Fruit of the Spirit Bible Study on Faithfulness

Philippians 3:9 - "I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith." (NLT)

Lesson From Scripture: Noah in Genesis

Noah was a God-fearing man who lived in a time of great sin and turmoil. People around the world were worshipping other gods and idols, and sinfulness abounded. God was so upset with his creation that He considered wiping them off the face of the Earth completely. However, the prayers of one faithful man saved humanity. Noah asked God to have mercy on the man, and so God asked Noah to build an ark. He placed representative animals on the ark and allowed Noah and his family to join them. Then God brought forth a great flood, wiping out all the other living things. God then promised Noah that He would never again bring a judgment such as this on humanity.

Life Lessons

Faithfulness leads to obedience, and obedience brings about rich blessings from the Lord. Proverbs 28:20 tells us that a faithful man will be richly blessed. Yet being faithful is not always easy. Temptations abound, and as Christian teens your lives are busy. It is easy to become distracted by movies, magazines, telephone calls, the Internet, homework, school activities, and even youth group events.

Yet being faithful means making conscious choices to follow God. It means standing up when people disrespect your faith to explain why you're a Christian. It means doing what you can to become stronger in your faith and evangelize in a way that works for you. Noah was probably not accepted by his fellow man because he chose to follow God rather than commit great sins. Yet, he found the strength to remain faithful - which is why we are all still here.

God is always faithful to us, even when we are not faithful to Him. He is there by our side, even when we do not seek Him or even notice He is there. He keeps his promises, and we are called to do the same. Remember, God promised Noah that He would never again wipe out His people on the earth as He did in the flood. If we trust in God to be faithful, then He becomes our rock. We can trust in all He has to offer. We will know that there is no trial too great for us to bear, and thus become a light to the world around us.

Prayer Focus

In your prayers this week focus on how to be more faithful. Ask God what you can do to demonstrate your faith to others. Also, ask God to help you identify the temptations in your life that take you away from God rather than closer to Him. Ask Him to give you the strength to remain faithful, even in the most trying and difficult moments of your Christian teen existence.