Introduction
Faithfulness is an important
character to be exhibited by a true Christian. Because of faithfulness God gave up His only son
Jesus to die on the cross; Because
of Jesus faithfulness, God raised Him above all name on earth and in heaven
(col. 1:15-28); Because of
this same faithfulness, the early apostles continued to spread the gospel and
live righteous lives when Jesus left them. Without faithfulness, the Christian life
cannot be complete because it is not a life of roses. Today faithfulness has
become a scarce commodity amongst Christians. The churches are filling up but
the world keeps sinking into corruption, evil and wickedness. Yet majority on
earth claim to be Christian. Without
faithfulness to God, we cannot live the righteous Christian life. What is
faithfulness? How can we be faithful to our calling?
What is Faithfulness?
A FAITHFUL PERSON is trustworthy
and reliable; true to one's word, promises, vows, etc. Some people make
faithfulness a hallmark of their human relationships, but the faithfulness that
matters most is the faithfulness we show towards God. God is faithful because He
does what He promises to do. Moreover, because God is faithful, we dare have
courage to trust Him and His promises. Martha’s faithfulness was cooking a
delicious meal for Jesus but the true faithfulness (chosen by Mary) is
listening to the father’s word i.e. the
spiritual food rather than the physical. "He is faithful that
promised" (Heb. 10:23). Our faithfulness is a commitment to adhere to the
One God who is true and supreme and to keep His commandments.
Who is a faithful
person? What is the character of a faithful person?
Let’s start here: What does it mean to be faithful to a
friend, wife or husband?
1.
Will not lie. (Proverb:14:5; John 8:44)
2.
Living a life of integrity before an unbelieving
world.(2Corin. 6:14-18, Jam. 1:27)
3.
You keep your promises. If you say it, you do it. (1Thess.
5:24; Heb. 10:23)
4.
You use your God-given gifts. God has invested in your
life and expects a return on it. (1Peter 4:10).E.g. Parable of talents.
5.
You obey God’s commands. (1 Samuel 2:35). God
defines faithfulness as obedience to the commands of Christ.
We can be skilled leaders and communicators, but disobedience disqualifies us
from being seen faithful as God defines
it.
6.
You pass on what you learn. You’re to give what you
learn to faithful men. We’re here today because some faithful men and women
took the time to write down the Scriptures; others preserved the Scriptures,
and others translated the Scriptures. If
we’re here because of the testimony of faithful people it’s your duty to pass
it on to others. (2Tim. 2:2)
Examples: Joseph was
faithful that he was thrown into prison but was honoured as a ruler in a
foreign country (Gen. 39); Moses was faithful. He was an imperfect man like us
and made his notable mistakes. Yet, he consistently did God's will to the best
he could. (Num. 12:7-8); David was faithful (obedient) to God that he became a
yard stick for his generations (2Kings 22:2). Even in his sin, he did not take
the lord’s mercy for granted (sin with
Bathsheba); Noah and Lot were so faithful (obedient) to God that He
revealed His plans to them and delivered them from the destruction in their
time. Abrahams faithfulness made God reveal His plans on destroying Sodom
&Gomorrah and even allowed Abraham to negotiate for God’s change of mind
(Gen. 18)- these all echo Ps. 101:6….His
eyes is on the faithful. Are you faithful?
Our calling…unless we are taking it for granted
We have been delivered to serve and
without faithful (by obeying Him), our calling will be in vain. As Christians
we must be faithful in our relationship with friends; we have to be faithful in
our work (no cheating in trading); in our marriage; in our schooling; etc. We
can only portray Christ as true witnesses of Him (his work, life and name: Christian
-Acts 11:26), only when we are faithful. We need to be faithful.
Benefits of
faithfulness
To some the ultimate benefit of faithfulness is that we
won’t suffer God’s judgment. But until our judgment day, there are many other
benefits while we are here on earth:
·
God will not abandon you. (Psalm 37:28;
Psalm 20:6; Job 8:20-22)
· You
will abound in blessings (Proverb 28:20; Deut. 28:1-2)
·
Your enemies will live at peace with you (Proverbs
16:6-7)
· You
will receive the crown of life (Revelation 2:10)
Obstacles to being
faithful
·
Lack of faith in God (Peter denying Jesus)
·
Lies (Ananias& Sapphira- Acts 5)
·
Fear (Matt. 6:31-34; Eph. 6:20). Compare courage of shadrach, meshach,
Abednego.
·
Sin (Ps. 66:18)
·
Trusting the world rather than word of God.
(Rom. 12:1-2; 1Jn2:16)
If we don’t target faithfulness as
key to our Christian growth, we will not experience the glory of God in our
lives. Others will share testimony and we cannot experience one.
How to be faithful
1. Study
and obey the word/ obey God: Rom. 15:4, Jam. 1:22; 2Tim. 3:16-17)
2. What
will Jesus has done?(Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28;Matt. 12:46-50)
3. Endure
difficult situations (2Tim2:10; 2Tim. 2:3)
4. Be
mindful of accountability (because 2corin. 5:10)
5. Be
on your guard at all times against Satan, who devours (1Pet. 5:8; Peter denying
Jesus 3x)
Remember, if you are faithful, you will suffer (Matt.10:22)
but the end will be joy so endure the suffering. The result of unfaithfulness
is eternal damnation. (Lake of fire- Rev.
20:15)
Conclusion
The most significant element in our
Christian life is faithfulness to God. In the days we now live in, we are
unsure of what will happen next across the globe. Being faithful to God will give
us great peace and assurance to endure the times and receive the reward of
eternal life in Heaven when Jesus Christ appears. Man will fail you but God will not
fail you.
Let us be faithful to our calling
and we will enjoy the promises and blessings of God. Amen!
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