How Precious is Our Faith

The season of gift-giving is once again here. We will be givers and receivers of gifts that may or may not have much value, or, which may have been pricey. Yet, how dear, how precious will any of those gifts be even six months from now?

There is a gift that children of God receive that will grow greater in value throughout all eternity - that is the gift of faith. Yes, faith in God and His promises is a gift that the world cannot receive, but which is granted to those who are called by God. Note how God conveys this in Ephesians chapter 2. After describing in the opening verses our pitiful state, and what it means to be spiritually dead, He contrasts that death with spiritual life in Christ. In verse eight, we read: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing [we didn't develop faith on our own and suddenly recognized God]; it is the gift of God-- (NRSV)". In the letter to the Hebrews we are reminded that "Jesus [is] the author and finisher of our faith... (chapter 12,, vs. 2a-NKJV)". God gives us faith so that we can please Him in our worship, for without the faith that God gives, our worship is in vain. (see Hebrews 11:6). God gives us faith so that we can acquire peace with Him through forgiveness of our condemnation of sin. (Romans 5:1)

God intends that we be good stewards of the gift of faith through nurturing it, and growing up into Christ. (see Colossians 2:6-7; Philippians 2:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; Jude 1:20-21) When we truly understand faith as a gift of God - a grace unique to those who have been called by Him, when we know and comprehend in the deepest part of our souls what it took for this gift to be purchased for us, perhaps, in all graciousness of God, we may fully understand this gift's value, its wrappings and presentation. Read in God's word through Peter in his second letter, at chapter 1, beginning at verse 1, "Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2) Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3) as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4) by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5) But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6) to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7) to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8) For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9) For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10) Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11) for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (NKJV)

When we consider the grace through faith that God has given us at such great cost, in such unperishable and beautiful wrappings, we will be able to sing with all conviction the words in the favorite hymn, Amazing Grace, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me...how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed...tis grace that brought safe thus far, and grace will lead me home." Let us each ask ourselves honestly, "how precious is my faith, my undeserved gift from God?"

If You Really Knew About the Cross...

you probably wouldn't wear it around your neck and/or spend so much money to be sure to have 24K gold with diamonds cross to show off as 'Christian' jewelry.

If you really knew about the cross...

you'd probably be wearing a pair of feet or the image of a slave around your neck. I haven't seen too many necklaces that look like that.

Jesus makes it clear that if we are truly Christian, a true follower, we will want to empty ourselves. See John 13:3-20. His lesson runs counter to the culture today - even in churches. We want to be served by the church - we don't want to serve! We don't want to stoop down like a slave and serve people! Washing their feet is so not on the list of things that we want to do! Peter said that Jesus was too good to wash his feet - that his Master should not stoop down and wash feet like a slave! Jesus was washing more than feet, He was washing hearts to remove the pride that self-elevated them, made them feel that they were too good to serve, to be a slave. Yet, Jesus came to earth to do just that.

If you really knew about the cross...

you're probably a servant leader.

Partnering with Christ

When you think of it, that seems a bold, presumptuous statement for a human to say, that “we are partners with Christ”. However, it did not originate with humans, but from the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 3:12-14 (NRSV) tells us: “ ¹² Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have become partners of Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.” (compare Revelation chapters 2 and 3).

For those of us who are partners with Christ, we did not become so because we went out of our way to do this. No – the Holy Spirit came to us seeking us out to join in this unique relationship with Christ. In John's Gospel, chapter 4, Jesus reminds us that our relationship is a spiritual one, and that our lives should be lives of worship in spirit and truth (not just a thing we do once a week in a building).

Ephesians 2:1-10 outlines how we become partners with Christ. In fact, a description of that partnership is also in chapter 1, and in chapter 4. We are partners in Christ to do good works, as stated chapter 2, verse 10. Such works are defined by God in His Word so that we do not have to guess. Paul, through the Holy Spirit, also received the word at Romans 8 and 12 – which is a follower of Christ’s foundational doctrine for knowing one’s identity in Christ. Being in Christ conveys an immersion - a place of oneness. These verses also speak to those ‘good works’ that God has preordained for those followers and partners of Christ.

Just like wearing a badge does not make someone a policeman, neither does wearing the moniker of “Christian” necessarily convey that we are partnering with Christ. (see Jesus’ admonition at Matthew 7:21-23) Knowing God’s will for our ownselves by examining His Word and seeking His direction in prayer and, then, with His help, doing it is therefore very important towards growing in this unique relationship (John 15:1-5).  

Jesus encourages us throughout the scriptures that our partnership with Him is of high value to Him and the Father. That God moves us from death (what we deserve) to life in Christ (God’s unmerited grace), is a cause for celebration and a motivation to continue to build on our relationship in Christ. How can you not exult in knowing that you have been given the gift of eternal life, that God through the provision of the blood of Christ, has rescued you from darkness and an eternal death separated from God? Did you not know that God sees you as dead if you have not been saved by his grace? (p.s. baptism does not save you!!! Communion does not save you!!!! despite what many traditions teach - reread Ephesians 2:1-10!)

Choosing to accept God's invitation to partner with Christ is not limited to an age - older children through to old age have the same opportunity to walk in the spirit with Christ. God desires all persons to accept His invitation as He declares in John 3:16, yet as he notes in verses 18-20, there will be those who reject this life-saving gift: ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."

Consider today, while it is still today, this free invitation to share in Christ and enter into this unique relationship. The rewards are tremendous! 

I leave you with this prayer and blessing Ephesians chapter 1 given to those whom God has called and who has been brought into His spiritual family:

^“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. ⁵ He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace ⁸ that he lavished on us.” Amen

“If we are the body, why aren’t His arms reaching, why aren’t His hands healing, why aren’t His words teaching…”

Stewardship...What Kind of Steward Am I?

