"No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised" (Rom. 4:20-21, ESV).
"... [For] I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me" (2 Tim. 1:12, ESV).
God is faithful, even when we aren't. "... [Great] is [God's] faithfulness" (Lam. 3:23, NIV). We are invited to "feed on His faithfulness" (cf. Psalm 37:3). The same verse in the ESV says to "befriend faithfulness." Likewise, the HCSB says to "cultivate faithfulness." David says, "...your faithfulness [reaches] to the skies" (Psalm 36:5, NIV). Will you make known His faithfulness (cf. Psalm 89:1)? Will you declare His faithfulness (cf. Psalm 40:10, NIV)? Shall it be declared in the grave (cf. Psalm 88:11)? "... [With] my mouth I will make known thy faithfulness to all generations" (Psalm 89:1, KJV). God is known by His faithfulness: "Your faithfulness surrounds you"; "You are entirely faithful" (Psalm 89:8, NIV, NLT).
Our security in Christ depends on God's faithfulness, not ours: "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself" (2 Tim. 2:13, KJV). He betroths us to Himself in faithfulness (cf. Hos. 2:20). We endure in Christ and overcome because of God's faithfulness: He preserves as we persevere! We are "kept by the power of God" (cf. 1 Pet. 1:5). For we can do nothing apart from Christ (cf. John 15:5). God gets the glory for our salvation.
"The righteous man shall live by his faithfulness" (cf. Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:37-38; Hab. 2:4). We must be careful not to divorce faithfulness from faith! They go hand in hand and come as one package--the righteous live by faith and go from faith to faith (cf. Rom. 1:17), ever-increasing in faithfulness. Never divorce the two, for what God has joined together, let not man put asunder (cf. Mark 10:9). If we are not faithful, we lack faith, and the flip side is valid also: if we are lack faith, we'll be unfaithful! We will hear Jesus commend us: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!" We are not rewarded according to our faith if it's not put into action and applied. We are rewarded according to the faithfulness we exercise in doing works by faith and as a result and byproduct of faith (cf. Rom. 2:6).
Faith must produce good works, and good works must result from a living and saving faith, or the faith is bogus (as James 2:20 says, "...[Faith] without works is dead"). The Reformed formula was: "We are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone" (which would be antinomianism, or libertinism and lawlessness). Not having good works to validate your faith makes it suspect! You could say that faith and faithfulness can be distinguished, but not separated; they never are independent of each other, but work as a team. Faith is merely the flip side of faithfulness! In the Hebrew, there is one word used for faith and faithfulness--Hab. 2:4 is translated with both words: "The righteous shall walk [live] by faith [by faithfulness]."
The point is that saving and genuine faith expresses itself (you see it in action!); the saints of old all pleased God by their acts of faith (Heb. 11:8, NLT, says, "...it was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him..."); obedience is the true measure of faith, not experiences, feelings, or ecstasies. God is not looking for our achievements, but our obedience! He wants us, not our works are done in the flesh! Lip service and head belief or intellectual assent don't cut it as the real thing, God wants reliance, trust, and obedience to the Jesus as Lord--the only way "to be happy in Jesus is to trust and obey," the hymn goes! Jesus promised that he who is faithful in little will be faithful in much to emphasize the value of faith. Soli Deo Gloria!
"... [For] I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me" (2 Tim. 1:12, ESV).
God is faithful, even when we aren't. "... [Great] is [God's] faithfulness" (Lam. 3:23, NIV). We are invited to "feed on His faithfulness" (cf. Psalm 37:3). The same verse in the ESV says to "befriend faithfulness." Likewise, the HCSB says to "cultivate faithfulness." David says, "...your faithfulness [reaches] to the skies" (Psalm 36:5, NIV). Will you make known His faithfulness (cf. Psalm 89:1)? Will you declare His faithfulness (cf. Psalm 40:10, NIV)? Shall it be declared in the grave (cf. Psalm 88:11)? "... [With] my mouth I will make known thy faithfulness to all generations" (Psalm 89:1, KJV). God is known by His faithfulness: "Your faithfulness surrounds you"; "You are entirely faithful" (Psalm 89:8, NIV, NLT).
Our security in Christ depends on God's faithfulness, not ours: "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself" (2 Tim. 2:13, KJV). He betroths us to Himself in faithfulness (cf. Hos. 2:20). We endure in Christ and overcome because of God's faithfulness: He preserves as we persevere! We are "kept by the power of God" (cf. 1 Pet. 1:5). For we can do nothing apart from Christ (cf. John 15:5). God gets the glory for our salvation.
"The righteous man shall live by his faithfulness" (cf. Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:37-38; Hab. 2:4). We must be careful not to divorce faithfulness from faith! They go hand in hand and come as one package--the righteous live by faith and go from faith to faith (cf. Rom. 1:17), ever-increasing in faithfulness. Never divorce the two, for what God has joined together, let not man put asunder (cf. Mark 10:9). If we are not faithful, we lack faith, and the flip side is valid also: if we are lack faith, we'll be unfaithful! We will hear Jesus commend us: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!" We are not rewarded according to our faith if it's not put into action and applied. We are rewarded according to the faithfulness we exercise in doing works by faith and as a result and byproduct of faith (cf. Rom. 2:6).
Faith must produce good works, and good works must result from a living and saving faith, or the faith is bogus (as James 2:20 says, "...[Faith] without works is dead"). The Reformed formula was: "We are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone" (which would be antinomianism, or libertinism and lawlessness). Not having good works to validate your faith makes it suspect! You could say that faith and faithfulness can be distinguished, but not separated; they never are independent of each other, but work as a team. Faith is merely the flip side of faithfulness! In the Hebrew, there is one word used for faith and faithfulness--Hab. 2:4 is translated with both words: "The righteous shall walk [live] by faith [by faithfulness]."
The point is that saving and genuine faith expresses itself (you see it in action!); the saints of old all pleased God by their acts of faith (Heb. 11:8, NLT, says, "...it was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him..."); obedience is the true measure of faith, not experiences, feelings, or ecstasies. God is not looking for our achievements, but our obedience! He wants us, not our works are done in the flesh! Lip service and head belief or intellectual assent don't cut it as the real thing, God wants reliance, trust, and obedience to the Jesus as Lord--the only way "to be happy in Jesus is to trust and obey," the hymn goes! Jesus promised that he who is faithful in little will be faithful in much to emphasize the value of faith. Soli Deo Gloria!