Faithfulness and Fruitfulness
by Marc Carrier

Adapted from The Values-Driven Life: Accelerated Growth for the Christian Soul
www.valuesdrivenlife.com

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The Rewards of Faithful Living 

Do you struggle against sin and wonder if you will ever “get it”? If you do, don’t worry—it’s human nature to feel that way. The good news is, the precepts that God gives you are not designed to burden you, but rather, to free you from the repercussions of disobedience and open the way for God’s great blessings:

 …[T]his is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. (1 John 5:3-4, NASB)

The Range of Blessingsfor Obedience

 
Let’s just list a whole bunch of the promises for the faithful found in Scripture. It’s a pretty impressive line-up, and should definitely motivate you to pour on the fertilizer in the area of faithfulness!

“Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them. Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers.

He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you.

You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle.

The LORD will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you.” (Deuteronomy 7:11-15, NASB)

“If you want to live securely in the land, follow my decrees and obey my regulations. Then the land will yield large crops, and you will eat your fill and live securely in it.” (Leviticus 25:18-19, NLT)

But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you…You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives. (Exodus 23:22, 25-26, NLT)

Take the time also to read the blessings promised in Deuteronomy 5:32-33, Leviticus 26:3-12, Exodus 15:26, and Genesis 26:2-5. In these verses, and numerous others, God makes many promises to those who obey His precepts. They include: bounty, prosperity, safety, health, long life, many children (yes, that’s a blessing!), and success in battle.

You may argue, All of these verses come from the Old Testament. They don’t apply to me under the new covenant in Christ. Well, here’s one that comes straight from the mouth of Jesus Himself: “‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it’” (Luke 11:28). Take heed of these promises and seek the best that God has to offer through faithfulness.

Faithfulness to God’s Word

Luke 11:28 not only extends the promise of reward for obedience, but it emphasizes that the Word of God is to be your ultimate authority and the standard by which you strive to live your life.

God has revealed His character, His will, and His values to humanity in the whole of Scripture. The Bible is your guidebook for life here and now, and it reveals your hope for eternity. Because the secrets to successful living lay within the covers of the Bible, why don’t we just stop here and say, “study and live out the whole of Scripture and be blessed,” eliminating the need for this book altogether? Just kidding! The Bible is a big book, and not necessarily written by subject in a way that makes its precepts easy to apply in everyday life.

The Values-Driven Life is our attempt to help you put God’s Word into practice in your day-to-day life and experience the fulfillment that comes from faithfulness. What we strive to do, quite simply, is to take the whole of Scripture and present it in meaningful and easily understood parts, to fertilize your faith and maximize your fruitfulness for God’s Kingdom.

This big-picture perspective on what God wants from you in your faith can only be helpful, since reading the whole of God’s Word and applying its teachings can otherwise be a time-consuming and painstaking process. But, how important it is! Try this Scripture on for size:

[W]e can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. (1 John 2:3-6, NLT)

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” (John 14:15-21, NASB)

The great thing is, as difficult as it may be to live by all of God’s wonderful and righteous precepts, Jesus says here that He does not leave you to do it in your own strength. The Holy Spirit resides within you—and it is His very presence and power in you that allows you to faithfully live out God’s Word. Love and obedience are faithfulness to God. Not one or the other, but both. You should be faithful to obey God’s Word, because of your love for Him.

Copyright © 2007-2009, Marc and Cynthia Carrier

Marc Carrier is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with many years of corporate experience in managing multi-million dollar projects. More recently, Marc has helped to equip families for greater success and life enjoyment by applying successful project management principles to the home.

Marc has co-authored The Values-Driven Life: Accelerated Growth for the Christian Soul (www.valuesdrivenlife.com). He has also written, with his wife, Cynthia, The Values-Driven Family: A Proactive Plan for Successful Biblical Parenting and Values-Driven Discipleship: Biblical Instruction and Character Training Manual.

The focus of Marc and Cindy's "Values-Driven" ministry is to encourage and equip Christian families to make the most of every opportunity: that is, to serve God, participate in fulfilling the Great Commission, and raise children who love and serve the Lord. For more information about their resources, for fresh inspiration on your family journey, or to find practical helps-including dozens of FREE DOWNLOADS-visit http://www.ValuesDrivenFamily.com.