Faithfulness: The Seventh Fruit of the Spirit

Faithfulness is often thought of as commitment to a spouse, a promise, a cause, or a goal. It is simply a decision to make good on something you have told someone you will do. Synonyms are: fidelity, loyalty, dedication, allegiance, and dependability. It is not giving up. Spiritual faithfulness can be all of these things, but has more to do with taking on the qualities of God and remaining true to His Word.

Sitting in church a few weeks ago it occurred to me that the fruits of the Spirit are qualities which already exist in Jesus and God. Therefore, Christians who have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them can exhibit those same qualities to others. All the fruits are part of God’s unchanging character. God’s “faithfulness reaches to the heavens”(Psalm 36:5).

One specific example is found in I John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Oh, how our culture could use strong doses of forgiveness exhibited by Spirit-empowered Christians!
Our response to God’s faithfulness can be stated in several ways. Hebrews 10:23 challenges people to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” So in a spiritual sense faithfulness is refusing to waver, or compromise one’s beliefs and trust in God. It goes even further than that. Jude 1:3 says to “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints.”

Faithfulness encompasses “entrusting our souls to a faithful creator” when doing what is right in times of suffering or persecution (I Peter 4:19). In short, don’t quit in the spiritual battle! In these times of job losses due to the mandates, and the separation of society between those for and against the vaccines, it may be very difficult to be faithful to God. It takes the power of the Spirit to stand by one’s conscience and convictions without compromise. Faithfulness to God and truth, however, can be a light in a darkened world of deception.

In the end, though, you will be able to say as the Apostle Paul did in II Timothy 4:7. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.” It bears repeating that faithfulness is staying in the battle!
Matthew 25:14-23 provides a narrative of a good and faithful servant as being a good steward of the resources God has given. It is about material things, but I think it has a spiritual application as well. As we “invest” in the Kingdom of God by exhibiting the fruit of faithfulness, God will say, “Well done, Thou good and faithful servant.”