The Fruit Of The Spirit
By Sandy Simpson

Lesson 1 - Love
Lesson 2 - Joy
Lesson 3 - Peace
Lesson 4 - Patience
Lesson 5 - Kindness
Lesson 6 - Goodness
Lesson 7 - Faithfulness
Lesson 8 - Gentleness
Lesson 9 - Self-control

LESSON 7 - FAITHFULNESS

Faith without faithfulness is useless.  So too is faith and faithfulness without an object of our faith.  The reason we can have faith and be faithful is because we serve a God who is Faithful.  In fact that is one of His names. 

Faithfulness Of God

Unfaithfulness is, unfortunately, one of the defining sins of our evil day. In the business world, a man's word is, for the most part, no longer "his bond" (his word is no longer trustworthy). People are getting divorces, having sex outside of marriage - there is no longer such a thing as the "sacred bonds of marriage".  Men and women are getting into all kinds of perversions everywhere.  In the churches thousands who claim to love the truth now attack and deny it by what they say and do, and by following false teachers. We must also admit that none of us have been completely faithful to Christ, and to the light and privileges which God has entrusted to us! How refreshing, then, how unspeakably blessed, to lift our eyes above this scene of ruin, and behold One who is faithful, faithful in all things, faithful at all times.

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands." (Deut. 7:9).

Faithfulness is a part of who God is.  For God to be unfaithful would be to act contrary to His nature, which is impossible:

"If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself." (2 Tim. 2:13).

Faithfulness is one of the glorious perfections of His being. He is "clothed" with it:

"O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you." (Ps. 89:8).

When God became a man in Jesus Christ it was said,

"Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist." (Isa. 11:5).
"Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies." (Psalm 36:5)

Far above all our ability to understand is the unchanging faithfulness of God. Everything about God is great,