in the place of my father David and
sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD, the
God of Israel."
King Solomon interestingly drew no special attention to himself. He did build it, but he knew it was really
God completing it just like He promised. He says in verse 15,
"who has kept with Thy servant David, my father, that which Thou hast promised him; indeed, Thou hast
spoken with Thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with Thy hand, as it is this day." (2 Chronicles 6:15)
This is the way to dedicate something new. We emphasize God's purpose and provision for it. (2) As
mentioned above, Solomon went on in a very lengthy prayer. It is here that we see Solomon pleading for the
temple of God to be a place that God's people can always humble themselves before God, come back to Him,
and find God's faithful mercy.
Solomon understands the covenant. He does not speak of unconditional blessings.(3) The blessing is given
only to those who obey and call upon the Lord's name. He was most concerned for those who had fallen away
and would want to restore things.
King Solomon's prayer established the temple to be the place of refuge even for the very hardened man or
nation. When we remember this, we think of Hezekiah. Judgment had come, but it was postponed because he
called out to God. Judgment came in the end, not because God did not care, but because God's people did not
call out to thier Lord. They could have. God would have intervened. It was not as if God's mery was not there.
God was utterly faithful to those who called upon His Name. The problem was that even in their desperate
conditions, they had lost faith in God.
Let's now look at the rest of 2 Chronicles 6. Note how there are three parts to each section: the judgment upon
man for his sin, the humbleness required and the prayer for healing.
The Judgment from The Change of Heart Required Man's Call to God
God
Generally that Thine eyes may be open toward this And listen to the supplications of Thy
(18-21) house day and night, toward the place of servant and of Thy people Israel, when
which Thou hast said that Thou wouldst they pray toward this place; hear Thou
put Thy name there, to listen to the from Thy dwelling place, from heaven;
prayer which Thy servant shall pray hear Thou and forgive.”
toward this place.
Sin against a and he comes and takes an oath before then hear Thou from heaven and act
neighbor Thine altar in this house and judge Thy servants, punishing the
(22-23) wicked by bringing his way on his own
head and justifying the righteous by
giving him according to his
righteousness.
Defeated before an and they return to Thee and confess Thy then hear Thou from heaven and forgive
enemy because of name, and pray and make supplication the sin of Thy people Israel, and bring
sin before Thee in this house them back to the land which Thou hast
(24-25) given to them and to their fathers.
No rain because of and they pray toward this place and then hear Thou in heaven and forgive
sin confess Thy name, and turn from their the sin of Thy servants and Thy people
(26-27) sin when Thou dost afflict them Israel, indeed, teach them the good way
in which they should walk. And send rain
on Thy land, which Thou hast given to
Thy people for an inheritance.
Famine, pestilence, whatever prayer or supplication is made then hear Thou from heaven Thy
blight, mildew, by any man or by all Thy people Israel, dwelling place, and forgive, and render
locust, grasshopper, each knowing his own affliction and his to each according to all his ways, whose
enemies, whatever own pain, and spreading his hands heart Thou knowest for Thou alone dost
plague or sickness toward this house know the hearts of the sons of men
(28-31)
For God-fearing when they come and pray toward this then hear Thou from heaven, from Thy
foreigner who pray house dwelling place, and do according to all
(32-33) for which the foreigner calls to Thee, in
order that all the peoples of the earth
may know Thy name, and fear Thee, as
do Thy people Israel, and that they may
know that this house which I have built is
called by Thy name.
Wage war against and they pray to Thee toward this city then hear Thou from heaven their
enemy which Thou hast chosen, and the house prayer and their supplication, and
(34-35) which I have built for Thy name, maintain their cause.
When they sin and if they return to Thee with all their heart then hear from heaven, from Thy
taken captive and with all their soul in the land of their dwelling place, their prayer and
(36-39) captivity, where they have been taken supplications, and maintain their cause,
captive, and pray toward their land and forgive Thy people who have sinned
which Thou hast given to their against Thee.
fathers, and the city which
Application
Thou hast chosen, and toward
the house which I have built
We should never say
for Thy name (2 Chronicles
we have sinned too
6:38)
much or that God has
Conclusion given up on us. We
always can find
The wisdom of this prayer was seen in how God would always be faithful to His forgiveness if we
people. This faithfulness stands out most clearly when His people have been humble our heart and
unfaithful. What they would need is to humble their heart, turn to God and pray. turn to Him. We know
He has given up on a
Solomon didn't ask God for benefits if they obeyed and were good. Those would person only when He
always be there. This kind of faithfulness could be presumed upon because they takes him home
were God's people. The most marvelous and amazing grace was seen that even in through death.
the future, God's people always had a recourse. They might do all sorts of wrong
things, but if they turned back, there was hope. That is the ultimate faithfulness of
God.
King Solomon in the end (42) pleaded for God to "remember Thy lovingkindness to Thy servant David."
Solomon had enough holes in his faith to know that God's real blessing that day was not because of his faith
but because of David's faith. God's ongoing faithfulness was because of God's faithfulness to David, a man
after God's own heart. In time, we see this fulfilled by the Messiah Jesus Christ being from the lineage of
David (both from Joseph and Mary).
We know God agreed to this prayer when everything on the altar was consumed by the glory of God (7:1). In
a similar way, we know the forgiveness of sin can always be found because Christ's sacrifice was also
accepted. May we live in constant humbleness so that we might find that great refuge of help in Christ in time
of our sin. The cross is the symbol for God's ultimate faithfulness.
Notes:
(1) The KJV uses the word performed for another Hebrew word in verse 10.
(2) We can do this only when it is true such as when God commanded something and provided for it. Today,
we see man building what he wants and giving God the credit when all along, everyone knows the bank has
the loan or mortgage. This brings discredit to God.
(3) The church has again failed to preach the ins and outs of being part of the New Covenant. We hardly ever
hear of God's expectations of us and what will happen if we fail Him. Because of this, the church blames God
when troubles arise rather than humbling her heart.
"Studying the Words of Faith"
A Biblical study of the word faith is critical to gaining a good understanding of the topic. Faith is used about
230 times in the Bible. Of these, it is interestingly used only a handful of times in the Old Testament (OT).
Different versions range from 2 (KJV) to about more than 10 (NIV), but even here it is used mostly in the
sense 'breaking faith'. This difference highlights the differences between the Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT)
languages and perspectives.
NT Greek Usage
The Hebrew people were down to earth. Their words were not philosophical but practical. The NT Greek was
highly influenced by the Greek philosophers, even in Palestine. They would use more philosophical terms and
concepts. In this case we see the OT not using 'faith' but the more concrete word faithful. The opposite is true
in the NT; faith is used. Let me chart it for you.
Word in New American Standard Bible (NASB) OT NT Total

