God Is Faithful

The faithfulness of God is an interesting topic. Everyone I know who believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Savior of the world expects to go to heaven. They are convinced they have that expectation because of promises from God. Promises such as, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” (John 11:25 NKJV), and “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God,” (1 John 4:15 NKJV) are found in the Bible. The fact that these promises originate with God make them different than those from mere men. God revealed through the prophet Balaam, "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 NKJV). Men may forget or fail to keep their promises, but God will never forget nor fail to keep his.

When we look back at biblical history we read that God always kept his promises. In Genesis 12:1-3, 15:18 ff., and 22:15 ff., God made promises to Abraham, one of which was a land that He would give to the descendants of Abraham. Years later, when the descendants of Abraham were in Egyptian bondage, God heard the cry of these suffering individuals and remembered his promise to Abraham (Exodus 2:23-25). God delivered these descendants of Abraham from bondage and eventually settled them in the promised land. It is recorded in the book of Joshua, “So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it” (Joshua 21:43 NKJV). God was faithful to keep His promise.

The aforementioned promises of an eternal life with God are conditional. We know this because of other promises which God has made. Two of these promises are "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven,” (Matthew 7:21 NKJV), and “ . . when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 NKJV). God has promised that those who do not obey him will not enter heaven and will be punished with everlasting destruction. Will God keep these promises also? The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “This is a faithful saying: 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; He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:11-13 NKJV).

If we are to believe the Bible, mere lip-service allegiance to Christ will not make heaven our home. Obedience to God and the gospel of Jesus Christ are essential to our salvation. If we are faithful in our obedience, God will be faithful in his promise to bless. On the other hand, if we are not faithful in our obedience, God will still be faithful in his promise to punish. “He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”