Faithfulness To God
Faithfulness To God
In fact, the first two of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), deal directly with
our being faithful to God. “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall
not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on
the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or
worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God...” These are the
words given directly from God to Moses for all people, for all time.
Psalm 37:28 - “For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his
faithful ones.”
Proverbs 3:12 - “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my
commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and
bring your prosperity.”
Proverbs 16:6-7 - “Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil. When a man’s ways are
pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with
him.”
Proverbs 28:20a - “A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to
get rich will not go unpunished.”
Revelation 2:10 - (NKJV) “Do not fear any of those things which you are
about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into
prison, that you may be tested and will have tribulation ten days. Be
faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
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.
There are wars, famines, economic collapse, and many natural disasters.
Being faithful to God gives us great peace and assurance that we will be
brought through by His promises of blessings and the reward of eternal life in
Heaven.
Our faithful allegiance to Almighty God is the only thing that we can really
count on; He is our hope in a fallen world. His provision of forgiveness and
salvation through Jesus is the greatest benefit of all if we are faithful
believers. 1
Footnotes:
1
John 3:16-19 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and
only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save
the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but
whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not
believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has
come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their
deeds were evil."
God is not looking for perfection or people who seem to have it all together. He is simply
searching for those who will be committed and faithful. Faithfulness is defined as, “Loyal,
constant, staunch, steadfast, resolute and firm in adherence to whatever one owes
allegiance. To be faithful implies unswerving adherence to a person or thing.”
“No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides/dwells in us, and His
love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12). If God indwells His people, one of the best ways we
can be faithful to Him is by being faithful to those in whom He dwells.
We must be there for people, not just when all is well, but also when things are messed up.
That’s when they really need us. Faithfulness is standing by someone even when they may
be making a decision we disagree with. Let me challenge you to do a study of all the “one
another” passages in scripture. You’ll be amazed at what you will find.
Be faithful with the things He has entrusted to us. God has given much to us all. The
parable of the talents makes it abundantly clear that God will one day bring us into account
for all He has entrusted into our care (Matthew 25:14-25).
1. Time. Time is one of the most precious commodities God has given us. The Bible says, we
are to “Make the most of our time because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). And again,
“So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Proverbs
90:12). Is God first in what we do with our time or does everything else in our life take
precedence over the things of God?
2. Talent. Each of us has gifts from God, both natural and spiritual. Are we faithfully using them
for Him and His kingdom? Peter said, “As each one has received a special gift, let him
employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter
4:10).
3. Treasure. We are required to be faithful with the resources God has entrusted us with. If we
are not, the Bible clearly teaches we will miss out on so much. Many will never get ahead
financially or reach the level God desires for them because they haven’t learned to be faithful
with their firstfruits (Proverbs 3:9-10; Malachi 3:8-11).
The Bible also makes it clear that spiritual insight is cut off or at least greatly diminished when
we are not faithful with our finances. Many wonder why God is not giving them enlightenment
into His Word, their life, situations and spiritual things when Jesus said, “If you have not been
faithful in the unrighteous mammon (money), who will commit to your trust true riches” (Luke
16:11)?
Be faithful to the Church. Are we faithful to God’s house – the church? It was said of Jesus,
“The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up – consumed me” (John 2:17). Hebrews 10:25
exhorts us, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is,
but exhorting one another and so much more as you see the day (of His return)
approaching.”
All of the areas mentioned can and do apply within the context of the church. Are we faithful
to His house, to prayer, to His people, and with what He has entrusted to us? There is
coming a day when we will be brought into account for our faithfulness or lack thereof.
This was written in the context of the Judgment (Bema) Seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:9-15,
2 Corinthians 5:10-11 and Romans 14:10-12). This is a judgment for believers, not the lost,
where our reward and position in eternity is determined. At this judgment there will be one of
two reactions, confidence and rejoicing, when we hear Him say, “Well done thou good and
faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23), or shame, when we realize we didn’t make our lives count
for Him as we should have.
Revelation 21:4 says, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” However, that
does mean there will be tears (in heaven – at the Judgment seat of Christ) for Him to wipe
away.
1 John 2:28 says, “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He shall appear, we
may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.”
Scriptures:
Psalm 12:1 – “Help Lord, for the godly man ceases to be, For the faithful disappear from
among the sons of men.”
Proverbs 20:6 – “Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy
(faithful) man.”
Luke 18:8 – “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”