James 2:1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an
attitude of personal favoritism.
The Danger of showing favoritism - man centered Christianity
James' key point in his letter is concerned with "living working faith", as seen in James 2:26 - "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." As James writes to Jewish Christians scattered throughout the regions of Israel and beyond, he communicates to them the type of Christian faith desired by the Lord. As we turn to chapter 2 of James' letter, we see a warning about "showing favoritism" in the local church. The Greek word translated "favoritism" could be rendered "being a man-pleaser". How often in churches today do you see favoritism or "man-pleasing" determining decisions and policies?
Bible teacher R.C Sproul in his study on James refers to this warning on favoritism as "playing politics". Clearly whenever we try to please one group over another, or whenever we "cave in" to the whims and desires of certain people - we end up being man-centered in our ministry and Christianity. What James is warning us to avoid in this subject of "showing favoritism" is people-pleasing, man centered Christianity. It is a guarantee, wherever you see man, rather than Jesus Christ being the focal point of all efforts in your personal life or Church, somewhere along the way favoritism has reared its ugly head.
God does not show favoritism
The testimony of scripture is that in all of God's dealings with people, whether they be believer or unbeliever, is the fact that He does not show favoritism. Passages such as Psalm 89:14 states - "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your
throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You." God is a fair God. No one can influence God to adjust standards or pull some strings to accomplish an agenda that would violate His character. God does what He does for His own glory and purposes. (Isaiah 48:11) When we turn to the New Testament, time and time again we read of how God does not show favoritism for the sake of anyone. (Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25)
The Specific consequences of showing favoritism (people pleasing)
So what specific consequences come about when we show favoritism? Man-centered Christianity becomes the overall outcome. Ironically, in an effort to focus more on people, man-centered forms of Christianity end up being less loving. The more we try to please men, the less we will be like Jesus. As you journey through James 2:1-13, four damaging consequences result from trying to please certain people rather than pleasing God:
1. Less love in your heart for Jesus. James 2:1-4
As James speaks about the manner in which you "hold to your faith in the glorious Lord Jesus Christ", the NASB words the statement in 2:1 as "with an attitude of favoritism". Clearly the issue of showing favoritism affects the heart we have towards Jesus Christ, since such activity leads to us becoming "judges with evil motives". (2:4) The phrase rendered "evil motives" speaks of "disputes, arguments and schemes" that are characterized as welcoming the company of evil. Whenever we allow such evil motives to creep into our hearts, the love of Jesus will quickly grow cold. Thus favoritism leads to less love for Jesus, but notice what else favoritism leads to...
2. Less love for God's glory. James 2:5-7
As James continues, he says in James 2:5 "Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to
be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who
love Him?" In typical Jewish style, James uses the word "Listen" to get his reader's attention. Moses back in Deuteronomy 5:1 and 6:4 tells the people "Hear, O Israel" - so we know that what ever James is going to say, we need to heed. Clearly showing favoritism and preferring one person over another causes the name of God to be blasphemed - which leads to less love of God's glory. (James 2:5) God's name and glory are interrelated. For example, Exodus 33:18-19 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” 19And He
said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the
name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show
compassion.” The name of God refers to the sum total of His goodness, character and reputation. God has invested His name and reputation into His very people. How we treat one another ultimately reflects how we treat Jesus, as Jesus Himself explains in passages such as Matthew 25:45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not
do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me." Favoritism or partiality among God's people causes less love for Jesus and.....
3. Less love for God's word. James 2:8-11
To show partiality is characterized by James as violating God's Law. In fact, the second greatest commandment according to Jesus is to "love your neighbor as oneself" (Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:28-34) When we show partiality, we are doing the exact opposite of loving our neighbor. To be a man-pleaser or show partiality makes me a "trangressor" (2:9,11) and guilty (2:10) as a lawbreaker. Whenever we cater to certain people, rather than loving people with God's love, the net result is less love, less regard and less desire for God's Word. But notice finally.....
4. Less love for one another. James 2:12-13
Certainly whenever we show partiality or become more "man-pleasing" with one another, how we treat one another will change. When you look at James 2:1-13, you get the sense of a downward spiral effect stemming from ongoing efforts in preferential treatment of one person or group over another. Mercy and lovingkindness are translated by the same Hebrew word in the Old Testament. Micah 6:8 reveals the true nature of what God desires from His people - "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love
kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? " 1 John 4:7-21 mentions the importance of loving one another as being the antidote to the relational problems that arise among fellow believers.
So many of our churches could benefit immeasureably from James' words if they would just simply stop showing preferential treatment and quit pleasing people over and above Christ. When we show favoritism, we end up having less love for Jesus, God's glory, God's word and one another. Tomorrow we will look at 1 John 4:7-21 to discover the way in which we can get back to a God-centered Christianity.
Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He
not also with Him freely give us all things?"
Yesterday's blog dealt with the Gospel's sinners and Savior. We first of all discovered that in reagrds to the Gospel's sinners, sinners are relationally enemies of God (Romans 1:18-31), morally guilty before God (Romans 2:15) and legally dead to God (Romans 3:10-13). Furthermore, we also looked at the Gospel's Savior, noting that Jesus Christ is Savior (Romans 5:8-10), Lord (Romans 10:9) and Treasure (Romans 16:27).
Today we want to conclude this little study of the Gospel's sinners, Savior and Saving benefits, focusing our attention upon those benefits that are received by and enjoyed through faith.
Saving benefits - spiritual life, forgiveness and sonship
As we look at how Romans unfolds the Gospel, it begins with the bad news, points us to Jesus, and then unfolds the goodnews for those who trust in Him by faith. I find it interesting that for every barrier that separates the sinner from God, the Gospel grants a corresponding solution to those coming to God by faith in Jesus Christ. Let the reader note three saving benefits that result from receiving the Savior of the Gospel by grace through faith:
1. First, the Gospel reveals that sinners are spiritually dead to God and the things of God. Unbelievers are not merely sick patients lying on a stretcher in need of medicine, rather they are spiritual corpses in need of a spiritual resurrection. In the Gospel I am told to be born again and made alive through faith in Jesus Christ. The New Birth is the foundation of saving faith. Romans 6:11 states - "Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:10 also reveals - "If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is
alive because of righteousness." Thus through faith in Jesus Christ I am raised to walk forth in newness of life. (Romans 6:11).
2. With spiritual life marking the logically beginning of the saving benefits of the Gospel, we see a second benefit received at saving faith - namely forgiveness of sins. The Bible uses the term "justification" to describe God the Father's declaration of my innocence at saving faith. Romans 4:25-5:1 reveals - "He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised
because of our justification. (5:1) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ." The bad news of the Gospel tells me that I am guilty before a Holy God as understood by the testimony of the conscience. (Romans 2:15) To be justified means God declares me innocent or "just-as-if-I-never sinned". I am set free from the Law's condemnation (Romans 8:1), the condemnation of the conscience (Romans 5:1) and the penalty attached to my sin. (Romans 8:2-5)
3. So with the Gospel's benefits being spiritual life in place of my deadness and forgiveness of sin in place of my guilt, we see a third benefit - sonship in place of my enmity. Recall how we saw in Romans 1:18-20 how the wrath of God is being revealed from Heaven? Romans 8:16-17 responds with this hope from the Gospel received by grace through faith - "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and
fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may
also be glorified with Him." Like the benefits of New Birth and justification, adoption unto sonship is also granted at saving faith. Faith is both necessary and sufficient to receive the adoption of God. Relationally I am set right with God, and he with me.
Conclusion: The Gospel's sinners, Savior and saving benefits
We have toured the Book of Romans and have been instructed on the three elements we can present and understand about the Gospel.
1. The Gospel's sinners are God's enemies, morally guilty and spiritually/legally dead.
2. The Gospel's Savior, Jesus Christ, is Savior, Lord and Treasure
3. The Gospel's saving benefits are received by grace alone through faith alone, resulting from spiritual life through New Birth, forgiveness of sins through justification and relational sonship through adoption.
Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew
first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God
is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man
SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”
For the past couple of days
we have focused our attention upon the Gospel as so discussed and demonstrated
in Romans 1:1-7 and Romans 1:8-15. Today we want to think upon the key verse of
the Book of Romans, Romans 1:16-17, to consider what entails a solid
presentation of the Gospel. What exactly are we telling people when we are
presenting the Gospel of God and His Son, Jesus Christ? I want to propose three
thoughts from this key verse and then trace them through the Book of Romans:
1. Gospel's Sinners are human beings
2. Gospel's Savior is Jesus Christ
3. Gospel's Saving benefits
received by faith
Gospel's
sinners are human beings
Romans 1:16 tells us that the
Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation. The word for
salvation comes from a word that refers to saving someone from danger,
destruction and death. What condition is mankind in before God that requires
him to be in need of salvation? Why does the Bible use such dramatic wording to explain the Gospel? Scripture reveals that man is a sinner. I'm sure you have heard this term used many times, but have you ever thought about it's implications? What is a sinner? Why do sinners need salvation? As you
go through the Book of Romans, you find out the three-fold definition of a
sinner:
1. A Sinner
is relationally an enemy of God.
Romans 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness"
2. A Sinner
is morally guilty before God.
Romans 2:15 "in that they show the work of the Law written in their
hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately
accusing or else defending them."
3. A Sinner
is legally/spiritually dead to God.
Romans 3:10-13 10as it is
written, “There is none righteous,
not even one;
11there is none who understands, there is none who
seeks for God; 12all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who
does good,
there is not even one.”13“their throat is an open
grave, with
their tongues they keep deceiving,” “the
poison of asps is under their lips”;
Creation
reveals man's enmity, his conscience tells him he is guilty and the Divine law
declares him legally/spiritual dead to God. This is the Gospel's sinner. This
is bad news. But the Gospel is supposed to be Goodnews, which leads us to the
second major point that we present in the Gospel, namely.....
The Gospel's Savior - Jesus Christ
So why is Jesus Christ the central focus and person of the Gospel? Why is He touted as the Gospel's Savior? Why not my good works? Because the Law of God says I have none to offer that is good enough to please the Holy, Righteous God. (Romans 3:10-13) Why not religion? Because in religion people want to live a life of benefits and blessings without God, which is idolatry. Jesus Christ alone is the Gospel's Savior, and also two other terms: Lord and Treasure.
1. Jesus Christ is Savior. Romans 3:24 "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ
Jesus". Even more explicitly we find Jesus described as the Sole Savior in the Gospel as stated in Romans 5:8-10 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. 9Much more then, having now been justified by His
blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled
to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall
be saved by His life." One more passage from Romans tells us that Jesus is the Gospel's Savior, Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered
Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?"
2. Jesus is Lord. When we say Jesus is Lord, we mean that He has the authority as God to be the source of salvation. Also too, as Lord, He is to be the believer's authority from conversion onward. Romans 10:9 is perhaps the clearest verse: "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved". You cannot separate Jesus' Saving ministry from His Lordship. Just as you cannot separate His humanity and Deity from His person, so too you cannot separate His role as Savior from the authority that gives Him the power to affect salvation in all who by grace believe - namely His Lordship.
3. Jesus is Treasure. Romans 15:17 is a prime example of what we mean when we speak of Jesus Christ as the treasured Saviro and Lord of the Gospel - "Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining
to God." We will never treasure the things of God (His word, prayer, His church, His worship, His glory) unless we do so through how treasuring of Jesus Christ. In fact the last verse, Romans 16:27, underscores the sum total of treasuring God's glory as vitally connected to Jesus Christ - "to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be
the glory forever. Amen."
Tomorrow we will continue this study by noting the Gospel's Saving Benefits. May the Lord bless you throughout your day dear friend.
Romans 1:9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the
preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how
unceasingly I make mention of you.
The Gospel of the Son - The Gospel on the move
In today's blog I want us to continue exploring further what the Book of Romans teaches us about the Gospel. Yesterday we considered that grand introduction to the letter, noting the features of what Paul termed "the Gospel of God". Today we look at another designation, namely "the Gospel of His Son". Don't think that Paul is speaking about two Gospels, rather understand that in the designations, "Gospel of God" is giving a description of the Gospel, whereas the phrase "Gospel of the Son" is dealing with the Gospel's movement.
When I see that phrase "the Gospel of His Son", I'm reminded of the passages in which God the Son commands His church to go forth and proclaim the Gospel. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8-11) Romans 1:8-15 is all about showing us how this "Gospel of the Son" is really the message about Him and from Him, moving and being communicated by those who have believed on Him. Note how the Gospel is on the move in these passages.
1. The Gospel of the Son is to be a proclaimed message. Rom 1:8
As the Gospel moves forth in its proclamation, it is to be proclaimed both worldwide and locally. Romans 1:8 states - "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for
you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world." With the world in view, Paul also desires to proclaim the Gospel on a more local level to the Romans in 1:15 "So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome."
2. The Gospel of the Son is to be preached constantly in the church. Rom 1:9
Author Jerry Bridges once commented that we as Christians need preach the Gospel to ourselves everyday. Everytime the church gathers together, the life transforming activity that Christ has ordained to cleanse His saints and call forth sinners is the ministry of the word. The word for "preaching" here in Romans 1:9 is the word "euangilizo" from whence we get our word "evangelism". The Gospel not only imparts spiritual life to all who by grace through faith believe, it functions to provide continuous life to the Christian following conversion. The Gospel is like a lense, bringing into ever sharper focus the Person and work of Jesus Christ.
3. The Gospel of the Son provides the basis for spiritual maturity. Romans 1:10-15
As Paul expresses his desire to come and preach the Gospel to the Romans in person, he lists the benefits that come with continual exposure to the Gospel. First, Christians who are delighting in the Gospel with one another will expierience and edifying faith. (Romans 1:10-11) Then Paul speaks further of how in the context of enjoyment of the Gospel, the church experiences an encouraging faith. (Romans 1:12) Edification builds up my faith, and encouragement fuels the desires needs to walk in faith, which leads to Paul's third detail regarding how this Gospel of the Son undergirds spiritual maturity, namely it promotes a fruitful faith. (Romans 1:13-14) Edifying faith, encouraged faith and fruitful faith all mark maturity and growth in the Gospel.
As you can see, the Gospel of the Son describes a message that is constantly moving. It is desired and expected that when we as Christians are daily proclaiming, preaching and using the Gospel as the basis for spiritual maturity, we will look and act more like the Son. The Gospel of the Son is the Gospel of God on the move, getting us to the very God who sent His Son. May we rejoice and be thankful for the Gospel of the Son.
Romans 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called
as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God
The Gospel of God
The greatest of Paul's letters is considered by many to be his letter to the church at Rome. None of his letters gives the breadth and depth of treatment of the Gospel like Romans. In the opening verse we see Paul designating himself as both a "bond servant of Christ Jesus" and a "called apostle", set apart for what he terms "the gospel of God". This phrase "the gospel of God" is rich in meaning in the original Greek. We could either translate it "the gospel about God" or "the gospel from God". Either rendering reveals that this is not "man's gospel", but "God's gospel".
Romans 1:1-7 is all about introducing the Book of Romans and even more importantly about unfolding for us key points about this Gospel of God. Today I want us to consider the thoughts we discover in these verses about what exactly is included in this "Gospel of God".
1. God is the Gospel's goal. Romans 1:1
The Gospel, in all of its aims and details, is aimed at bringing the sinner to God. Reconciliation is at the heart and love is God's Divine motivation.
2. Scripture is the Gospel's ground. Romans 1:2
The Old Testament scriptures all speak about the Gospel of God. Moses in the Pentateuch (first five Bible books) wrote about the Gospel, as well as Samuel, David and the other prophets. Carrying into the New Testament, we see the ground of the Gospel - namely God's progressively revealed plan of how He was going to send His Son to provide resurrection life, forgiveness and adoption unto sonship to all who believe.
3. Christ is the Gospel's glory. Romans 1:3-4
The operative term here is "concerning His Son". The glory of God is the visible display of God's Goodness and Activity, which is centralized in the Person of the Son. We see Jesus Christ declared to be fully man according to the seed of David and fully Divine as the resurrected Son of God and Lord. As God, Christ's accomplishment was sufficient, and as man his work was effective in the shedding of blood, so that all who by grace through faith believe could be saved.
4. Faith receiving Christ is the Gospel's gift. Romans 1:5
The "obedience of faith" mentioned here in 1:5 could be translated "the obedience that results from faith". Faith alone is the necessary and sufficient means of receiving Eternal life brought by the New Birth, forgiveness of sins by justification and relational blessings by adoption. This wonderful package or gifting of salvation, and the reception of it by faith, is all included in the gift of salvation brought by the Gospel.
5. The call to be saints is the Gospel's gracious identity. Rom 1:6-7
The call to be a "holy one" or saint reveals the gracious identity that results from the Gospel. In the Gospel I'm set free to obey (hence Paul's earlier statement concerning "the obedience of faith"). This wonderful Gospel identity renders my new found life in Jesus Christ to be the defining mark of knowing who I am and whose I am.
May you and I be ever captivated and amazed by this wonderful Gospel of God.
1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, through whom you were called
into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Preachers and preaching and Dr. Charles Stanley
Every once and a while I like to give readers of this blog a treat in the form of reading the thoughts of a past or current preacher/teacher of the Word. Dr. Charles Stanley is a beloved Southern Baptist preacher of the word to many people throughout the world. He has pastored the First Baptist Church of Atlanta since 1971, has a nationwide ministry called "In Touch Ministries" and is author of many many books. For over 50 years Dr. Stanley has been faithful in his ministry of the Word (now that's a fine example of faithfulness).
A summary of Dr. Stanley's Message about Relying on God's faithfulness
In his message, Dr. Stanley was laying out the five essential attributes that God has to have in order to be the faithful God. I felt that what Dr. Stanley preached on was of such great encouragement, that it would be fitting on this Lord's day to share the main points of his message. May you be encouraged by the following thoughts from Dr. Charles Stanley on the subject of God's faithfulness.
First and foremost, Dr. Stanley defined faithfulness as follows: "faithfulness for God is that in all times, in all things and in all circumstances God is always the same." In following from that definition, we see the following five attributes of God that enable Him to be the Faithful God:
1. God is Omniscient.
That is, God knows all things. If God did not know everything about me, my circumstance or the future of where things are heading, He could not guarantee and of His promises or His pledge to those promises.
2. God is Omnipotent.
Since God knows all things, then it follows that He must be omnipotent (that is, all powerful). What would happen if He were not omnipotent? He would not be able to carry out His promises. To be the Faithful God, God must be omniscient and omnipotent.
3. God is Omnipresent.
God thirdly must be omnipresent - which means every present. He is not only everywhere present, but every time present. In order for Him to be faithful, He has to be ready to meet me in those times that I may not even be at yet.
4. God cannot lie.
If God were to lie, He would not be faithful. Titus 1:2 tells us that God cannot lie. This is God's very character - to be truthful.
5. God is unchanging
God is all knowing (omni-present) , all powerful (omnipotent) and every present (omnipresent). He is the Truthful God Who cannot lie. What other attribute must the God of scripture have in order to be absolutely faithful? Unchanging. People change, circumstances change, but not God. Because He remains ever the same, He Alone can be perfectly and absolutely faithful.
I pray these thoughts from Dr. Stanley have been an encouragement to you. May you be blessed this Lord's day and may you and I be ever more faithful as we focus our attention on God's faithfulness.
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who
promised is faithful
Yesterday we noted how Moses, being a prime example of faithfulness, spelled out how God's faithfulness was to be the prime motivation for the people's faithfulness. Having looked at Deuteronomy 1-4 and the rest of scripture, we established the fact that God's faithfulness must be considered first before moving to our own.
God's Faithfulness is the foundation of the believer's faithfulness
We first of all want to reiterate how God's faithfulness is to be the foundation for the believer's faithfulness. Below I cite further passages that were not cited in yesterday's blog to give you more scriptural support for this important truth of God's faithfulness being the driving force behind the believer's faithfulness:
Isaiah 25:1 "O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness." Here we see Isaiah's motivation for praise and worship being driven by his reflections upon God's faithfulness in all His works.
