Rev 2:10 (KJV)
10) Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
“Be ye faithful unto death”…
One of the most taught, and important, responsibilities given to a Christian in the pages of God’s Word is the need to be faithful. For this morning, I would like us to ask the question… what does the Bible mean by being “faithful”?
The word “faithful” is translated from a Greek word that means “to be trusted”, “to have confidence” and “to believe in”. The root word from which faithful is derived is a word that means “to be convinced”, “to be brought to one’s side”, “to yield to”. By understanding these words we can more easily understand exactly what the Bible means by the term “faithful”. Biblically, to be “faithful” means “to possess a confidence that causes us to be trustworthy”. In other words, it is to be so totally convinced of a truth that we then consistently apply that truth to our life for the remainder of our days.
So to be “faithful” to our Lord means that we are so totally persuaded in the Bible’s teachings of Christ’s identity, work and teachings that our life becomes consistently, permanently aligned with His cause. It is being “full of faith” in Christ which then allows Him to trust us to be in consistent submission to His desires for us. It is saying that “I KNOW ABSOLUTELY that what the Bible says about Christ is true, therefore I will consciously, constantly align myself with His will and ways in every area of my being.”
To close, I would like to re-emphasize the most misunderstood aspects of being faithful… Being faithful is like a coin that has two sides to it. You cannot have one without the other:
1. First of all, being “faithful” ALWAYS describes outward submission motivated by an inward confidence. To hypocritically submit to the outward commands of Christ is not being “faithful”. Our submission to Him must be motivated by being “full of faith”. We should never think being “faithful” simply involves outward acts.
2, Secondly, being “faithful” does absolutely rely upon our outward acts of submission to His will. We can say we are “faithful” (full of faith) all that we want, but if our lives are not in submission to His will, we cannot claim faithfulness. As a matter of fact, if we think we are full of faith, and our lives do not align themselves to His will, we must question the validity of our faith.
Do our lives exhibit submission to His will and ways, motivated by absolute assurance in Him? Or are we like an actor on a stage, outwardly conforming to the dictates of religion without being convinced of the Bible record concerning Christ?
Do we KNOW that Christ is our Lord and Saviour and we naturally find ourselves treating Him as such? Or are we like those who may have a mental assent to truths about Christ without that knowledge ever working change in their lives?
May the Lord bless us as we “Think On These Things”.
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