Literature.— H. Bushnell, The New Life, 1860, p. 44 ; J. C. Hare, The Victory of Faith\ 1874 ; J. T. O'Brien, The Nature and the Effects of Faith*, 1877 ; N. Smyth, 2'he Reality of Faith, 1888, also The Religious Feeling— a Study for Faith, n.d. ; J. Kaftan, Glaube und Dogma^,'l8S9 ; C. Gore, in Luz 3/wndii2, 1891 , p. 1 ; J. W. Diggle, Religious Doubt, 1S!»5, p. 28 ; J. Haussleiter, ' Was versteht Paulus unter christlicliem Glauben?' in Greifswalder Studien, 1895, p. 159 ff.; G. B. Stevens, Doctrine and Life, 1895, p. 191 ; A. Schlatter, Der
and Verification, 1907 ; W. R. Inge, Faith, 1909 ; H. C. G. Moule, Paith, 1909 ; P. Charles, La Foi, 1910 ; P. Gardner, The Religious Experience of St. Paul, 1911^. 206; H. Marten- sen-Larsen, Zweifel und Glaube, 1911 ; D. L. Ihmels, Fides imijUcita und der evangelische Ueilsglaube, 1912 ; A. Nairne, The Epistle of Priesthooil, 1913, p. 386 ff. ; W. M. Ramsay, T/ie Teaching of Paul, 1913, pp. 56, 163, 176, ISi.'.
D. Mackak Ton. FAITHFULNESS.— 1. Faithfulness of God.— The
apostolic writers agree Avith the general biblical teaching in ascribing faithfulness to God as ' keep- ing covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand gener-
ations' (Dt 7*). Two general examples may be given. (1) Among the faithful sayings in the NT letters, there is found one in 2 Ti 2"-^*, where the writer speaks of the sufferings that he gladly en- dures, for ' if we died with him, we shall also live with him ... if we are faithless, he abideth faithful; for he cannot deny himself.' God's faith- fulness rested upon His own nature and not upon any human contingencies.
(2) The writer of Hebrews elaborated this truth when he dealt with the blessings that were to come in and through Abraham. In order that he and all believers might have greater assurance, God not only made gracious promises, but also inter- posed with an oath so that He might show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the im- mutability of His counsel. God's faithfulness was assured both by promise and by oath (He 6'^"^").
This Divine faithfulness was made by the apostles the ground of forgiveness and cleansing to those who confessed their sins (1 Jn 1®), of deliverance in temptation from the power of evil (1 Co 6'^ 2 Th 3*), and of confidence in the final salvation of those Avho were called into the fellowship of Jesus Christ (1 Co P, 1 Th 5-").
2. Faithfulness of Christ. — It is noteworthy that in the Apocalypse, where Christians are being en- couraged to endure, the faithfulness of Christ is made prominent. Thus He is called the faithful witness (Rev P 3"), and victory is ascribed to Him who is 'faithful and true' (19^^). But it is in Hebrews again that we find this faithfulness en- larged upon. In the earlier sections of that Epistle, where the writer is comparing the work of Christ with that wrought by angels and prophets, he shows that both Moses and Christ were examples of faithfulness, but Christ excelled, insomuch as a son's faithfulness over God's house excels in quality that of a servant in the house. ' He hath been counted of more glory than Moses, by so much as he that built the house hath more honour than the house' (He 3i-«).
3. Faithfulness of Christians. — In the back- ground of every Christian life the apostles placed the example of Christ and the attributes of God, and thus the faithfulness they sought to practise and instil was linked with the faithfulness of God. For this reason St. Paul repelled with heat the charge of fickleness that had been brought against him by critics in Corinth (2 Co P'*""^). He acknow- ledged that there had been an alteration in certain details of his plans, but he asserted that this was due not to any passing inconsistency in his mind, but to greater faithfulness to his unchangeable desire to help them. He had not changed his plans capriciously, saying *Yes' to-day and 'No' to- morrow, but he had adhered to principles as un- changeable as the gospel he preached. As God was faithful to His promise, so the Apostle did not vacillate ; as Christ was unchangeable, so was St. Paul. The steadfastness of St. Paul and of all Christians found its source in the Divine stablish- ing in Christ. This is only one example of the apostolic belief that constant faithfulness in Chris- tian life came from faith in Christ, ' the faithful and true,' while apostatizing from the living God came from an evil heart of unbelief (He 3^^).
The faithfiilness urged by the apostles covered the whole of life. It must be shown by Christians in their ordinary callings. When many were in- clined, in view of the near approach of the Day of the Lord, to abandon their ordinary occupations, St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that all must work with quietness and eat their own bread, and that none must leave their common work and live in idleness (2 Th 3). In like manner St. Paul wrote more than once that those who were called to be Christians must abide faithfully in their callings
FAITHFULNESS
FALL