Faithfulness
is the 7th of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. Essentially, faithfulness
to God is loyalty to Him and to His teachings, which should shape how we think
and act.
“Faithfulness”
is translated from the Greek word pistis.
In the King James Version this word is translated “faith.” Pistis includes both meanings (faith and faithfulness), but in
Galatians 5:22 it seems to carry more of the meaning “trustworthiness or
reliability”.
We grow
in faith as we use the power God gives us through the Holy Spirit to obey Him
and build a relationship with Him. Faith in God grows in us as it did in Abraham
as we see that God will always do what He has promised (Romans 4:18-22). So,
faithfulness would include being full of belief and confidence in God and all
that God promises.
Faith
involves the way we live. Paul said we must “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians
5:7). 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 teaching and leading.
Examples
of faithfulness to follow - Hebrews 11 lists Abraham and Sarah as examples of
faithful people who did many things by faith. Abraham left his home, not
knowing where he was going but depending on God. He dwelled in a foreign
country with his wife and waited many years for promises from God. Sarah
received strength to have a child after she was well past the childbearing age,
holding onto the promise made to her by God. Abraham was even willing to obey
God’s command to offer his only son as a sacrifice because he completely
believed that God could raise him from the dead.
Abraham
and Sarah’s examples of faithfulness are timeless in their demonstration of
commitment, willingness to believe God and to act on their beliefs despite growing
physical evidence to the contrary. They did have some difficulties with faith,
but they made God the priority, and He bountifully blessed them. Abraham turned
his back on everything that wasn’t approved by God and moved forward with only
God’s promises guiding Him. Talk about faithfulness!
Faithfulness
self-examination questionnaire
1. How
loyal am I to God? Does my faith place God as the first priority in my life?
How?
2. What
obstacles are there to my faithfulness? Why do I have difficulties trusting God?
3. Am I
satisfied with spiritual evidence, or do I always depend on physical evidence
for my beliefs?
4. What
areas of my life are not completely faithful to God? How can I change them?
Faithfulness is more
than just being there for someone. It is total commitment and loyalty to God
that flies in the face of human reasoning. We may easily believe in God, but it takes faithfulness to
allow God to change our lives