Always Ready

“Thy faithfulness is unto all generations” said the Psalmist. Indeed, throughout the Scriptures, the faithfulness of God is proclaimed as a Divine attribute. But what is God’s faithfulness? What does it mean for us? In an hour of growing apostasy, the truth of the faithfulness of God is of utmost importance for our life as believers seeking to serve him, and we must seek to come to a fuller understanding of this truth.

First, we must understand that God cannot but be faithful: like all of the divine attributes, God’s faithfulness is an essential part of His being. If God were not faithful, he would not be God, for his faithfulness goes hand in hand with his immutability. God cannot change His mind, He cannot go back on his word: “the word of the Lord endureth for ever.” What God has purposed will come to pass. What, then, is the difference between God’s faithfulness and His immutability? God’s faithfulness is but a directed, personal manifestation of his immutable nature toward us.

God’s mercy, God’s grace, God’s love, once shown to us, cannot be withdrawn. Neither is His faithfulness dependant on our actions, for we are far too frequently unfaithful. No, God is faithful even when we are not. Once God has chosen in his sovereignty to be merciful to a sinner, that mercy will not last for a time and then pass; His mercy “endureth forever.” Let us, then, not despair over our failings, but take strength from the fact that God will never leave us nor forsake us. God has promised that he will “perfect that which concerneth” us, and our God’s name is Faithful and True.

God’s faithfulness does not apply only to individuals though; it also applies to the Church. In this time of growing spiritual darkness and apostasy, it is imperitive that we hope in God’s faithfulness. The future is uncertain, but God’s faithfulness is not. Christ prayed in Gesthemane for his Church, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” These should be words of comfort, for God will not leave his people desolate.

What then, should our response to this truth be? It should be unshakeable faith; faith in God’s faithfulness. As many churches continue in their downward spiral and move further from the truth, as we fail in our own attempts to please God, and as the world around us grows in its hatred for Christ, do not despair. But let us hope in the Lord, for his “faithfulness is unto all generations.”

Our God, our Help in ages past,
Our Hope for years to come,
Our Shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal Home!

Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.

A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone,
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

Our God, our Help in ages past,
Our Hope for years to come,
Be Thou our Guard while troubles last
And our eternal Home!

The following is an article that I wrote for the Christian Worldview Network.

“Sanctify them by thy truth: thy word is truth.” In this simple, yet profound statement, Christ reveals the nature of the Scriptures. The Word of God is truth. In this post-modern era that says truth is what you make it, it is essential that we immerse ourselves in the unchanging truth of the Bible. If we have this standard by which to judge right from wrong, we cannot err. Unfortunately, knowledge of the Bible is at an all time low and Christians do not know what they believe or why they believe it. In fact, many Christians know about the same amount of scripture as many atheists, and many learned atheists know more. This is a tragedy. If we are to defend our faith properly, live rightly, and understand the very doctrines we base our eternal destiny upon, we must study the Word.

Now the wise of the world (who have become fools) say that Christianity is equivalent to ignorance, blindness, and myth. The Bible is nothing more than a collection of fables and moral literature collected over the centuries. They assert that anyone who would take such a book literally must be unintelligent or scared to accept the findings of reason and science. To unprepared young people who have not studied and memorized the Word, this so-called scholarly and humanistic analysis of the Bible is devastating. They do not want to be considered ignorant and so they sacrifice their Christianity on the altar of human reason and academic acceptance. Many times this weakness is due to the failure of parents and pastors to instill the Word in their charges from youth; but in the end, poor training is no excuse. After all, Christianity should not be a religion we are simply taught, but it should rather be a real, personal, and tested faith. We must take responsibility for ourselves if we are to stand fast in the faith.

