Faithfulness

COLOSSIANS 1:2

To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

To the saints or “holy ones,” and faithful brethren, those who remain steadfastly loyal to the truth. Faithfulness is constant unshakeable loyalty to God’s word. These are the ones who are counted worthy to carry the gospel and lead the people of God. This faithfulness or loyalty factor is a commandment that will not be ignored in the Day of Judgment.

1. Loyalty is unwavering in bad times or times of suffering. A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. (Proverbs 17:17). This means that those who are loyal to Christ do not allow circumstances, situations or even relationships with others, to change their affections for righteousness. The birthing of the brethren in Christ includes adversity. We are appointed to suffer with Him as Paul taught in 2 Thessalonians 1:4-10; So that we ourselves glory in you in the Churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure. As I have attempted to explain many times in my writings to the Church, Paul had a revelation of Christ in us, the hope of glory; which seemed to be much deeper and more detailed than any of the other disciples. In his writings to the Thessalonians he is not timid in declaring the sons of God as suffering servants.

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10

5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;

7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

Therefore, we will bear the marks of Christ in our own flesh as a manifest token of our love and loyalty to Christ Jesus.

2. Faithfulness is a disposition of the heart. Thus, those who are loyal to Christ and the truth of the gospel willingly become suffering servants and are never reluctant in their stance for righteousness.

Psalm 78:7-8

7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.

3. Faithfulness is manifested in the things we do, not necessarily the things we say. This point is illustrated in the relationship Peter had with Jesus before his conversion. (Matthew 26:33-35 and 26:69-75)

The disloyalty of Joab

David gave charge to all his generals that his son Absalom was not to be killed in the battle.

2 Samuel 18:9-15

9 And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.

10 And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.

11 And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.

12 And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king’s son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.

13 Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me.

14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.

15 And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.

Joab was David’s right hand man. He commanded the entire Israeli army. However, he had a problem with doing the exact will of the king unless he saw some personal benefit in it for Himself.

Abner, David’s general sided with Absalom in the beginning but realized the Lord was with David and desired to make peace with him. He came to David’s encampment and conceded to bring the Elders of all the tribes to a peace accord with the King. David knew that Abner’s heart was pure and sent him away in peace. But because Abner killed one of Joab’s brothers in one of the battles with Absalom’s forces, Joab, rebuked David for having sent him away in peace and went after him and slew the young man. (2 Samuel 22-28)

When David made peace with Amasa, who was once Absalom’s general, Joab went behind David back and slew the man. (2 Samuel 20:9-10)

All that Joab did seemed to be in the best interest of the nation of Israel and his love for David. However, God has a way of revealing the unfaithfulness and disloyalty of the heart in ways that cannot be denied. Therefore, when Adonijah, Absalom’s brother, rose up against the aged King David and declared himself to be king instead of Solomon whom that Lord had chosen, Joab sided with Adonijah and was slain for his disloyalty; (1 Kings 1:7).

In your study time, read the following reference scriptures that reveal to us the operations of the faithful.

• Faithfulness can be demanding. (Exodus 17:8-13)
• Faithfulness may involve sacrifice. (2 Chronicles 11:13-16)
• Faithfulness to the Lord will be rewarded. (Psalm 84:10- 11) When this Psalm says “those whose walk is blameless” it refers to Genesis 17:1 when the Lord appeared to Abraham

and said to him “walk with me and be blameless” meaning that Abraham would receive the Lord’s promises if he was faithful and obedient.

• Disloyalty will be punished. Because Edom deserted Israel in its time of need, “I will bring you down,” said the Lord. (Obadiah 1:4-14, especially verses 4 and 11)

The Lord is attempting to bring us to the truth regarding that which is expected of the sons. But these expectations are not foreign to us if we are allowing Christ to live His life through us. Before we go any further in this discussion of loyalty and faithfulness let us examine its application in the Church among those who are brothers and sisters in the Faith. The big question is, “When is it righteous to withdraw from a brother or sister who may find themselves caught in a web of sin?” When I put this question before the Lord the first thing He said to me was, “deal with the hypocrisy in my people first.” Therefore, I want to tell you a story that I think really illustrates the necessity of remaining faithful to the word of God.

The Lord said to me, “Teach my people that they must be loyal to the truth. My word is truth.” Therefore it behooves us to look into the word of God to see what His instructions in such cases are.

Galatians 6:1

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

1 Timothy 5:19-22

19 Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or

three witnesses.