Faith 4 228 232
faithful(-ness) 82 47 129
Even more interesting is the actual words that are used.
The title of this 'Faith and Faithful' series derives from the Greek usage of the word pistos. This word is
commonly translated faith or faithfulness. They both come from the Greek word 'pistos' which we find in the
word 'epistemology.' Anywhere you go, (I checked most of them), you can freely interchange faith with
faithfulness or vice-a-versa. This can greatly aid a person in his study on faith.
Connected
First of all, we must conclude that faith and faithful are connected like Siamese twins. Kill one and lose the
other. A person's faithfulness is totally dependent upon ones faith. This is important in an age where we often
hear character is not connected to a person's gifting. This is usually used when one is thinking about a
Christian leader falling into immorality or getting divorced. We must see that character problems are faith
problems. Rigorous standards should be used to help us make proper decisions when our feelings are
confused.
Interchangeable
Secondly, we are able to gain much more insight into the

meaning of the scriptures. For example, a simple verse is 3 John
15, "Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you
accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are
strangers." Instead we could more literally translate "practicing
faith" or "practicing belief" or "practicing trust."
Faithfulness is in fact an act of faith. If we are going to obey the Lord, then we will need our faith. We do
these things because we believe and trust the Lord. All the superficial distinctions that keep us separating faith
from works disappears. In this case, we will better understand the old argument between faith and words.
Faith is works; it is faithfulness.
Blended
"It doesn't
Thirdly, if we take a brief look at the verb to believe, we will see it is the same as the word to
matter
trust or have faith in. But in English, we do not say "to faith." Instead we use the words trust and
what you
believe. They are all the same in Greek (pisteuo). Again this confirms the foolishness to
believe in separate the thought of faith from the action to trust. They are blended together. Faith is
just so you believing, putting confidence in, being persuaded of. What we believe shapes what we do. Faith
believe." is not just something one acknowledges. If I believe something, then it will shape me.
People say
The Old Testament Hebrew Use of Faith
this
because
The Old Testament usage is also interesting. The one Hebrew verb (aman) and its derivative
they don't (emunah) are translated into a wide selection of words. We have looked elsewhere where the
believe in word means true, truth, real. Here we are focusing on its associate meanings, to be faithful,
the truth. reliable and steady. In other words, being true makes one trustworthy. If it is real, then it is
There is reliable. We see today a whole number of people saying, "It doesn't matter what you believe in
no just so you believe." People say this because they don't believe in the truth. There is no ultimate
ultimate reality. In their minds, there is nothing trustworthy. We can see why it doesn't matter what they
reality. In trust in.
their
minds, However, this is very different than with what we find in the scriptures. God is truth. God is
there is faithful. God is faith-worthy. We can and should put our trust in Him. Adam stopped believing
nothing when he sinned. Through Christ, we can put our faith back in Him. Adam sinned when he
trusted an unreliable one. We believe when we place our faith in the Reliable One. This is why a
trustworth
Christian is not only made right with God through faith, but also constantly maintains his walk
y.
with the Lord by faith. Faith is relying on the Faithful One. Let us look at two significant OT
Although verses.
it seems a
Genesis 15:6 becomes the key to understanding the gospel faith. Even Habakkuk's or Paul's
philosophi
"just shall live by faith" seems clearly derived from this foundational statement. Again, it is not
cal
just a statement but a statement of faith established in life.
argument,
down "Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness."
deep it is a
moral one. Here we find belief connected with righteousness. Abraham's faith in Yahweh (LORD) caused
They don't the LORD to reckon or account to Abraham righteousness. What we call Pauline theology is
want to
obey God.
more accurately called Abrahamic theology. Although Abraham did the believing, it was really God who
caused the righteousness to be imputed or designated to Abraham's account. This is the roots of righteousness
by faith alone.
Many wonder why one has to believe to be saved. We see that Abraham was not perfect. He was not
inherently righteous. He had nothing he could commonly share with God. His righteousness was received
from God. It was given to him. Of course, it would be many centuries later that we would understand the
reason God could give a person righteousness. God cannot overlook sin. Instead He made a transaction, His
righteous Son for the unrighteous ones. Christ died in His people's stead. Christ took that penalty of death
from us and attributed Christ's righteousness to us. This is the reason a Christian needs to be "in Christ." The
transaction was made but only those in Christ will be saved. We become part of Christ when we believe and
trust Him.
One other passage should be noted among the many others because of its great beauty. Isaiah 25:1 says,
O LORD, Thou art my God; I will exalt Thee, I will give thanks to Thy name; For Thou hast worked wonders,
plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
Isaiah bursts forth in praise and exaltation to the Lord. God's faithfulness is seen in wonderfully working
through his past plans in present time. If we could read Hebrew, we would see that 'perfect faithfulness' is
really 'faithful certainty.' The two Hebrew words for belief are used right next to each other. (1) In His
faithfulness, He is faithful. There is no way any slight mark of unfaithfulness could be part of Him. He is
ultimately faithful His Word is sure and trustworthy.
Summary
Through this short study on the words used for faith and belief, we are encouraged to join in Isaiah's burst of
praise and thanks. Truly there is no God like Him. The world is wandering in a graveyard without any hope,
but those who know God have great confidence in His faithfulness. He never changes. Deuteronomy 7:9-10
says,
"Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His
lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; but repays
those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay
him to his face."
Notes
(1) Edward J. Young explains if the words were simply two adjacent nouns rather than one describing the
other, then a conjunction should be expected between them. (The Book of Isaiah, Vol. 2, p. 186.)
"Developing Faith into Faithfulness"
Philippians 2:3
Our faith develops faithfulness.
Our belief shapes our actions and attitudes.
We do not accidently grow into faithfulness. Consistency, reliability and loyalty should be words that
characterize our lives. They are derived from the fruit of the Spirit such as love, faithfulness and self control.
But how do we aggressively grow in these areas? Let's use the phrase from Philippians 2:3, "let each of you
regard one another as more important than himself," as an example.
We see quite quickly that these verses are challenging us to improve our attitudes. This is how it works. The
scripture becomes for us a focal point of our minds. We might sense resistance to the words. If so, we more
than likely have trouble doing this. Still proceed. Don't let your pride get in the way. Instead, accept the truth
as precious and good. Desire it to be part of your life despite all that you have experienced and done in the
past. We ask the Spirit to teach us. You might tell Him that you are in great need for the Word to shape your
life. Ask Him to help you because otherwise it will not work.
Let us meditate on this one line, "Let each of you regard one another as more important than himself." Our
thoughts might go like this.
Lord you want each of us to do this; that includes me. You want me to change. You want me to be more
like Christ (5). Your expectations are high. How can you want me to face life the same way Jesus did? But
this is what you are saying. You are trying to lift me up to be just like Jesus. Lord I have so far to go. Please
help me.
I realize that the step you want me to take today is to 'regard one another as more important than himself.'
This is very challenging. I can think of three people right now that I despise. I don't honor them. I look
down on them. I am rather haughty in the way that I act toward them. O Lord, please forgive through
Christ. I can see now how unloving I have been toward them.
I need to get out the door soon, but I know there is one more thought that you want to impress on my mind.
You don't want me just to treat everyone as okay. Sometimes I do this to my family members. I just treat
them as okay. I don't go out of the way for them; they don't go out of the way for me, usually that is. There
are exceptions. But I see now that you want me to think of them as more important than myself.
That means you want me to start looking out how I can help them. When they are lonely, you want me to
take the time to spend time with them. You want me to start thinking of them as special. Lord, I have a long
way to go. I seem to think a lot about my time, my money, my space, my clothes, etc. I see you really
want me to give up all my rights and be a servant like Jesus. Please forgive me for the years I have sinned
against each of my family members. But I do want to change. I want to be more like Jesus. Do it for your
glory, O Lord!
As we renew our minds with the scripture, the word of God shapes
our thoughts and then our actions. The more we meditate, the more
our faith will grow. Real engaging meditation like above with the
Spirit of God breeds faith. The faith chops away at our skepticism,
doubts, and pride and brings trust, desire and want for His way.
This is where faithfulness comes in. When we begin to see and

