The Faithful One

Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)


Yes, we just discussed this verse yesterday but the emphasis was on something else. This part- 'for He is faithful that promised' just bears a little more discussion.


Do you know anyone who is faithful? Most of us would love to say yes, and most of us will say yes, but do we really? We can't know the heart of anyone can we? I'm being pessimistic…or perhaps realistic, who knows. Time and time again people have been disappointed by others, by those they thought they could trust. I'm not talking foolish people. I'm talking people just like you and I and we don't consider ourselves foolish, or at least not for the most part, right? We shouldn't consider ourselves foolish if we are Christians, the foolish are obviously NOT wise and we are to be wise. With that in mind we have to realize that even wise people are deceived. If you trust others then you will be deceived, and yet we have to trust others. We can't live our lives paranoid and distrustful, Christ would have us live in faith, live in love, live in thinking the best of others and leave their eternal fates up to His judgment. Even when someone despitefully uses us we are to love them. Even our enemies we are to love. Even to those who we believe to be faithful and turn out not to be faithful, we are to offer love. But it's NOT our love. It's the love of Christ. It's the choice to love them that we must make even as our flesh nature, our carnal nature, would have us despise them.


To read these words- 'for He is faithful that promised' can't be taken at face value, can't be passed over quickly, because we live in a world where very few, if ANY are able to be truly faithful in word, thought, and deed- yes, all three. Faithful in word- people do keep their promises don't they? Some do. Faithful in deed- people often seem to act faithful, their actions seem to be honorable and they really could be. Faithful in thought- now there's the tricky one. We can never know another's thoughts, but we know our own thoughts and truthfully they're not always the best of thoughts- are they? It' s hard to imagine that Satan would leave anyone's thoughts alone. The great tempter's playground is our thoughts. To be honest, and that's what we are trying to be, you can scarcely commit an action, or speak a word without thinking it first. Is it any wonder that Satan strives to gain control of our thoughts? Is it any wonder that Satan is happy to have us unfaithful in our minds even if outwardly we are seemingly faithful? Jesus Himself said this…


Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.


When you look on another to lust- (Yes, I said another- not woman because women lust after men too and the principle is the same.) when you look on another to lust- what's happening? Where is the lust coming from? Your THOUGHTS. What is lust? Unlawful desire is one description. And desire according to Webster's, in part is- An emotion or excitement of the mind, directed to the attainment or possession of an object from which pleasure, sensual, intellectual or spiritual, is expected; a passion excited by the love of an object, or uneasiness at the want of it, and directed to its attainment or possession…


An emotion or excitement of the mind. OF THE MIND. Thoughts. Lust.


We cannot know another's mind, ever. What we can know and cynical or not, what we can know is that every human being is of a carnal nature. Not one of us can escape the carnal part of ourselves. We can be born again- our Spiritual nature can be born within us carnal people. The spiritual nature that is born again within us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior can overcome the carnal nature. So, yes, it is possible for us carnal people to become spiritual, to become Christ's and have Christ's mind in us. And yes, it's possible for our thoughts to be guided by Him. However, as long as we are under our carnal nature our thoughts will be of the carnal kind. Even Paul struggled with all this-


Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.


Carnal and Spiritual.


No. We cannot know the thoughts of others. We cannot know if they are faithful, we can't be faithful ourselves, but there is ONE that is faithful above all!


Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)


HE is FAITHFUL that promised!


We don't have to wonder, we don't have to worry, we don't have to think about the FAITHFUL ONE ever being unfaithful. He is FAITHFUL that promised. We can hold on to that and hold on very tightly. We can HOLD FAST to our FAITH because WE DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CHRIST EVER BEING UNFAITHFUL IN ALL HE'S PROMISED. HE is our HOPE! We aren't to place our hope in any other human being, not one! Not even our family, not even our loved ones. When EVERYONE lets us down, CHRIST will NEVER let us down. CHRIST IS FAITHFUL!


Christ promises us eternal life and He is faithful. Christ does not promise us eternal happiness in this current world. Through HOPE we live with the promises of the faithful One. The FAITHFUL One. Christ is FAITHFUL. Is it any wonder we are to place all our hope, all our faith in Him and Him alone? As we live our daily lives we live it through faith in the faithful One. We can't live our lives having faith in any other. No, I'm not saying we can't hope that others around us are faithful to us, but we have to always remember they are like us, like Paul. Only Christ is truly Faithful.


We can hold fast to the profession of our faith and NOT waver knowing that Christ is faithful to all the promises He's made to us. We don't have to doubt at all, not in the least.


All glory to our Lord and Savior! All praise to our King!


By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, God's Only Son! In His love, in His righteousness!


Amen.