God's Faithfulness vs Our Faithfulness (A Reminder)
Aug 21, 2018 9:04:17 GMT -5
2fw8212a and PG4Him like this
Post by tlsitd on Aug 21, 2018 9:04:17 GMT -5
When we read the Scriptures, it is very important to take note of and to understand what things depend on God's faithfulness (what God does and will do for us because of His nature, His power, His love for us and His good purposes toward us) and what things depend on our faithfulness to God (doing what God has told us to do).
I have observed the confusion of these two things among Christians, and it is a very serious problem. For if you think that God's faithfulness takes the place of your own faithfulness to Him, you are making a grave mistake. God will always be faithful to His word and true to His character, but if we ourselves are not faithful in doing those things that He tells us to do to remain in His love and receive His promises, His faithfulness isn't going to make any difference to us.
If any of us (Christians) fail to receive God's promises, it will not be because of God's unfaithfulness to His word or His inability to keep us, but because of our own unfaithfulness to God. That's very important to understand: Don't rely on God's faithfulness to prevent you from reaping the consequences of your being unfaithful to Him. It won't.
The people of Israel died in the wilderness not because God wasn't able to give them the land He had promised to them, or because He was unfaithful to His word to give them the land, but because they rebelled against Him and didn't do what He had told them to do. God's faithfulness and ability didn't help them. He didn't give them the land anyway, in spite of their refusal to do what He had commanded them. They died in the wilderness for rebelling against Him. God was still faithful; they weren't!
So let this be a lesson to us, when we read Scriptures about God being able to do this or that thing, that God's ability and character aren't going to save us from the consequences of failing to do what He tells us to do to remain in His love and to keep our eternal inheritance. If God tells you that you must do A to receive B, and you don't do A, you're not going to receive B, no matter how faithful God is to give you B if you do A. (I hope this is making sense.)
Read the if's. God's promises have conditions. And if you believe that His love and faithfulness are going to keep you, independent of your faithfulness to Him, and that you are going to receive God's promises merely because God is faithful (without you also having to be faithful to Him), you are seriously mistaken.
Should we take comfort in God's promises and the things that He says He is able to do for us and that He will do for us? Absolutely. But not as though He's going to do those things regardless of what we choose to do with our own free will, and that His faithfulness alone is our security in Christ, and not our faithfulness in Christ also.
Don't read the Scriptures about God's promises that something will or will not happen to you and trust in those without also reading and believing the Scriptures that provide the conditions for those guarantees. There are conditions, and if you disregard those, and merely trust in God's faithfulness and love for you, you're setting yourself up to be disqualified from receiving His promises (for being unfaithful to Him and for not loving Him).
If we are faithless, He remains faithful---for He cannot deny Himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)
I have observed the confusion of these two things among Christians, and it is a very serious problem. For if you think that God's faithfulness takes the place of your own faithfulness to Him, you are making a grave mistake. God will always be faithful to His word and true to His character, but if we ourselves are not faithful in doing those things that He tells us to do to remain in His love and receive His promises, His faithfulness isn't going to make any difference to us.
If any of us (Christians) fail to receive God's promises, it will not be because of God's unfaithfulness to His word or His inability to keep us, but because of our own unfaithfulness to God. That's very important to understand: Don't rely on God's faithfulness to prevent you from reaping the consequences of your being unfaithful to Him. It won't.
The people of Israel died in the wilderness not because God wasn't able to give them the land He had promised to them, or because He was unfaithful to His word to give them the land, but because they rebelled against Him and didn't do what He had told them to do. God's faithfulness and ability didn't help them. He didn't give them the land anyway, in spite of their refusal to do what He had commanded them. They died in the wilderness for rebelling against Him. God was still faithful; they weren't!
So let this be a lesson to us, when we read Scriptures about God being able to do this or that thing, that God's ability and character aren't going to save us from the consequences of failing to do what He tells us to do to remain in His love and to keep our eternal inheritance. If God tells you that you must do A to receive B, and you don't do A, you're not going to receive B, no matter how faithful God is to give you B if you do A. (I hope this is making sense.)
Read the if's. God's promises have conditions. And if you believe that His love and faithfulness are going to keep you, independent of your faithfulness to Him, and that you are going to receive God's promises merely because God is faithful (without you also having to be faithful to Him), you are seriously mistaken.
Should we take comfort in God's promises and the things that He says He is able to do for us and that He will do for us? Absolutely. But not as though He's going to do those things regardless of what we choose to do with our own free will, and that His faithfulness alone is our security in Christ, and not our faithfulness in Christ also.
Don't read the Scriptures about God's promises that something will or will not happen to you and trust in those without also reading and believing the Scriptures that provide the conditions for those guarantees. There are conditions, and if you disregard those, and merely trust in God's faithfulness and love for you, you're setting yourself up to be disqualified from receiving His promises (for being unfaithful to Him and for not loving Him).
If we are faithless, He remains faithful---for He cannot deny Himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)