desire a new way of life, then we commit ourselves to the new way
of behaving. This not only shapes our outward actions but also our very attitudes which are even more basic.
Faithfulness comes about by living consistently in love. The more we are shaped by God's Word, the less our
lives will suffer influence from our selfishness.
Faith becomes faithfulness as we let God define what we believe with humble hearts and His
word.

God's Faithfulness Seen in Us
The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Thy faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:22,23)
A) The Unfaithfulness of Man

B) The Faithfulness of God
C) God's Faithfulness Made in Us
A) The Unfaithfulness of Man
I don't know whether you yourself have made any New Year
resolutions, but if so, they are an admission that you have not done
well in your past. Your standards have not met up with your own
expectations. Even if we don't make a New Year's resolution, we can
identify with these people because we are also inconsistent. We are a
weak people because we do not carry out what we know we should. It
almost seems irrational that man would ever do something that does
not serve his best interests, but again and again we find man not able
to do what he deems as proper and good but a captive and slave to his
lusts and base desires. Why, for example, would a man get drunk and
beat his wife just as he did last week?!
God never needs to make such resolutions. God is completely

faithful. Where man again and again has to set his resolve to get
something done that he knows he should do, God seamlessly and
effortlessly does all His holy will. God's will is His resolve. What He
wants, is. Faithfulness is being consistent with whom a person is
and wants. When a person is faithful, what he says perfectly reflects
his will and purpose. What he does, beautifully displays his person and inner resolve.
There are many differences between man and God.
•God is all powerful while man must lean upon other powers to get things done.
•God is truly independent; man is dependent.
•God never was made, but every man was made.
These are inherent differences between God and man. Some of the differences between God and man, however,
shouldn't exist. Faithfulness and holiness never should have been distinguishing characteristics between God and man.
Only because man has fallen into sin by the snare of the evil one, has he lost his hold on his higher calling. Perhaps
these resolutions are a sort of fossil reminding us of this former state.
Who is happy to think of Peter and his failure?

Peter promised a certain thing and yet did not fulfill it. Just when Jesus needed Peter's companionship the most, Peter
failed him. Mark 14:29-31 says,
But Peter said to Him, "Even though all may fall away, yet I will not." And Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you, that
you yourself this very night, before a cock crows twice, shall three times deny Me." But Peter kept saying insistently,
"Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And they all were saying the same thing, too.
But they all failed Jesus. They all scattered like sheep before a pack of wolves.
A faithful person is true to ones real being and purpose. This goes back to the aspect that we were all made in the
image of God. His holiness was imparted to us. Before the fall, man would consistently live out his person. There was
no difference between what who he was and what he did. His desires matched up with what was good. There was no
despair over failure nor tears over mistakes. What man said or did all perfectly proved and reflected the will of his
inner person.
Today man displays his unfaithfulness through lots of ways. He is unfaithful to his spouse by not loving her. He is an
unfaithful parent by not consistently disciplining ones children or regularly training them in godliness. He is not
faithful to his employer when he steals time or does less than capable. Man is not faithful by showing disrespect to
those in authority over us.
People are unfaithful. Think of all the pornography going over the networks.
People are unfaithful. Think of all the children out of wedlock.
People are unfaithful. Think of all the lies being told.
People are unfaithful. Can you admit to your participation in being unfaithful to God who called you into existence?
Healing and true faithfulness can only come when we confess our unfaithfulness in light of God's holy light and ask
the God of faithfulness to change our lives.
B) The Faithfulness of God
God is faithful. God's pledges and oaths are different from man because He is faithful. His word is sufficient. Any
word he says is totally consistent with who He is and what is true. This is the reason Jesus rebuked the people in
Matthew 5:33-37,
"Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL
YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.' ... But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; and anything beyond these is of
evil."
God does not try to impress people. God does not lie. Romans 3:3-4 says,
"... Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, "THAT THOU MIGHTEST BE
JUSTIFIED IN THY WORDS, AND MIGHTEST PREVAIL WHEN THOU ART JUDGED.""
God can't lie. He only can express what is real and true. This is why it says that "everything created by God is good,
and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude" (I Timothy 4:4). God always and completely expresses
Himself whether it is in creation or in speech; they are perfect and without flaw. If we did note a flaw of design or a
word taken back, then that would reveal an imperfect God. This is why the Hebrew word faithful and truth are the
same word. This is why we are told that "His words will never fail." Or "Heaven and earth will pass away but my
words will never pass away." Matthew 5:17-19 says,
"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say
to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is
accomplished."
God's faithfulness is expressed in His great salvation plan.

