Sunday February 4
Faithfulness
“Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2). To fight and win “the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12) is crucial for a faithful steward. “Faithful” is what God is and what we are to become through Him working in us. Being faithful means staying true to what we know is right, especially in the heat of spiritual battles.
Amen! Notice the author said "through Him working IN us." It is only when the heart is fully surrendered to Christ that He can work IN us. If we allow the mind to wander away from Jesus, then He is not in us. He then is standing the heart seeking entrance.
Spiritual conflicts between right and wrong, good and evil, will surely come. They are part of the fight of faith. The decision that marks stewards in every situation is the choice to be faithful. If you love wealth, be sure to remain faithful to God and what He says about the dangers of the love of money. If you crave fame, remain faithful to what the Word of God says about humility. If you struggle with lustful thoughts, remain faithful to the promises of holiness. If you want power, remain faithful to what God says about being a servant of all. The choice to be faithful or unfaithful is often made in a split second, even if the consequences can be eternal.
The choice to sin or not to sin is dependent upon one thing. What is that one thing? We are guaranteed failure if we do not have that one thing. On the other hand, if we have that one thing, we have power to resist whatever temptation comes to us. What promise reveals this? And what is that one thing we need in order to make the right decision?
Read Hebrews 11:8-12, 17-19, and Romans 4:13, 18-21.
11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as [in] a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
11:10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker [is] God.
11:11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
11:12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, [so many] as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten [son].
11:18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
11:19 Accounting that God [was] able to raise [him] up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, [was] not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
4:18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
4:19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:
4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
4:21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
What do these verses teach us about being faithful?
That it is possible. That a man would kill his own son reveals much. How can this be? Such faith! But, the lesson falls far short if we do not understand how it is that a man can become so strong in faith. After all, there was a long protracted period of time between Abram sojourn to Canaan and his offering up his son. And, in that time, we find that Abraham was not always so faithful. In fact he did not believe God could give him a son through Sarai. It was this failure to believe God that brought upon him the great trial of being asked to sacrifice his own son.
How did Abram get such faith that he would follow through with this request?
In Hebrew “faithful” means to trust. The same Hebrew root gives us the word “amen,” and it really means to be “solid” or “firm.” Faithfulness means we have been tested and tried, and have remained firmly committed to God’s plan.
Amen! What do we call Abram's having a son with another woman?
Preparing to speak before the emperor, the Reformer Martin Luther “read the word of God, looked over his writings, and sought to draw up his reply in a suitable form. . . . He drew near the holy Scriptures . . . and with emotion placed his left hand on the sacred volume, and raising his right toward heaven, swore to remain faithful to the gospel, and freely to confess his faith, even should he seal his testimony with his blood.” - J. H. Merle d’Aubigné, History of the Reformation (New York: The American Tract Society, 1846), vol. 2, book 7, p. 260.
Read Revelation 2:10.
2:10 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.
What should the words about being “faithful unto death” mean to us in our everyday walk with the Lord?
It depends on what one has been taught. Most of Israel was eternally lost, so will much of professing Christianity. Many today in the church cannot be faithful unto little things much less be faithful unto death. He who cannot be faithful in little matters will not be faithful when faced with death....unless he be born again of the Spirit.
So many believe that they can sin and retain their "crown of life." Such a deception! So, what do we answer in response to the lesson's question, what should the words about being “faithful unto death” mean to us in our everyday walk with the Lord?
