Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful…

                                                                                                            Hebrews 10:23 

When we look at the fruit of the Spirit, we see the evidence of the presence of God because the attributes found in the fruit are His attributes. God is patient and kind therefore the fruit of His presence would be patience and kindness. God is good, so the fruit of a God-led individual would be goodness. He is love so Spirit-filled people should be loving people. And the same is true for faithfulness. Because God is faithful, we too should be faithful.

Faithfulness is to be trustworthy. If we are faithful we are reliable and people can depend on us. But the word, as it appears in scripture, comes from the same root as that of “believing.” So in a very real sense, to be faithful is to be trustworthy and dependable but it is also a characteristic of someone who is “believing.” In this case, it is descriptive of those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, in order for us to be considered faithful, we must have placed our trust in Jesus as the means by which we are justified before God. It also means that we believe the promises of God and live accordingly.

Today’s passage is a reminder that God is faithful and that every promise made in scripture are things on which we can depend. Consider these truths:

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 

                                                                                                                     John 3:16-17  

Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.

                                                                                                          Matthew 10:32 

For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 

                                                                                                            Romans 3:28 

…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… 

                                                                                                                        Romans 10:9 

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

                                                                                                                           1 John 1:9 

These kinds of statements reveal that salvation, justification, and right standing with God come by way of faith and confession of His name. When we place our faith in Christ and publicly confess that we are His, we know that we are saved and have eternal life. God loves the world. He demonstrated that by giving us His Son to accomplish for us what a lifetime of “trying to be good” could not. And this spiritual transaction is achieved completely apart from works. All we have to do is receive His mercy, grace, and forgiveness. When we are rock solid in our faith in these promises, we are positioned to experience faithfulness in our lives.

Also, notice that the last statement deals with God’s willingness to forgive in any circumstance. As we share our lives with Him in prayer, acknowledging where we have failed, He is faithful to forgive us every time. So when we live in the confidence and security of resting in Jesus, we enjoy the benefit of the presence of the Spirit in our lives producing the fruit that we desire to see. And all of this is possible because of the faithfulness of God! 

God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

                                                                                                               1 Corinthians 1:9