A perfect eternal plan of salvation was designed to display God's glory and incorporate impoverished sinners into His
loving plan. Jesus knew perfect arrangements for His death were made because He knew God had it all planned.
"This Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of
godless men and put Him to death." (Acts 2:23, NASB).
Faith is simple trust in God's eternal plan and will. Faith does not create anything but realizes it. God did not have to
save man, but once He resolved to save man He went to all lengths to carry out His plan, even the death of His own
Son.
God's faithfulness is also seen in His judgment.
Some people think this aspect of God's plan to be a flaw - pain, death and judgment. They are ignorant of God's
faithfulness. To allow evil to flourish without ending its control would be a perpetual blemish of darkness in the
world. Punishment of the wicked and rebellious is right and good. We reflect this same judgment in our own hearts. If
someone guilty goes free, our hearts are depressed and enraged. It is as if evil had victory over justice. When,
however, a proper sentence is given and served by the wicked, our hearts can rest. God's case against the world has
not yet come to term, but it is coming. God's faithfulness will be seen when all the judgments spoken against the
wicked come true. There are not only the promise of heaven for those covered by the blood of Jesus in the book of
Revelation, but the great outpouring of His judgment on the rebellious. Revelation 22:11-12 says,
Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and let the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is
righteous, still practice righteousness; and let the one who is holy, still keep himself holy. Behold, I am coming
quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.
God's faithfulness is perfect.
God's faithfulness is the consistent and true expression of Himself, perfect and without flaw. All that God does is
good, right and perfect. We see this in the Garden of Eden; we see it in the creation of Eve. This is what Paul says of
the will of God in Romans 12:2.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what
the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2, NASB).
God is faithful; He cannot be unfaithful. This is why the Psalmist in Psalm 89:1 says "To all generations I will make
known Thy faithfulness with my mouth." And in verse 2, "In the heavens Thou wilt establish Thy faithfulness." God
has expressed His will and person in nature, in the Bible and in His Son Jesus Christ. He who stands against this
expression of God is a transgressor and will be judged for all the times he defied God's outworking of His person.
Judgment stands to make things right. If you think all the natural disasters are horrible, I hope you realize that these
are just warnings and previews of God's serious and total effort to set things right. God is about to make a new
heavens and earth where there is no sin and falseness. There are no tears there in the land of faithfulness. Animals will
not be scared. The environment need not worry about being abused for man will then wonderfully reflect God's will
and purpose.
C) God's Faithfulness Made in Us
But we must not wait to the coming world for God's faithfulness to show up in our lives. The kingdom of God is in
our midst. If God is faithful, then one can be sure that once He works in our lives, we ourselves will be changed into
His image. One of these changes have to do with being truthful and faithful people. We must do what we have
pledged to do, whether at work, school or home. We speak truth and put away evil talk. Listen to Colossians 3:8-10,
But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie
to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being
renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.
There are a number of very important truths about Christian growth addressed here in becoming faithful men and
women of God.
1) We confess our failures and ask God to cleanse us from our sins.
2) We renounce the evil ones hold on our lives in certain dominating areas.
3) We ask God to regain the areas of compromise. They can be general as in being a faithful father or faithful witness
for Christ or specific areas such as letting truth overcome your propensity to lie to a certain person. We ask God to
take us back to where we should be.
4) We exercise our wills to conform to His being. Remember the faithfulness of Christians is living out God's will in
our lives. Whatever He wants becomes our instant day or life's agenda.
This is the reason we need to meditate on His Word daily. His Word is truth. Without it, we quickly lose focus. With
His Word, He brings us back to who He is and what He wants. We submit to His will not by saying it but by doing it.
Don't choose to use your temper or power displays to get your will done.
As we grow in our lives, by consistent acting and thinking of His will, we find that we begin to be His faithful
servants. Psalm 31:23-24 says,
"O love the LORD, all you His godly ones! The LORD preserves the faithful, And fully recompenses the proud doer.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD."
And even though times are tough, nights are long, meals are sparse, encouragements are few, God is near you. You
know God works all things out for His glory. Time on earth gives us opportunities to trust Him according to His
promises to get done what is needed. God has given us the heart to love and do His will. He wants to build
faithfulness in our lives so that we begin to live out the call of our new nature within us by the Holy Spirit.
Application
Be a faithful, firm, steadfast and steady man and woman of God. Leave your sin and flee to Christ. Only then will you
be freed from those compromises with your flesh and the world. It is then our worship services will become alive
because His Spirit freely reigns over us. Awake my brothers and sisters for the eternal holy One wants today to exert
His will through your life. Say 'Yes, yes' to His great and holy work. Perfectly reflect His heart and purpose in our
wills and lives.
All for Jesus, all for Jesus, all my being's ransomed powers.
All my thoughts and words and doings, all my days and all my hours.
God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:9
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be
tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able
to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no.
2 Corinthians 1:18
God's Faithfulness and Demonic Scheming

God's faithfulness is determined by God's own
nature. It never had a beginning; He has always
been faithful to His Word and purpose. God's
faithfulness is not determined by the presence or
lack of our faith. This is one of the old lies the
evil one tries to use to get us to not trust in the
Lord. How does the argument go?
1) We are first accused of our unfaithfulness.