For many churches at this time of year - or within the next few weeks, the call will go out for financial pledges, flyers on ‘stewardship’ are put up on bulletin boards, posted to the church website, and/or mailed out with pledge forms. Scriptures are quoted to underline the importance of financial giving, such as the widow with two mites, ones that show that investing in God will bring you manifold returns on your investment (e.g. Luke 6:38). Google "Bible verses to use to encourage financial giving" and, oh my, all sorts of programs, lessons, and schemes are listed. Some sites sell their 'proven methods'. Sometimes churches will hire a consultant to work with the church to encourage greater giving, including partnering with retail stores so that a percentage of money spent by churchgoers returns to the church coffers. Given the recent financial times, not to mention increased interest in self and comforts, it is little wonder that for many churches, the Bible principle of ‘stewardship’ is diminished and mocked, referring chiefly to how much a person is willing to give to the church over the course of another period of time. This understanding of stewardship falls excessively short of what the Bible teaches, and can sometimes brink on being unscriptural or just Bible-flavored fundraising. Such misrepresentation may cause churchgoers and Christians to miss out on a wonderful and fundamental experience in their walk with God.

I remember when this truth was driven home to me several years ago, when I began to catch a glimmer of what God’s Word truly teaches on stewardship. One of the members of my congregation testified one Sunday – praise God for the courage and encouragement that the Holy Spirit had on this comparatively new believer! – that he had lost his job, yet he had not lost his faith in God’s promises! He believed God to be the true provider for himself and his family. While the job loss and reduced income required adjustments in spending, he said he could not see himself still not giving God one-tenth of his income. He testified that God had not changed – just his own personal circumstances, and he believed that God would honor his faith in Him to continue to bless his family’s obedience in this regard. Not only did he get new employment, but it is employment that brings enough to sustain the family and allows him to engage in evangelism work through the faith communities to which he belongs.

See, he was teaching us this: Stewardship is founded on love of God, a trusting relationship with Him, leading the believer to express gratitude, faith; he does not see stewardship as merely a ‘financial’ thing. God gave us stewardship of the earth, of our lives and faith, of the relationships within the body of Christ so that as faithful stewards grounded in the sacrificial love of Christ, we see ourselves as what we are – purchased for Christ by His blood and no longer our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We see our very lives and existence as coming from God, and that without Him and His grace we are dead spiritually and separated from Him. We owe Him ourselves. As such, all of our life and lifestyle pivots on stewardship of the faith God has given us (Hebrews 12:2), stewardship of the temple of the Spirit  - our physical bodies and how we use them to God’s glory, stewardship of the relationships God brings us to, stewardship of the secular and spiritual work that He brings us to – everything in our lives that we encounter call for us to exercise the stewardship role that God has bestowed on us. The joy and wonderment of this is that we are partners with Christ in our stewardship responsibility, we share with Him, we serve with and abide in Christ throughout the remainder of our earthly lives and beyond (John 15; Romans 16:3,9; Romans 8). The rewards of our stewardship can be experienced in this life and in the life to come (Matthew 25:14-30). We are commanded to give ourselves to His kingdom work, which includes proclaiming the good news to our friends, family, coworkers, and others, and making disciples of ourselves and others, and to serve one another in Christ.

Yes, our financial giving is but one aspect of our stewardship, and yet all of our stewardship responsibility is predicated on the same love, thanksgiving, and gratitude, and faith. Our financial giving, though, is an indicator of how we see ourselves before God. Do we believe God is who He says He is? It’s funny – we will give/dedicate our babies and children to God and ask Him to do with them as He wills, yet we are stingy or reticent with our money and will not give to God the one-tenth He asks. Some excuse themselves from the tithing by saying that this was a part of the old Mosaic law and doesn’t apply to Christians. Why not? Tithing is not introduced in the Bible through the Mosaic Law; it was already a standard of giving relative to worship; read Genesis 14 to confirm this. The Mosaic Law given to Moses by God used that existing standard (which was God-authored hundreds of years before); it also included special standards of giving for the Levites, which were twice as high as the general tithe offering. Thus, Jesus’ first coming did not obliterate the general giving standard, nor the principles of the law, in which the giving of one-tenth of ones' incurred wealth and/or possessions (whether money or goods) was a standard in worship and obedience to Yahweh. Such giving back to God serves to remind us of what God has done for us, what His grace has provided, and that He is sovereign over all things.  Jesus' coming - His first advent - fulfilled the redemptive plan of the law. Jesus upheld the principles of the law and expounded on them in the Sermon on the Mount – particularly in Matthew 5. The law pointed to Christ, yet it also underscored the Jews' accountability to God, as it does so for us (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Compare Paul’s inspired account in 2 Corinthians 8 as he identifies the source of the giving by the Macedonians. (In the next chapter in verse 7, Paul uses the word 'cheerful' with respect to the believers' attitude towards giving. The Greek word used here is a derivative of the word for 'hilarious' or 'hilarity' - when was the last time you wrote a check to church which had you falling out of your seat laughing hilariously?) Malachi 3 is not a part of the Mosaic law, and believers are commanded there to bring one tenth of their income into the ‘house of the LORD,’ i.e., we have the supreme privilege of honoring God through our material goods, service and our active faith. 

As we look at ourselves through the perspective of God’s Word, we each need to ask ourselves: What kind of steward am I? Do I believe in God’s Word and promises? Have I pledged allegiance to God through the blood sacrifice of Christ and accepted Him as my Savior, Lord and Master – not in word only but through a real transfer of my rights to Him? Have I accepted the honor of partnering with Christ in stewardship? Do my works and actions agree with my answer? (2 Corinthians 13:5)

How does your church approach stewardship?