12 - God Is Faithful! | Lessons of Faith from Joshua

When faith is based on a firm standard, it is genuine, effective, and life-changing. If it is based on a foundation that is not firm and absolute, it tends toward presumption and then fails to be successful in everyday life.

If you are in the truth about yourself, “I am a creature,” you automatically trust God, and if you are in the lie, “I am God,” you automatically trust people – and you always believe the one you trust. In addition to unconscious trust and faith, there is also conscious trust and faith. And that is the way God has given us so that we can be saved.

Christianity is so confused because it does not know that it is reading the Word of God from the wrong perspective – from a deception – and therefore misunderstands it. Joshua 23 reminds us that God's promises are conditional: obedience to God's Word leads to blessing, disobedience to consequences. The question is: Where does obedience come from and what does it mean?

The people swore to be obedient, but Joshua had to tell them, “You cannot...” What good is God's faithfulness and the immutability of His Word and His promises if we have no access to them? We must understand that it is not God's faithfulness that counts, but whether we ourselves receive the Word and make it our food. Bible passages show that outward obedience alone is worthless if the heart is not in it (Matthew 15:8-9).

Paul shows in Philippians 3:3-11 that outward observance of the law alone is insufficient. Inner transformation is what counts. Paul gave up his old life and chose the new life of Christ. We too must receive a new heart. The battle is internal: mind vs. heart (subconscious). God is faithful, but we must also be faithful ourselves and not rely on our outward actions. The twelfth part of the series “Lessons of faith from Joshua” explores this topic in greater depth.