Faithful
Series: Names for God’s People
Chuck Sligh
May 1, 2016
NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation of this sermon is available upon request from me at chucksligh@hotmail.com.
TEXT: Ephesians 1:1 – “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:”
INTRODUCTION
What’s in a name?
Illus. – The story is told of a soldier in the army of Alexander the Great, who was brought before the great world-conqueror for court martial. When the emperor had heard the charges and the evidence, he turned to the soldier facing condemnation, and said, “What is your name?”
“Alexander,” was the reply.
Again the emperor questioned, “What is your name?”
The second time the soldier answered, “Alexander!”
With a cry of rage, the emperor roared, “I say, what…is…your…name?”
And when the soldier answered for the third time, “Alexander!”, the great general angrily replied, “You say your name is Alexander? Then you are found guilty of your crime as charged, and I give you the maximum penalty for the charge. Either change your conduct or change your name, for no man can bear my name, Alexander, and do the things you have done.”
Again, we are reminded of the importance of names. We’ve been in a brief mini-series titled “Names for the People of God.” So far in our series we have looked at three names, and have tried to see how well we’ve lived up to our names as Christians. We’ve looked at the names of “Believer,” “Child of God,” and “Disciple.”
Today we want to look at the title given to the Ephesians in our text. Paul addresses this letter to the saints, which we will look at week after next, and also to the “faithful” at Ephesus.
In the Greek, as in the English, the word faithful is related to the word faith. In the English, we have the words faith and faith-ful.
The word for faithful is even closer in the Greek to the root word faith than it is in our English. The word for faith in the Greek is pístis; and the word for faithful is pistós.
The words pistós and faithful are related to their root words in their MEANING as well as their origin. Faith means “to trust in, to have reliance on.” Faithful means “someone who can be trusted in or one who can be relied on.”
Can you be described as faithful? Let’s look at faithfulness today.
But before we do, let me emphasize that everything I will share with you today is addressed only to those of you who are saved: people who have experienced God’s full forgiveness for sin by trusting in Jesus Christ and have become a part of God’s family. You can never be saved or receive God’s acceptance by being faithful.
Faithfulness is our OUTworking in our lives of the INworking of God’s grace, and has nothing to do with EARNING salvation, because it is impossible to earn salvation. Salvation is not a REWARD for faithfulness; it is a FREE GIFT to those who will freely receive it that is based on GOD’S faithfulness, not ours. But once you become a child of God, God wants you to be faithful.
So let’s talk about faithfulness in the lives of God’s people…
I. FIRST, CONSIDER WHAT OUR FAITHFULNESS IS BASED ON.
God’s expectation of our faithfulness is rooted in HIS faithfulness. God’s faithfulness is foundational to understanding His very nature. In fact, you cannot really come to a deep and abiding faith in God until you trust in His faithfulness.
Illus. – The Marine Corps has an interesting motto, Semper Fidelis. The short version is Semper Fi. Semper Fidelis are two Latin words which mean, “Always Faithful”—which is the code of conduct and character of those in the Marine Corps.
Folks, semper fidelis—always faithful—is the perfect description of our God. God is always faithful; He always keeps His Word; He always comes through for us; He never lets us down; He never fails to come through for us. He is semper fidelis—always faithful.
This is repeatedly emphasized in the Old Testament:
• In Psalms 36:5, David said, “Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.”
• Psalms 89:1 says, “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.”
• Psalms 92:1-2 says, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: 2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.”
• But I love Lamentations 3:22-23 best, which was the inspiration for the last hymn we sang this morning, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” It says, “It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
God’s faithfulness is also a recurrent theme in the New Testament:
• Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:9 – “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
• In 1 Thessalonians 5:24, Paul says, “Faithful is he that calleth you…”
• The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to “…hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” (Hebrews 10:23)
OUR faithfulness to God is rooted in GOD’S faithfulness to us.
II. NOTE SECOND THE RARITY OF FAITHFULNESS
Note Proverbs 20:6 – “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man, who can find?”
There are many people who can claim the name of Christian, but the Bible indicates that truly faithful people are difficult to find.
