"Why Faith?"
Part 9 - "Faithful"
Why faith? Because…
"God is faithful" (I Corinthians 1:9).
Our trusting response to the Lord begins by the revelation of His trustworthiness, namely, His promise in the Lord Jesus Christ that "by grace are ye saved by faith" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our ongoing response in living God-honoring lives also proceeds as we more than more understand and access the faithfulness of God. "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised" (Hebrews 10:23). Divine faithfulness elicits human faith. God's trustworthiness births and maintains our trust. This is the sequence that can never be reversed in our understanding and access of our Heavenly Father's promised provision in Christ of all things. "We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2).
Such truth constitutes the Christian life as a growing discovery of our Lord's trustworthiness in doctrinal terms - "God cannot lie" - and also in personal terms - "This is the disciple which testifieth of these things" (Titus 1:2; John 21:24). Our Heavenly Father orchestrates our lives to place us in circumstances, conditions, and situations that provide opportunity to realize the principles of Scripture in personal, practical experience. We may well believe God to be faithful as a matter of fact. However, the Christian life involves knowing the Lord in far more intimate terms than mental acuity. Realizing and responding to opportunities whereby we trust our faithful God results in growing conviction accompanied by grateful confidence. We know Him, and we know the beauty of His faithful, trustworthy heart as one of the primary characteristics of the glory of God. "Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds!" (Psalm 36:5).
No one has ever trusted in the God and Father of the Lord Jesus and been disappointed for doing so. And no one ever will. He is perfectly faithful, perfectly true, perfectly trustworthy, and He cannot lie. Why faith? Because trusting God is the only sane response to the fact of His fidelity. Even more, trusting God escorts us into the wonders of His heart whereby we know Him. Our Father made us for this, and faithfully works to foster and forge the trust that fills our hearts with wonder and love...
"Our heart shall rejoice in Him because we have trusted in His holy name."
(Psalm 33:21)
Weekly Memory Verse
"In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world."
(John 16:33)
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