I have no authority to say so, but I think that if we could have asked Paul, “How is your life going?” He would have said, “I have the best, most joyous, most purposeful life I could every have imagined.” Like all of us – like Daniel – like David – Paul’s life had its ups and serious downs. There were times when, like an airplane with engine trouble, he thought he’d fall from the sky, but the Lord reignited that engine, and soon he was soaring toward heaven once again. Looking back on where he was headed as he made his way toward Damascus, now he could say, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord (who saved my blasphemous, injurious, persecuting soul) and who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.”
He went on – “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am CHIEF.” Christ is the faithful “king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God (to whom belongs) honour and glory for ever and ever.” The Lord deserves our constant praise because He is forever faithful toward us. Twice in this scripture Paul uses the word which we are considering in this “Faithfulness series.” But the subject is felt as something even more foundational than the mere word. And I would like to use that fact as the theme for our few thoughts this afternoon.
Look at verse 16 – “I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” Perhaps “longsuffering” isn’t a true synonym for “faithfulness,” but at least they are close cousins. Our Saviour is infinitely longsuffering toward us in our weaknesses and propensity to sin. And He is the pattern for us to follow. A pattern for longsuffering, patience and diligent faithfulness.
As I was first meditating on this message – “The Application of Faithfulness” – I was picturing a list of areas where you and I should be faithful. But as I went on, Paul’s words “for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe” began to weigh on me. I could make this a dry, dull, Pharisaical message with a list of do’s and dont’s. And although I will touch on some specific points this afternoon, I hope to come back to our Saviour who is loving and longsuffering, and who is our ultimate pattern for faithfulness.
Let’s start with “MINISTRY” or “SERVICE.”
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.” What is ministry, or more specifically “THE ministry?” People on the fringes of Christianity picture ministry using priests, preachers and various church leaders. But the truth is – every saint of God is an ambassador for Christ, and we all have our ministries. It might not be standing before a crowd of people, singing a wonderful solo or preaching the gospel. It might be, as deacons, waiting on tables and assisting widows and orphans. It could be a ministry of faithfully greeting visitors, washing the windows at the front door, knocking dust off things or plucking weeds from the parking lot. Whatever is done it the name of the Lord Jesus and for the glory of Christ could be called “ministry.”
I don’t know that the Lord Jesus ever pulled weeds, because that wasn’t to what He had been ordained. But He was absolutely and perfectly faithful to the specific work which the Father had given to Him. Listen to His prayerful words in John 17: “I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world… “I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me… “I pray for them… I have given them thy word…”
Many of the hundred nineteen verses using the word “faithful” are speaking about faithfulness in the ministry. Jeremiah 23:28 – “The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully.” What good is it, if God has revealed a truth to one of His servants and that man is not faithful in sharing what he has been given?
I’m not going to tell you which politicians you can trust and who you should vote for in November. But I will point out that in almost every paragraph which comes out of the mouth of Donald Trump there is either a lie or a horrible exaggeration. And what is truly sad is that they are blatantly obvious, and yet people don’t seem to care. I mention him, because he is a prominent reflection of the general condition of our fallen society – it is filled with the words of the “father of lies.”
David, in Psalm 5 said in prayer, “Thou (Lord) shalt DESTROY them that speak leasing; the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy; and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. For there is NO faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue. Destroy thou them, O God…”
Maybe that same sort deceitfulness was rampant in Paul’s day, forcing him to say over and over again: “This is a faithful saying.” “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” – I Timothy 1:15. “Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation” – I Timothy 4:9. II Timothy 4:11 – “It is a faithful saying: for if we be dead with (Christ) we shall also live with him…” Titus 3:7-8 – “Being justified by (Christ’s) grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly…” Unlike Christ’s perfect example, His ministers may get details messed up from time to time, but that man shouldn’t be in Christ’s ministry, if he doesn’t strive to be faithful to the revealed word of God.
Let’s go back to that word “PATTERN” for a minute.
