Our Father does what He has promised, always, and without fail. As humans we often anthropomorphise God, i.e., ascribe characteristics to Him that are not necessarily factual. We speak of God's eyes, God's hands, God's feet, and so on. The reason that we do this is that it is so hard for us (who are finite creatures) to understand the power and majesty of our Creator. It's certainly not wrong to anthropomorphise God to a degree, as Biblical writers even did it. It makes Him a little more understandable to us. Be that as it may, it is wrong to ascribe evil or uncertain human traits to God. God is good, righteous, holy, and just. He never gives anything harmful or detrimental to His children's well-being. God is not a man who gives deceitfully in order to later "call in His markers". What He gives is clean and pure, without hidden strings or subversive agendas. As He is not able to change we know that anything we receive at His hand (there's one of those anthropomorphisms!) will be as pure and clean as He is.

We are all sinners, and will be so until the day we die. We all possess old sin natures that, for each individual, has a certain area or category of sin that it is attracted to. This is not to excuse our sin, nor to say that it is all right to fall into sin, for we are called by God to resist sin as much as we possibly can. Even so, there are times when we all fall into the trap of sin. If you're sitting there and reading this and thinking, "Not me! I never sin!" then you've already fallen into the trap. Such a statement is self-deceptive (see the verse above) as well as self-righteous. It's a fact that God recognizes, we sin and will continue to stumble till the day we get to Heaven.

Not too long ago I was with a group of Godly men, deacons in their respective Churches, when the conversation turned to a particularly attractive woman they all knew. They fell from grace in the course of that discussion. I know of a minister of the Gospel, a Godly man, who fell into the trap of lying. I know another minister, no less Godly, who engaged in extensive backbiting of members of their congregation while they were in "session" together. The Corinthian Church not only tolerated, but excused sexual fornication among their members, and were rebuked by Paul for it (1 Corinthians 5.1-7). The Apostle Peter, because he wanted to be "politically correct", condoned circumcision as a part of salvation among the Christian Church (Galatians 2.11-12), and was rebuked by Paul for it. You say you have no sin? We all sin, in one form or another. We are all faithless, to one degree or another.

But God is always faithful. When we fall into the trap of sin we are not required to say ten "hail Mary's" and ten "Our Father's". We are not required to do some penance, not required to publicly humiliate ourselves, or to involve ourselves in self-flagellation. We are required to confess our sins before God, to ask His forgiveness for once again messing up. And you know what? You are forgiven, immediately, just that quickly. The physical consequences of your sin may remain (for we often harm ourselves when we sin. Look at AIDS as an example.), but you stand forgiven by a Loving and Faithful Father.

Contrary to the liberal viewpoint, God is not some giant mad scientist in the Heavens who likes to test His people for the sake of testing. We are not rats in a maze to Him. We are His children whom He loves dearly. Because He loves us He (1) punishes us when we are in the sin-trap, and refuse to confess the sin and get away from it, and (2) puts us through trials that increase our strength and faith in Christ Jesus. The key to our testing is that God always manages it so that it increases our strength and faith, but does not break our souls. We should always turn our eyes Heavenward while waiting for God's tests to run their course. Some Christians are never tested by God because they are so weak and carnal they could not stand it. Others are tested on a regular basis, and following each test they are spiritually stronger because of it. The greatest Christians have always been those who went through the strongest and longest tests. As a physical muscle will not grow unless you exercise it, God knows your faith will not grow until you are tested. The Apostle Paul was so severely tested by God (the thorn in the flesh, see 2 Corinthians 12.7) that he asked the test be suspended. God answered "My Grace is sufficient for thee". You might say "If I had Paul's power I wouldn't mind going through the tests". You misunderstand, my friend. Paul had power because he endured the tests. If we endure we too will have power in God. Rejoice if you are in trials even now, for your faithful God is using these very trials to help you grow in Grace!

2 Thessalonians 3:3 "But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish (STERIZO = TO SET FAST, TURN RESOLUTELY IN A CERTAIN DIRECTION) you, and keep you from evil."

Hebrews 10:23 "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)"

1 Corinthians 1:9 "God is faithful, by whom ye were called (KALEO = TO CALL OUT FROM ) unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord."

I am so glad that God is in charge of our eternal state called salvation. If maintaining my salvation relied on me I would be (as the kids say) "in a world of hurts". Don't laugh, so would you. Those who teach the doctrine that "You can lose your salvation by sinning" are often the greatest sinners I've ever met. One young man who, with a straight face, told me that "you must accept Jesus as Saviour and clean up your act" is the same young man I saw lose his temper at work, throw equipment around that didn't belong to him, and curse. If he really believed his doctrinal position then he lost his salvation that very moment. Oddly enough, the armenian crowd (those who believe in loss of salvation) don't really believe the swill they peddle. They believe that certain sins cause a loss of salvation, while others (which they usually engage in) don't.

Let's cut through all the malarky! The only part the believer has in his or her own salvation is the believing. Jesus did all the work for us at the Cross. Jesus sits on the right hand of God the Father making intercession for us (Hebrews 10.12-13; 12.2) when we sin. God is immutable, unchangeable, and we rest firmly in His immutable Plan of Salvation. We cannot lose that which Another has secured for us. Or, as Paul put it,:

2 Timothy 2:13 "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself."

When we fall into the sin-trap He, because He is immutable (faithful and unchanging), does not change our eternal status. He cannot turn on His promise to us, not can He take back His word. He cannot deny Himself, and we are eternally His. There are many other Biblical proofs of eternal security, though to me the greatest proof is God's immutability. Praise Him for His changeless nature!