Faithfulness! Faithfulness! Faithfulness!⤒🔗

While preparing to write this article, I visited the US Marine’s website – the only place I could find where Semper Fidelis was used with pride. The US Marines pride themselves in their use of Semper Fidelis as their acclaimed motto. Here is what I read on their website:

Semper Fidelis distinguishes the Marine Corps bond from any other. It goes beyond teamwork – it is a brotherhood and lasts for life. Latin for “always faithful,” Semper Fidelis became the Marine Corps motto in 1883. It guides Marines to remain faithful to the mission at hand, to each other, to the Corps and to country, no matter what. Becoming a Marine is a transformation that cannot be undone, and Semper Fi reminds us of that. Once made, a Marine will forever live by the ethics and values of the Corps. There is no such thing as an ex-Marine.¹

If Semper Reformanda is “Our Most Misused Motto,” Semper Fidelis, is sadly “Our Most Neglected Motto.” We hear much about the misuse of the former as I pointed out in the last issue, but hear very little if anything at all about the latter. We don’t see much of it either.

Faithfulness is a rare commodity in our day and age. Very few truly possess this gift even among those who profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If the US Marines can claim Semper Fidelis with such pride, certainly Christians should and much more so! In this article, I would like to look at Scriptural truths regarding this all important subject of faithfulness which has been grossly neglected in our day much to our own disadvantage.

“The One Who Endures to The End, Shall Be Saved.”←↰⤒🔗

Just before sending His disciples out on an evangelistic mission, the Lord Jesus Christ gave them all a solemn warning concerning some of the dangers that they would face on their path of obedience to His commission (Matthew 10:16-23). He said to them, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (v. 16).

In doing this, Jesus was showing them the cost that is of necessity always attached to following Him. I once heard someone say that when the devil wants you to follow him; he will always hide the price tag.

But not so with Jesus! He doesn’t hide the price tag. He always displays the price tag so that those who decide to follow Him would know exactly what they are signing up for. Another example of this can be found in Matthew 16:24 where the Lord Jesus Christ uttered these words (also to His disciples), “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”

Why was Jesus so concerned that His disciples understand this? I think the answer to this question is given to us in Matthew 10:22 where the Lord Jesus Himself says, “...the one who endures to the end, shall be saved.” By giving them these warnings, Jesus was preparing His disciples for a life of protracted obedience to their Master. He knew full well of the dangers and temptations which His disciples would face as they followed Him. These words were to serve as necessary encouragements to the disciples in their moments of weakness, opposition and difficulty.

For Christ, what mattered most was not the beginning of the journey but its end. It was not the beginning of their journey with Jesus that would win the disciples a reward in heaven, hence Christ’s words, “the one who endures to the end, shall be saved.” Christ cared whether or not His disciples would be faithful to the end.

Charles Spurgeon once said in a sermon on Matthew 10:22 that ‘perseverance is the badge of true saints.’ He went on to say that for this reason, ‘perseverance is therefore, the target of all our spiritual enemies.’ But ‘perseverance is the glory of Christ’ and should therefore be ‘the great concern of every Christian.’

Many Christians start well on their pilgrimage to the Celestial City, but they easily get discouraged or distracted by the pressures and pleasures of this world. They quickly lose sight of where they are going so much so that they lose course and make themselves unfit for service in the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).

“Prone to Wander, Lord I Feel it. Prone to Leave the God I love...”←↰⤒🔗

The story is told of Robert Robinson (the author of the famous hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”), who at the age of 17 heard the preaching of George Whitefield at an evangelistic meeting. Robinson and some of his young friends then decided to attend the meeting with no intention of really listening to what Whitefield had to say but only to make fun of him.

The Word of God was so powerfully preached that Robinson felt convicted. He wrestled with that conviction for the next three years until at age 20, he professed faith in Christ. Shortly after that, he answered a call to the ministry. Years later, Robinson began to wander and left the ministry. One day, while in this condition, he sat by a lady who was humming the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” on a stagecoach.

Not knowing who he was, the lady asked Robinson what he thought of the hymn. He replied,

Madam, I am the unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds to enjoy the feelings I had then.²

This is a fair warning to all of us. “Let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:1). Like Robinson, we are all ‘prone to wonder,’ prone to leave the God who has loved us in the Beloved!

“Be Faithful Unto Death...”←↰⤒🔗

Christ cares about faithfulness! God the Father cares about faithfulness! The Holy Spirit cares about faithfulness! The Scriptures talk a lot about faithfulness, perseverance or what some have called ‘stick-to-itiveness.’

Reminiscent of Matthew 10:22, the Apostle John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes to the church in Smyrna “...Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). The Triune God expects His children to remain true and faithful to Him until death! That honors Him and He holds a great reward (“the crown of life”) for such as do persevere to the end.

Sadly, many Christians have capitulated to the pressures of this world and have chosen the path of least resistance regarding the faith much to their own shame and loss. The Bible knows nothing of such Christians.