Not only does knowledge of the scriptures defend us from attacks from without Christianity, it also keeps us from error from inside the Church. The Church is plagued by much nonsense and outright sin masquerading as Christianity and ministry. Carnal pastors are more concerned with people in the pews than true conversions, and so they avail themselves of all the worlds marketing tools and ploys to get crowds. The truth of the Gospel is compromised, softened, or done away with all together to this end. But this softening of the truth is not without its consequences. In fact, a recent study2 shows that less than fifty percent of those who claim to be Christians believe that the Bible is entirely accurate. Another study3 shows that sixty-three percent of teens who claim to be Christian believe that “Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Jews and all other people pray to the same God, even though they use different names for their god.” Clearly the church is facing an epidemic of ignorance; ignorance of the most basic doctrines of the faith. In such a weak state, it is easy for false teachers to subtly twist the truth to achieve their goals, and many unwitting souls fall prey to their appealing words.

Now it is evident that men’s opinions change often and there is ever a new wind of doctrine, but what should our response be? Luke says of the Bereans, “They received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” And again, Paul says, “what saith the scripture?” If only Christians today would be diligent to search the scriptures, they would not follow every doctrine, opinion, and marketing scheme of men. Would you have discernment? Would you know sound doctrine? Know the scriptures. I challenge you, if you have not studied the Word as you should, then begin. Immerse yourself in it, meditate on it, and let it shape your thinking– let it shape your world view.

1 John 17:17

2 http://oldpaths.wordpress.com/2007/06/29/sad-and-startling-statistics/

3 http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/152005a.asp

4 Acts 17:11

5 Romans 4:3

The following is an article that I wrote for Slice of Laodicea.

My name is Sam Guzman and I am a 19 year old college sophomore. I am concerned for the state of the church today and primarily the young people of the church who are being seduced by so much teaching that is opposed to the Word of God. As the winds of postmodern confusion sweep over my generation, I see the need for young people to hold fast to the Scriptures and to show an uncommon courage in standing for truth. The church needs Christians with backbone who will not compromise and who are completely sold out to Christ.

This is the age of easy-believism; when being a Christian costs nothing. It is just another label that we apply to ourselves and it means nothing more than being a blond or brunette would. Oh sure, there are some stereotypes, but nothing that can’t be proven wrong. With a little effort, the world will see that we Christians aren’t as boring as they think.

Such is the attitude of most of the young people today that call themselves Christians; even in — dare I say it — so-called fundamentalist or conservative circles. They like to throw around Christian terms, put “Jesus” under religion in their Myspace profiles, and go on missions trips. But at heart, theirs is a carnal Christianity; a Christianity in name and in resemblance, but not in reality. They look just like the world in their ethical, speech, and entertainment habits, all the while claiming to be different. There is never a thought of self-denial or of giving up anything for God. They want their cake and they want to eat it too; for they think that Christ’s death has atoned for their flirtation with the world. They are silent when they should speak because they fear what might be thought of them. There is no real love for God or it would not be so.

It is the very ease of calling yourself a Christian today that makes being a true Christian so difficult. But don’t be fooled: this is not the first time in history when it has been hard to truly follow Christ. All through the ages, men have made a choice to follow God, and that choice was not comfortable. Hebrews 11 demonstrates that clearly enough. Think of all the great movers and shakers for God that God used to shape our modern world. The Apostles, Calvin, Tyndale, Luther, Huss, Livingston, Spurgeon, and the list goes on. Was one of these men quiet about their Lord? Did they exercise their Christian “freedom” and dabble in the world? No! They shook the world because they feared God more than they feared men and they loved him more than they loved themselves. They proclaimed with their lives that only God matters.

This is not the day and time where we should be quiet, weak, and easy Christians. God calls us to be courageous Christians! It will be hard, but Christ calls us to a hard, rough-and-tumble Christianity which is not daunted by peer pressure or the devil’s far worse things. God will use those who have boldness and who will not deny him by their silence (for silence is denial). Don’t be afraid to be considered a fanatic or a radical. I have feared that far too long, and with God’s help, no longer. I pray that out of the spiritual darkness around us, a remnant can go forward together in Christ–a company of Christian men and women that is not afraid of the world or our “Christian” peers; that is not afraid to deny ourselves; that is not afraid to be sold out; and that can proclaim like those that went before us, “only God matters.” Let us see what God can do with such Christians.