The Proclaimer

True Faithfulness

The vast majority of religious people see little relationship to a saving faith and faithfulness to the Lord.  Since they believe man is saved by faith only, the idea that man must remain faithful or be lost is foreign to them.  But the bulk of the New Testament epistles deal with attempts to encourage brethren to remain faithful to God and warn of the consequences of disobedience.  There is no truth more clearly taught in scripture: man must remain faithful to God in order to go to heaven.  As the Lord expresses it, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:1).

When Joshua assembled the Israelites and gave his farewell address he stressed the necessity of faithfulness to God.  He tells them, “Choose you this day whom you will serve” (Josh. 24:15).  He commands them to “put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve Jehovah” (v. 14).  All idols must be set aside, for God will not tolerate infidelity. He must come first. While graven images may not be a problem for us, carnal mindedness often is.  As Jesus says, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13). 

But faithfulness and loyalty to God are not based solely upon an outward show.  The priests of Israel offered polluted bread on the altar and sickly animals for sacrifice to God all the while claiming faithful service to Him (Mal. 1:7, 13-14).  Their actions of disrespect and defiance were caused by an inappropriate attitude toward God.  In speaking of their service to the Lord, they said, “Behold, what a weariness it is!” (v. 13) Today we don’t offer moldy bread or a lame animal for worship, but how many Christians view their worship and service to the Lord as “weariness”?  How many drag their discipleship behind them like a ball and chain?

There is a direct correlation between spiritual maturity and faithfulness. As one matures in the faith his word is completely reliable.  Like the Lord, he will do what he says he will do.  Whenever the church assembles for worship, there is never any question about his being there.  He will assemble with the saints regardless of headaches, sniffles or visiting relatives.  When he is absent everyone knows that it was impossible for him to come. When he assembles with the saints he doesn’t simply go through the motions of worship, nor does he offer God the leftovers of his life.  He understands and experiences true joy in Christ in his life and freely and gladly gives the Lord a “firstfruit” offering of his time, energy and money.  Like the apostle Paul he is willing to “count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8).

But the faithfulness of the child of God is not determined solely by attendance to the services of the church.  It is, rather, the result of a true commitment to the Lord.  An attitude of heart that says, “I put God before everything else in my life.”  It is a disposition of life that manifests itself in a life of obedience.  It is a heart that will obey regardless of inconvenience; regardless of the situation; regardless of the consequences.  It is a heart that wants to do right whether others do or not; a heart that is able to say, “Choose you this day whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.”                 

                                                                                           -- Clark Dugger

The Proclaimer