Faithfulness is the inner character of the individual, that what he is, what he says he is and will do, and what he will do, are all one and the same. And they never change. No matter what happens, they never change. What he claims to be and says he will do can be counted on. This is the faithful person. You can see how faithfulness and truth go together. It is impossible to be a faithful person and yet tell lies.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our clearest example of faithfulness. What He Is, He Is. He is the great I Am.

He claims to be the Son of God. He is the Son of God, exactly as He has stated.

He has declared that He will save from Satan's authority and power those who put their trust in Him. This He faithfully, consistently does.

He Himself is Truth. There is no lie in Him.

A very important aspect of faithfulness is perseverance in the face of danger or pain. A person who will change or break his promise under the pressure of danger or pain is not a person of integrity, a faithful person.

A person who will change or break his promise in order to seek pleasure or the fulfillment of personal ambition is not a person of integrity, a faithful person. One of the greatest of all tests of a Christian is the test of pleasure, of pursuing one's own desires. We can get nowhere with Jesus Christ until we consistently deny ourselves when the choice is between God's will and our desire to hold to our own pleasures. It appears many if not most American Christians are failing this test—probably because they have not been taught what it means to follow Christ.

Too much grace dissolves our grit!

The Lord Jesus Christ promised the Father that He would come to earth and make an atonement for our sins. When it came down to it, the Son of God was faced with the fear of eternally losing His relationship with the Father. I think this is what Satan threatened Him with in Gethsemane.

Ah, but Jesus had God's Word to the contrary! So do we have God's promise that if we do His will He will never leave us. But it is difficult sometimes, is it not, to persevere faithfully in that which we have set out to do?

The Son of God remained steadfast in that which He had promised the Father although the danger and pain were incomprehensible to us. He never changed. His face was set as a flint.

The Father has perfect integrity, perfect faithfulness. It is well for us that this is so. What if the Father were like Satan? We would be helpless in the hands of a tyrannical, capricious, lying, sadistic master spirit. We need to think about this more often and be thankful!

To be continued.