Faithfulness Isn’t
What does it mean to be faithful? We use this word a great deal in the church: faithful attendance, faithful giving, faithful service. But what does it mean?
“Faithfulness” obviously means, “full of faith,” but it has more to do than with what we believe. Faithful most often describes God. He keeps His promises and is therefore trustworthy.
People who are full of faith trust in God and become loyal and steadfast. They cling so closely to Him that they, too, reflect His nature. Their godly character and conduct are woven together: they trust and are trusting. No wonder faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
Faithfulness is not just Obedience.
Now, think about what faithfulness isn’t. Clearing away misconceptions can help us have a richer and deeper picture of what God calls us to do.
Did you grow up thinking that faithfulness is a “to do” list: attend worship, pray, read your Bible and avoid sin, repeat. In fact, all faithfulness is obedience, but not all obedience is faithfulness. A person can obey without being faithful. It has to do with the heart. Obedience without love and humility is simply legalism.
Let’s view it through the lens of worship. In Leviticus God commanded certain religious acts such as offerings, feast days and holy assemblies. The people started off well, but during the days of the divided kingdom, they went astray.
Through Isaiah and Amos, God told his people that their worship had become a burden to Him. Their obedience had become disconnected from their hearts. They were not motivated by a love for God because they no longer had a love for neighbor. They committed acts of injustice, merciless and unrighteousness (Isaiah 1:11-16; Amos 5:21-24).
Three passages in the New Testament echo the same idea: Matthew 15:1-9; Matthew 23:23; 1 Corinthians 13:1-4.
In Matthew 15:1-9, Jesus confronted the same inconsistent pattern with the religious leaders. They accused him of breaking the man-made oral traditions of the elders, such as elaborate handwashing before meals that were not commanded in the Law of Moses (Matthew 15:1-9). Jesus countered them by saying that they violated the Law of Moses with their traditions.
For example, the Law said to honor their father and mother and if you dishonor them, you will face punishment. Honoring them meant caring for them in time of financial need, such as in old age.
Now, a man-made tradition appeared that made a loophole. If they made a vow called Corban, they could bring their money to the temple and not have to give it to their parents. They would still have access to the money, but no one else. Their greedy hearts didn’t align with their show of piety. Corban violated the Law of Moses. They were hypocrites.
Jesus quoted Isaiah to back up his accusation: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Legalism is making man-made laws equal with God’s law.
Even when they did obey the Law, their obedience was devoid of love for God and others. Obedience without love for God is also legalism. The Pharisees were so meticulous that even tithed the tithed down to little garden spices yet “neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23).
The Pharisees had failed to discern the thrust of Scripture, which was to bring people closer to God through holiness. But obedience had become the end in itself, a checklist. Obeying just to be obeying. devoid of love and humility.
It was also an attempt to earn God’s favor and love. Have you ever thought that God would love you more if I obey more or perfectly? It is deep misunderstanding of what God’s love is. His love is infinite. If he loves you more, it means it was lacking and therefore not infinite. When we see obedience in this way, it can easily turn into a competition with others. Competition then becomes condescension on others who aren’t quite as “faithful” as I am (see Luke 18:9-14).
The Pharisees thought that just sheer obedience was enough to be faithful. But obedience does not guarantee love for the Lawgiver. A soldier can obey orders but never have a loyal connection to his commanding officer. He might actually hate him.
The last passage is similar to what we read in Isaiah, Amos and Matthew. Is it possible that a Christian might honor God with his lips and his hearts be far from Him? Yes. Paul says the following in the context of worship in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.”
In the modern application, we might sing with perfect pitch, pray with lofty words, remember Jesus’ death in the Lord’s Supper, take copious notes of a sermon, and give from our abundance, but if we do not have love my church family, my worship is nothing but a burdensome noise to the Lord.
If toward my brothers and sisters I been impatient, envious, boastful, arrogant, rude, unkind, attention-seeking, easily angered, resentful, unforgiving, turn a cold shoulder, always critical, accusatory, never encouraging but always complaining, I might have honored the Lord with my lips, but my heart is far from Him.
If these sinful traits describe you, you need to repent, to resolve the issue and to be reconciled to your brother or sister (Matthew 5:23-24).
The essence of faithfulness is love. Love is the motivation; obedience is its expression. Jesus said, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15; John 15:10). You are my friends if you do what I command (John 15:14).