Faithfully (2)

The Christian Mission—Faithfulness

6.18.23 [1 Corinthians 4:1-7] River of Life (3rd Sunday after Pentecost)

Ps. 40:11 Lord, do not withhold your mercy from us. May your love and your faithfulness always protect us. Amen.

How do you know if you’re doing a good job? To a large degree, it depends on what your job is. Many jobs are tied to specific metrics. There are numbers you are expected to hit personally, as a department, and as a whole organization. When you hit your numbers, many times, you will hear others say that you are doing a good job.

But not all the time. Sometimes, what you thought was good isn’t good enough. On Monday night, the Denver Nuggets won their first title and the NBA wrapped up its season. But before the trophy was handed out, six coaches had been fired. Four of those six made the postseason this year. Three have won titles. The other, lost in the Finals two years ago. Yet, despite having impressive resumes and success during the most recent season, they were fired. Their peers rallied to their defense. They argued they deserved better. But it didn’t matter. Those who make the final call said they weren’t good enough.

When you’re responsible or in a position of leadership—whether you’re a coach, a church leader, a father, or a Christian—you will be judged. That’s one of the key points the Apostle Paul makes. (1 Cor. 4:3-4) I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself…It is the Lord who judges me.

Now, this likely isn’t the only time you have ever heard someone talk like this. Many have boasted Only God can judge me! Too many didn’t realize how true their words would prove to be. God is only the ultimate and final judge of all mankind. But Paul isn’t isn’t telling the Corinthians I’ll do whatever I want! He is reminding them of his role—what he is called to be and do & to whom he is ultimately accountable. The Lord will judge me, as he will judge everyone. (1 Cor. 4:5) When he returns he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness. He will reveal the motives of the heart. At that time, each will receive whatever praise they are due from the Lord.

Perhaps, we might look at something like this and think—this only applies to the Apostles. But Paul says, he has applied these things, or this truth about our accountability to God— to Apollos as well. Apollos was a church leader and a pastor, but he was not an apostle. When you’re responsible or in a position of leadership, you will be judged. But it’s not just church leaders—it’s all Christians. We are all servants of Christ. We have all been entrusted with the mystery of the Gospel that God has revealed to you through his Word. (1 Cor. 4:2) Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. This is what God is looking for. This is how he judges.

Faithfulness is the key metric in God’s final and ultimate judgment. So we ought to know what faithfulness means and what it doesn’t mean.

Faithfulness must not be conflated with success or popularity. That’s one of the tough truths that Paul tackles in 1st Corinthians. One of the problems they had in Corinth was quarreling over the superiority of their spiritual mentors. (1 Cor. 1:12) One would say I follow Paul. Another would say: I follow Apollos, or Peter, or Christ. This bickering was breaking their unity.

The Corinthians needed to be reminded that being a servant of Christ was not about accumulating followers or building a personal legacy. Paul was sent by God to plant the seed. Apollos was sent by God to water it. But Jesus is the one who makes it grow. Christ crucified is the cornerstone of our faith—regardless of whom we hear it from.

At times, we struggle with this truth too. We have spiritual leaders we like a lot. And some we don’t click with. God made us all different and we have different preferences. But we must also recognize that Satan preys upon our preferences, too. He can use our affinity for one individual or a particular congregation or manner of worship to lead us to think less of someone or something different. Just because someone is well-liked, or a place is full of lots of people, or the music is familiar or upbeat doesn’t mean that it’s being faithful. At the same time, the inverse is also true. Just because someone isn’t liked, or a congregation is small, or the worship is exactly what I like doesn’t mean that it's faithful. We must not crave popularity or chase success.

So what does it mean to be faithful? Paul gives us two pictures: the servant and the one who has been entrusted, or the administrator.

This word for servant originally described a slave under-rower in triple-decker Greek warship. In Biblical usage, it was for an officer or a helper. The common thread is clear. Paul took orders from Christ.

