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As we study our lesson this week, we see Joshua making his final speech to God’s people. He reminds them how God has led them on their long and arduous journey through what from a human perspective would be insurmountable obstacles. However, Joshua emphasizes to them that God keeps His promises and has faithfully delivered them out of Egypt into the promised land.
This is also an important lesson for us today as God’s last day people waiting for Christ to come and take us home. But the good news is that God remains faithful today and is fully able to provide the solutions for our Laodicean condition. God keeps His promises!
In fact, when we look at scripture it becomes clear that God has always been faithful because He wants each and every precious soul to be with Him forever, and with that in mind, let’s look together at several examples of God’s faithfulness.
Ellen G. White shares with us in The Desire of Ages that God’s faithfulness includes being there for us when we are dealing with problems and temptations in our lives.
“Yet we should not lose courage when assailed by temptation. Often when placed in a trying situation we doubt that the Spirit of God has been leading us. But it was the Spirit's leading that brought Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. When God brings us into trial, He has a purpose to accomplish for our good. Jesus did not presume on God's promises by going unbidden into temptation, neither did He give up to despondency when temptation came upon Him. Nor should we. ‘God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’ He says, ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High: and call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.’ 1 Corinthians 10:13; Psalm 50:14, 15.”—p.126, emphasis supplied here and onward.
As we continue, she also reminds us in Thoughts From the Mount of Blessings that God’s faithfulness extends to His justice and forgiveness of our sins as He cleanses us from all righteousness. Why? Because of His great love for us:
“The one thing essential for us in order that we may receive and impart the forgiving love of God is to know and believe the love that He has to us. 1 John 4:16. Satan is working by every deception he can command, in order that we may not discern that love. He will lead us to think that our mistakes and transgressions have been so grievous that the Lord will not have respect unto our prayers and will not bless and save us. In ourselves we can see nothing but weakness, nothing to recommend us to God, and Satan tells us that it is of no use; we cannot remedy our defects of character. When we try to come to God, the enemy will whisper, It is of no use for you to pray; did not you do that evil thing? Have you not sinned against God and violated your own conscience? But we may tell the enemy that ‘the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.’ 1 John 1:7. When we feel that we have sinned and cannot pray, it is then the time to pray. Ashamed we may be and deeply humbled, but we must pray and believe. ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.' 1 Timothy 1:15. Forgiveness, reconciliation with God, comes to us, not as a reward for our works, it is not bestowed because of the merit of sinful men, but it is a gift unto us, having in the spotless righteousness of Christ its foundation for bestowal.
“We should not try to lessen our guilt by excusing sin. We must accept God's estimate of sin, and that is heavy indeed. Calvary alone can reveal the terrible enormity of sin. If we had to bear our own guilt, it would crush us. But the sinless One has taken our place; though undeserving, He has borne our iniquity. ‘If we confess our sins, God is faithfulland just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ 1 John 1:9. Glorious truth! —just to His own law, and yet the Justifier of all that believe in Jesus. ‘Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger forever, because He delighteth in mercy.’ Micah 7:18.”—pp. 115,116.
Here she points out that God’s faithfulness includes not allowing us to be tempted more than we can bear and providing us with a way of escape:
“We must not think that by walking in the path of obedience we shall escape trials; for the enemy will do all in his power to hinder us from gaining heaven. But the Saviour has promised to help us. Have you trials? So had Jesus. Are you tempted? So was He—in all points like as we are. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. ‘But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.’ [John 1:12.] ‘There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’ [1 Corinthians 10:13.]”—Letters and Manuscripts, Vol. 4, No. 30, 1886.
Along similar lines, Ellen G. White reminds us that while God provides us with a solution to our temptations, He still gives us a choice:
“I feel so sorry for those who are being misled in their Christian experience, because they do not need to be. God is true. He says, ‘My grace is sufficient.' [2 Corinthians 12:9.] God is faithful who will not suffer any soul to be tempted above that he is able. God weighs every trial before He permits it to be allotted. He knows every circumstance, and He will give the light essential to resist temptation, unless the one tempted refuses to discern the truth because he does not wish to know. Then God leaves him to his own choice. If he chooses the darkness, he will have it. Every time he yields to Satan’s dictation, in order to maintain his own objectionable dignity, he is placed where he does not choose to know and to understand the truth. It is not God’s way that he wants, but his own way; for God’s way would not glorify self.”—Ibid, Vol. 21, Lt. 86, 1906.
E. J. Waggoner also shares some important insights with us noting that God’s faithfulness leads us to peace and justification by faith:
“‘Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.’ ‘O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.’ What rich comfort in these words! Jesus Christ is ‘the same, yesterday, and today, and forever.’ So his peace is likened to the continual flowing of the river, and the never-ceasing roll of the ocean wave; therefore it matters not what the feeling is, for if all sins have been confessed, God is faithful and just to forgive them; and we are at peace with Him. The condition of peace is the condition of being justified by faith.
‘By whom [Christ] also we have access by faith into this grace [unmerited forgiveness and favor] in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.’ Righteousness can be wrought in men day by day by the same power by which Isaac was born of parents who were practically dead. When people once gain this experience, the next thing they will be constrained to rejoice in the hope of the coming of the Lord.”—General Conference Daily Bulletin, March 15, 1891, p. 116.
You may also enjoy the following excerpt of his article which focuses on the faith of the Father and the Son imparting His own faithfulness to us.
“‘By Faith of Jesus Christ.’-In another place Paul expresses his desire when the Lord comes to be found ‘not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.’ Philippians 3:9. Here again we have ‘the faith of Christ.’ Still further, it is said of the saints, ‘Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’ Revelation 14:12. God is faithfull(1 Corinthians 1:9) and Christ is faithful, for ‘He abideth faithful.’ 2 Timothy 2:13. God deals to everyone a measure of faith. Romans 12:3; Ephesians 2:8. He imparts to us His own faithfulness. This He does by giving us Himself. So that we do not have to get righteousness which we ourselves manufacture; but to make the matter doubly sure, the Lord imparts to us in Himself the faith by which we appropriate His righteousness. Thus, the faith of Christ must bring the righteousness of God, because the possession of that faith is the possession of the Lord himself. This faith is dealt to every man, even as Christ gave Himself to every man. Do you ask what then can prevent every man from being saved? The answer is, Nothing, except the fact that all men will not keep the faith. If all would keep all that God gives them, all would be saved.”—Present Truth UK, August 23, 1894.
In closing, we have seen how God’s faithfulness impacts every aspect of our lives and in fact plays a key role in preparing us individually and corporately as His last day church so He may take us home. May we appreciate that Christ gave Himself to every man because of His infinite agape love and His infinite sacrifice!
~ John Campbell
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