This is true for the most part. The evil one is the
Accuser. We can and should go to the point of
confessing our sins to the Lord. But the evil one
never wants this. He doesn't want humility or
confession. He wants the evil thought to hang in
our minds so that we despair. Because of this,
He never brings just this one thought.
2) The devil and his agents also come and

attempt to convince us that we are unworthy to
receive His help and forgiveness. That of
course is true too. We simply are not worthy of His help. That is the story of grace. He doesn't want
acknowledge of God's grace but only to produce a sense of helplessness in our minds. So the devil never stops
there. He hates that thought. He quickly moves on. By passing on a stream of thoughts quickly, we are unable
to reflect the truths in light of the scriptures.
3) He then insultingly states, "Because you are unworthy of His help, then you should just give up." Usually
this is combined with a number of other untruthful thoughts such as "God has given up on you." "You are
no good." "Your sin shows you are not His anyway."
This demonic scheming is one of the ways Satan tries to have us question our faith and to give up. Have you
been down this road?
The Bait
What is the solution? The solution is to have the truth of God girded on. We need to write down each thought
and acknowledge it. Remember the devil will give you enough truth to make you think it is God speaking.
But he will invariably begin invoking false statements. When we discover a true statement such as "We have
messed up again" or that "We do not deserve God's help." We should really agree with these statements
because they are fully true. We have failed God. We do not deserve His goodness expressed to us. This is
what grace and salvation is all about. However, the next part is tricky and where we most often get snared.
The Hook
Satan inputs into our minds some wrong thoughts. We might think of it like this. The evil one does not want
us to think of God's faithfulness. So he tries to control our conclusion. Let me give you an example or two.
• You have failed again so you may as well give up.
• You do not deserve God's help, so you may as well as find help elsewhere.
Then he will compound this falsehood with defeatist thoughts that end in self pity and confussion. If we do
not catch our thoughts, we will run into depression. Suicide is the giving up of all hope and finding 'escape'
better than facing that dark despair.
What are some of these defeatest thoughts?
• You are no good.
• You may as well give up.
• You will never be any good.
• You messed up again (meaning that is just like you).
• God has given up on you.
• If God treats you this way, well you may as find someone else to trust!
• God isn't faithful. He didn't help you out.
One might wonder about why in a discussion of faith that we need to discuss the tactics of the evil one. The
reason is to prevent the evil one from giving us the wrong interpretation of our weaknesses and failures with
regard to God's faithfulness. God's faithfulness is a powerful truth that we can bring to our confused minds at
any time. God is faithful to us even in our sin.
"It is a trustworthy statement:

For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him;
If we endure, we shall also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
If we are faithless, He remains faithful;
for He cannot deny Himself."
2 Timothy 2:11-13, NASB.
The issue is not whether we will at times be faithless. We confess this. The gospel is built upon two truths
regarding our weaknesses and sins:
• We are sinners and therefore sin.
• We are saved by grace alone, not by our own righteousness.
God's faithfulness is seen in spite of these blatant failures of ours. As Paul says in Romans 3:3,
What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it?
May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, "THAT
THOU MIGHTEST BE JUSTIFIED IN THY WORDS, AND MIGHTEST PREVAIL WHEN THOU ART
JUDGED."
We must never doubt God's faithfulness in expressing His love and grace toward us sinners. God cannot deny
His own nature. His promises are true. His dealings with us will always be faithful and consistent. If we can
embed this truth into our very souls and minds, then we have half the battle fought. From that point on we will
not need to question God's faithfulness, but instead to always humble ourselves in our faithlessness.
Note the theme of faithless men in the book of Jeremiah.
The Faithful God and His Faithless People

A Short Study in Jeremiah
Jeremiah Then the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king, "Have
The faithless people
3:6 you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill
of God.
and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there.
Jeremiah "And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent
The faithless people
3:8 her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister
of God.
Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also.
Jeremiah And the LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel has proved herself more The faithless people
3:11 righteous than treacherous Judah. of God.
Jeremiah ‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the LORD; ‘For I am a master The faithful God calls
3:14 to you, And I will take you one from a city and two from a family, the failthless to return
And I will bring you to Zion.’ to Him.
Jeremiah "Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness.” "Behold, The faithful God calls
3:22 we come to Thee; For Thou art the LORD our God. the failthless to return
to Him.
Jeremiah "How long will you go here and there, O faithless daughter? For the The faithful God calls
31:22 LORD has created a new thing in the earth-- A woman will the failthless to return
encompass a man.” to Him.
Conclusion
Jeremiah only highlights what is written throughout the scriptures. God does not point out our sin to make us
feel condemned but to call ourselves back to Himself. God loves us in spite of our sins. His grace is abundant
even in our unfaithfulness.
And yet the warning remains, if we presume upon His faithful treatment, then it will not be available for us.
His grace is not there for those who confide themselves in His grace and yet never change. No. God's grace is
there for the sinner who acknowledges and turns from his sins. The confusion perhaps comes from the word
faithless describing two kinds of people: those that have fallen because a lack of faith in God, and those that
have fallen and still do not believe. God calls out for us to return, but only those who come will find help in
their time of need.
Testimonies of Faith
1. How has God personally shown His faithfulness to you ?

2. How does one grow in faith?
3. What are some practical steps you have taken to be have more faith?
How has God personally shown His faithfulness to you?

