The Fruitful Life: Faithfulness

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its

passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

(Galatians 5:22-24)

Faithfulness is an internal attitude that has to do with faithfulness before

God, not faith in God. It is a picture of someone who doesn’t waver in

loyalty to God, someone who follows through with commitments regardless

of difficulty. Faithfulness is love hanging on; love saying “I will not quit!”

Faithfulness is spiritual stick-to-itiveness!

When Paul wrote to Timothy, he wanted to make sure Timothy understood

the importance of staying on track, moving forward, and standing tall, just

being faithful. When it came time for Paul to give a living example, he had

to look no further than himself (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Paul had already

reminded Timothy of the duties of faithful ministry, and he wanted to give

him another compelling reason to stay the course: Paul would soon die and

Timothy must carry on the work.

So, when Paul reviewed his life he offered three statements to Timothy

about the urgent necessity of faithfulness:

The Good Fight – He stayed with it, in spite of the rigors and sacrifices

that the ministry brought to Paul.

The Finished Course – Paul said he endured to the end. He successfully

completed his life before God. He remained true to the gospel. Perhaps

he was told of Jesus declaring “I have brought you glory on earth by

completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4).

The Kept Faith – In life and in doctrine, he stayed the course with integrity.

Paul’s charge to Timothy is ours as well. We need to faithfully finish our

own race. Someone once said, “God’s call upon each life is different in

details and specifics, but he desires faithful endurance from all of us.” God

wants us to stay with it, to stand tall for the cause of the gospel, to never

waver in our loyalty to our Savior. After all, we know what lies ahead: “the

crown of righteousness.” We know who will give it to us: “the righteous

judge.” And we know the future does not exist for us alone, but for “all who

long for his appearing.” How awesome is that!!!

Dr. Derek