Reliability – Basis for Trust 269one word has failed of all the good promises he gave” (1 Kings 8:56).
God is eternally reliable, steadfast, and unwavering because faithfulness
is one of His inherent attributes. God does not have to work at being
faithful; He is faithful. Faithfulness is an essential part of who He is
(Psalm 89:8; Hebrews 13:8).
The term “Righteousness” is even more close to the heart of Biblical
teachings about God: The Greek New Testament word for “righteous-
ness” primarily describes conduct in relation to others, especially with
regards to the rights of others in business, in legal matters, and begin-
ning with relationship to God. It is contrasted with wickedness, the con-
duct of the one who, out of gross self-centeredness, neither reveres God
nor respects man. The Bible describes the righteous person as just or
right, holding to God and trusting in Him (Psalm 33:18–22).
The term ‘Mercy’ prevents the two other terms and the concept of re-
liability to fall into any legalistic and mechanistic narrow minded mis-
understanding: ‘Mercy’ is a concept integral to an understanding of
God's dealings with humankind. In English translations of the Bible, it
comes to expression in phrases such as "to be merciful, " "to have mercy
on, " or "to show mercy toward." The corresponding term, "merciful, "
describes a quality of God and one that God requires of his people. The
noun denotes compassion and love, not just feelings or emotions, as
expressed in tangible ways. Several Hebrew and Greek terms lie behind
the English term "mercy." The chief Hebrew term is “hesed” [d,s,j],
God's covenant "loving-kindness." In both the Greek translation of the
Old Testament (the LXX) and the New Testament, the term behind
"mercy" is most often eleos [eleo"] in one form or another, butoiktir-
mos/oiktiro [oijktirmov"/oijkteivrw] (compassion, pity, to show mercy)
and splanchna/splagchnizomai[splagcNIVzomai] (to show mercy, to feel
sympathy for) also play roles.^220