God desires for every Christian to be faithful to Him. In fact, it is a requirement of us as His stewards (1 Cor. 4:2) and a mark of a true servant (Mat. 25:21). Faithfulness means having a strong sense of duty and being trustworthy, reliable, and dependable (Louw-Nida, Greek-English Lexicon). The concept is pictured in the wonderful analogies God has given to represent Christ and His church—we are His bride and must be faithful as in a marriage (Eph. 5:23,24), we are His body and must be faithful as we are to our own physical body (Eph. 5:29), we are His Kingdom and must be faithful as loyal citizens (Col. 1:13). Only the faithful will receive the crown of life in Heaven (Rev. 2:10).
Perhaps, at times it seems like faithfulness is too difficult, because we know how imperfect we are. Yet, faithfulness does not mean perfection. God wants us to be “perfect” in the sense of being spiritually mature, leading us to greater faithfulness (James 1:4). No one can say they have not sinned or will not sin (1 John 1:10; 2:1). As Christians, we will occasionally sin but should not persist in habitual wrongdoing (1 John 3:9). We are walking in the light every day with the blood of Jesus cleansing us as we confess our sins and repent (1 John 1:7-9; Acts 8:22).
One of the best examples of faithfulness is seen in Moses. The Hebrews writer specifically mentions Moses as “faithful in all his house” (Heb. 3:5). However, Moses was never perfect. Moses sinned by killing an Egyptian (Exo. 2:11,12), neglecting to circumcise his son (Exo. 4:24-26), and by striking the rock in disobedience (Num. 20:10-13). Moses suffered the consequences of every sin he committed, yet through God’s grace and his overall obedient heart in following God, he was still counted faithful.
It is through God’s grace and our obedience that we are saved today (Eph. 2:8,9). God understands our weaknesses and offers salvation through Jesus out of love (John 3:16). Jesus is our advocate knowing the pull of temptation as He experienced it too—He was perfect, but we are not (Heb. 4:15). God understands and rewards us for our faithfulness, not our perfection and that is a promise we can trust (James 1:12).
~Derrick Coble
Perhaps, at times it seems like faithfulness is too difficult, because we know how imperfect we are. Yet, faithfulness does not mean perfection. God wants us to be “perfect” in the sense of being spiritually mature, leading us to greater faithfulness (James 1:4). No one can say they have not sinned or will not sin (1 John 1:10; 2:1). As Christians, we will occasionally sin but should not persist in habitual wrongdoing (1 John 3:9). We are walking in the light every day with the blood of Jesus cleansing us as we confess our sins and repent (1 John 1:7-9; Acts 8:22).
One of the best examples of faithfulness is seen in Moses. The Hebrews writer specifically mentions Moses as “faithful in all his house” (Heb. 3:5). However, Moses was never perfect. Moses sinned by killing an Egyptian (Exo. 2:11,12), neglecting to circumcise his son (Exo. 4:24-26), and by striking the rock in disobedience (Num. 20:10-13). Moses suffered the consequences of every sin he committed, yet through God’s grace and his overall obedient heart in following God, he was still counted faithful.
It is through God’s grace and our obedience that we are saved today (Eph. 2:8,9). God understands our weaknesses and offers salvation through Jesus out of love (John 3:16). Jesus is our advocate knowing the pull of temptation as He experienced it too—He was perfect, but we are not (Heb. 4:15). God understands and rewards us for our faithfulness, not our perfection and that is a promise we can trust (James 1:12).
~Derrick Coble