THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD

WEEKS 1 & 2

1. What is faithfulness?
2. Discovering GOD’S Faithfulness
3. Speaking to one another about God’s faithfulness: Why? (Malachi 3:16-18).
4. Reminding ourselves personally that God’s word shows us that God is faithful. Why? (Psalm
103:2 & Psalm 78:7)

1. Introduction

The faithfulness of God is true and has been proven many times. In the Holy Scriptures, we can see
that God is faithful and His Word is true. Hebrews 6:13-18 says God cannot lie, nor can He break
His promise. Every covenant He made is kept. Every promise or foretelling has or will come true.
Testimony after testimony of God’s faithfulness is certainly found throughout the Bible and is still
given in testimonies by people today.

2. Some examples of God’s faithfulness are found in the following verses:

a) Deuteronomy 7:9
b) Zechariah 8:7-8
c) To Noah (God will save Noah and his family) Genesis 6:17-18; 9:9-17
d) To Ishmael (God will bless Ishmael and his descendants) Genesis 17:18-20
e) To Moses (God will spare the Israelites if they obey) Exodus 19:5
f) To Jacob (God reaffirms everlasting covenant to Israel) Psalm 105:7-15

3. So from these, what does the word of God define faithfulness to be? The Hebrew word
translated “faithfulness” means “steadfastness, firmness, fidelity.” The opposite of being
faithful is to be ever-changing or wishy-washy.

4. Are we individually included in this demonstration of faithfulness by God?

YES! No matter what sins we have committed, no matter how "bad", God is faithful to forgive us if
we accept Jesus and repent of our sins.
a) God sent His Son, (Matthew 1:21-22) through Him we have everlasting life – John 3:16
b) Christ died for the remission of our sin.1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, Acts 2:38, Acts 10:43,
Romans 3:25
c) God has promised to remove our sins – Romans 11:25-27; Micah 7:18-19

-1-
 WEEK 3: EFFECTS OF GOD'S FAITHFULNESS.

1. God is so faithful that anyone who seeks Him can find Him. 1 Corinthians 1:9.
2. He provides a way out of temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13
3. He strengthens and protects us. 2 Thessalonians 3:3
4. He forgives us. 1 John 1:9; John 3:17; Numbers 23:19
5. He does whatever He has promised to do. Numbers 23:19; Romans 4:21

WEEK 4: GROUNDS FOR BELIEVING IN GOD'S FAITHFULNESS.

1. Our knowledge of the nature of God. 2 Peter 1:2-4. If we believe in God at all, we must believe
in Him as moral, good, and perfect. A weak and limited being may change and fail. God is too
great to be faithless.

2. The testimony of those who can best speak for God. We judge of a person's character largely
on the evidence of those who have the most intimate acquaintance. Now we find prophets and
saints who are nearest to God in thought and life most positive in asserting His faithfulness. Only
they who dwell in the outer courts of his temple, or altogether away from His presence, venture to
deny it.

3. The evidence afforded by the life of Christ. Christ was the great Revealer of the character of
God; and Christ was faithful even to death.

4. The witness of history to the past faithfulness of God; e.g. the deliverance from Egypt, the return
from the captivity, the advent of Christ, the presence of Christ in his Church to guide and
strengthen and bless.

5. The confirmation of personal experience. Many have proved God's faithfulness in their own
lives. They can say, "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his'
troubles."

References: Numbers 23:19; Isaiah 55:11; Jeremiah 29:11…..more references to be

provided by the bible study participants.

WEEK 5: TEMPTATIONS TO DOUBT GOD'S FAITHFULNESS.

1. The weary time of waiting. God does not fulfill his promises as soon as he makes them. Long
intervals try our faith. So was it with the Jewish expectation of the Messiah; so is it with the
Christian expectation of the Second Advent. The heart is sickened with hope deferred. But this
doubt is as foolish as that of one who, seeing the morning to be long in coming, begins to distrust
the promise of sunrise. See Romans 4:17-21.

