The phrase “God is faithful” is used multiple times in Scripture, indicating that God is constant, trustworthy, and can be depended on (cf. 1 Cor. 1:9).
Notice, for instance, what the apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:13: No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
This verse stresses the fact that no matter how strong a temptation may be, we always have the ability to choose not to sin. There is a “way of escape” withevery temptation.
The assurance we have of this “way of escape” is grounded in the truth that “God is faithful.” God’s character is such that He can be depended on to make sure no temptation is unbearable for us.
More generally, God’s faithfulness means that He can be trusted to follow through with everything He promises. God’s faithfulness is the foundation of the Christian’s hope that anchors him or her through trials.
Because God “cannot lie,” we have absolute assurance that the righteous will be raised to eternal life in heaven (Titus 1:2).
The perfect faithfulness of God also assures that He is always available to hear the prayers of any one of His faithful children, and that He will answer in perfect harmony with His divine wisdom.
While God’s faithfulness is a comfort to the righteous, it is a discomfort to the unrighteous. God’s faithfulness is proof that the unfaithful really will spend eternity in hell. God assures eternal punishment for the wicked (Matt. 25:46), in a place “where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). As the saying goes, “God said it. That settles it.”
The faithfulness of God is such that we should take Him at His Word. We should trust and obey Him because He is trustworthy. For those faithful to Him, God’s trustworthiness is a source of great comfort. We need not fear as long as we are on the faithful One’s side. Truly, “great is [God’s] faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23).
– Michael Hickox