Relating God's Righteousness and Justice to Our Lives and ARCM

What is righteousness and justice? Those two words are hard to explain because we live in a world that does not understand the true meanings of the such words whether the meanings are implicit or explicit. Even though, our laws of justice were once based upon the Ten Commandments and the Words of God regarding behaviors that needed be punished, we have basically thrown out true justice for expediency and vengeance. We also have corrupt judges and lawyers as well as laws that have been expressly established for punishment and retribution rather than having just lawyers and having judges and laws that are based on the betterment of society and are established upon righteousness and justice.

Obviously, society needs laws, and we should attempt to provide some type of justice when determining judicial cases, whether it is for the punishment of crimes committed or to help someone who has been hurt by a physical, emotional or financial situation. However, litigation for the sake of litigation is prevalent in our society today. We can sue someone for a ham sandwich, if we can find a lawyer to bring it to court. Certainly, there is little righteousness and justice today within our court systems as more and more judges try to implement their own ideas of right and wrong and appeal to political correctness within their perception of justice.

There is only One who is righteous and just

There is one, though, who is righteous and just; He is God. “The Heavens declare His righteousness, …” – (Psalm 97: 6. NASB). He is truly just and it is not just a perception of justice, for God is the epitome of righteous justice. But only telling someone that God is righteous and just is not good enough. As Christians, we need to be able to fully explain and share our knowledge of God’s righteousness and justice with others. So, I want to take a few minutes to delve into what Righteousness means when we are speaking of God and our relationship to Him. We also need to understand how unrighteous we truly are in the eyes of God, and how God has made a plan for us to become righteous before Him.

Once we understand just how truly unrighteous we really are, then we can repent and be made righteous. But, how can unrighteous humans be made righteous before God who is righteous and just? First we have to understand that our righteous God is full of uprightness and integrity. This means that God is honest and sincere with high moral principles. In other words, God does not accept half-truths, or the concept of gray as opposed to the truth of black and white. For, in God’s eyes something is either good or bad, or right or wrong. The idea of simply making a situation into what the person wants the situation to be just so that person can ease their conscience does not exist with God. Instead, righteousness means that God does not accept nor can He tolerate immorality, deceit, lying, or any other types of sin, nor will He whitewash them.

Saving His Creation

Although God cannot accept sin, God also knew that to save His creation, i.e. humans, there would be only one way that we could come to Him. We could not come to Him as unclean sinners. So, God put His merciful plan into action. What was God’s plan? Well, humans would be able come to God through the sacrifice of His Only Son, Jesus Christ, on the Cross. God’s plan would require Christ’s blood to wash away our sins. So, “… God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been made justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” – (Romans 5: 8, 9, NASB). Because of God’s loving act, today Christ’s cleansing blood is available to all who will believe on the risen Son, Jesus Christ, and who will then ask Christ to come into their heart to cleanse them from their sins.

“All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to Himself through what Christ did. … For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. This is the wonderful message that He has given us to tell others.” – (II Corinthians 5: 18, 19. NASB). Can you share this glorious news with those who have not yet found the cleansing power of Christ’s Salvation? Can you share this news with your mentees? Or maybe you need to come to Christ and in repentance, then ask Christ to come into your life?

God has given his creation a way to become righteous before Him, but if we refuse to believe on Christ as the risen Son of God, then we will have to receive God’s punishment. In fact, the Apostle Paul said, “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, WHO WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.” – (Romans 2: 5, 6. NASB).  In other words, God will reward believers in Christ and reward them for their spirit-filled good deeds. However, God will also punish those who are lost in their unbelief. He will punish them for their refusal to believe in His Son and for their fleshly and ungodly deeds of evilness. I pray that you will recognize the One and Only Savior, Jesus Christ and in repentance and belief, ask Christ to come into your heart before it is too late.

The Meaning of Righteousness

As I have said, God is righteous and just. In fact, there is no entity or person that is more righteous and just than God. “… for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all the deeds He has done, …”  — (Daniel 9: 14. NASB).  This means that all of our earthly judges, who rule daily on the lives of people, cannot hold a candle to the righteous justice of God.

Do we then really understand what righteousness and justice is? Well, God has given us His Word and the Ten Commandments as guidelines to provide us a pattern for righteous and just behaviors. Unfortunately, people have gotten away from reading God’s Word, which means that they have very little understanding of what righteousness and justice is. To make matters worse, government agencies have taken the Ten Commandments from many of our court houses. Although God gave us ideals, laws and morality to uphold, we have failed to live up to His ideal of righteousness and justice, even though we have been given goals to reach. However, to better understand what righteousness and justice entails for us mortals, we first need to look at the definition of those two words so that we can understand just how righteous and just that God is.

