Faithful Study Guide: Because GOD is

By Elizabeth McQuoid

God is utterly faithful. That's his nature. He cannot lie, always keeps his word, and is fully committed to his glory.
So what does this mean for me today?
* No sin is too awful for him to deal with
* Because he's kept all his promises to me in the past, he will keep them in the future
* My salvation is secure
* He will come again and take me to be with him forever
This brings comfort, joy and security.
It also motivates me to repent of sin, avoid sin, continue in God's service, and extend grace to others. Because God is faithful, I should be faithful too.
Faithfulness matters in the day-to-day things, but also for the long haul. I need to hold fast to God when life is uncertain and unfair, pressing on and becoming more Christlike every day.
This study guide will give you a big and reassuring view of God, but will also enthuse you to grow daily in faithfulness and grace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IVP
• Release date: Jul 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781789743401

Elizabeth McQuoid

Elizabeth McQuoid is Commissioning Editor for Keswick Ministries. She is married to Jeremy, the Chairman, and they live in Aberdeen. She has written over 20 study guides, including The Transforming Trinity. She edits the Food for the Journey series, and is co-author with husband Jeremy of The Amazing Cross. Elizabeth is a columnist for Evangelicals Now and a former trustee of Keswick Convention.

Book preview

Here’s a marvellous set of studies. Elizabeth has served up a rich feast to help us deepen our wonder, gratitude, and trust in the faithfulness and kindness of our loving God. The studies brim with insight, helpful quotes and the kind of questions that not only take us deeper into the Bible but also help us to see God’s concern for, and hand in, our whole lives: at home and at work; in church and in the community; from Monday to Saturday, as well as on Sunday.

Mark Greene, Mission Champion, London Institute of Contemporary Christianity

God’s faithfulness and his command to us to be faithful were always concepts I took for granted without truly grasping them. Faithful: Because GOD is helps us to appropriate these big Bible concepts as truths to live by in everyday life. Elizabeth McQuoid does what the Bible does in this thoroughly God-centred guide: she roots Scripture’s command to faithfulness in God’s own faithfulness to deliver what he promises for all those trusting in Jesus. Whether you are in the throes of suffering or simply charting a course through our increasingly secularized society, or looking for something for yourself or for your small group, I’d heartily recommend this study guide.

Jonny Ivey, Senior Editor of Heirs Magazine and co-author of Silent Cries: Experiencing God’s Love after Losing a Baby

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INTER-VARSITY PRESS

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Website: www.ivpbooks.com

© Elizabeth McQuoid, 2021

Elizabeth McQuoid has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (Anglicized edition). Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘

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’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

The extract on p. 6 from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis is copyright © C. S. Lewis Pte Ltd 1952, and the extract on p. 20 from Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis is copyright © C. S. Lewis Pte Ltd 1942, 1943, 1944, 1952. Extracts reprinted by permission.

First published 2021

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978–1–78974–339–5

eBook ISBN: 978–1–78974–340–1

Set in Warnock

Typeset in Great Britain by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

Printed in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire

eBook by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

Produced on paper from sustainable sources.

Inter-Varsity Press publishes Christian books that are true to the Bible and that communicate the gospel, develop discipleship and strengthen the church for its mission in the world.

IVP originated within the Inter-Varsity Fellowship, now the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, a student movement connecting Christian Unions in universities and colleges throughout Great Britain, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: www.uccf.org.uk. That historic association is maintained, and all senior IVP staff and committee members subscribe to the UCCF Basis of Faith.

Contents

Introduction

1. God’s faithfulness to himself (Exodus 33:18–19; 34:1–2, 4–9)

2. God’s faithfulness to his promises (Hebrews 6:13–20)

3. God’s faithfulness to keep me (1 Corinthians 1:1–9)

4. God’s faithfulness to forgive me (Psalm 32)

5. Our faithfulness to God in the daily routine (Ruth 2:1–12)

6. Our faithfulness to God in hard times (Hebrews 12:1–11)

7. Our faithfulness to God as citizens in society (Daniel 1:1–21)

Notes for leaders

1. God’s faithfulness to himself

2. God’s faithfulness to his promises

3. God’s faithfulness to keep me

4. God’s faithfulness to forgive me

5. Our faithfulness to God in the daily routine

6. Our faithfulness to God in hard times

7. Our faithfulness to God as citizens in society

Publications mentioned in the text

About Keswick Ministries

Introduction

‘Where is God? Does he care?’

Through a grainy Zoom screen, tears running down her face, my heartbroken friend asked me those very questions. A close relative had died because of Covid-19, her husband had lost his job and her children were struggling with mental-health issues.

Whether on the scale of world events or personal losses, life confronts us with tough questions, and sorrow narrows our focus on to the here and now. The Bible is realistic about suffering, but it lifts up our heads to see a glorious vision of our God, who loves us zealously and is completely faithful – a covenant-keeping God. He’s not faithful on our terms, answering our prayers as we wish, but he’s faithful on his terms, utterly trustworthy, even on our darkest day.

God is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9; 32:4) because he is the true God who always tells the truth. Consequently, he can’t help