“Is he faithful?” Within a congregation of the Lord’s church, this question is sometimes asked concerning various members. The question being asked is not, “Is he a faithful husband?” or “Is he a faithful teacher of the word of God?” The question is, “Is he a faithful Christian?”
How are we to determine that? The Bible clearly teaches that “…the Lord does not see as man sees…the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). We are not able to look on a man’s heart, as the Lord does, so how can we know if one is faithful or not? Someone may ask, “Why should that even concern us? Isn’t a man’s relationship with God just between him and God? What right do we have to be nosey and decide if one is faithful?”
Think about verses like these:
“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness” (Gal. 6:1).
“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church…” (Matt. 18:15-17).
“But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us” (2 Thess. 3:6).
“Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20).
Do these passages make it sound like we should not even be concerned with the faithfulness of our brothers and sisters in Christ? We should not only know and not only care about the spiritual condition of our brethren, God tells us to do something when it is in jeopardy!
While we cannot see a brother’s heart, we can see his actions, which come “from within, out of the heart” (Mark 7:21). When we know a brother is in trouble spiritually and we see his faithfulness waning, our every desire should be to restore him and save his soul.