To be righteous means that we are acting in a just and upright manner, and that we are always doing what is right in the eyes of God. God even tells us that “A righteous man hates falsehood.” – (Proverbs 13: 5. NASB). In fact, God is the One Who sets the standards for righteousness; giving the godly a reason to hate falsehood. Accordingly, righteousness is that state of engaging in morally upright behaviors without lying and without doing things that are bad or evil. Christians who practice living a morally upright life and not lying or who refuse to engage in the temptations of this world, have a better chance of being a good example for those who have not yet asked Christ into their heart, than do Christians who succumb to this world's sins. (Any person, even a Christian, can succumb to fleshly temptations of greed, pride, envy, immorality etc. that this world has to offer, if we do not stay in the Word. But if we stay in the Word of God daily and keep ourselves in daily prayer, we can be that Christian who doesn’t fall for the world’s temptations, and we can be a Christian who sets a Christ-like example for others).

Our legacy of righteousness

In the book of Proverbs, God tells us that “A righteous man who walks in his integrity – How blessed are his sons.” – (Proverbs 20 7: NASB). The greatest legacy that any man or woman can leave behind when they physically die is that of personal godly integrity and obedience to God. Teaching our children to lead moral, honest, truthful, and righteous lives while working for the Lord and helping others in brotherly love is the best legacy that we can leave. The reason it is so great a legacy is that it blesses our children and their future children for generations. But, when we fail to teach righteousness and obedience to God to our children, we leave behind a world much worse than the one we entered.  So, whether we are leaving behind daughters or sons, we need to make sure that they understand what righteousness is and how they can be made righteous in the eyes of God. Have you explained to your children what righteousness means? Do they know about Christ? What kind of blessing will you leave for your children?

We live in a world that has a hard time understanding righteousness. That is because most people today live by their own standards of truth, morality, and virtuousness, doing what is right in their own eyes. In fact, few people today understand the truth, morality and virtuousness of the Bible and of God, because they have not been taught to live by God’s standards. But, that does not mean that those three words, truth morality and virtuousness, do not mean anything, for they do mean a lot. For even though we may not have been taught what is right and true, we all have an inner knowledge of right and wrong. Although, we may ignore this inner standard, it doesn’t mean that God’s standards for righteousness doesn’t exist. For, God established the standard for righteousness.

God is the only Righteous One. The Bible says: “Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed! Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven. Yes, the LORD pours down His blessings. … Righteousness goes as a herald before Him, preparing the way for His steps.” – (Psalm 85: 10-13. NLT). Moreover, we should be grateful that God has given us His holy Word, so that we could understand what righteousness is and understand how God expects us to attempt to live a righteous life. Unfortunately, there are many people, who do not believe in a righteous and Holy God. Therefore, it is the responsibility of true Christians to share with others what we know about God. We can also share God’s righteousness through the Gospel message that we are to share with others.

Whether we are in engaged in Active Relational Christian Mentoring or in some other service for the Lord, it is important to understand that we are not only being watched all the time, but that we will leave behind a legacy of some kind for our children and for others we have encountered. In other words, our lives as Christians are on display daily for other people to see and observe. People will be able to see if we practice what we believe, or if we are just spouting hot air. But, even if we are not actively mentoring another person, we must realize that we are passively mentoring those around us through our behaviors, acts, and words. Consequently, people and children around us will recognize whether or not we are living a righteous life, or we if we are just following the crowd of people who do what is right in their own eyes. As Christians, we are to live daily for Christ and in doing so, allow others to see our Christ-light shining forth.

My dad told me when I was a young girl that I had only one thing worth anything that I would leave behind when I die. That one thing of worth is my name. People will remember my name and they will associate my name with how I acted, what I believed in, and the words that I have spoken. My name will be remembered and associated with someone who either loved the Lord and lived for Him or with someone who was false and who did not live for the Lord. Moreover, no matter how kind and loving I am to those around me, it will all come down to whether or not I have accepted Christ as my Savior and lived for Christ during the time that I have been given, or if I have squandered my life away by living only for myself.

I would just add one more thing to dad’s explanation of how important our personal name is. I would add that my name will or will not be associated with the legacy of sharing the Gospel message with others, depending on what I do in life. If I do not live a righteous and just life in Christ, then I will not have a positive effect on the growth of the Kingdom of God. However, if I live sharing the Gospel and live attempting to live a righteous life, then when I die, my name will have stood for God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, my impact on the lives of others will be for the glory of God. But, in order to live a righteous and just life for others to emulate, I and other Christians have to focus on living for Christ every day and not just on Sundays.  We need to remember that we will either leave a legacy of blessings associated with our name, or we will leave a legacy of unrighteousness and falsehood. What kind of legacy will you leave behind?

Jesus reminds us that words reveal our character. Moreover we all know that words can hurt and they can stay in our memory long after an incident or long after we have heard them. In other words, our words leave a legacy of their own. That is why Christ said: “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. …The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”  --  (Matthew 12: 33, 35-37. NASB). What kind of legacy will you leave behind? Have you used words to glorify God and do His will? Are your deeds good and spirit-filled? Or, are the deeds that you have done been done for selfish reasons. Will the words that you speak today condemn you when Christ comes?

