11 The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.
The Old Testament is the story of God’s covenant with his people Israel. It is a story of a conditional covenant. In a conditional covenant, there is an if/then statement, much like the bribe of sweets for good behavior my mother vainly employed. Then came the New Testament and the new covenant in the blood of Christ. It is an unconditional because/then agreement. Because Jesus died, then we are blessed. Now we have this conditional statement from Paul to Timothy’s church in Ephesus. It sounds very Old Testament, that is, until the last clause which is a trademark of the new covenant. If we are faithless, he remains faithful. Israel knew that far too well.
We need to remember this at times. If we did not know better, we would swear that last sin was one too many and too much for God to forgive. While it is true that one sin is too many, God’s capacity for forgiveness and mercy knows no bound. It is only because he is faithful when we are faithless that we have any hope of being capable of dying with him and enduring without denying him. We cannot deny him. He cannot deny himself. Most gloriously, he will not deny us once he has chosen us.
Dear Lord, thank you for your steadfast love for us and your immovable faith toward us. May we be earnest in our endurance and remain faithful. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church