20 Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.

22 Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.

Matthew 18:15-17

15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church: but if he neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

The view of the Lord is very clear in this matter. He instructs the faithful (ye which are spiritual) among us to go to the overtaken brother and restore him. He however does not want us to do this being presumptuous, but he instructs us to do so in a spirit of meekness considering the fact that we might one day fall. If the brother takes heed to counsel then indeed we have gained our brother. The Father does not have an issue embracing the prodigal son, but what is most important to Him is that he is back in the house. God is a discerner of the heart, and his judgments are based on that which he discerns. True repentance is to turn from one’s sins; this however exceeds lip-service, it extends to the actions of the individual. Once the heart is broken and contrite before the Lord in repentance, He will forgive and treat them as if they have never sinned. This however is in some cases a hard thing for the Church to embrace, but why is this so? Sister Jenny no doubt had sinned, however she had repented before the Lord and before man, fulfilling all righteousness. She was free in the knowledge that God had forgiven her and was moving on in ministry. Those of whom she shepherded had witnessed the ministry of Christ through her, by their own spiritual growth. If there was any doubt in her mind concerning her forgiveness, God Himself justified her by allowing her ministry to flourish and have an effectual work in the lives of His people. However when knowledge of her sin came to surface, Sister Jenny was no longer seen as the minister of Christ but as

a traitor to the Faith. There are several things to be observed here.

The Fall Out of the Church

The Lord said to me, do you think fall out is random?

Many of us have come across situations where the sin of a leader affects the Church and causes some to fall out, but consider the mind of God in this:

Colossians 1:18

And he (Jesus) is the head of the body, the Church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Ephesians 4:15-16

15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The scriptures declare that Christ is the head of the Church and it is by Him the whole body is joined together. Meaning that the members of the body are His responsibility. For example one may be hired by the CEO of a company and supervised by another. However if the supervisor mistreats that person, the complaint is not to the supervisor but to the CEO who is the head of the company.

Likewise Christ is the head of the Church. He has a personal obligation to every member of the body; it is by and through Him that all the gifts work. The working of the gift is the work of Christ in the lives of the saints. Therefore if a Pastor decides to deny the gifting by being unfaithful in his walk, has his unfaithfulness denied Christ of His responsibility to the sheep? The answer is no. God has a responsibility to ensure the safety of the souls of His flock and has already designed a path to that safety. We must embrace the fact that nothing happens by chance in the lives of the saints, but all things are ordered by the Father. The exodus that follows the sin of a leader is not a coincidence, it is the doing of God. By this I do not mean that God took them out of the Faith, but that He tried the hearts of each individual and they responded accordingly. It was not by chance that Jenny’s sin came to light months after her deliverance, however it caused the true spiritual location of the individuals affected to be exposed.

In truth, the sin of a leader, or any person should have no effect on your personal relationship with God. Any true leader of Christ points the people to God and not to themselves; so if they sin, the seeds of the Faith they have planted and watered in the people should be sufficient for them to pour out grace in return. If the sin of a sinner has no effect on our spiritual walk why should the sin of a saint cause us to leave the Faith?

Shouldn’t the knowledge of the sin create a great compassion in our hearts seeing that the leader has decided to deny God and sin willfully? It is manifest that our Christian walk did not have a foundation of Christ, but rather one of comfort and morality. and not truly a selfless walk. Our resolve was not according to the will of God, but we rather reserved a disclaimer preventing those we uphold as “spiritual” to ever offend us. The fall of the leader equates to the fall of our fellowship with the Father, and we allow offense to thrive in our hearts. The obligation God has to his sons becomes futile in our eyes, because in truth the fallen leader was our god.

However God’s response to this situation is not a surprise. The Father is aware of sin before anyone else knows. The Father knows those that are His, and they will love the brethren as themselves. Our spiritual walk is never dependent on anything but our own choices. No one can make us sin, or fall away; not even the devil has that power. It is a conscious decision for the saints to sin, therefore if their response to sin is contrary to that of the Father’s, it was a personal choice.

It is without doubt, that God will chastise His leaders for their faults, He will not however blame them for your sin. When saints fall out of the Faith because of another’s sin, they do so by their own pride and selfishness, because they override the Holy Spirit who seeks to recover and restore the fallen.