Receiving the righteousness of Christ

Christ said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” – (Matthew 5: 6. NASB). This blessing comes to the one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness, for he/she is essentially yearning for God. Those who are searching for God and the righteousness of Truth will find it in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. For, it is Christ, who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It is Christ who died on the cross for each of our sins. It is only through belief in Jesus Christ as the risen Son of God that we will be filled, never to hunger or thirst again. In fact, Jesus said, “… ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. All that the Father gives to Me, will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” – (John 6: 35, 37. NASB). So, when Jesus went to the cross for our sins, He became our Sin-bearer, and in doing so, He gave us His righteousness. For, “He (God) made Him, (Jesus), who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – (II Corinthians 6: 18. NASB). In other words, Christ gave us life so that we could receive His righteousness which allows us to have a personal relationship with Him forever – giving us eternal life. Those who find Christ and His righteousness will be filled with joy, peace, happiness and true contentment.

God wants righteousness for every person, as having righteousness means that we try not to sin and through the cleansing blood of Christ we can now come into the presence of the Holy and Righteous God; the one who established right, truth and justice. But the only way that we can be made truly righteous is to repent of our sins and then with the miraculous rebirth of Salvation be cleansed from all unrighteousness. That is because it is only through God’s Son, Jesus Christ, that we can be made righteous. “For as through the one man’s disobedience (i.e. Adam’s disobedience) the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One (i.e. the obedience of Christ) the many will be made righteous.” – (Romans 5: 19. NASB).

Have you come to the place where you want to be cleansed from all unrighteousness? Do you want God’s peace, love, truth and contentment? Then, you need to come before God repenting of your sins and asking Christ to come into your heart. Then and only then, can you be made righteous before God. “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” – (Isaiah 1: 18. NASB).

God is Just

What is justice and being just? Well, today in our world justice seems to be an elusive concept that we attempt to fit into our idea of retribution and sometimes vengeance. Yes, we want murders and other criminals punished for what they have done and to keep them from ever doing the same thing again. However, what is justice for one family may not be justice for another; depending on how the jury sees the situation or how the judge rules.

Everything that we do on this earth should be based on God’s laws and rules, but since we are not omniscient or omnipresent we cannot know the truth of each situation. Sometimes, too, we get the truth turned all around or we just can’t find the truth, which leads to innocent people being incarcerate for something they did not do. But, even when the judicial system discovers the possibility of a mistake, being human and led by pride and political agendas, people, that is people in the justice system, do not want to admit that they put an innocent man in jail. Sadly, those who are truly determined not to lose face, will do everything in their judicial power to keep the innocent incarcerated, because it would mess up their record of wins, or they would have to admit they were wrong.

At other times we incarcerate people for long periods of time for non-violent crimes. Such things as personal drug use, white collar crimes, and prostitution that lead to years of incarceration, and sometimes these individuals are put in with the violent criminals. Obviously, these people have broken the laws of the land and some have even hurt themselves in the long run, but we call it justice even when we do not try to help these people or when we do not try to match the punishment to the crime. God, on the other hand, knows what perfect justice is. There is no equivocation about the discipline or punishment, for His discipline and punishment is correct, right, and just. “There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He (God) says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.” – (Romans 9: 14-16. NASB).

What exactly do we mean when we say that God is just? Well, we can only describe “just” according to the Word of God and the way that man has interpreted just from God’s standards, but even if we are only able to use our idea of just, we know that true justice is full of godly perfection. Because we cannot reach that perfection, we have to rely on the following words and their meanings when we speak of just and justice: i.e. having wisdom; being scrupulous; honest and truthful; fair and unprejudiced; undoubtable and ethical; unerring and accurate; precise and particular; and right and righteous. However, even understanding and incorporating those words into our justice system cannot hold a candle to the pure knowledge of the omniscient God based upon the true wisdom of God that does and will provide the perfect justice for God’s creation through the Triune God.

The Justice of God 

God is just. This means that God is accurate, right, correct in every way, lawful, proper, and morally upright with truth and righteousness. Moreover, because of His omniscience God is all knowing, i.e., He knows exactly what we have done, thought, and heart intended. Moreover, “God is a righteous judge, …” – (Psalm 7:11. NASB). As opposed to a biased earthly judge, God knows who is deserving of a penalty or a reward. In fact, one of the Psalmists in the Bible cries out for the justice of God in his Psalm saying: “Justice – do you rulers know the meaning of the word? Do you judge the people fairly?’ Then the Psalmist goes on to say: “God will sweep them away, both young and old faster than a pot heats on an open flame. The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged. …Then at last everyone will say, ‘There truly is a reward for those who live for God; surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.’” – (Psalm 58: 1, 9, 10, 11. NLT).

Just as the Psalmist indicates, God is wisdom and full of sound reason. He has no problem in upholding what is right, true, just, or lawful when determining who deserves what. For example, God would never put an innocent man in jail or use our man-made laws to get vengeance upon another person. For, when God hands down His judgment it is right. true and proper.

