Faithfulness of men of God

I read with interest about Mordecai Ham, a preacher who faithfully preached the word of God night after night in Charlotte in 1934. He was a faithful man of God but was not a great evangelist. He followed the Lord faithfully and served Him. D. L. Moody led Mordecai Ham to God. Since Mordecai Ham was a faithful man of God, he preached the Word of God and in those meetings Billy Graham committed his life to the Lord. Billy Graham in turn led thousands to God.

God wants faithfulness in all areas of our lives like Ham even in small matters. The dictionary gives the meaning for the word ‘faithful’ as, ‘firm in adherence to promises,’ ‘loyal,’ ‘constant,’ ‘comfortable to truth,’ ‘worthy of belief,’ ‘true,’ and ‘exact.’ Another meaning given for this word is ‘full of faith. ‘So faithfulness is leading a life of unshakable loyalty or worthy of our belief. It is showing our belief in action. Faithfulness can be shown in our lives by making our faith a living reality.

The antonyms for the word ‘faithful’ are ‘faithless,’ ‘dishonest,’ ‘untrustworthy,’ ‘disloyal,’ and ‘unfaithful.’ A faithful man of God will not have these qualities in his life. The Bible gives the example of many people who lived faithfully to God. Let us see some Scriptural examples from among them.

1. Moses was faithful in all his house:“Then He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision, and I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house” Num. 12:6,7.
2. David walked before God faithfully:“For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from My God. For all His judgements were before me; and for His statutes, I did not depart from them” 2 Sam. 22:22,23.
3. Josiah did what was right in the sight of the Lord:“Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and He reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left” 2 Kin. 22:1,2.
4. The Priests and Levites at the time of Hezekiah were faithful in financial matters:“Now Hezekiah commanded them to prepare rooms in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. Then they faithfully brought in the offerings, the tithes, and the dedicated things. Cononiah, the Levite was ruler over them, and Shimei his brother was the next” (2 Chro. 31: 11,12).
5. Hanani and Hananiah were faithful in God’s work: “Then it was, when the wall was built and I had hung the doors, when the gate keepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, that I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.” Neh. 7:1,2
6. The priests, scribes and the Levites were faithful in their task:”And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren” Neh. 13:13.
7. Jesus Christ was faithful in His work:“Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house” Heb. 3:1,2.
8. Paul was counted faithful to be appointed for the ministry:”And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.” 1 Tim. 1:12.
9. Timothy was a faithful son in the Lord to Paul:“For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church” 1 Cor. 4: 17.
10. Gaius was faithful in helping others:“Beloved, you (Gaius) do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, who have born witness of your love before the church.” 3 John 5,6.

The Greek word used for faithful is pistos in the New Testament. It is used both in active sense and in passive sense. When it is used in active sense in the Bible, it means trusting or believing. But when it is used in passive sense it means trustworthy, reliable or faithful. So pistos means having an unshakable loyalty or trustworthiness in following the Lord.

The Greek word used in Matt. 24:45 and Matt. 25:21-23 to refer to the faithful servant is pistos. So the Lord expects us as servants of God to be loyal and trustworthy in carrying out the responsibilities which are given to us.

(Dr. C Barnabas, Translated from True Discipleship July 1999)