Does our unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Some people dare to believe that they can influence God to be unfaithful to His Word. We believe prayer can influence God to respond favorably, but can prayer influence God to respond unfavorably, to become a liar? “Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true” (Rom. 3:4). There is no unfaithful action or prayer that can cause the Law to conflict with the Gospel Message because Jesus came to fulfill the law.
God sustains His faithfulness and keeps His promises. The same is true with Jesus Christ. The problem plaguing the Israelites and still plagues believers today is selfishness, the act of thinking more of self than any human ought to (Rom. 12:3). People then and now imagine themselves more privileged and righteous than others. That attitude exists in believers and unbelievers and we see it in cultural wars that denigrate others instead of teaching and obeying God’s Word which climaxes in loving one another.
In Paul’s time and today, too many people succumb to false or poorly taught doctrine which they use to create religious beliefs that have no biblical foundation. Believing that being a hearer of the Word is all we need to please God is not the whole truth; for Scripture says we are to be hearers and doers of the Word. Paul’s preaching exposed these misconceptions of thinking. Hearing the Word of God is not the end of the matter. We must be doers of the Word. Then and now, people continue to embrace the Law but put little emphasis on implementing the Gospel Message that fulfills the Law. Those who are called claim to be preaching and teaching the Word of God, they speak but do not do. God’s truth is simple: if we love the Lord, we will keep His commandments: love your neighbor and enemies as well.
Paul preaches that righteousness is a matter of the heart! We must not only believe what we read; we must put what we read and believe into practice (when it is congruent with God’s Word). So, believe this and write it on your heart, “… a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code” (Rom. 2:29). “Not by the written code,” Paul stripped away this errant confidence in circumcision, showing that religious rituals do not save one from judgment. God is faithful and patiently waits for “all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). Let us reason together and understand our unfaithfulness will not change God’s truth. Move forward into a secure future with the knowledge that God is righteous and just. The Law is fulfilled. The Gospel Message fulfills the Law for everyone who believes. Allow the Holy Spirit’s counsel and God’s truth to guide you.
Minister Nettie Pennington, Associate Minister, Springfield MB ChurchΩ