In Psalm 89, Ethan the Ezrahite tells us that God’s righteousness and justice are supreme. He says, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.” – (Psalm 89: 14. NASB). Earlier in the the book of Job, Bildad, who is speaking to Job, tells him that God rewards the good. He says, “Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity, nor will He support the evildoers.” – (Job 8: 20. NASB). But, Bildad also asks the rhetorical question: “ Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?” – (Job 8: 3. NASB).  Obviously, God does not pervert justice or pervert what is right! Instead, God upholds justice and always does what is right. That is why those who have not been cleansed from all unrighteousness are not allowed in the presence of the most just and righteous God. Although God is loving and kind, truth always goes before Him, so He requires that those who come into His presence must be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ and their salvation.

Judgment and Rewards

Throughout the Bible we learn that God will reward those that have believed on His Son and repented of their sins. That is because true “born-again” Christians are first rewarded for their faith in Christ. Then they are rewarded for their good deeds and the sharing of the Gospel message with others. Those who are saved have been endowed with the Holy Spirit, who leads them into good works to pursue a Christ-like life of righteous living. However, those who have not believed on Christ as their Savior will be punished for their unbelief and evil deeds. Just simply being a “good” person will not get someone into eternal life or keep them from getting their just punishment.

Although true Christians will not face the Great White Throne Judgment, which is for unbelievers, Christians will have to face the judgment seat of Christ. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” – (II Corinthians 5: 10. NASB).  This judgment seat is sometimes referred to as the Bema seat. It is not a judgment seat of condemnation, but rather a place of accountability. It is at this seat that Christians will be rewarded for their faithful obedience to the Lord.

 God the Father has turned over the judgment of the world at the end of days to His Son, Jesus Christ. “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son (Jesus Christ) also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, Truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” – (John 5: 21-24. NASB). 

Sharing the Gospel message

The Apostle Paul told the Romans: “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, … For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.’” – (Romans 1: 16, 17. NASB). The Gospel message with Christ at the center shows us just how righteous God is in His having a plan to provide grace and mercy to those who are dying. For, it is only through God’s plan that we can be made fit for eternal life lived with Him. Only by trusting in Christ can our lives be made right and true for the heavenly reward of eternal life. Moreover, it is only through our faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, that we can be declared right and in right standing with God. Can you share that message with others?

We live in a world that has a hard time understanding righteousness. That is because most people today live by their own standards of truth, morality, and virtuousness. In fact, few people today understand the truth, morality and virtuousness of the Bible and of God. But, that does not mean that those three words do not mean anything, for they do mean a lot. However, God is the only Righteous One. Moreover, God has given us His Word, so that we could understand what righteousness is and how God expects us to attempt to live a righteous life. Unfortunately, there are many people, who do not believe in a righteous and Holy God. Therefore, it is the responsibility of true Christians to share with others what we know about God. We can share God’s righteousness through the Gospel message that we are to share with others.

Tell others about the wondrous God of the Universe. Let those you encounter understand just how righteous, just and loving that God and His Son are. Step forward and share the Gospel with others and mentor fellow Christians when you can. God wants the body of Christ to not only live for Christ, but to be there for each other in support, love, and compassion. You Can Do It! You and reach out and help another woman through Active Relational Christian Mentoring. 

Who Do You Know That is Faithful and True?

God the Father is so magnificent! He is faithful and true. Do you know Him? Or have you just believed the atheists and others who ridicule God and the thought of Him? Why not check out God and His Son for yourself. Get to know God for yourself and then develop a personal relationship with Him and His Son. Or, if you already have a personal relationship with Christ, God’s Son, perhaps you would like to know even more about God in order to share your knowledge of Him with others, such as sharing about God when you are actively and relationally mentoring another woman. To start your journey into knowing God and developing a relationship with God and His Son, is a beautiful poem below that says so much about Who God is. It was written by Evelyn Gustafson in Springfield, Missouri who wrote this poem back in December, 2010. The poem says:

“Heavenly Father,

There’s so much I don’t understand…

         How the power of a spoken word 

could cause the earth to be be

How You made the birds to soar in the sky

and the fish to fill the sea

I’m amazed that from a bit of dust

You formed humanity 

to watch over your creation 

and fellowship with Thee

Omnipresence I cannot explain

 or the Blessed Trinity 

How you hear the prayers of all who seek,

be they poor, or royalty

I’m in awe that you allowed Your Son

  to lay aside His Deity 

To be born a babe in Bethlehem,

for an earthly ministry

From town to town He shared Your love 

Lived a life of purity,

Then stood alone before an angry crowd 

and endured their cruelty

He could have called ten thousand angels

to declare His sovereignty, 

But He bore that cross up a lonely hill 

and gave His life on Calvary

The depth of love, I can’t comprehend, 

not for a lowly one like me 

But I thank you, Lord and I’ll praise you, Lord 

Throughout Eternity

--by Evelyn Gustafson

What a thought provoking poem! Every person on earth should at some point in time, think about the magnificence of God and His love for us. But, sadly many people go through life without thinking about things other than themselves and their momentary needs. If they took a moment to think on what it took to create this earth and make it habitable for humans, perhaps we could all get past the idea of evolution and some unexplained explosion and false science to the Truth of the Creation and the Truth of the One Who Created us. I hope these blogs will give you and others something to think about, i.e. God, and His greatness and magnificence. Then I hope what you have learned from the Word of God will give you the words to speak when talking to others about God.

