"If" is a conditional word.  It is therefore a favorite political word.  A candidate promises that if he is elected, many good things will happen.  Yet, the promises are conditional upon whether he is elected or not.

The beauty of the word is that even if elected, he doesn't need to be absolutely held to promises made because conditions change.  One candidate promises a tax cut, but if circumstances change, (and circumstances always change) he can stipulate an entirely different direction than promised.  He is protected by the little word "if."

Another candidate promises reduced spending.  Of course, it can only be done if conditions are right; if it doesn't mean too much sacrifice; if we can get everyone to cooperate; if we don't have a natural disaster; if the sky doesn't fall; if, if, if.

How remarkable that our Lord uses this little if word so liberally in a verse which begins "The saying is trustworthy."  God does not fudge his promises on the basis of possible changing circumstances.  God does not change his mind.  The God who settled the matter of our rebellion and sin by sacrificing Himself will not have a change of heart one day and deny himself.

It would be misreading the words of our Lord to think they hypothesize on faith and endurance as "up in the air."  Will we live with him?  Will we endure?  Will we deny him?  Will we reign with him?  Will we be faithful or faithless?

The disciples once went around the table when Jesus spoke of his betrayal and each asked Him; Will it be me?    "They began to say to him one after another, 'Is it I, Lord?'" (Matt 26:22)

In the back of their minds were misgivings and hesitation.  Will I betray him or won't I?  Can I be loyal?  Will I stick it out?  Each disciple saw his own condition as fluid, filled with "maybes" and uncertainties, with "ifs" and ambiguities.

That is not the way Jesus intends for us. 

First of all, every one of the disciples, just as every one of us, WAS a betrayer.  There was no ambiguity. Today, will we deny him?  We already have denied him!  There is nothing vague about it.

Is our spiritual condition fluid?  No sir.  Our spiritual condition is as unyielding as concrete.  Our condition - our character and state is a state of sin.  Of this there is no doubt.  Jesus was not hazy about this.  The human condition wasn't going to change no matter what stipulation someone might offer. 

Peter had the chutzpah to try one of those big "ifs."  He said, "If I must die with you, I will not deny you," (Mark 14:21) and all the rest of them said the same. 

They were all making a political statement.  And when push came to shove they could all argue conditions had changed.  They didn't mean it right now.  They didn't mean death in quite this way.  They didn't mean dying without thinking it over again.  They didn't mean dying with Christ right here. 

Much as this saddened and wounded our Lord, it didn't surprise him.  He knows our condition.  He knows the state into which we were born.  He knows our love for political expediency and temporal convenience.  He knows how we love to hide behind "ifs."

If I get a little more in the bank, I will be more generous.  If others will show more sense, then I will respect them.  If the sermons where shorter, if the people were more likeable, if the organ wasn't so loud, if the time was more convenient, if --   if --  if --. 

But now here comes our Lord with his own litany of "if."

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
     if we endure, we will also reign with him;
     if we deny him, he also will deny us;
     if we are faithless, he remains faithful-

What's the difference?

The difference is that here are conditions unchangeable and a-political.  Here, your Lord intends there to be no ambiguity.  He wants you to have no uncertainty, no insecurity, and no timidity.

When Jesus speaks of those who died with him, he speaks of the gracious state in which He has placed you completely and permanently.  Your death with him and your life with him is finished, solid, real, and trustworthy.

When Jesus speaks of those who endure also reigning with him, he does not speak of a mere chance this might come to happen.  Rather, He is promising that the faith and endurance He has given you by the Holy Spirit isn't going to fold like a cheap umbrella but will result entirely and only to your advantage.  These words of 2 Timothy are statements of fact, not just something probable. 

Christ is stating the fact that our condition as newborn Christians is not a fluid one.  Our future does not rely on us meeting certain conditions or reaching particular thresholds. 

It comes down only to this: that HE remains faithful.

You can be confident, you can trust him, you can know for certain that your life is with him and your future is safe.  Why?  Because He remains faithful.

When the disciples were bewildered and unconvinced, He remained faithful.  When Peter boasted and then doubled over in disloyalty, Christ remained faithful.  When those Jesus loved took to their heels and fled, He remained faithful.

When we were weak and ungodly, He died for us.  When we were cowardly, false, and unfaithful, He befriended us and surrendered His life for us.

When you and I contradict our promises, fail in our callings, and stumble in our love, He remains faithful, so that now, under the absolute dependability of the Gospel you and I can say without ambiguity, "If God is for me, nothing can be against me.  If Christ has declared me justified, I am God's righteous child.  And even if I die, I will rise again in Christ.

These "ifs" are not flabby speculation.  The Christian doesn't live in conjecture.  We live in Christ!  And He remains faithful because he cannot deny who and what He is.  He is our Lord, our Savior, our God, and our faithful Friend.  There is nothing "iffy" in that.