“I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” I can’t overemphasize that CHRIST is to be our pattern. But that is not just in ministry; it is to be true for every area of our lives. He is our example for worship, faithfully and constantly dwelling in the presence of the Father. And look at Him when temptation was brought His way. He was “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” He was faithful toward holiness and faithful IN His holiness, setting before us an example. Christ’s speech was perfectly faithful. “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” – I Pet. 2:22. He may not have been married, but He spoke of marriage, stressing the importance of faithfulness.
For what great thing is Noah best known? Wasn’t it in building the ark in preparation for the deluge? God said to him, ““Make thee an ark of gopher wood…. and this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of…” What if Noah had deviated from God’s blue print? It might not have survived the flood. In Exodus 25, “The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, speak unto the children of Israel… and let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” Would God have occupied that Tabernacle if Moses and Bezaleel had put in skylights or chandeliers? Hebrews 8:5 – “Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle; for, see, saith he that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.” In David’s instructions to Solomon about the Temple, patterns were shared and those patterns were followed.
The very idea of a PATTERN demands FAITHFULNESS. They are like the horse and carriage and love and marriage, they go together – one follows the other. And Christ is the pattern we have been given for living the Christian life. “Christian” means Christ-like. The Lord Jesus was perfectly faithful to Himself and to the God-head. One of His important phrases was, “Not my will but thine be done.”
Again, rather than giving you rules to follow, let me throw together some examples and illustrations.
Several times I have referred to I Corinthians 4 where the Apostle said, “It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.” In that same chapter Paul commended TIMOTHY and recommended him to the church there in Corinth. He said, “I (have) sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and FAITHFUL in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.” And to the Ephesians, he did the same with another brother, “That ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and FAITHFUL minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things.”
What do you suppose Lydia meant when she asked Paul, Silas and those with them, come “If ye have judged me to be FAITHFUL to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there?” How was that dear lady faithful to the Lord? She faithfully met with other ladies every sabbath down by the river for prayer and mutual encouragement. There were no men to guide them; no rabbi; no synagogue, but she and they were as faithful as possible. And for what do you suppose they were praying? The Lord’s glory? A synagogue/church? Assurance of their salvation? If she was faithful to her employers or those she represented in the business of selling of purple… And if she was faithful to her household… If she faithfully paid her taxes to the Macedonians and Romans… If she was faithful in these areas – it was to honor Jehovah. “If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there?”
There are a lot of professing Christians who appear to be faithful to their families – their households like Lydia… Many are faithful adherents to the American Constitution and to lesser laws of the land or state. And they are faithful employees. But they are not faithful to their churches, in prayer, in reading their Bibles. Despite other kinds of faithfulness, they are not faithful people faithful to the Lord. Lydia did not know the Lord Jesus before Paul’s introduction, but if we were to examine her faithfulness it would have been Christ-like by God’s grace.
It should be obvious, but I noticed in my survey of the word “faithful” that honesty was often mentioned. When the revival came during the days of Josiah, the king wanted to clean up and restore the temple. He told Hilkiah to gather up as much silver as possible, delivering it into the hands of faithful workers… “unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house, Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt FAITHFULLY.” And when Nehemiah was trying to bring Israel back from the brink of disaster, he called for the remnant of Judah to bring what corn and oil they could into the treasuries. Then he testified, “And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah… Zadok… Pedaiah (and others) for they were counted FAITHFUL, and their office was to distribute unto their brethren.” Nehemiah might have accused of nepotism, but he even set some of his relatives in important positions. “I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.” In addition to these there are other scriptures which speak about honest men who faithfully handle national and religious finances.
And then the Bible speaks about faithfulness in the area of justice. During the short revival which took in the days of Jehoshaphat, the king set up men “for the judgment of the Lord, and for controversies… “And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.” And the Lord told Moses years before, “Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers…”
Remember, as I said, the Lord Jesus is our primary example in these things. Do I need to talk about His honesty? Suffice it to say that He is the God who cannot lie. Will He fail to dispense justice properly? The thought is inconceivable. And there is the added fact that in order to faithfully maintain His justice toward sin and sinners, He went so far as to pay the penalty on our behalf, maintaining His justice while justifying us with salvation.
