Yes, God remains faithful to believers even when they fail, because His faithfulness rests on His own covenant and the blood of Christ, not on human performance.
God's faithfulness is not contingent on our conduct. Even carnal believers in Corinth, with ongoing immorality, were assured of being blameless at Christ's coming because of their position in Christ. God's covenant with Abraham, though broken by Israel, stands because it originated with God and He does not break His covenants.
1 Corinthians 1:8-9 — Directly states that God will confirm believers to the end, that they may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that God is faithful by whom they were called unto the fellowship of His Son.
1 Corinthians 10:13 — Assures that God is faithful and will not allow believers to be tested beyond their ability, but will provide a way of escape.
2 Timothy 2:13 — Declares that even if we believe not, He abides faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
The Bible explicitly teaches that God's faithfulness to His people is not conditional on their performance. In 1 Corinthians 1:8-9, Paul assures believers that God will confirm them unto the end, that they may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that God is faithful, by whom they were called unto the fellowship of His Son. This promise is given in the context of a church plagued with carnality and immorality (1 Cor 3:1-3, 5:1). Similarly, 1 Corinthians 10:13 states that God is faithful, and He will not suffer believers to be tempted above what they are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape. The covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12, though broken by Israel, remains because God initiated it and He never breaks His covenants (Gen 17:7).
Les teaches that God's faithfulness is not dependent on believers' perfect conduct. In the Corinthian context, these believers had come out of idolatry and paganism, and after salvation they still struggled with carnal behavior, yet God did not abandon them. At Christ's coming, even carnal believers will be taken and regarded as blameless because they are under Christ's blood. This security rests solely on God's faithfulness, not on human faithfulness. Les also compares this to the Abrahamic covenant: Israel broke it repeatedly, but because it began with God and ends with God, it remains unbroken. Once God calls someone genuinely into salvation, He will not give up on them, and He will discipline those who stray, even to the point of taking them home, to keep His name unblemished.
Les clarifies that God's faithfulness does not mean a believer can continue in sin without consequence. In 1 Corinthians 11, he teaches that if a believer will not shape up and continues in known sin, God will discipline them, even to the point of physical death, because He will not let anyone drag His name through the mud. Furthermore, if a person who professes to be a believer shows no evidence of God's disciplining process, Les doubts they were ever truly a child of God, as Hebrews teaches that God chastens every child He receives.
Les explains that 1 Corinthians 10:13 assures believers that God is faithful and will not allow them to be tested beyond what they can bear. He describes the Greek word for 'way of escape' as a picture of an army entrapped in a canyon, where the commander finds a side canyon to let his army escape. This illustrates that God always provides a way out for the believer, even when it seems hopeless.
Les teaches that although Israel repeatedly broke the covenant God made with Abraham, the covenant is never broken or forgotten because it came from God. He emphasizes that these covenants will always come to fruition, and God has not forgotten Israel, even when they are in disobedience. This illustrates that God's faithfulness is rooted in His own character, not in the response of the people.
Why Carnal Believers Are Still Blameless — 1 Corinthians 1:8-9
And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, now let's just pick right up where we left off after our last program. That'll be in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and we'll review verse 7 and 8 a moment. And again, we always like to remind our audiences every day we have people calling.
Abrahamic Covenant Never Broken
Les teaches that even though Israel broke the covenant, it remains unbroken because God initiated it. This demonstrates that God's faithfulness is not dependent on human faithfulness.
Carnal Believers at Corinth
Les points out that despite the Corinthian believers' weaknesses, failures, and gross sin, the Lord was not going to forget them when He came. This is because their security is based on God's faithfulness, not their conduct.
God's Faithfulness in Testing
Les explains that God is faithful and will not allow believers to be tested beyond their ability, and He always provides a way of escape, like an army finding a side canyon to escape.
Eternal Security of the Elect
Les teaches that genuine believers are secure in God's hand and that no one can take them out. He questions whether God would elect someone who would later reject Him, implying that once saved, always saved.
Once a Child of God, Always a Child
Les states that if someone is genuinely born again, they can never be cast out of God's family. He also suggests that if a person who professes salvation shows no sign of God's discipline, they probably were never truly a child of God.
God's Discipline of Unfaithful Believers
Les explains that while believers are secure, God will discipline them for persistent sin, even taking them home if necessary, to prevent His name from being dishonored. He uses this to distinguish between true believers and those who merely made a profession.
What "Baptized Unto Moses" Really Means — 1 Corinthians 10 Explained
It was the atoning effect, that just as sure as the blood seals out judgment and it can never touch us, the pitch sealed out the waters of the flood. And so this is all the way through Scripture, that we are secure, not because of anything we do, not because of anything we deserve, but simply because we've placed our faith in the blood of Christ. Now of course it doesn't stop there.
1 Corinthians 1:8-9: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
This is the core promise that God will keep believers blameless until the day of Christ, regardless of their current state.
1 Corinthians 10:13: There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
This verse assures that God's faithfulness includes providing a way out of every trial, proving His commitment to His children.
2 Timothy 2:13: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
Paul explicitly states that even when believers are faithless, God remains faithful, because that is His nature.
Genesis 12:1-3: Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
The covenant God made with Abraham is unconditional and stands despite Israel's later failures, showing God's faithfulness.
God's faithfulness does not negate the consequences of sin. As Les Feldick teaches, God will discipline His children, sometimes even taking them home (physically) if they persist in known sin, to protect His own name. The believer's eternal security is secure, but their walk on earth may involve chastisement.
No. God's faithfulness is based on His own character and His covenant. As Les teaches, even when Israel broke the covenant, God remained faithful to it. Similarly, 2 Timothy 2:13 says that even if we are faithless, He remains faithful.
Les Feldick indicates that a genuine believer will experience God's disciplining process when they waver. If a person shows no evidence of God's discipline or correction, that may be a sign they were never truly saved. The fact that you are being convicted of sin is evidence of God's work in your life.
Watch the Teaching: Why Carnal Believers Are Still Blameless — 1 Corinthians 1:8-9