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Deuteronomy 32:4
“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”
We have been looking at how Scripture presents the divine attribute of truth in many different ways, and today we will look at one last attribute related to God’s truth, and that is His faithfulness. The concepts of divine truthfulness and divine faithfulness are closely related, as seen in the writings of Petrus van Mastricht, a seventeenth-century Reformed theologian. Commenting on Romans 3:3–4, van Mastricht says that divine faithfulness denotes God’s “credibility in himself and worthiness of trust, on account of which he is fully most worthy to be believed most securely; . . . his constance and immutability in his decrees[,] . . . his faithfulness in fulfilling what he has promised[,] . . . and . . . his truthfulness in all that he has said.”
Despite the close relation of truthfulness and faithfulness, we can distinguish between them. For the purposes of our discussion, let us note that truthfulness has more to do with a state of being, whereas faithfulness pertains more to action. To put it another way, God is truth (truthfulness), and God always does what He has decreed in His secret counsels and what He has revealed in His promises to His people (faithfulness). Without the Lord’s faithfully fulfilling all that He has pledged to us, His truthfulness would have little value to us in the most important matter of life: our salvation. God could make a true promise of salvation inasmuch as He truly intended to keep it when He originally made it, but if we could not count on His faithfulness to keep the promise, we could never have the assurance of salvation.
Thankfully, the Lord is a “God of faithfulness” (Deut. 32:4). In extolling the faithfulness of our Creator, Moses also gives related attributes that are required for God to be faithful. For example, we read that the Lord is “just and upright,” meaning that He is perfectly righteous. Someone is not righteous if he breaks his promises or lies about what he can or will do. Thus, God’s faithfulness to His promises depends on His righteousness and on His truth.
Finally, the Lord’s faithfulness, when we confidently believe it, gives us peace of heart, mind, and soul. Other people can be unfaithful because they do not tell the truth, they do not have the resources or power to do what they have pledged, or they can be thwarted in attempts to keep their promises. God suffers no such defects. He is unchangeably faithful, and that brings us peace.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Sinners look for peace in things such as false religion, worldly success, money, drugs, earthly relationships, and fame. None of these things, however, can be trusted to be faithful, and so those who put their hope in them never know true and lasting peace. Only the God of the Bible, the perfectly faithful One, can deliver on all that He promises. Let that truth give you peace of heart, mind, and soul today.
For further study
- Psalm 36:5
- Isaiah 49:7
- 1 Corinthians 1:9
- 2 Thessalonians 3:3
The bible in a year
- 2 Kings 8–10
- John 5:1–24