WHAT IS FAITHFULNESS AS A FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

 SCRIPTURE:GALATIANS 5:22-23

Today we shall be dealing with faithfulness. Faithfulness is steadfastness, constancy, or allegiance; it is carefulness in keeping what we are entrusted with; it is the conviction that the Scriptures accurately reflect reality. Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit; it is the result of the Spirit working in us. He is our witness to God’s promise that if we accept the truth about God, He will save us.

Hebrews 11 presents to us the old testament Saints who were faithful.In Gen Chapter 4 Abel’s understanding of God made his sacrifice real and authentic. Noah trusted God’s word about the coming judgment as well as God’s promise to save his family (Genesis 6-9). Abraham and Sarah believed against all evidence that they would have a child (Genesis 21:1-34). Rahab trusted God to protect her family when the Israelites destroyed Jericho (Joshua 6). Gideon’s mustard-seed faith routed an entire army (Judges 6-7).

Hebrews 11:5b-6 says Enoch, who "obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him".A faithful commitment to who God says He is, is basic to walking with God. 

Enoch understood that God rewards those who seek Him and trust Him with all their hearts.We trust God even when He is silent and we see no miracles. That is part of faithfulness. We know God is reliable, steadfast, and true.

 Abraham never saw his descendants become “as numerous as the stars in the sky.” Moses never entered the Promised Land. And none of the Old Testament saints lived to see their Messiah. But they were faithful in their works with God. They believed God would do as He promised. They lived by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

 Faithfulness is grounded in proven truth. Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus Himself validates truth as very important and exclusive. God has proven His reliability and trustworthiness again and again. We know that God doesn't change (Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6; James 1:17).We can trust Him with our lives, being faithful to believe Him and His Word.

2 Timothy 2:13 says, "If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself." Even if our faithfulness wavers, we can trust that God's never will. THAT is the kind of faithfulness the Holy Spirit is developing within us as we live our lives according to His guidance.

God is faithful to His people, and He expects them to be faithful to Him. All of the fruit of the Spirit follow this pattern, and faith is no exception.

Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us, “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” God calls on us to make a promise to Him through baptism. Will we be faithful and true to Him as He is faithful to us?

Our faithfulness greatly influences how we love God and love others, including whether or not we remain loyal to relationships, sound doctrine and God.

Faithfulness includes loyalty. In Titus 1:9, toward the end of a list of qualifications for ministers, Paul says that an elder should be “holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.” “Holding fast the faithful word” means remaining loyal to what we have learned from the Word of God.

So the fruit of the Spirit of faithfulness includes trusting God and remaining loyal to Him and His doctrines.

May The Almighty God Bless You!