Topic: The Faithfulness of God
Reading: Romans 3:1-4
Introduction and Overview
God has a plan. And if there is one thing that we can count on, it is that God will execute His plan completely and accurately.
His plan is to create a people who will live according to His will and His ways. In the establishment and execution of His plan, God is faithful. His faithfulness to His people, those who seek to follow in His ways, is unlimited. There is no hindrance or even the shadow of a doubt about God’s faithfulness to His people.
Consider the simple fact that in His faithfulness He was prepared to give the life of His ONLY begotten Son so that we could find His salvation and be saved. And there is much more than that.
In this section of scripture we see Paul discussing aspects of God’s faithfulness towards His first chosen people: The children of Israel. But let us remember also that God has extended His promises to Israel to encompass all the people of the world, in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This was always the plan of God from the very beginning. And we see the opening actions of His faithfulness towards the Jews in these words.
Key points from reading:
- God gave great blessings to the Jewish and Israelite peoples as His chosen people.
- Not all the Israelites and Jews remained faithful to God, which allowed Him to offer His grace to everyone else.
- God is faithful…totally and completely.
Discussion:
- Scripture: Romans 3:1-2
- Paul asks a good question saying, what is the value of circumcision and what advantages does a Jew have over a Gentile? They are good questions, especially when you consider his audience, who are the believers in Rome and for the most part are Gentiles.
- The advantages of the Jews is their heritage where they received the promises and prophecies of God, along with the law that defined the minimum standards of righteousness, and they were blessed mightily by God.
- The blessings flowed down to all peoples later, but it was the Jews who first received God’s blessings. Oddly, the greatest blessing in the prophetic words was the announcement of the Messiah or Christ who was to come…and they missed it.
- A great part of the focus of the Old Testament scriptures was to announce the coming of Christ. And through the fact that the Jews missed the point, we who are Gentiles were welcomed in by God.
- Scripture: Romans 3:3
- This next verse goes to the heart of the covenants.
- Both the Old and the New Covenants are based upon faith. Both are to be approached from the perspective of faith, and believing in God.
- This was evident in the following scripture: Romans 9:30-33. In this verse Paul shows that the Jews failed to receive the promise of righteousness under the law because they did not pursue it on the basis of faith. Even the law was to be approached through faith, believing that God would bless those who kept the law.
- We know that the New Covenant is based upon faith, and through faith we are set free from our sins and set free from the law. But the principle of faith also underpins the Old Covenant law. To strengthen this point I recommend you read all of Romans 11, especially verses 1-6, and 15-27.
- Scripture: Romans 3:4
- Finally we see that unlike man, the faithfulness of God is constant and it never wavers.
- Man may have doubts, and it is not uncommon for all of us as Christians to suffer doubts from time to time. But God never wavers in His faithfulness. He is ever faithful, and what He has promised He will do. Consider and read the scripture: 2 Timothy 2:13. We may be faithless and even deny God at times, but God remains faithful even when we are faithless because He cannot deny Himself.
- These are powerful words and powerful statements of the promises and faithfulness of God. We can take comfort knowing these things because God has a plan and He will bring it to fruition.
Key Takeaways:
- God is faithful all of the time, even when we are not.
- God has a plan that He is executing and that is rolling out exactly as He planned it
- We can be comforted in this knowledge, especially when things are not going as we might like it, and especially as we see the evil events unfold in the world. God’s plan has allowed for all of these things, and even prophesied that they will occur. Knowing this, we can take comfort when the rest of the world is filled with fear, hopelessness, and desperation. God is faithful.
Prayer Points
- Pray for the Lord to lead you to see His plan and seek the peace in the knowledge that He is in full control.
- Pray when things are going well, and not just when things are falling apart. God is faithful and when we remember His blessings all of the time, it is a comfort to our hearts and spirit.
- Pray and thank the Lord that He has accepted you into His spiritual house to receive the blessings promised to His people, not just Israel, but to all who follow the example of faith set by the likes of Abraham.