Biblical Christians stand still against the wiles of the devil. They wage a fierce battle against him empowered by God and fight to their last breath. Tragically, many Christians today do not know anything of that kind of Christianity which is the only kind of Christianity there is! True Christianity is war! Every Christian must be prepared to fight all the way to the end come rain or sunshine. Every Christian needs to be committed enough to say, ‘I am going with Jesus all the way!’

We live in a culture and a time when people don’t want to fight for anything. They want everything cheap or handed down to them on a silver platter as it were. Our culture is full of cheap marriage commitments some which only last as long as 24 hours totally disregarding the fact that marriage is supposed to be a solemn and lifelong commitment to a wife or husband.

Our churches teach a cheap kind of gospel which totally disregards the cost of discipleship. We want cheap grace! The kind that offers sinners the benefits of Christ’s salvation without embracing His cross!

What a tragedy! This should cause us all to weep and mourn for our generation. We must plead for the merciful intervention of God in our culture and churches or we will all perish.

Let’s face it! Faithfulness is downright hard simply because life in general is hard especially for Christians! As Christians, we experience an added measure of difficulties in our daily lives.

Even on our best days, there is still so much that would discourage and derail us from staying the course and finishing the race that God has set before us. That’s why it is so important that we keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus Christ, “the Author and Finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Frankly speaking, there are moments when at a personal level, I don’t particularly feel encouraged to “keep on keeping on” or to do anything for that matter. In those moments, I am tempted to start looking for “EXIT” signs so that I can get out. I can think of at least five situations when I find it exceptionally difficult to keep going: 1. when I am in the gutter; 2. in the mundane/daily routines of life; 3. in the absence of appreciation after working so hard at something/anything; 4. in the absence of visible fruit for my labors in the gospel ministry; 5. when nothing makes sense and I am questioning everything. Do you have those moments?

But oh how I thank the Lord that when I am down in all these situations and more, He is ALWAYS there! Through these experiences, I have come to learn that He wants to teach me special lessons which have to do with His faithfulness and His commitment to working out His sovereign purposes in my life.

When I am tempted to abandon the course, He stays the course for me and with me! In those moments, He whispers in my ears, “My grace is sufficient for you for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9) as a sovereign, loving and caring Father.

When I am tempted to turn to the right or the left, I hear His voice behind me saying “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). I know that I can count on Him being there with me and for me every step of the way. I can count on the fact that His sufficient grace will keep me going to the end. Hallelujah!

“Men of Whom the World Was Not Worthy”←↰⤒🔗

I am always encouraged when I read the stories of men and women gone before us who stayed the course when they have every reason to bail out at least from a human stand point. Hebrews 11 gives us a whole catalogue of some of them. The writer calls them, “men of whom the world was not worthy” (v. 38).

Earlier in the same chapter, he gives us a brief description of these men:

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city. Vv. 13-16, emphasis mine

Once God had called them out and put them on the path to glory, they refused to turn back. They would not let anything or anyone stand in the way. Let’s pray for divine help that we too might ‘die in faith.’ May we be given the grace to persevere to the end so that we can say with Paul when we come to the end of our lives, “I have fought the good fight I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). The Apostle Paul Himself suffered so much for his faith (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-29), but with God’s help, he endured to the end.

Christ! Our Supreme Example of Faithfulness←⤒🔗

Christ’s entire life was a life of protracted opposition from the devil. But He never deviated from His mission even for a moment. He stayed the course for us when He was tempted to bail out. “...For the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

Nowhere else in the Scriptures do we more clearly see His faithfulness to the Father than in the Garden of Gethsemane where, on the eve of His death, He cried out to the Lord, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). On that night, He once again yielded to the perfect will of God the Father. He went through with the plan to die on the cross for sinners to the glory of God. He faithfully kept His end of the covenant made with His Father in eternity for our redemption. Let us therefore take courage and be strengthened. In Him, we will persevere to the end and shall receive the “crown of life” which He purchased for ALL of God’s children on the cross.

Rooted in His Sovereign Faithfulness←⤒🔗

Our faithfulness is (and must be) rooted in God’s faithfulness not our own for we have none! Our faithfulness (loyalty) is “like the mist of the morning, like the early dew which quickly disappears” (Hosea 6:4). His faithfulness is unchanging and unchangeable. “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

The secret of remaining faithful and persevering to the end is a heart that is willing to embrace the sovereignty of God over all things and a heart rooted in His faithfulness. “...The LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:5). It’s unlike God to abandon His children. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Even “when we are faithless, He remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13) because Christ lived a life of personal, perfect and perpetual faithfulness to God the Father on our behalf. He will preserve ALL of His children to the end. None of them will be lost (John 10:28).

In God’s plan of redemption, there is nothing like an ex-Christian. In Christ, ALL of His children will persevere to the end!

Faithful is He who calls you; He will surely do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24