The book of 1 Samuel chronicles the sad story of Eli who was unfaithful in several areas of his life, not the least of which was the letting his sons get out of control in their service in the Temple. Because of his unfaithfulness and his failing to restrain the open sin of his two sons, God rejected Eli’s priesthood. And in 1 Samuel 2:35 God said “…I will raise me up a FAITHFUL priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed forever.” God was looking for a priest who would rise above the mediocrity of that day and be FAITHFUL in all things.
In Psalm 12:1 David lamented the lack of faithfulness in his own time. – He said, “Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for THE FAITHFUL FAIL FROM AMONG THE CHILDREN OF MEN.”
Jesus and Paul both taught much about faithfulness, as we just saw, because there was a lack of faithfulness in their day.
And you know today is no different…
• People take on financial responsibilities and debts, but are not faithful to fulfill those responsibilities and pay those obligations.
• People take vows of marriage before God to be true and faithful, and then break those vows by being unfaithful.
• People—people who claim to be Christians—take on the responsibilities of church membership by joining a church, but then become unfaithful and idle in their attendance to and service in their local church.
Faithfulness is a rare thing, but it is greatly valued by God.
III. NOTE THIRD, THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITHFULNESS
Though faithfulness is a rare thing in our day, it’s nevertheless required by God. In 1 Corinthians 4:2 Paul says, “Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.”
Any person who will be used by God must learn to be faithful.
It’s interesting to look at the people whom PAUL praises in his letters. When mentioning them, he doesn’t commend their oratorical skills, or their effectivness, or their personality, or their wealth.
Usually it was their FAITHFULNESS that he pointed out….
• 1 Corinthians 4:17 – “For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and FAITHFUL in the Lord,…”
• Colossians 1:7 – “As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a FAITHFUL minister of Christ.”
• Colossians 4:7 – “All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a FAITHFUL minister and fellowservant in the Lord:”
• Colossians 4:9 – “With Onesimus, a FAITHFUL and beloved brother, who is one of you.…”
PETER did the same thing in 1 Peter 5:12 when he refers to Silvanus as “a FAITHFUL brother” unto the believers in Greece.
Do you see the importance the Bible places on faithfulness in the life of Christians? Why do these Bible writers place such emphasis on faithfulness of these servants of God? Because “…it is REQUIRED in stewards that a man be found faithful
IV. FOURTH, CONSIDER NEXT WITH ME THE SIGNS OF FAITHFULNESS
How do you recognize a faithful person? Interestingly, it was Jesus Himself who gave us three signs of a faithful person in Luke 16:10-12:
• First, a faithful person is faithful in little things – Luke 16:10 – “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”
Has that person been faithful in the little areas he has been given? If he’s been faithful in the little areas, in the seemingly more insignificant areas of service where he serves, then he’ll be faithful in more important jobs later.
When looking at any person in any area of service, this is what I look for first—faithfulness in that which is least; faithfulness in the “little things.”
Illus. – I remember in our church in Wiesbaden a man who asked if he could be the treasurer of our church. I had to keep myself from laughing. I told him that I appreciated the offer, but we already had someone else in mind. We knew that he had a degree in finances, but we had already decided against him. Why? Because he was in deep debt and he couldn’t get on top of his own finances. He was not faithful in that which was little; we certainly could not trust him to be faithful in something as bit as the church finances.
• The second sign of a faithful person is that he is faithful in handling his or her money – Luke 16:11 – “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon [money], who will commit to your trust the true riches?”
If a person is faithful with what God has entrusted in his care and stewardship, he’ll probably be faithful in what WE entrust to him.
People who are good stewards who give to God through their church; who control spending on their “wants”; who think and evaluate and pray before making decisions about spending money of items they desire above their needs; who pay their bills promptly; and who stay out of unnecessary debt—these are signs of people who are faithful.
• The third sign of a faithful person is that he is faithful with that which belongs to others – Luke 16:12 – “And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?”
Illus. – I borrowed someone’s car a few years ago when mine was in the shop. When I was finished with it, I gave it a car wash, vacuumed it thoroughly, filled it up with gas and checked and refilled the oil and other fluid levels. The next day the owner said that it was cleaner and in better shape than when he gave it to me. He said he would let me borrow it next time it needed to be cleaned and washed! Well, I just thought that’s what I was supposed to do.
A faithful man is faithful with other people’s belongings.
V. NEXT, NOTE WITH ME SOME WAYS WE SHOULD BE FAITHFUL.
• Well, of course we need to be faithful in the three areas we just mentioned—in little things as well as big; in how you handle your money; and in how you treat other peoples’ things.
• Second, we need to be faithful in our personal relationship with God.
We need to be faithful in a daily time of Bible study and prayer. The faithfulness in our devotional life pays big dividends as we try to live for the Lord and please Him. God loves for us to meet with Him and seek Him, and He blesses us for it.
• Third, we should be faithful in our families.
> First, be faithful to your spouse.
God’s intention is that you be a one-woman man and a one-man woman. Infidelity—unfaithfulness to our spouses—is not only bad for a military career, it’s devastating to your spouse. The hurt, the sense of betrayal, the emotional damage that unfaithfulness causes in marriage causes scars that CAN be healed with God’s grace—but it takes a long, long time to heal. BE FAITHFUL!
> Men, be faithful to lead your families spiritually.
Faithfully lead your children by training them to do right. Faithfully lead them by setting the good example. Lead them by being faithful to church.
> Husbands, be faithful to obey God’s instructions to love your wife as Christ loved the church and to honor her.
> Wives, be faithful to honor and respect your husband and follow his spiritual lead, as God has commanded.
> Children and teenagers, be faithful to show the proper respect and honor to your parents and obey them as God commands.
• Fourth, you need to be faithful in your responsibilities to your local church.
> Be faithful in church attendance – Hebrews 10:23-25 – “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (EXPAND AS LED)
> Be faithful in your area of ministry – 1 Corinthians 15:58 – “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Do you serve the Lord in the nursery, as a Sunday School teacher, a K.I.D.S. Church teacher, in cleaning the church, or some other area of ministry and serving? If so—be faithful to fulfill your duties—Show up!; be on time; serve with a cheerful spirit; go the extra mile; do your best for Christ’s sake!
And lastly, be faithful to give to God through your church. – A church can only function as God’s people are faithful to support it through their tithes and offerings.
VI. FINALLY, I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO CONSIDER THE REWARD OF FAITHFULNESS.
The Bible abounds with promises of God’s blessings upon those who are faithful.
Proverbs 28:20 says, “A faithful man shall abound with blessings…”
I don’t know about you, but I want God’s blessings in my life! But here it is—without faithfulness, you will never abound in those blessings. Abounding blessings are upon the faithful as a reward for your faithfulness.
In Psalm 101:6 the psalmist says, “Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me:…”
Do you see it? God’s eye is on you in a special way when you are faithful.
What does it mean to have God’s eye upon you? If God is omnipresent and omniscient, doesn’t God’s eye see everyone? Yes, of course. But you see, there is a difference between seeing someone and having one’s eye on someone.
Illus. – The difference can be illustrated like this: Suppose I’m walking down the street and I see you. I look at you and wave and then go on about my business. Perhaps I even stop to talk to you. When I get home, I say to my wife, “I saw so-and-so today.” That’s SEEING SOMEONE.
Now, suppose on the other hand, I have a three-year-old and I take him with me down the street. As we walk, I’m constantly keeping my eye on him. I WATCH where he goes and what he does and I SUPERVISE him and I TALK TO him and am CAREFUL of his every action.
That’s KEEPING MY EYE ON SOMEONE!
When God’s eye is upon the faithful of the land, it means that God gives His SPECIAL care and attention to them.
I want that, don’t you? I WANT TO BE FAITHFUL! And I want YOU to be faithful.
CONCLUSION
God is looking for faithful people. God commands and rewards faithfulness.
Are you a faithful person? Do you live up to your name of Faithful?
God help you to be faithful!
