Introduction
What does it mean to be faithful? Faithfulness is the quality of being trustworthy, dependable and loyal. Faithful people can be counted upon to act in a certain way regardless of the situation. They are principled and consistent. Faithful people are true to their word and can be relied upon to keep their commitments. They do not cheat or deceive. Faithfulness also has to do with time. Faithful people demonstrate consistent, trustworthy behavior over a long period of time. They are not fair weather friends. They can be counted on in thick and thin and they steer a consistent path through the trials of life. From this vantage, it is easy to see why God’s faithfulness is such a prized quality among His people. God’s faithfulness means that He is completely dependable and consistent. Moreover, because God always speaks what is true, He is the source of all faithfulness. He is steadfastly loyal to His word and His nature and therefore, he is standard of faithfulness to all of His creatures. God’s faithfulness is the source of the “hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before he ages began” (Titus 1:2).
Centrally then, God’s faithfulness to us is rooted is God’s unwavering commitment to Himself. Though we are faithless, “He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). This means that God’s faithfulness is the very foundation of the Christian Faith. Throughout the Bible, it is the thing God’s people cling to when they are confronted with their own unfaithfulness. We know this kind of faithfulness is rare: “Many a man proclaims his own unfailing love, but who can find a faithful man?” (Prov. 20:6) We prize God’s faithfulness all the more in a world filled with unfaithfulness. This morning we need to examine how God’s faithfulness is the source and ground for our own calling to be a faithful people.
Covenant Faithfulness
In our text from Deut. 7, Moses reveals how God’s covenant with Israel is and expression of His faithfulness. Notice several important features: First, Israel is a holy people, God’s treasured possession. Why? It was not because of something special or righteous in Israel (7:7; 9:6). Rather, it was for two central reasons: (1) Because the Lord loves Israel, and (2) is keeping the oath he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This means that the very basis of God’s faithfulness to Israel is found in Himself; in the fact that He set His love on Israel and swore that He would use them to bless the whole world (Gen. 12, 15). All of this was a merciful expression of His grace.
This is why the steadfast love of the Lord is the source of Israel’s hope in the history that follows. It’s why steadfast love and faithfulness are found so often together when describing God’s actions toward Israel (Psalm 89; Lam. 3:19-24; Micah 7:18-20). God’s faithfulness and mercy in history is an outworking of His steadfast love for His people.
From Faith to Faithfulness
All of this is why the NT uses the same Greek word (pistis) to describe God’s faithfulness and our response of faith. In Hebrews 11, the great hall of fame (or faith!) recounts the actions of the great heroes of faith. The greatness of their faith was rooted in the greatness of God’s faithfulness.
- 1: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
- 6: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
- Both Abraham and Sarah were faithful because they believed in the faithfulness of God (11:11, 19).
This is the secret to faithfulness: We do not become more faithful by digging down deep within or by trying to tap our own strength. If anything in the bible is clear, it is plain that we are the source of faithlessness. We are traitors, thieves, and liars. If we are to be faithful we must first cast ourselves on the faithfulness of God and drink deeply of His steadfast love. Remember, that faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit.
- Faithfulness is actually clinging to the faithfulness of God and refusing to let go (like Jacob). Which is why faithfulness is manifested in the dark moments of our lives, in hardship and suffering, when our strength is gone.
The life of faithfulness is about “long-term, steady, dependable life-long commitment. Faithfulness in that sense includes loyalty, which means wholehearted, whole-life allegiance, born out of love and sustained by constant gratitude. That kind of commitment includes unwavering faithfulness to Christ himself, of course, as our Lord and Savior. It also means faithfulness to the Bible, faithfulness to the gospel, faithfulness to the church, and faithfulness to the work God has given you to do. It means faithfulness to the mission of God in the world and to all those who are engaged in it along with you. Faithfulness means you know what you really believe, whom you really love, and what you are ultimately committed to. Faithfulness means being sure of what you want to live for and what you’re willing to die for. – Christopher Wright
There is no better example of this kind of wholehearted, whole-life allegiance than Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. He is the picture of God’s faithfulness to us. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Rom. 8:31-32