At the Last Moment
The first significant proof of God's faithfulness in my life came when trying to discern
whether to go overseas for this special short term training program in Singapore and Malaysia.
I was excited about the trip, but realized I did not have the money. Our family didn't have any
money to spare. As the deadline drew near, I waited upon the Lord. The mission agency
finally called up and suggested I cancel my application because the money was not in. I asked
when was their very last day. I got a few more days to wait upon God. On the very last day
someone asked me how my plans were going for the trip. I then responded by explaining my
situation. That person instantly went out and got the money still lacking for the trip.
The Miracle Mobile
After we were married, we were really poor college students. We traveled about in our
'Miracle Mobile.' We just had our first baby and trying to visit my father. We traveled the
whole distance on one tank of gas. This was impossible from our judgment. We were touched
by how God helped in this small but significant way.
How does one grow in faith?
Increasing by Faith - Bruce Wilkinson
All the godly servants we consider to be people of great faith - George Muller, Reese Howells and
others - began with this lesser work. Before they set out to do any exploits for the kingdom, they
allowed God to deal with their roots. They exercised a small amount of faith, asking the Holy Ghost to
expose every evil thing in them. And the Spirit faithfully uprooted their sin, stripping them of
everything that was of flesh.
In the process, these men learned they were helpless, unable to do even the simplest uprooting work in
their own strength. Yet, as they obeyed Jesus' command to pluck out their roots by faith in the work of
the holy Spirit, revelations came, and their understanding of faith increased.
Extending our Faith by God's Word
God's Word is our faith mobilizer. Again and again in my life I have seen where God used His word to
speak to me. His Word is used to open my spiritual eyes to see what He wanted. At one point I
couldn't see the need and then with God's special touch, I could trust Him for a financial need, comfort
and courage.
What are some practical steps you have taken to grow in faith?
Practical Steps in Growing in Faith
It always helps to realize when God is giving me a 'faith opportunity.' This happens
whenever I begin to go through difficult times. The battle is twofold: realize it and
embrace it. When I go low on my resources - financially, emotionally, time wise, physical
stamina, etc., then I need to
1) Ascertain God's will (to see if he really wants me to do this), and2) Trust Him. Each
difficulty is an opportunities for my faith to grow.
If I cannot see the difficulty in this way, then I more than often will miss the opportunity
to grow in faith and default to despair or avoidance tactics. I set more time aside to pray
and meditate. As my Christian walk has progressed, the Lord has been nudging me to
spend more and more time with Him alone. Often this coincides with increasing
responsibilities at home, ministry or elsewhere. I have always tried not to become
legalistic. For me, it works like this. I sense God wanting me to fast weekly or get up at a
certain time to pray. I don't want to break my word to the Lord. I know my weakness, but I
also want to show Him my earnestness. I tell Him my heart's desire but refrain from making
a time commitment. This usually works okay. I view it better than stating an exact amount
of time. I avoid both legalism problems and the breaking of a commitment to God.
However, I need to keep highly disciplined. Here is an example of a prayer.
Dear Lord, You know how you have been prodding my heart lately. You want me to get up
earlier. I want to. I love you. But you know my problems about getting up and going to
bed. Will you please help me faithfully get up earlier. There will be times when because
of sickness or other reasons, I probably won't be able to get up earlier, but it will be my
regular pattern. I want to seek You because of your love. In Christ's Name, Amen.
BFF Homepage | Topics | Top | Previous
Study Questions for Faith & Faithfulness

This sheet is designed to serve as a study sheet for the Godly Man series on Faith and Faithfulness. We have
eliminated graphics for easy printing or copying into your own word processor. We are hoping with the questions in
mind, your study will be more focused and profitable. You might try making a short prayer as a response to each
significant thought.
****************************************************
Faith and Faithfulness
How is faith defined?
Why is it important to live on past faith?
Faith: The Tie between Heaven and Earth
How are our difficulties linked up to our opportunities to grow in faith?
List at least three tests the men of Hebrews 11 faced. Have you faced these? Do you think you might? Why or why
not?
Biblical Faith vs. the World's Faith
What are some characteristics of the world's faith in our present generation?
Is humanism new? How do we know this?
What are the two problems of humanism?
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
Why was the 16th century Reformation so influential?
How did Martin Luther find spiritual freedom?
How many Biblical verses state, "the just shall live by faith"? What are they and how are they used?
What two problems does modern evangelicalism have?
God's Rich Faithfulness
What aspect of God's faithfulness is commonly forgotten?
What makes this aspect so special and glorious?
How does the word 'fulfilled' in 2 Chronicles 6 reflect God's faithfulness?
How many special situation prayers did Solomon list? Can you see any of these consequences (judgments) upon your
life and the people around you?
Why should we never think our sin is too bad to forgive?
Where is God's greatest symbol of faithfulness seen?
Studying the Words of Faith
Why is the word 'faith' rare in the Old Testament?
How does a good understanding of the Hebrew and Greek word for faith help keep us from legalism and nominalism.
Why is it so important to believe in something reliable?

Why is Genesis 15:6 the scriptural origin of the Gospel?
Developing Faith into Faithfulness
Go through the meditation exercise yourself. Try another phrase in Philippians 2:3-5. Say it aloud or write it down. It
is a very demanding time but usually rather short.
If you are not regularly meditating on God's Word, then it is not affecting you like it should. Remember time is no
excuse. It can be done in less than five minutes. The important part is your heart. Humble your heart as you start.
Don't resist the teaching of the passage because of your sin. Just keep confessing and letting God's Spirit take God's
word into your heart. Do this regularly for 5-10 minutes a day. Remember this is not memorizing but meditating.
Your faith will grow and so will your faithfulness. Faithfulness is the reward of continually operating by God's
principles.
How does meditation increase faithfulness?
God's Faithfulness in Us
In what ways is man unfaithful?
How does God show His faithfulness? How does His judgment fit in?
Explain the process God can now restore His faithfulness in us.
God's Faithfulness and Demonic Scheming
How is God's faithfulness to His people determined?
What are the three steps Satan uses to make people question God's faithfulness?'
What does a study in Jeremiah show about God's faithfulness and His people's unfaithfulness?
Testimonies
What challenged you from the testimonies?
What are you prompted to change from these testimones?
************ Other relevant pages
Righteousness not Compromise
BFF Homepage | Top | Index

