|
WEEKLY
Volume 4 Number 11
9 August 2009
A Faithful Heart
(Message delivered by Rev Hien Nguyen at the
Worship Service, 2:00 pm, Aug 9, 09)
Text:
Heb 10:38-39
We have learnt about a loving heart, a
joyful heart, a peaceful heart, a longsuffering heart, a gentle and kind
heart, and a good heart, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the
hearts of sinners who sincerely repent of their sins, humbly submit to
the Lord and His Word and enjoy God’s gracious work in their hearts day
by day. Today we are learning about a faithful heart. Do you and I
really have a faithful heart?
Faithful people are good, honest,
trustworthy, and reliable people. They do their work diligently with
much responsibility, even without the presence of their boss, so they
are usually admired, appreciated and employed as it is not easy to find
such faithful people, “Most men will proclaim every one his own
goodness: but a faithful man who can find?” (Prov 20:6). Faithful
husbands and wives are also praised for their faithfulness even when
they are separated for some time due to their studies, work or military
service.
Many have great faith in their cause
or religions, and they are even willing to commit suicide and commit
acts of terrorism in the name of faith. However, this is blind or
misguided faith. Suicide and murder, even in the name of religion,
cannot be condoned but condemned. Nowadays, many with their ecumenical
mindset welcome all kinds of faiths or beliefs. However, faith or
faithfulness cannot save any if its object or foundation is not the Lord
Jesus Christ and God’s Word. Therefore, it is seriously wrong and really
destructive if we separate the biblical faith from the Lord Jesus Christ
and God’s Word. God expects you and me to be “faithful unto death”
(Rev 2:10) as He is “faithful” (1 Cor. 1:9, 1 Cor 10:13;
1 Thess. 5:24; 2 Thess. 3:3; Heb. 10:23; 11:11; 1 John 1:9) and great is
His “faithfulness” (Lam 3:23). Then what does it mean to have
biblical faith or a faithful heart? May God graciously help you and me
see His Truth from His faithful Word or His Word of faith.
Living by Faith in Christ and in
God’s Word
God’s Word says, “the just shall
live by faith” (Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38), and that
does not mean the just will live by any kind of faith. It means that the
just will live by their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in God’s
Word. Then, living by faith means living by the Lord Jesus Christ,
“he that eateth me, even he shall live by me” (John 6:57) and
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me”
(John 15:4); and living by faith means living by God’s Word, “Man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of
the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4), and “As newborn babes, desire the
sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2).
Being “sanctified by faith” that is in Christ (Acts 26:18) means
being sanctified by Christ (Heb 10:10), by God’s Word/truth (John
17:17), by God the Father (Jude 1), and by the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:16).
Then, if you and I do not live by the Lord Jesus Christ nor by God’s
Word, we are not the just before God. Why? Because the saving faith or
living faith or biblical faith must come from the Lord Jesus Christ, who
is “the Author and Finisher of our faith” (Heb 12:2) and come
from God’s faithful Word or God’s Word of faith, the sure and true Word
that is able to inspire faith and give faith to us, “So then faith
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17) and
“Holding fast the faithful word” (Tit 1:9; cf. 1 Tim. 1:15; 3:1;
4:3; 2 Tim. 2:11; Rev. 21:5; 22:6) and “The word is nigh thee, even
in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we
preach” (Rom 10:8). Dear friends, do you and I really rely on the
Lord Jesus Christ and God’s Word and truly acknowledge that we cannot
live without Him and His Word? If we are truly born again, we shall live
by our living faith in Christ and God’s Word, “I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the
life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20).
Faith and Faithful
Faith in Greek, pístis, has 244
occurrences and the KJV translates as “faith” 239 times, “assurance”
once, “believe” once, “belief” once, “them that believe” (Heb 10:39)
once, and “fidelity” once. Pístis subjectively means firm
persuasion, conviction, belief in the truth, veracity, reality or
faithfulness (though rare) and objectively means that which is
believed, doctrine, the received articles of faith. In Heb. 11:1,
“faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen” means that persuasion is not the outcome of imagination but
is based on fact, such as the reality of the resurrection of Christ (1
Cor. 15), and as such it becomes the basis of realistic hope” (Zodhiates).
Faithful, in Greek, pistós,
which means worthy of belief, trust or confidence;
trustworthy, true, sure, believable, worthy of credit, faithful (Zodhiates).
Then, the saving faith, living faith
or biblical faith must come from the Lord Jesus Christ and God’s Word,
and it is the gift of God and the fruit of the Holy Spirit, “For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God” (Eph 2:8), and “But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance” (Gal 5:22-23), and “For to one is given by the Spirit
the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
to another faith by the same Spirit” (1 Cor 12:8-9). Saving faith
must be living and active (James 2:14-26) with the fruit of trust in and
submission to the Lord Jesus Christ and God’s Word, “why call ye me,
Lord, Lord, and do not
the things which I say?...But those mine enemies, which would not that I
should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me” (Luke
6:46; 19:27; cf. Matt 7:21). Then, those who just have lips service
without any submission to the Lord and His Word cannot be saved. As God
has given each one of us different measure/portion of faith (Rom 12:3,
6; cf. Eph 4:7, 13) by His grace, we should not be proud or high-minded
nor despise others who have no faith or weak in faith (Rom 11:20;
14:1-4). Let us remember our Lord’s prayer, “But I have prayed for
thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen
thy brethren” (Luke 22:32).
Blessings for the Faithful Whose
Faith Is in Christ and in God’s Word
We must give thanks to God for
graciously giving us “precious faith” (2 Peter 1:1) and “holy
faith” (Jude 20) so that we may trust in Him and His Word. “A
faithful man shall abound with blessings” (Prov 28:20), and “the
LORD preserveth the faithful” (Ps 31:23), “Mine eyes shall be
upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that
walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me” (Ps 101:6), so let us
wisely submit ourselves to the Lord and His Word without any doubt or
reservation in order to enjoy His blessings: being “purified by
faith” (Acts 15:9), being “justified by faith” (Rom 5:1; Gal
2:16), being “saved through faith” by grace (Eph 2:8), being
“sanctified by faith” in Christ (Acts 26:18), being “blessed with
faithful Abraham” (Gal 3:9), being “the children of God by faith
in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:26); being “established in the faith”
(Acts 16:5; Col 2:7), being “nourished up in the words of faith and
of good doctrine” (1 Tim 4:6), being “kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation” (1 Peter 1:5, 9), overcome the world,
“this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”
(1 John 5:4), etc.
Faith versus Doubt, Worry, Fear,
Laziness
How about our doubt? God commands you
and me, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22) and “Believe in the
LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets
(God’s Word spoken through them), so shall ye prosper” (2 Chron
20:20), so it is serious if you and I do not have faith in God and in
God’s Word. Satan still works hard all the time to cast doubt on God’s
Word, love, and power as he did to Eve (Gen 3:1-5). Nowadays, because
there are no extant original copies (autograph) of the Scriptures, many
have fallen into Satan’s trap, arrogantly criticizing and casting doubt
on God’s Word. They fail to believe that God is all-powerful and
faithful to preserve His Word as He promised, “The words of the LORD
are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven
times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this
generation for ever” (Ps 12:7-7), and our Lord Jesus confirms,
“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one
tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled”
(Matt 5:18) and “But if ye believe not his (Moses’) writings
(apograph), how shall ye believe my words?” (John 5:47). It is
serious for you and me to doubt God’s Word “for whatsoever is not of
faith is sin” (Rom 14:23) and “But without faith it is impossible
to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and
that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb 11:6)
and “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
spoken” (Luke 24:25). When Thomas doubted the words from other
disciples who witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Jesus appeared
to him, saying, “be not faithless, but believing…Thomas, because thou
hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen,
and yet have believed” (John 20:27, 29). Even though you and I have
not seen the Lord and the autograph of the Holy Scriptures, we are more
blessed when we totally believe in Him and God’s perfectly preserved
Word with our full submission, walking by faith and not by sight (2 Cor
5:7).
How about our worry for our living? Do
we fail to trust in our almighty Father’s loving care? “Wherefore, if
God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is
cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little
faith?” (Matt 6:30). When we fully trust in the Lord and His loving
care, we should have no worry.
How about our fear? Are we so
frightened or scared when encountering dangers, enemies, threats, or
opposition? Jesus Christ rebuked his disciples, “Why are ye fearful,
O ye of little faith?” (Matt 8:26) and “Why are ye so fearful?
how is it that ye have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). When we trust in the
Lord and His sovereignty, we should have no fear.
How about our laziness? Many think
that as God knows everything and He will take care of them, and that
trusting in God is enough, so they are lazy in prayers, in reading God’s
Word, in serving the Lord, in studying or in working. The saving faith
is the living faith, which will move our hearts and hands and feet to do
God’s will and to do our best to please Him and to glorify Him,
“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being
alone… by works was faith made perfect”
(James 2:17, 22). Each of us has received talents from God—our lives,
our time, our bodies, our skills, and what God has given to us, and God
expects us to faithfully occupy till He comes. Shall we be glad to hear
His blessed words when He comes, “Well done, thou good and faithful
servant” (Matt 25:21, 23; Luke 12:42)?
Conclusion
Dear friends, without faith or a
faithful heart, we can never please God. May God help you and me trust
in and rely on Him and His Word with our full submission, looking unto
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith, and walk
after Him with trust step by step at a time. May God help you and me
serve Him faithfully and fight a good fight of faith (2 Tim 4:7), being
faithful to Him and to His Word unto death in these last days of doubt,
compromise and apostasy, “But we are not of them who draw back unto
perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Heb
10:39). Amen.
Top
/ Back
|