1 Corinthians 1:9 "God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." God's faithfulness is the basis for salvation, as well as the believer's continued growth and progress in sanctification. In fact as you read on in 1 Corinthians 1, Paul's exhortations for the Corinthians to be a united people is based upon God's faithfulness.
2 Thessalonians 3:3-4 "But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command." What is the guarantee that we as Christians will persevere to the end? God's faithfulness. Passages such as 2 Timothy 2:13 tell us that even when we are unfaithful, He is faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
Hebrews 10:23 23 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful".This great text of course gives us one of the clearest links between God's faithfulness and the motivations for the church to be faithful to Him and to one another. God's faithfulness is clearly shown to be the reason for the believer to be faithful.
Hebrews 13:6-8 "so that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”
7Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Sandwiched in between two magnificent statements on God and Christ's faithfulness is the exhortation to be faithful by following the example of faithful pastors and teachers of the Word.
As you can see, God's faithfulness is the bedrock of Christian faithfulness and commitment. So what kind of faithful people ought we to be as a result of basing our lives around God's faithfulness?
The true identity of a faithful people of God
Having looked at Deuteronomy 1:9-4:31 yesterday, we turn our attention to Deuteronomy 4:32-40 to see what traits identify God's faithful people.
1. God's faithful people are a called people. Deuteronomy 4:32-36
Moses points out that what marked the nation of Israel as being unique from all others is the fact that they heard the voice of God calling them to Himself. Deuteronomy 4:33 states - “Has any people heard the voice of God
speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived?" As you go down through the text, Moses writes in Deuteronomy 4:36 - “Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to
discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His
words from the midst of the fire." The only way we can be a faithful people to the Lord is if He calls us to Himself. Jesus describes His followers as those who "hear His voice". (John 10:4,5,16) Other scriptures further lend support to the fact that as a result of God's calling on our lives, we have the ability and motivation to want to follow Him in faithfulness. (2 Corinthians 13:5; Ephesians 4:1)
2. God faithful people are a chosen people. Deuteronomy 4:37-38
In Deuteronomy 4:37 we read - 37“Because He loved your fathers, therefore He
chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by
His great power". Over 100 places in God's Word designates God's people as His chosen people. Since we are a called people of God, the Holy Spirit tells us in 1 Peter 2:9 - "But you are A CHOSEN
RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR
God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may
proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light."
Like Israel, the chosen people of God in the Old Testament, believers in the New Testament are described as having been "chosen in Christ, in love" (Ephesians 1:3-4). By God's choice for His people, that simply means that what He decided to begin, He will finish.1 The believer's ability to be faithful is dependant upon God's ongoing effort in working forth His choice in bringing the child of God to completion in Christ. Philippians 1:6 reveals - "For I am confident of this very thing,
that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ
Jesus." Ephesians 2:10 states - "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in
them. "
3. God's faithful people are a committed people. Deut 4:39-40
Deuteronomy 4:39 tells us - “Know therefore today, and take it to your
heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and
on the earth below; there is no other." Being that God's faithful people are a God called and chosen people, it stands to reason that they should and must be a committed people. They should be those that take what God says to heart. Jesus tells us a New Testament Christians that we are to "love the Lord our God with all our heart" and "love our neighbor as ourselves, something of which is repeated throughout the New Testament. (Matthew 22:37-39; Romans 13:9) We are those who as a called and chosen people of God, are to be committed to abstinence from fleshly lusts and having a positive testimony among unbelievers. (1 Peter 2:9-12) Commitment is the backbone of faithfulness, and without the grace and calling of God cannot be done. In fact, this takes us back to yesterday, where the journey of faithfulness first and foremosts considers the character and faithfulness of God Himself. (Ephesians 5:1; Colossians 3:13; 1 Peter 1:16)
Endnotes
1 The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message of the SBC calls God's choice or election of His people "God's purpose of Grace". You can read the entire article online at www.sbc.net by clicking on "Baptist Faith & Message".
