By Charles Holmes

Faithfulness, what is it and why is it so important? Is it just being consistent, or something more? I would say consistency is half the definition. What kind of consistency is our Lord looking for? One of the saddest recorded questions that Jesus asks in the light of His return is:

“…. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Luke 18:8

WHAT IS IT

Lets put together a working definition of faithfulness.

Websters definition of faithful is:

1 : obsolete : full of faith

2: steadfast in affection or allegiance : loyal

3: firm in adherence to promises or in observance of duty : conscientious

4: given with strong assurance : binding <a faithful promise>

5: true to the facts, to a standard, or to an original <a faithful copy>

Breaking faithfulness down even further, lets take a look at the root word of faithfulness which is faith. Hebrews 11:1 says:

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.

Also, James 2:14-26 makes things crystal clear about what type of faith our God is looking for.

14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Taking everything into consideration, I would venture to say that a good working definition of faithfulness is: “to consistently take action motivated by hope in God and in Godly outcomes not yet seen.”

It’s that inspired consistency that God is looking for from us. Unfortunately, we can be faithful and still miss it. HOW? We can be faithful in something that God hasn’t specifically authorized. Its like building and working on something everyday, but in the end, only to see it evaporate. The following scripture sums it up.

Matthew 7:26-27

26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

There is nothing more painful then working in vain. To faithfully pour out blood, sweat, and tears, only to realize that everything you built was a big fat waste of time known as a dead work. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wait until Judgment Day to find out what little work I did do was junk and I barely escape the flames of hell!

THE KEY

The only way to avoid building our lives on sinking sand is to consistently abide in Christ. We must desperately and faithfully cling to, communicate with, depend on, seek, lean on, be lead by Christ! He will faithfully keep us from dead works and lead us so that these words will apply to our lives:

Matthew 7:24-25

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

 Come Lord Jesus, and may the answer to your question upon your return be YES!