Lasting Fruit

Faithfulness (Part 3)

In Galatians 5: 22 we read that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is “faithfulness.”  It is available to every obedient child of God.

There is a wonderful roadmap for Christians to follow in Psalm 119: 30 - 31 (NAS) as they seek to enjoy the way of faithfulness.  “I have chosen the faithful way; I have placed Thine ordinances before me.  I cleave to Thy testimonies; O Lord, do not put me to shame!  I shall run the way of Thy commandments, for Thou wilt enlarge my heart.  Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes, and I shall observe it to the end.”

The Psalmist affirms the steps to faithfulness and the first reality is choice.  Mankind is fully responsible in seeking the kingdom of God by choosing and living a life of loyalty to God.  Born-again Christians desire to be faithful to God and His purposes.  The serious make a deliberate choice to enjoy the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Serious Christians choose the way of truth, not because they know of no other way, but because they know that living by God’s truth is the only way to please Him, thus opening the door of their hearts and enjoying the fruit of the Holy Spirit all through their lives.

The only way to find and walk in the truth is by constantly reading, studying and meditating on the Word of God.  Christians seek revelation from God’s Word through the Holy Spirit’s quickening and they allow Him to illuminate them so they can walk in obedience to God’s will for them.

Just as workmen laboring on a building lay out blueprints before them and regularly refer back to them so they can do their work exactly as planned by the engineer,  Christians hide the Word of God in their hearts and by habitual conformity to it, they are able to live by the plan of their Chief Engineer.

Enjoying the fruit of the Holy Spirit requires holding fast to the statutes of the Lord Jesus.  This means having an unchanged affection for Christ and an unshaken resolution to obey His commands even in the midst of trials.

Lastly, the way of faithfulness necessitates a longing to be taught of God.  David had priests and prophets, but he longed to be taught of God.  Jesus’ apostles longed to be taught of Him.  Christians have the Spirit of Christ living in them and they can be taught of Him in the Name of Jesus.  Christians can have the Holy Spirit teach them all things and remind them of what Jesus has said. (John 14:26)  They literally have the ability to hear that spiritual voice of God say “…this is the way, walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:12)

It is important to note; there is a big difference between a born-again Christian who walks in step with the Holy Spirit and produces His fruit and someone who just makes it to church and gives a religious appearance.  God’s desire is that His children produce much fruit showing themselves to be Jesus’s disciples. (John 15:8)

There are hypocrites, who may attend church or may claim to be Christians and live a life chasing the world and living for themselves.  Their destiny is the same as unrepentant sinners.  Obedient children of God enjoy all the fruits of the Holy Spirit.  Choose today to make Jesus Savior and Lord!