God is Faithful.

In the last few blogs we have been learning how to tell other people about the greatness and glory of God. We have already discovered through the Holy Scriptures that God is Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent. But even though those things are mind-boggling, there is so much more to the Triune God of the Universe. 

One of God’s most interesting and great characteristics of God’s is that God is Faithful. How, though, do we tell other people about His loving faithfulness? Why, too, should we care about telling others of God’s faithfulness? Can’t they learn about Him and His faithfulness on their own? Sadly, the world has become so hard-hearted, blinded with worldly desires and just plain unobservant, that some people cannot see the Truth about God when it is right in front of them. To make matters worse, God has been constantly ridiculed by unbelievers, false prophets, and other false religions. Still others simply do not want to hear the truth of God. So, what can we do to share the Truth with those we encounter? First, we have to question the so called "norm" in society or the status quo that people want us to accept.

Unfortunately, many people have not been taught to question the status quo. They simply believe and accept what atheists and unbelievers spout off about there being no God, or they believe the lies told by their professors, other false religions and the ideas of others without questioning for themselves why they should believe the same. Moreover, there are also those individuals who in hurting deeply have simply ignored the obvious help that is right in front of them and have instead turned to even more destructive methods to self-medicate their emotional and physical hurts.

Christians, though, have the responsibility of learning everything we can about God and His Son, Jesus Christ, so we can then share with others what we know about God. We also have the responsibility of actively mentoring others and in the process empowering others with the Truth of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we have the responsibility of refuting the lies told about God with gentleness and kindness while speaking the Truth of God. The bottom line is that if we don’t share what we know about God and His Son, Jesus Christ, these people will be lost forever!

The same words that the Apostle Paul told his protégé, Timothy, many years ago, which are recorded in the Bible, still apply to all Christians today. Paul told Timothy: “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” – (II Timothy 4:1-5. NASB). In many ways, we have reached the time when people simply refuse to believe in sound doctrine and just want to have their ears tickled, like Paul told us would happen. But, it is still our responsibility to speak the truth even when we put our own lives on the line to do so.

Those Christians who are engaged in Active Relational Christian Mentoring, and other Christian services or ministries, as well as those Christians who are being that Christ-light within this dark world have a responsibility to to step forward and tell others about God and the Savior of the World, i.e. God’s Son, Jesus Christ.  For, “born-again” Christians have the joy of personally knowing Christ. But, we cannot stop with our own Salvation, because we are also to share the joy and peace of Christ's Salvation by following and adhering to the Great Commission to go and tell others about Christ, God’s Son, and His redemptive love and His blood, which was shed for our sins. However, to be able to tell others about God and His Son, we must first come to know God and Christ personally. Then, we can easily engage in Active Relational Christian Mentoring and other Christian services as well; all for the glory of the Lord.

Before we can go and tell others about God and the gift of Salvation, though, we need to know and understand who God is. So, this week I want to enlighten you about another characteristic of God’s, i.e. God’s faithfulness, which is so important to understand. We need to understand God's faithfulness before we can share the Gospel message of Salvation. For, it is truly understanding the faithfulness of God that others can come to believe in and rely on the Truth of Christ and the gift of Salvation.

Why do we need to understand God’s faithfulness?  Well, humans have a tendency to attribute to God certain characteristics that we think are important and then we leave out other true characteristics of God’s, because we don’t know about them or have not studied the Word to understand them. That is why, if someone does not really know God and His Word, they can get frustrated and turned off simply because of their own miss-perceptions or false ideas of who God is. For, in being human, we often try to attribute to God those things that we want God to be, and we often do not focus on who God really is. Consequently, we can often hear someone say, “My God would not do that,” or I can’t believe in a God that would do… such n’ such.”.

God, though, does not live by our rules or by our beliefs. He exists and is. He is Who He is and He cannot be made into something that we want Him to be. In fact, God is so much greater than we can even imagine. So, in learning about this next characteristic of God’s, I hope that you will be able to see how much higher and greater God is than we are, and then begin to understand that we can’t attribute our way of doing things as to being God’s way of doing things. In fact, we must always remember that God is the potter and we are the clay. But, God is a faithful potter.

(If you are new to reading this blog, this is a week’s worth of blogging. So feel free to read this blog in increments, if you feel that you don’t have the time to read it all at once.).

God is Faithful

“Know therefore that the LORD your God He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” – (Deuteronomy 7: 9. NASB).

One of the most comforting and assuring attributes of God’s is that God is faithful! What exactly does faithful mean? Well, here on earth “faithful” is attributed to those who do not sin against the one they love. It is someone who remains true to their spouse, fiancé, or friend. But, being faithful is also attributed to those who are faithful to their job or their career. However, the word “faithful” has so many more parts or explicit meanings and renderings than what we generally think about or designate when we talk about one being faithful. So, let’s find out a little more about the word “faithful” and how that word applies to our mighty and sovereign God.

“Faithful is He who calls you, and He will bring it to pass.” – (I Thessalonians 5: 24. NASB). This means that when God calls you into service or to help someone that He will give you the ability to do what He has asked you to do. God will not let you down. For example, because of the Great Commission, we know that God has asked all Christians to share the Gospel with others. Unfortunately, we often allow fear and the thought of being ridiculed to interfere with what God has asked us to do. To make matters worse, we tell ourselves that we are not fluent in speech, or that we don’t know enough Scripture, or a myriad of other excuses. But whether we are simply trying to share Christ with another, to mentor another woman, or to simply engage in some other unfamiliar task that God has asked us to do, we must remember that the Lord will not give us a job or task and then leave us stranded in how to do it. Indeed, God is responsible for putting people in our path to help us accomplish His request and for the success of what He has planned for us to do. All we have to do is obey Him and follow through on what He has asked us to do. For, God is faithful and will ensure that what we are about to do for Him will take place, if we are obedient.

God is also faithful to hear our cries and pleas. David wrote several Psalms with the emphasis on God’s faithfulness to hear and provide for our needs. One such Psalm that David wrote states: “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; … How blessed is the man who has made the Lord His trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.”  -- (Psalm 40: 1-4. NASB).

Another Psalm from Ethan the Ezrahite states: “I will sing of the lovingkindness of the LORD forever; To all generations I will make known Your faithfulness with my mouth. … In the heavens you will establish your faithfulness. The heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones. … O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD? Your faithfulness surrounds You.” – (Psalm 89: 1, 2, 5, 8. NASB).

So, what all then does faithfulness entail? In other words, what does it mean when we say that God is faithful and true? Well, to fully understand faithfulness we will need to take a look at some other words that describe faithfulness and lovingkindness. I hope in learning more about faithfulness that you will not only be able to more completely describe God to others, but that you will desire to be more faithful and true to what God has created you to be for Him. The first word that we will take a look at more fully that delineates the words “faithful and faithfulness” is the word “conscientious”, for faithfulness incorporates conscientiousness.

God is Conscientious

Among other significant meanings and standards for the words “faithful and faithfulness” is that of being conscientious. God is always right and true, and in being conscientious about being right and true God shows both care and precision in everything that He does. So, through the Word of God, we learn that God is very conscientious and precise about everything that He creates and about everything He does for us, His creation. In other words, He is conscientiously faithful.

In His conscientiousness, we were made perfect in every sense, including perfect in beauty and health. However, with the sin of Adam and Eve and their subsequent fall from the Garden of Eden, evil, which includes bad germs and bacteria along with evil thoughts and actions, inundated this earth. That is because Satan wants unhealthiness and problems for all of God’s creation. In fact, Satan truly hates us and God. Remember, though, that God is more powerful, and loving and faithful than we can even imagine. He is conscientious about His faithfulness.

We get a glimpse of God’s faithful conscientiousness when we read again Psalm 89 which states: “Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the swelling of the seas; When its waves rise, You still them. … The world and all it contains, You have founded them. The north and the south, You have created them; … Once You spoke in a vision to Your godly ones and said, … I have found David My servant; With My holy oil I have anointed him… with whom My hand will be established. … The enemy will not deceive him, nor will the son of wickedness afflict him. … My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him. And in My name his horn will be exalted. My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever, and My covenant shall be confirmed to him. … But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. My covenant I will not violate nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.” – (Psalm 89: 8, 9, 11, 12, 18, 21, 22, 24, 28, 33, 34. NASB).

It is in God’s loving faithfulness that He has also conscientiously and precisely made a plan for mankind’s redemption through His Son, Jesus Christ. This means that God has a faithful and loving plan to bring all those who believe on His Son, as their risen Savior, to eternity with Him. The earth will then be restored to its former glory and will be even better than before. In fact, the Apostle John was given a vision of the new Heaven and earth by Jesus Christ, and He recorded that vision in the book of Revelation.

John said, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer sea.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adored for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them. … And the city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. … In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abominations and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” – (Revelation 21: 1-3. 23, 25-27. NASB).

 Can you imagine such faithfulness and precision? God who is faithful and true has particularly and conscientiously made the perfect and precise home for all who will believe on Christ. Throughout the process, God has made sure that everything is done to His degree of scrupulousness, which is part of being faithful. If God is that faithful in carrying through with the home in eternity, which He has promised to all who believe on Christ, just imagine how faithful God is in loving those He has created. Unfortunately, we are the ones who are not faithful and who fall away into sin at the least little provocation or temptation. But, God does not sin and is not tempted. He is conscientious. God is conscientiously loving and faithful.

God is Trustworthy

The next word that is incorporated within the word faithfulness is the word “trustworthy”. The Lord is trustworthy. This means that God can always be trusted and will never let us down when we place our trust in Him. In other words, God is dependable. So, we can depend on him to care for us and to be there for us when we call on His name in humble prayer. For, God is dependable and trustworthy.

Part of the concept of being trustworthy is not only to be able to trust in God, and depend on Him, but to also understand that God is reliable. In other words, we can rely on God for everything that He has promised as well as for His guidance, love, protection. Unlike some people, God will never let us down, because He is reliable and trustworthy. The Bible expresses God's faithful trustworthiness with these words:  "... for He, God Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (relax my hold on you)! Assuredly not!" -- (Hebrews 13: 5. Amplified).

