Yellowstone National Park is known for its spectacular volcanic activity, particularly for the numerous geysers spewing forth superheated water that gushes out of the bowels of the earth, flows in cascades down rocky terraces, and spouts into the sky in steamy fountains. These waters contain dissolved minerals that are deposited in colorful waterfalls. Probably the most famous geyser is called Old Faithful, and people come from all over the world to view it in action. It is called Old Faithful because it erupts regularly in intervals of 30 to 90 minutes. There are other geysers, but their timing is not as faithful as Old Faithful. There is one in the Napa Valley near Geyserville, California that is said to predict earthquakes. Also, power companies are installing geothermal generating plants to harness the energy from the earth's interior.
However faithful Old Faithful is, it will never have faith, for faith is defined as adherence to a firmly held belief, a steadfast allegiance to an oath or obligation. Old Faithful feels no such obligation nor allegiance, it just does what comes naturally. Another example of the difference between faith and faithfulness is found in the marriage relation. Two people have enough faith in each other's integrity to recite their marriage vows in which they publicly declare that they will be faithful to one another. In this case, faith is a mutual trust while faithfulness is a living fulfillment of that commitment. Thus faith denotes a belief or commitment while faithfulness denotes performance.
The Jews in Christ's day had difficulty making this distinction, and the book of Romans is Paul's effort to set them straight. They believed that they, along with father Abraham, were justified and received the promise as a result of obedience to the law, which included circumcision. However, Abraham received the promise years before he was circumcised, and we are told that he was justified by faith, by believing what God said. Thereafter he was faithful to his calling, and he is the father of all who will follow his example.
In like manner we are justified by faith, but this does not nullify the law. By no means, as Paul says in Romans 3:31, "Nay we uphold the law" for it is the only safe code of conduct toward spiritual excellence. So, faith has to do with justification and faithfulness with sanctification. It is a lifelong endeavor to be faithful to the faith.