2. Appearances of unfaithfulness. Nothing tries love so painfully as the necessity of so acting as to

provoke doubts of its own constancy. Yet the truest love will not shrink from this necessity when it
arises. God seems to desert us when He chastises (disciplines) us. It is his greater faithfulness
that leads him to chastise us. Hebrews 12:5-17.

3. The unexpected fulfilment of Divine promises. God does not always fulfill his promises in the
way expected by us. Then we are disappointed. But the error was in our previous delusion, not in
any change on God's part. Moreover, the true Divine fulfilment, though at first less pleasing to us
than our expectation of it, always proves in the long run to be far better. (Remember the story of

-2-
 Joseph the dreamer? Genesis 37, Genesis 39-45)

WEEK 5: THE RESPONSE WHICH GOD'S FAITHFULNESS SHOULD PROVOKE IN US.

1. Adoration. The faithfulness of God is one of the most worthy themes of worship. . Lamentations
3:22–23; Psalm 119:89–90;

2. Trust Faithfulness merits confidence, and it encourages it.

3. Fidelity. If God is faithful to us, he has a right to bid us be faithful

WEEK 6: "HOW CAN I LEARN TO TRUST IN THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD?"

1. Know God’s word. Psalm 119:89–90 says, “Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the
heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations.” Here faithfulness is equated
with God’s Word. God speaks never-ending truth. If God spoke something a thousand years
ago, it still stands. He is faithful to His Word, because His Word is an expression of His
character. See Malachi 3:6; 2 Timothy 2:13.

2. We learn to trust the character of a person by getting to know that person. We would not
entrust our bank account to a stranger we met in line at the post office—we have no
experience with him. We don’t know his character. We learn to trust God by getting to know
His character. There are three ways we can get to know Him: studying His Word, reviewing
His working in our own lives, and learning to follow His voice.

a) When we study God’s Word, a pattern emerges. We learn that God never changes and
never lies (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29). We learn through Scripture that God has never
failed in the past (Isaiah 51:6). He was always true to His Word as He worked in the lives of
the ancient Israelites. When He said He would do something, He did it ( Matthew 24:35). We
begin to build trust upon His proven character. We can trust that God will be true to Himself.
He will never cease acting like God. He will never cease being sovereign, being holy, or being
good (1 Timothy 6:15; 1 Peter 1:16).

b) We learn through our own history that He has never failed us, either. One command God
often gave the Israelites was “Remember” (Deuteronomy 8:2; Isaiah 46:9). When they
remembered all God had done for them, they could more easily trust Him for the future. We
need to intentionally remember all the ways God has provided for us and delivered us in
the past. Keeping a prayer journal can help with this. When we recall the ways God has
answered our prayers, it equips us to continue asking and expecting answers. When we
come to Him in prayer, we know that He always hears us (1 John 5:14; Psalm 34:15). He
provides what we need (Philippians 4:19). And He will always make everything work together
for our good when we trust Him with it (Romans 8:28). We learn to trust God’s future
faithfulness by remembering His past faithfulness.

c) And we can also learn to trust Him by learning to distinguish His voice from the others that
compete for attention. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me”
(John 10:27). We who belong to Jesus need to cultivate the ability to hear Him. He speaks
primarily through His Word, but He can also speak through other people, through
circumstances, and through the inner confirmation of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16). As we

-3-
 carefully read and meditate upon Scripture, the Holy Spirit often quickens our hearts to a
verse or passage and helps us claim it and apply it to our current situation. What the Spirit
shows us in His Word is to be taken by faith as His message to us. We build trust by claiming
His promises and applying them to our lives.

3. Above all things, God loves for us to demonstrate faith (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is trusting in the
character of God before we see how He is going to work things out, even when we don’t
understand the circumstances that seem to contradict His promise to us. Proverbs 19:21 As
a child trusts a loving father, we can trust our heavenly Father to always do what is right.

WEEK 7: Summary and Conclusion

-4-