I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he (Deuteronomy 32:3-4 NIV).
God is trustworthy. God is truthful or incapable of deceiving (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18). Whatever God says must be accurate and true, and so his word is truth (Psalm 12:6; Isaiah 45:19; John 17:17), just as he is truth (Psalm 31:5; Isaiah 65:16; John 7:28; 8:26; 14:6, 17; 17:3; 1 John 5:20; Revelation 3:7) and his ways are true (Revelation 15:3).
God’s veracity or trustworthiness is “an attribute of his nature, which, like his power, exists, and makes him what he is, even though there be no outward relation to it. By virtue of it, he is the source of all truth, not moral only, but even mathematical” (Boyce, Abstract of Theology, pp. 98-99). In other words, truth exists in the universe, because the Creator is the God who is true in all his actions and revelations. In this way, God’s truthfulness becomes the foundation of human confidence in knowledge, “whether by intuition, observation or reason” (Boyce, p. 99). For this reason, we have a foundation for human rationality.
“The truth of God is a great pillar for our faith. Were not he a God of truth, how could we believe in him? Our faith were fancy; but he is truth itself, and not a word which he has spoken shall fall to the ground” (Watson, A Body of Divinity, p. 101). Since God is true, his words “are the index of reality: they show us things as they really are, and as they will be for us in the future according to whether we heed God’s words to us or not” (Packer, p. 102). Therefore, we are wise when we seek the true God to guide and teach us (Psalm 43:3; 86:11).
Closely related to God’s trustworthiness is his faithfulness. God is dependable and can be trusted to perform what he has promised. God is faithful in his character (Exodus 34:6; Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalm 36:5; 86:15; 146:6; Isaiah 49:7; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Timothy 2:13; Hebrews 10:23), actions (Psalm 33:4; 91:4; 138:8; Lamentations 3:22-23; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Thessalonians 3:3), and words (2 Samuel 7:28; 2 Chronicles 6:15; 2 Corinthians 1:18-20).
“In all His relations with His people God is faithful. He may be safely relied upon. No one ever yet really trusted Him in vain. We find this precious truth expressed almost everywhere in the Scriptures, for His people need to know that faithfulness is an essential part of the Divine character. This is the basis of our confidence in Him. But it is one thing to accept the faithfulness of God as a Divine truth, it is quite another to act upon it. God has given us many ‘exceeding great and precious promises,’ but are we really counting on His fulfillment of them? Are we actually expecting Him to do for us all that He has said?” (Pink, Attributes of God, p. 60)
God’s faithfulness demands certain responses on our part. We should praise God for his faithfulness (Psalm 92:1-2; Isaiah 25:1), commit ourselves to his care (1 Peter 4:19), and seek forgiveness from his grace (1 John 1:9).
Grace and peace, David