"Faith: The Tie between Heaven and Earth"
Hebrews 11
Paul J. Bucknell
We cannot be godly men without being men of faith.
The Bible's whole emphasis is to create a people of faith, a people who would be shaped and characterized by
the God of their faith. We see this clearly laid before us in Hebrews 11, "The Academy of Faith." Actually,
'The Academy of the Faithful' better describes them because these men and women lived out the faith deep
within them. They were men of faith, but they were not just empty professors. They were people God
delighted to associate with.
Daniel (12:1), Jesus in Matthew 24:21 and Paul in 2 Timothy 3 all portray the escalating of good and evil at
the end of time. We might think persecution and affliction is something new. They are not. Our difficulties
depend upon our many kinds of circumstances. These men of Hebrews 11 clearly showed their resistance
against lusts, disloyalty, temptations and sufferings so that they could gain something greater and enduring.
Their strong faith made them faithful. And so we pursue this same kind of faith, regardless of its effect upon
our lives. For only one thing matters to them who know God - to obey and enjoy Him.
Below is a special study of Hebrews 11 where we focus on the test and faith each person listed faced. As the
author of Hebrews, we left the last blocks empty for lack of space. But each person would become a great
study. Undoubtedly, we will run up against on of these foul fiends. We will do well to keep these models
before us so that we too might be strong.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of
old gained approval. (Hebrews 11:1,2).
People in
Test of secularism. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of
general
God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
If I recognize a (Hebrews 11:3).
creation Creator, I am
obligated to obey
Him.
Abel
Test of Materialism By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which
he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about
sacrifice I can get by with his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. (Hebrews
offering less. 11:4).
Enoch
Test of Intimacy By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; AND HE
WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the
taken up I love God more witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.
than life. (Hebrews 11:5).
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6).
Noah Test of Obedience

By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in
Obey in spite of reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which
the ark
ridicule. he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness
which is according to faith. (Hebrews 11:7).
Abraham Test of Insecurity

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place
Could not be sure which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not
the land
of what he would knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8).
face.
Sarah Test of
Miraculous By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the
proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised;
conception
Ability to conceive (Hebrews 11:11).
beyond proper
time.
All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed
them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For
those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if
they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity
to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not
ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16).
Abraham Test of the

Impossible By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who
had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;
offered son
Trusting God to (Hebrews 11:17).
bring back life
Isaac Test of the Future

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.
Confident God's (Hebrews 11:20).
blessing
blessing would
come.
Jacob Test of Allegiance

By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and
Trusting God to worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. (Hebrews 11:21).
blessed and
worshiped work out Joseph's
anger
Joseph Test of God's

Promise By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the
sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones. (Hebrews 11:22,).
his bones
Somehow God
would take His
people back.
Moses' Test of Fear

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his
parents
Chose to fear God parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not
more than man. afraid of the king's edict. (Hebrews 11:23).
hid their son
Moses Test of Indulgence

choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to
Chose God's enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; (Hebrews 11:25).
riches of
Egypt promises over
many riches.
Moses Test of
Confrontation By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured,
as seeing Him who is unseen. (Hebrews 11:27).
left Egypt
He would trust God
with Pharoah's
army
Moses Test of the

Unusual By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he
Trust God this odd who destroyed the first-born might not touch them. (Hebrews 11:28).
kept
Passover new tradition was
important
Moses Test of Surrender

By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing
Willing to trust through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were
crossed Red God with lives drowned. (Hebrews 11:29).
Sea
Israel Test of Strategy

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for
Never heard of seven days. (Hebrews 11:30).
encircled
Jericho walls falling down!
Rahab Test of Risk

By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were
Had everything to disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace. (Hebrews
welcomed
the spies lose or did she? 11:31).
Gideon
who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness,
obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire,
Barak
escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong,
became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. (Hebrews 11:33,34).
Samson
Jephthah
David
Samuel
Prophets
Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were
tortured, not accepting their release, in order that they might obtain a
better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings,
yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn
in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they
went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-
treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts
and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. (Hebrews 11:35-38).
And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made
perfect. (Hebrews 11:39,40).
We can be sure that though faith is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8), we will be faced with situations to apply our
faith. Genuine faith produces faithfulness. Faithfulness is the appropriate response to what God would
expect in a given situation. What areas have you been tested with? Each test is a test of faith. If we fail, we
cannot go on. "For without faith, it is impossible to please God." Jesus was full of faith. During His baptism,
God spoke, "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased" (Mark 1:11). The Spirit was fully upon
Him because of His faith. For us to have a greater portion of His Spirit, we must exercise our faith in the areas
that He gives us. We would always succeed if we did what God wished.
In order for God to deal with us in the context of a material-filled place, He often has to remove us from our
securities either through job loss, change, death, illness, conflict, etc. These situations are our opportunity
to trust Him. Even if the difficulty is our fault, with a change of heart, that same circumstance can become an
opportunity of growing in faith.
In hope against hope he (Abraham) believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations,
according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE." And without becoming
weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old,
and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but
grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, (Romans 4:18-20).
Abraham's very weakness was also his opportunity to show his trust in God.
A Prayer
Dear Lord, no matter what our present circumstances, give us the faith to trust you in them. We just don't want
to get by. We want to see you in our very difficult circumstances to come through in your great and
impossible ways. Only You can help us out. We wait on You, our Faithful One. In Christ's Name we pray,
Amen.
"Biblical Faith vs. The World's Faith"

If faith is what empowers and guides a Christian, we should expect to find a counterfeit form of this faith that the evil
one uses to confuse him. The world's version of faith can be recognized by different coats that it wears. However its
deceptive heart is essentially the same throughout the generations of human mankind. We need to ask two questions.