In Jenny’s case when the people had gained knowledge of her sin they responded negatively with harsh comments. Their hearts were discouraged and they desired that she would be exiled from the Church. However if God’s emotions towards the situation was to forgive and restore her, why did the Church desire to cast her out? Also considering the fact that months had passed and they could not deny that Christ was working with and through her. He had manifested His forgiveness by His working in her life. Why then does the revelation of her past have such a crippling effect? The offense that the knowledge of her sin had caused, was simply a manifestation of a lack of love. God had defined His righteousness in the situation and it was forgiveness, however in this case the “righteousness” of the Church was judgmentalism.

We have to be faithful to truth, and His word is truth. Paul makes known in the book of Hebrews that God had anointed Jesus because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity (Heb 1:9). This must be the sentiments of the Church. Our faithfulness to the truth cannot simply be in deed but it must also be the expression of our hearts. We must love righteousness and hate iniquity. The word must be made flesh in us, and our actions follow as an expression of that love. However in this case the Church had formed their own righteousness, and deemed their judgment just. They had not fulfilled the righteousness of God. What makes this hypocritical is that the judgment is made in the name of Christ, when in reality it is the retaliation of an offended heart.

The scripture establishes how sin is to be dealt with in the Church. Go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. The Lord has reserved a space for repentance. He establishes the fact that if the brother takes heed to the counsel of the brethren, they have gained him. The word gained refers to the fact that this brother is no longer seen as a bastard in the eyes of the Lord and his presence is of benefit to the Kingdom once more. He is free from the condemnation that the sin caused, and is once again accepted in the beloved. But if our response is to condemn without a chance, God has allowed this situation to reveal our spiritual location. It has revealed that we have placed that particular brother in an unlawful position in our hearts (idolatry), setting them as a standard of Christ rather than Christ Himself. It also reveals that our fellowship with God is dependent on favorable conditions. Our righteousness was dependent on the fact that our brother walked righteously, it was not based on our love for God. If it was based on our love for God, we would have experienced God’s emotions concerning the situation which is to restore in love and to intercede on their behalf, but the offense manifests that we are not walking in His spirit.

16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church: but if he neglect to hear the Church,let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

Here is the stopping point for the Father. If he neglect to hear the Church, cut him off from the Church. The mind of the Father in this is that the brother has by himself severed himself from the body by neglecting to hear it. It was not that Christ was not merciful and loving, but he has cut himself off by choice and hence have denied Jesus Christ. Such a one has taken on the spirit of anti-Christ and to that one let him be unto us as a heathen man. He is no longer revered as a part of the body of Christ because he has denied it. This may not always equate to reprobation however, in one instance Paul described this as a turning over to Satan, so that peradventure the soul might be Saved.

1 Corinthians 5:3-5

3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged

already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so

done this deed,

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered

together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the

flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

God has revealed His mind to us concerning sin in the Church. It is however no deep revelation, God is love and we are as He is. God has allowed us to be High Priests, mediators and intercessors. He has allowed us to be touched with the feeling of the infirmities of others, because we are also touched ourselves. We have been clothed in a body and have been left open to the temptations of this world. We know that God’s way may not always be satisfying to the flesh, therefore we being touched ourselves with infirmity have compassion on others. We take this compassion into intercession and place ourselves as a shield between that soul and the enemy and as a bridge between them and God. It is an awesome privilege the Lord has given us, but it can only be exercised in love.

Faithfulness requires trust. If we are shaky in the fact that God is a rewarder of righteousness we will never be faithful. The Lord has assured us that He will never give us more than we can bear. We can bear it because we have put on Christ. He is the suffering servant in us, but we are also in Him and in Him is righteousness, peace and joy. He has given us a Comforter that allows us to face trying circumstances, but in the midst of them we have unfathomable peace. His Comforter is an assurance to us that we can obey Him. His word assures that he will never leave us, nor forsake us. If we endure persecution, blessing our offenders, God will in turn bless us openly. He wants us to be sure of His promises. His desire is that we never forsake righteousness for the comfort of the flesh. You must be sure that you are not trying to protect the image of your Church and your personage at the expense of cutting your sister or brother out of the body.

When the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery was brought to Jesus, he did not stagger or stumble in his judgment because the whole town knew of her sin. Instead he remained loyal to the purpose of God in his life. He looked upon this broken, helpless creature, whom everyone wanted to kill, and He forgave her. His forgiveness was manifested in the words, “Go and sin no more.” Jesus did not allow “PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE” to become a god that He must bow down to. He trusted the grace found in love and compassion to be enough to influence the repentant heart of the offender.