The word "faith" here means as much as "faithfulness." The apostle is not speaking of justifying faith, which accepts Christ's saving merit, but, as the whole connection shows, he speaks of that virtue by which we keep faith with one another, of fidelity, of faithfulness. Even the unbelieving world admires faithfulness to duty. God's holy Word has much to say in praise of a faithful servant, a faithful friend, a faithful wife, a faithful steward, and so on. But the greatest, most glorious faithfulness which God's Word extols is the fidelity of the Christian to his God and Savior.

As God's Holy Spirit alone works saving faith in us, so does He alone keep us faithful to Christ and in the profession of His holy Gospel to the end. And as we Christians are to be faithful in our love to God, so we are to prove faithful in our daily calling and in our love to our fellow men. For faithfulness is love making good, standing the test in the storms and vicissitudes of life.

There is much faithlessness in this selfish world. Men will break their holiest agreements if they can gain a little money by doing so. And who has not had this or that painful experience with false neighbors or false friends? Is it not too true what the rhyme says: "Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone"? May such base unfaithfulness never be found in us. Let us, by the help of God's Holy Spirit, ever show ourselves faithful and true to God and to one another.

[devotion text by Rev. F. W. Herzberger (1920) -
from the Family Altar - CPH (1957 edition)]
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