Driven by faithfulness, By Ayo Akerele

One of the most serious crises facing the body of Christ in this day and age is the lack of faithfulness to God’s word among Christians. It is the worst since the history of the church. Basically, Satan has invaded the minds of believers and the theological space with a virus of errors and heresies. And what’s the main purpose for this attack? To corrupt the body of Christ and to produce a new generation of unfaithful Christians to God’s word.

A faithful man will abound with blessings (Proverbs 28-20).

Faithfulness is God’s Greatest Test of Christian Character 

One of the greatest principles of the scriptures is faithfulness. It is an extremely critical virtue and value of God’s kingdom that tons of Christians really know very little or even nothing about. What does it mean to be faithful? It refers to being truthful, loyal, consistent and honest. Faithfulness is God’s greatest test of the Christian character because it is on that basis we will all be judged after our time here on earth. Faithfulness does not jump on anyone. There is no special anointing from God for some people to be faithful. It is an intentional effort with the help of the Holy Spirit in desiring to do things right at all times and in all cases. This is what God said to the Israelites:

“And may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation;a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God (Psalms 78-8)

All through the Bible, God never trivialised the subject of faithfulness, either in the Old or New Testament. Every single person that God distinguished and blessed was faithful to God in their live and calling. Let’s see some of these people inthe  scriptures.

1. Jesus was faithful to God: “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” – Hebrews 2-17;
2. Moses was faithful to God: “Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house” – Numbers 12-7′
3. Tychichus was faithful to God: “But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you” – Ephesians 6-21;
4. David was faithful to God: (1 Samuel 22-14).
5. Abraham was faithful to God: “You found his heart faithful before You, And made a covenant with him.” – (Nehemiah 9-8).

The list is endless. The New Testament does not annul the need for being faithful. Grace does not produce unfaithful people. Sadly, we are producing some of the most unfaithful generation of Christians since the time of the early apostles. It is the fulfilment of the prophetic words spoken by Solomon in Proverbs 20-6 that, “Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?”

We are presently bombarded by a very ferocious array of attacks from the most unlikely sources. The word of God has become second fiddle and has lost its place of honour and reverence in the lives of many in the church. At a particular time, Paul said to the church he was ministering to that: “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”- Acts 20-27.

All through the New Testament, Paul, in particular, with other apostles, spoke extensively about being faithful to God. Jesus, when speaking to John in the Island of Patmos, spoke about the faithfulness of some of the churches in Asia Minor. Jesus said to the church in Smyrna: Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life (Revelations 2-10).

Here is what the Bible says about faithfulness: Like the cold of snow in time of harvest Is a faithful messenger to those who send him, For he refreshes the soul of his masters (Proverbs 25-13).

Faithful to the Word!

One of the most serious crises facing the body of Christ in this day and age is the lack of faithfulness to God’s word among Christians. It is the worst since the history of the church. Basically, Satan has invaded the minds of believers and the theological space with a virus of errors and heresies. And what’s the main purpose for this attack? To corrupt the body of Christ and to produce a new generation of unfaithful Christians to God’s word. First, what does it mean to be faithful to the word? Faithfulness to the word refers to:

1. Honesty of heart in reading and accepting scriptural principles;
2. Obedience to biblical principles, even when they hurt your plans and interests;
3. Loyalty to biblical principles without prejudice or any form of reservation;
4. Reverence and honour of God’s word at all times and in every situation.

Where these are lacking, heresies, confusions and errors will pervade the church space with very serious consequences that we will discuss later on. We are presently bombarded by a very ferocious array of attacks from the most unlikely sources. The word of God has become second fiddle and has lost its place of honour and reverence in the lives of many in the church. At a particular time, Paul said to the church he was ministering to that: “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”- Acts 20-27.

Job also said in Job 15-8: “Have you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?”

God is calling us back to the place of faithfulness to his word. Faithfulness is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5-21). It is a spiritual virtue that all Christians who are genuinely saved have been given the capacity to develop. But sometimes, it takes a process of time to develop the capacity to remain faithful to the word.

Let’s now look at some of the more serious examples of unfaithfulness to God’s word that Satan has launched into the body of Christ, using many preachers to do this:

1. Unfaithfulness to the biblical principles of marriage. The word of God is sacrosanct, regardless of what men or women are doing to their spouses. You cannot design your own model of marriage because some men are evil or because some women are bad. The Bible says, “husband love your wife and wife submit to your own husbands)- Ephesians 5, 22 & 25;
2. Unfaithfulness to biblical principles on the sanctity of marriage and divorce. God still hates divorce. That has not changed and can never change, no matter how angry you are with the Bible or with me. Yes, in the case of adultery, divorce is allowed or in the case where one of the parties leaves the other and remarries. Even at that, we must still stand by God’s word and play our role in helping to reconcile and sustain marriages, rather than glamorising divorce in every given instance of marital challenges;
3. Unfaithfulness to biblical principles of marital monogamy, i.e. one man, one wife;
4. Unfaithfulness to the biblical positions on sin and repentance;
5. Unfaithfulness to biblical principles on idolatry, occultism and witchcraft practices.

Consequencies of Unfaithfulness to God’s Word

1. There will be no standard and boundary again to control his actions and behaviour. It will be anything goes for him;
2. He will be exposed to the spirit of mockery. Because he doesn’t like to obey the word, when he sees people who are doing it, his conscience will prick him and rather than changing, he will resort to mocking and attacking them;
3. Sin will become very appealing;
4. The passion for eternal things will disappear in him;
5. The fear of God will have no place again in his heart;
6. The reality of eternal judgement, hell and heaven will disappear in his heart.

God is calling us back to the place of faithfulness to his word. Faithfulness is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5-21). It is a spiritual virtue that all Christians who are genuinely saved have been given the capacity to develop. But sometimes, it takes a process of time to develop the capacity to remain faithful to the word. Let’s look at the specific action steps that will help you and I to remain faithful to the word.

Becoming Faithful

1. Spend a lot of time studying the Bible. It will fill your heart with the life of God. It will renew your mind and empower you to be more honest;
2. Keep your eyes solely on the written truth in the Bible and avoid searching for deep revelations;
3. Pray in the spirit everyday, asking God to baptise you with the Spirit of faithfulness;
4. Make sure your best friends are people who are faithful to the word;
5. Make your mentors and spiritual fathers those who are faithful to the word.

Ayo Akerele, a leadership and system development strategist, and minister of the word, writes from Canada and can be reached through ayoakerele2012@gmail.com.