Biblical faith shapes the lives of God's people. Faith is not the end but the means. God is the end. Faith allows man's
soul to come in contact with God in Christ. From this heavenly faith, his earthly life is changed.
The world believes faith shapes their lives too, but they have something else in mind.
Rooted in humanism, their faith is dependent upon what they can dream up. Their
faith is limited to man himself. This faith never goes beyond himself. Even their
devoted religions and philosophies are but reflections of their own heart. Because of
this, his announced life's goals is to reach 'himself.' They need to work harder at
dreaming, being more inspired, etc. so that their faith might develop to its full
potential.
Today the breeding of confidence in man is more structured than ever. This means we
have yet to see the world's worst. Just like the schools of Al-Qaida have produced
thousands of men who are willing to kill themselves so they could kill others, so our
educational systems are breeding humanists. They do this both through destroying
allegiance to their parents and by emphasizing self-esteem and self–confidence.
Advances in medicine, science and knowledge have regularly deceived man so that
now he is inflated into a balloon of pride. Man is more confident than ever that he can handle whatever comes. We
wish that man would humble himself a bit and stare at the mess that we are now standing in.
We only have to view the horizon of history to see some of the greatest 'reaches' of man. For example, the world's
idealized utopias are but secular versions of heaven. They build upon many biblical principles but substitute man for
God. God is stripped along with His holiness. Mao killed literal millions; Stalin did too. The Cambodia Fields are still
red–stained by ruthless murders. Why? All to accomplish an ideal of man's.
Their faith is in their selves. This idea has been popularized by 'having confidence in oneself' or even the distorted
version of 'self esteem.' They believe just so they believe something, it can be done. This self-faith provides the
needed positive orientation to be accomplished in life. They are happy to focus on what can be done rather than what
cannot be done. They defy fear by substituting a blind confidence in themselves. We might ask, "What is wrong with
this?" Let's go to the next point.
Man and his goals haven't changed but only accelerated. Indeed the modern tools we now possess for travel,
information, processing and technology are simply amazing. We see this human potential revealed thousands of years
ago in Genesis 11:6-7,
And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began
to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them."
Man will naturally think that they can do well. And to some degree that is true. God said 'nothing which they purpose
to do will be impossible for them." One might wonder why did God have to hold back this progress? It was not
because God was threatened. We read from Daniel 12:4 that the end of time will amass great amounts of knowledge.
He will allow this knowledge to increase but at His time. When He allows it, then man will reach a point where his
pride will keep him from seeing God and being restrained from their evil. God held back man so that the world would
be preserved longer for man will literally destroy himself. Two main problems are inherent in the humanism model
from of old.
Their vision is astray.

They sought things that were a mere shadow of what God desires. They are chasing after a picture of a flower rather
than holding and treasuring a genuine one in their hands. Man's utopias are but fully secularized versions of biblical
faith. They do this by stripping God out of the equation. Biblical faith brings courage and vision because God is doing
something special. Their focus and glory is in God. Man's worldly faith accentuates his
own works, accomplishments and goals. It will end where it began - in the dust. Satan
tempts man with having all the treasures without the submission of their hearts and wills
to their creator. Satan is himself self–deceived and still believes his version is better.s
Their method is corrupt.

The other problem mentioned is that these men were evil. They not only sought things
that did not please God, but their ways of accomplishing these things were evil in
themselves. Human cloning, stealing of brain cells from infants, 'freedom to spread evil
information such as pornography, the usury of credit card companies, the calling of
gambling gaming are just a few of the steps of evil that are commonly accepted today. If given the chance, the
secular touch always turns into terror. Every great communism utopia in the 20th century ended in mass graves.
Hitler's millennium dreams used extermination camps to implement their plans. The plan came before man.
Summary
The world's faith is in corrupt man. Sinful man has sinful plans which will end in corruptness.
Biblical faith sprinkles and even pours forth extra grace, love and joy into God's people while
they live in the midst of the world.

Faith and Faithfulness

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Faith and Faithfulness

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

S

"Faith and Faithfulness"

Godly men are men of faith.

The Bible's whole message can be

FUNCTIONAL DEFINITIONS OF FAITH

Purpose of this study on faith:

 That we may come to have a much greater faith in God.

Index of Faith and Faithfulness

* How has God personally shown His faithfulness to you ?

BFF Homepage | Top | Study sheet | Next

Biblical Foundations for Freedom

NASB Bible used unless noted

We cannot be godly men without being men of faith.

Noah Test of Obedience

Abraham Test of Insecurity

Abraham Test of the

Isaac Test of the Future

Jacob Test of Allegiance

Joseph Test of God's

Moses' Test of Fear

Moses Test of Indulgence

Moses Test of the

Moses Test of Surrender

Israel Test of Strategy

Rahab Test of Risk

BFF Homepage | Top | Faith Index | Previous | Next

Biblical Foundations for Freedom

"Biblical Faith vs. The World's Faith"

(1) What does today's version of counterfeit faith look like?

(2) What is the world's faith like at the heart level?

Their vision is astray.

Their method is corrupt.

BFF Homepage | Top | Faith Index | Previous | Next

Biblical Foundations for Freedom

"The Righteous Will Live by

Eerdmans' Handbook to the History of Christianity, p. 364.

Passage Context Purpose Significance

"BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!"

BFF Homepage | Top | Faith Index | Previous | Next

Biblical Foundations for Freedom

God's redemptive plan becomes a special place where His grace,

King Solomon captured this perspective at the dedication of the

In verses 1-17 Solomon rehearses the faithfulness of God.

BFF Homepage | Top | Faith Index | Previous | Next

Biblical Foundations for Freedom

Word in New American Standard Bible (NASB) OT NT Total

Secondly, we are able to gain much more insight into the

BFF Homepage | Top | Faith Index | Previous | Next

Biblical Foundations for Freedom

Our faith develops faithfulness.

Our belief shapes our actions and attitudes.

This is where faithfulness comes in. When we begin to see and

BFF Homepage | Top | Faith Index | Previous | Next

Biblical Foundations for Freedom

A) The Unfaithfulness of Man

A) The Unfaithfulness of Man

God never needs to make such resolutions. God is completely

There are many differences between man and God.

Who is happy to think of Peter and his failure?

People are unfaithful. Think of all the children out of wedlock.

People are unfaithful. Think of all the lies being told.

B) The Faithfulness of God

God's faithfulness is expressed in His great salvation plan.