Two more points of application before I quit.
The Lord Jesus made a comment in Luke 16. “He that is faithful in that which is LEAST is faithful also in MUCH.” It takes faithfulness in little things to come to being faithful in more important things.
I referred to Jesus’ Parable of the Talents in our last lesson; that is the story about the three stewards. To one servant was given five talents, to another three and to the last there was given but one talent. The one talent man was not faithful to his responsibility, and that talent was later given to one of the others, while he was punished – because the Lord demands faithfulness. But in the case of the two other men, the Lord said to each of them, “Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a FEW things, I will make thee ruler over MANY things.” Faithfulness in smaller, but not necessarily in small things… faithfulness in smaller things is the key to being faithful in larger things.
Our visiting preacher last week was talking to some of us about a man he knows. He was saying that the man loves to preach, but his personal Bible study in preparation for preaching is purposefully limited. He refuses to read anything but his Bible – no commentaries, no lexicons, no concordances. He says the Bible is the only preparation he needs to minister the word of God. He uses nothing but his imagination to analyze the scripture – which may or may not involve the Spirit. While I understand what he is saying, still he might perfectly fit into Christ’s parable. But in his case, receiving the little things, and investing them properly, could produce huge gains. It is easy to see where his ministry is going – nowhere.
And I’ll close with this: not only are we to be faithful in the little things, but we are to be faithful until the END. Christ one day was dictating a letter to His amanuenses which was to be sent to His church in Smyrna. Revelation 2:8 – “And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich)… Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days be thou FAITHFUL unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”
We live in a society which has come to think there is a universal retirement agenda. Many think that everyone should stop working at some point – quite often that is at sixty-five. But that is not a principle to be found in the Bible. Certainly, as we age, we loose our strength, stamina and energy, making it difficult, or impossible, to do the things we did when we were twenty and thirty. Also, God creates circumstances where we no longer are asked to do the things He once had us doing. But no Christian has a Biblical right to quit serving, just because he has reached retirement age. The Lord Jesus tells us, “Be thou faithful unto DEATH, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
This could be made to apply to anyone, but I’ll use the pastor as an example. A man may faithfully serve three or four churches during his life-time, and then at the age of sixty-five decide to leave the ministry, buying a motor home and beginning to touring the county while still healthy. Peter may talk about a “crown of glory that fadeth not away,” reserved in heaven for the faithful elder. But I’m not sure that it will be awarded to him, if he is not faithful unto the very end of his ability to serve.
Applying that to the average Christian, the principle still applies. Just because we have reached that point in our lives when we must live on a fixed income, that does not mean we are no longer responsible to honor the Lord with our tithes and offerings. No church is too large to force us to stop inviting our neighbors to come hear the gospel. And certainly the last person ordained by God to be saved has not yet been brought to Christ, so we must remain faithful in our evangelism. Even if you need a prayer list to remind you for whom you should pray, don’t quit praying until that day you look at Jesus face to face.
But what if the world becomes so terrible that to serve the Lord means death? “Be thou faithful unto DEATH, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Be as resolute as Daniel, who was willing to face the lions in order to maintain his faithfulness. Be as faithful as Asariah and his two friends who were threatened with the burning fiery furnace.
And what about Antipas who was apparently one of the earlier members of the church in Pergamos. “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.” Some day very soon, we may be given the opportunity to shake the hand of faithful Antipas. He, like thousands of others since the penning of the final “Amen” of the Book of Revelation, gave his life for the Saviour, refusing to surrender to the powerful enemy of Christ. Antipas was faithful unto death; Antipas was Christ’s faithful martyr.
None of us know for sure what we might have to suffer between now and the time of our death. We may end our earthly lives with a beheading at the hand of Muslims – should they take over this country. It might be a slow and torturous death in prison without proper food and medical help. Or we may simply live out to the end of our days dying of old age or leave through translation. We can’t know the details at this point, but this one thing we should know: The Lord wants us to be faithful up to that day.