The Psalmist also explained the LORD’s trustworthiness this way: “For the Word of the LORD holds true, and everything He does is worthy of our trust. … The LORD’s plans stand firm forever; His intentions can never be shaken. … the LORD watches over those who fear Him and those who rely on His unfailing love.” – (Psalm 33: 4, 11, 18. NLT). These Words that are written in the Bible are true, because they are God’s words, and they do not change. In fact, God has established His intentions, then recorded His intentions throughout His Word, and He has furthermore stated that He will never change His intentions. This is because God is trustworthy. Moreover, God’s plans will stand firm forever.

God is Constant

In addition to the words faithful and faithfulness meaning conscientiousness and trustworthiness, being faithful also means that God is constant. In other words, He never changes. He is the same, yesterday and forever. This means that God is unchangeable. In fact, James tells us that, “Whatever is good and perfect comes from God above, who created all heaven’s lights. Unlike them, He never changes or cast shifting shadows.” – (James 1: 17. NLT). (Throughout the Bible, God and His goodness are analogous to light, whereas evil and badness are analogous to darkness. God’s perfection is seen in all His created heavenly lights, whereas evil and sin is relegated to darkness and shadows.). God has good intentions and plans that will not change at a whim. Therefore, God is unchangeable, trustworthy and constant.

God is not one way today and then another way the next day. Furthermore, God has even told us in His Word that He unchangeable or constant. For, within the book of Hebrews we are told that “In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” – (Hebrews 6: 17- 20. NASB).

This verse refers to an unknown High priest named Melchizedek in the Older Testament. Back in the book of Genesis, Melchizedek blessed Abraham after God had faithfully given Abraham victory over some pagan kings and their warriors when they had captured Abraham’s nephew, Lot. In the above verse, the author of Hebrews established some parallels between this High Priest Melchizedek and Christ Jesus, our High Priest. For, the author of book of Hebrews is telling us that it was High Priest, Melchizedek, who reminded Abraham that his victory came through God’s faithfulness. So, too, is our victorious Salvation today through the faithfulness of God’s Son, Christ Jesus, who is our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.

 Christ is also King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Moreover, Christ as part of the Triune God is always victorious and constant. He is unchangeable and constant too. So, in further comparing Melchizedek and Christ the author of Hebrews tells us that God wanted Abraham’s good, just as God wants our good today. Like Abraham, we, too, have to fight the forces of evil. But, the only way that we can do so is to rely on God and His goodness and the Salvation that God has offered us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Who is our High Priest and intercessor before God the Father. In other words, God also wants good for us through our High priest, Jesus Christ. So, in His faithfulness, we see that just as God was faithful to help Abraham and faithful to send a priest to Abraham, that God is also faithful to help us and so sent His Son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, we see that God is unchangeable and constant.

God has always loved us and so in that love He will constantly give each of us the chance to come to know His Son, Jesus Christ, and to believe on our risen Lord. Then, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” – (I John 1: 9. NASB).

Even before, Adam and Eve’s fall from the Garden of Eden, God had established a plan for our redemption from sin. He put that plan into effect with His Son, Jesus Christ. Then, because God is constant, unchangeable and faithful, He will not change that redemption plan, nor will He keep anyone who truly repents and asks Christ into their heart from receiving Salvation. For, God has said that you are completely forgiven and made righteous through Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, if you choose to believe on His risen Son, Jesus Christ. In fact, God is constantly merciful and loving in establishing a redemption plan and then giving complete forgiveness to those who truly call upon the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. God is faithful in His love and in His gift of everlasting life.

The Aroma of Life and the Aroma of Death

Unfortunately, there are many people today who are liars; denying the promise and constancy as well as the faithfulness of God’s Salvation Plan. Some of those liars are both false profits and antichrists. We shouldn’t be surprised that they are liars, for in the Word of God, the Apostle Peter reminded the followers of Christ that there would be many false prophets of which Christians should be wary. This same message from Peter still applies today to the false prophets that we encounter on a daily basis. For Peter said, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.” – (II Peter 2: 1. NASB).

Who are these liars? Well, the Apostle John wrote in the Bible that a liar is “the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.”  -- (I John 2: 22. NASB). What the Apostle John is telling us here is that the spirit of the antichrist is found in anyone who is completely against Jesus Christ as God’s Son and Savior of the World. This antichrist spirit is exhibited by anyone who demands the removal of the Gospel message from society by whatever means, such as through intimidation, litigation or legislation. This spirit of the antichrist is found today in professors who profess false teachings and speak against God. The spirit of the antichrist is also found in those who advocate false religions and other gods. Although the actual person of the Antichrist will indeed appear someday, the spirit of the antichrist is everywhere throughout the world today. But, when the actual person called the Antichrist appears, he will then create and foster even greater rebellion against Almighty God for a short period of time. But, remember that God is Sovereign and all powerful. The Antichrist will not be allowed to take over the world, but will instead have a very brief but destructive few years of power. Still, God is faithful and constant. He has told us that he will remove the Antichrist and that Christ Jesus will rule. Since God cannot lie, we can believe God will do what He says He will do.

