The Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness

By Robb Brunansky

Published July 17, 2025

In the spring of 1992, after the former Soviet Union had been dissolved, then-Russian Ambassador Vladimir Lukin asked American Robert Gates, “So when are we going to get together and make some new rules for spying on each other?” What is true of the CIA and other intelligence groups is openly admitted (the lack of trust), but what is not as openly admitted is that these problems also exist in people’s personal lives.

The sad reality of living in a sinful world is that most people are usually untrustworthy and unfaithful. It is difficult to find someone faithful, one who tells the truth and is trustworthy.

While that is the unfortunate reality of the world, the church is called to be different. The world is characterized by unfaithfulness and deception. However, God’s people are called to faithfulness without compromise. To help us understand what it means to be faithful and what this work of the Spirit looks like in our lives, there are three questions to help us gain a deeper understanding of this specific fruit.

The first question to be answered is this: What is faithfulness?

Once again, we have a divine attribute the Lord calls us to manifest as a virtue in our lives. Faithfulness characterizes who God is and how He acts (Hebrews 10:23, Deuteronomy 7:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, Isaiah 25:1, Numbers 23:19). The Lord has an unwavering and infinite commitment to truth. God’s faithfulness reaches up to the skies (Psalm 36:5). It is so immense, vast, high that it is beyond human comprehension and measurement.

Just as God is faithful, He calls us to be faithful; and He produces His faithfulness in us by the Spirit who dwells within us. So, how should we define this faithfulness?

Faithfulness is an unwavering commitment to the truth produced by the Spirit in all believers. This definition emphasizes what we have previously seen, that faithfulness as God defines it is only something Christians are capable of manifesting because it comes from His Spirit. It also emphasizes that all believers will manifest God’s faithfulness, at least in some measure. Faithfulness is marked by unwavering commitment to the truth – faithful people do not lie, and they fulfill their obligations.

It’s important to note that faithfulness is not natural. We cannot be faithful as God is without the Lord manifesting His faithfulness in and through us by the Spirit.

So, when should we be faithful?

The obvious answer is – all the time! However, this general answer fails to take into account specific times when we are more tempted to be unfaithful. As such, I want to look at four occasions when it is difficult to be faithful. Yes, we should always be faithful, but sometimes we will be tempted more to be unfaithful to God and others.

The first is when we are fearful. Sometimes God asks us to do things that make us afraid. We may commit to do something in ignorance of future circumstances, and then when it comes time to be faithful, we are afraid to follow through. Joshua’s example in Scripture helps us see the need to be faithful even when we are fearful (Joshua 1:6-9). Perhaps we are facing an overwhelming situation. Perhaps faithfulness could cost us our jobs or a friendship. Maybe we’re fearful of the consequences of standing for the truth. Yet, the fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness, so we are committed to the truth without compromise, even when we are fearful.

The second time we might be tempted to be unfaithful is when it is painful. The temptation to break faith with someone arises easily when our promise costs us more than we expected it to at its point of conception. Sometimes being faithful hurts and requires endurance even amid great pain and suffering. The person who is faithful keeps his word, even when it is inconvenient and costly (Psalm 15:4).

A third instance of temptation to be unfaithful is when it is unpopular. Faithfulness requires standing for the truth even when it is unpopular. As Paul told Timothy, the final criterion for how God will judge His servants is faithfulness and trustworthiness to His Word. This standard is true for pastors and every believer. All are called to be faithful to Scripture, even when it is unpopular. Standing for the truth of God’s Word might not give us popularity, but it will make us faithful. The Lord judges us based on faithfulness, not on popularity.

The fourth time when temptation strikes to become unfaithful is when we are waiting – when this fruit seems inconsequential. Jesus told a parable about the period between His first and second coming as a time characterized by waiting for His return. The point of the parable is that we are called to be doing our Lord’s will faithfully while we wait for our Master’s return. We know all too well during moments that don’t seem to matter, or commitments that seem pointless, we are easily tempted to waste time or neglect our duties. Yet, from Jesus’ parable, we see how much He values faithfulness while we are waiting.

With all this background, then, why should we be faithful?

We should be faithful because God commands it. We have seen instances of this truth already when Paul commanded Timothy to be faithful as a steward of God’s mysteries. We have read this in the Psalms, as it is the person who is faithful who will dwell in the Lord’s presence. Additionally, we have seen how God called Joshua to be faithful. We should, then, seek the Spirit’s power to manifest faithfulness because it pleases God.

We should also be faithful because God rewards it. The Lord never commands what He does not reward. He commands us to be faithful, and with faithfulness comes a promise of blessing. God promises to bless those who are committed to the truth without compromise (Proverbs 28:20). Christ also promises that the slave who is faithful will be blessed (Luke 12:42-43). We should strive for faithfulness, then, because we desire God’s blessing. We want to know the Lord, be near Him in His presence, and have the blessing of serving Him – and that blessing is given to those He finds faithful.

One of the most famous passages in Scripture about faithfulness is one in Lamentations (Lamentations 3:22-23). “Great is God’s faithfulness.” A beloved hymn was written based on that verse.

As we reflect on that hymn, we might think it was written during a time of great disaster, or when someone was in dire straits, or when God saved the day just before it collapsed. However, the hymn was written in quite different circumstances. It was penned by a man named Thomas Chisholm. This man’s career as a pastor lasted only one year due to physical health problems, but he was never in any serious, life-changing emergencies. What, then, prompted him to write such a powerful and beloved hymn?

Chisholm wrote Great is Thy Faithfulness as a testament to God’s faithfulness through an ordinary life. He said, “I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness.”

God is faithful in the big things, and He is faithful in the little things. He calls us to imitate His faithfulness, and He produces His faithfulness in us by the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness.