KNOWING GOD BY NAME PART 4 Kay Keith Peebles August 17, 2018 18.21
People all over the world have instant access to information because of the technology the internet provides. It only takes a moment to search any topic of interest one might desire to investigate. There are sites that provide the same information a dated set of encyclopedias would contain. However, the internet has the capability to be updated and refined regularly. Information that took researchers years to discover can now be located in a matter of moments. This amazing technology creates a dilemma for the individual because it not only provides truthful and accurate information, it also offers false, inaccurate and purposefully misleading information. It is the responsibility of the researcher to either know or investigate which information is true or false.
There are false online news outlets which seek to confuse the population to gain readership. Some have written stories which do not support their headline. The misleading headlines are meant to “hook” the person’s interest. The writer of each article is paid according to the quantity of readers who click on their site. This problem is so widespread it has become difficult to know the truth. We may have quick access to the truth, but it is considerably more difficult to discern it when digging through the maze of information available. This dilemma can create confusion through mis-information which has the potential of affecting an entire society.
KNOWING GOD BY NAME: Faithful and True
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who was riding it is called Faithful and True (trustworthy, loyal, incorruptible, steady), and in righteousness He judges and wages war [on the rebellious nations]. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many royal crowns; and He has a name inscribed [on Him] which no one knows or understands except Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, [dazzling] white and clean, followed Him on white horses.” Revelation 19:11-14.
Separation from Truth creates a society whose beliefs become individualized as each has their own code of right and wrong. Individualized “truth” spawns division because it eliminates one common code of ethics everyone follows. Our society is currently at the epicenter of this dilemma. This problem has also become prevalent in the Church. Some believe certain passages of the Bible but reject those which contradict their own personal interpretation. As a result, some churches have diluted the Word of God through filters of man’s opinion, making it a subject of debate in order to change its meaning. Those who seek Truth will reverence, honor and pursue the Wisdom of God. (See Psalm 119). Confusion, doubt and chaos are the result of a lack of Truth. When man’s opinion reigns supreme, there can be no unified consensus of truth or correct moral thinking. Without God’s Truth, there can never be unity or peace.
Psalm 146:3-10 explains, “Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. When his spirit leaves him, he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts and plans perish. How blessed and graciously favored is he whose help is the God of Jacob. Whose hope is in the LORD his God. Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them. Who keeps truth and is faithful forever. Who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets free the prisoners. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous [the upright in heart]. The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow; but He makes crooked the way of the wicked. The LORD shall reign forever, even Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!”
What good is truth if it is not faithful to the end? Truth that stands on shifting sand is not truth. Truth that does not remain faithful to itself is not nor can ever be truth. Man’s opinion shifts and changes with the seasons of man. It ebbs and sways like sand dunes, depending on the winds of opinion. Mankind without God is incapable of having a true moral compass. God, however, is always Faithful and True. He never changes; He is eternally the same!
“If we are faithless [do not believe and are untrue to Him], He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character) for He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13. There is no shadow of changing with Him. What is truth today will be truth a thousand years later. His Faithfulness assures He is and will forever be Truth!
Jesus is not only Faithful and True; His Word is also Faithful and True. Deuteronomy 7:9 declares, “Know recognize, and understand therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, Who keeps covenant and steadfast love and mercy with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.”
Truth and faithfulness are intertwined because one cannot function without the other. A liar can tell the truth once, but his word would not be trusted because he has a history of speaking lies. The story of the boy who cried wolf is a perfect example of one who has lied so much, they are not believed when they speak the truth. Faithfulness is a necessity of Truth. The two form a bond of consistency which cannot be broken. That bond, in the spiritual realm, never ends. It continues throughout all eternity. It is our assurance that God will never change, nor will His Word. His judgements will always be fair and consistent, and His Faithfulness and Truth will never diminish.
Psalm 119:75 states, “I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are fair, and that in faithfulness You have disciplined me.”
Those called by God to be in Church leadership such as pastors, elders and bishops are charged by Paul to hold fast to the teaching with which he instructed them and recorded for our benefit. “He must hold fast to the sure and trustworthy Word of God as he was taught it, so that he may be able both to give stimulating instruction and encouragement in sound (wholesome) doctrine and to refute and convict those who contradict and oppose it [showing the wayward their error].” Titus 1:9.
Revelation 22:6 shows, “Then he said to me, ‘These words are Faithful and True.’ And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel [as representative] to show His bond-servants the things that must soon take place. ‘And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is the one who heeds and takes to heart and remembers the words of the prophecy [that is, the predictions, consolations, and warnings] contained in this book.’” (Emphasis mine).
The Book of Revelation is the testimony of Jesus. The Gospels revealed God (the Trinity) through the words and actions of Jesus but the Book of Revelation shows the risen Lord who rules and reigns for all eternity! His ministry on earth proved Him to be Faithful and True. “And from Jesus Christ the faithful and trustworthy Witness, the Firstborn of the dead [first to be brought back to life] and the Prince (Ruler) of the kings of the earth. To Him Who ever loves us and has once [for all] loosed and freed us from our sins by His own blood, And formed us into a kingdom (a royal race), priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion throughout the ages and forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6.
Our God does not promise what He cannot or will not fulfill. He is incapable of telling a lie. His nature is that of always being Faithful and True! He refused to allow Balaam to curse Israel whom He had blessed. He would have killed Balaam before He would permit him to speak a curse upon His people. He judged and condemned King Saul for not fulfilling His Promise to Israel regarding destroying all the Amalekites who had attacked Israel in the wilderness. The Lord tore the kingdom of Israel from king Saul when he rebelled against His command and gave it to David while the prophet Samuel fulfilled God’s Promise by killing king Agag. Every prophecy regarding Jesus has come to pass except those which are soon to be fulfilled at the end of the age. There is no doubt that Jesus is the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords and He is coming back to establish His Kingdom on the earth because He is Faithful and True!