Although we may sadden God with our behaviors or our lack of respect for Him, God will still through His love for His creation give us every chance to come to the “Saving” grace of Salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. However, God is also saddened knowing that some people will never come to Him through Christ, the Son, but will instead choose to do life and then life ever after in hell without ever knowing the love and faithfulness of God. For, they will end up in eternal hell, because they chose to disregard the gift of Salvation that would have given them everlasting life as the adopted children of God. Until their death, though, God is faithful in His Promises and He is constantly ready to offer them grace and mercy.

This is where true Christians become very important to the spread of the Gospel message. We know the Truth. We know God’s faithfulness and His lovingkindness. We also know the joy and peace that one can receive from Christ and the Father once a person has given their life to the Lord. Although we live in a fallen world and still have to deal with the situations of this fallen world, we have the assurance and the joy of knowing that we will one day spend eternity with God and His Son. We can then share that knowledge with others who need to hear about Christ and Salvation. In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: to one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.” – (II Corinthians 2: 14-17. NASB).

Yes, Christians have an aroma of life. We have an aroma of peace and a sweet spirit. But, those who have the spirit of the antichrist, can often smell the aroma of death, instead of smelling the sweetness of life. In fact, you may have noticed some people taking an instant dislike to you for seemingly no reason. Well, if you haven’t been a jerk, or done anything to cause them to dislike you, there is a good chance that they are smelling the aroma of death that they have brought upon themselves, because they have refused to believe on Christ. This is sad, because God wants all to come to the saving grace of Christ.

God is Steadfast

  

God in His faithfulness is steadfast! He is firmly fixed as the Sovereign Lord of the Universe and as the supreme authority and royal King. Moreover, God is firmly engaged in the life of His Creation. In other words, He listens to our prayers or to the prayers of those who have asked Christ to come into their heart. The prayers of His adopted children are always answered, just like a good earthly father would answer a child’s requests. However, as the Sovereign all-knowing and wise God that He is, God can answer our prayers according to what He sees will be in our best interest. That means we may receive a “yes” answer, a “no” answer” or a “not yet at this time” answer. But God will steadfastly respond to His children’s prayers and their needs. He does not ignore us! He is steadfast, faithful and true.

God is faithfully resolute. This means that God has a firm fixed purpose for His creation. God will not change that purpose nor will He waver or be swayed by outside forces or pleas to break a promise that He has made. For example, God has a plan for when people will have been given long enough to come to Him through Jesus Christ, His Son. In fact, God sent His Only Son, to earth to prepare people for the end of days. Then, Jesus said that He would come back to earth to collect those that have believed upon Him, as the Risen Son of God. Jesus also explained God’s plan for Christ to return in the Four Gospels and again in the Book of Revelation. In both places, though, we know that only the Father in Heaven, i.e. God, knows when the end of time will actually occur. For, God is faithfully resolute in His plan and will keep His Word no matter what.

God is reliable. God can be counted upon to do what He says He will do. So, He can be counted upon to maintain the world that we are on until the end of time. We can also have confidence in the reliability of God’s Word and His promises that He has made. For, example, God’s Word tells us that God said that He would never flood the earth again. (See Genesis 7: 11-17). So, to give us the assurance of His reliable Word, God put a rainbow in the sky to remind us that He is not only reliable, but that He is a Promise Keeper. Another example of God’s reliability and promises always kept, is the promise God gave to Israel after God scattered them throughout the nations. God promised the Hebrew people that He would again make Israel a nation, and that nation would be born in one day. As we in the twenty-first century have seen, Israel was indeed born in one day on May 15, 1948. What faithfulness as depicted through God’s reliability and promise keeping.

Those who recognize God’s faithfulness and His promise keeping, know that they can be loyal to God. For, God will never let them down. Moreover, God has promised an eternity of love and joy with Him and His Son, Jesus Christ once our lives on this earth are over; provided that we have accepted Christ as our personal Savior by believing on Him as the risen Son of God. Not only is God loyal to His promises of an eternity in Heaven with Him, but Christians can easily be loyal to Christ and the Father by being obedient in spreading the Gospel message and in living our lives in a manner that is worthy of God. We must allow our Christ-light to shine out upon the world and be faithful to God and Jesus Christ, just as God is faithful to us.

I hope you have enjoyed getting to know more about God. Some of these things you may have already known, but if not, I hope that you now will be more prepared to share your knowledge about God with others you encounter. Christian women need to start mentoring other women for many reasons, not the least of which is tell other women about the empowerment and joy they can receive from knowing God and His Son, Jesus Christ. I hope that you will consider Active Relational Christian mentoring in the future. You can do it! You can be that Christian support, friend, help, etc. that another woman needs and in the process live your life more fully for the Lord!

But, if you do not yet know Christ as your Savior, I encourage you to reach out in belief and ask God for forgiveness of your sins and then ask Christ to come into your heart. Believe me, there is nothing in this world like a personal relationship with Christ, the living Son of God. For, He is faithful and true!