But he also was an administrator. His master had put him in charge. He was a servant, but also in charge of servants. Think of Abraham and his servant Eliezer or Joseph and Potiphar. Think of Jesus’ parable of the talents—where the king goes on a long journey and gives talents of gold to his servants and expects them to invest them wisely.

Paul had been made an administrator of the riches of God’s mercy, the power of the Gospel, and the mystery of God’s grace. So, too, have we.

We each have been our marching orders and we have been given a trust, like Paul. It may not be the command to be a missionary to the Gentiles throughout Europe and Asia Minor, but we have our orders. Love God. Treasure his Word. Love one another as Christ loved us. We each have been entrusted with the mystery that God has revealed to us in his Word. We have been entrusted with the power of God to courageously confront sin and sinners and comfort them with Christ crucified.

So have we been faithful? Have we obeyed the orders that come from our captain? When Christ commands us to take up our cross & follow him, do we march in step? When he orders us to turn the other cheek do we do so? When he tells us to forgive as freely as we have been forgiven, do we comply without complaining? Or do we drag our feet?

When we think of all that God has put into our hands, our time, our talents, and our treasures, can we really say we have made God’s goals our top priority? When others look at how we invest our very selves—do they see someone who pours themselves into studying his Word? Do they see someone who finds their confidence in Christ alone? Do they recognize that our values are not set by pragmatism, or what is popular, or what we feel but by what God says and does? Joseph was put under great pressure to sleep with Potiphar’s wife and refused saying (Gen. 39:9) How then can I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? Is that our attitude toward wickedness? Do we flee sin no matter the costs? Do we seek first the kingdom of God trusting he will take care of the rest?

Unfortunately, we tend to be unreliable servants and irresponsible administrators. We have no basis to be proud. But we must not despair either. Look at the final questions Paul asks. (1 Cor. 4:7) Who makes you different from anyone else? It is Christ who makes you different. It is God who has given you everything you have. Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord and what he freely gives!

Christ Jesus is the faithful servant of God that we need. Christ is the responsible and diligent administrator of the mysteries of God.

Throughout his life, we see Jesus as that faithful servant. He followed orders perfectly. He kept the Law flawlessly. He was faultless in thought, impeccable in word, and incomparable in deed. He never gave into sin—even if it would have made his life “easier” or more pleasant. He followed his Father’s will even when it meant that he had to suffer and die on the cross. He willingly did whatever it took so that we might be made different. Righteous.

But Jesus is also the faithful administrator of God’s mysteries. In his earthly ministry, he proclaimed things that were inconceivable in his day. He told the people that the Pharisees were not righteous enough to stand confidently before God but that the tax collectors would be called great in God’s sight. He told the people that God prefers to show mercy rather than to receive sacrifices. He told the people that the angels in heaven have greater joy over one sinner being brought to repentance than seeing ninety-nine righteous ones. He told his disciples that he would be killed and rise again on the third day. He told them that before Abraham was I AM. I AM the Good Shepherd. I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me. I AM the vine and you are the branches. I AM with you even to the very end of the age.

Because Jesus is God’s servant and ours, we are saved. Because Jesus is the magnificent administrator of God’s mercy, we are transformed. The Lord who judges the living and the dead is the One who died for our sins and rose to life so that we might live in him. In Christ we are confident. Because we are in Christ, we live differently. Each of us has been called to be a servant of Christ & an administrator of God’s mysteries. God will judge us all. Strive to be found faithful to his Word & committed to his cause of saving sinners.

But today, with it being Father’s Day, I want to focus on how God calls and uses fathers to do this. You’re in a position of leadership, you will be judged. But not by the world. Not by your peers. By God alone.

God has called you to be his servant. To exert yourself in following his orders. He calls you to love your wife, the mother of your children, as Christ loved the church. He calls you to train and encourage your children in the Lord. He calls you to discipline them in love, too. Each of these tasks can be mimicked by the world around us. They say a husband must strive to make his wife happy. A servant of Christ knows that a husband seeks to root his wife’s joy in the Lord. The world says a father must love and support his children in whatever they want to think or do or be. A servant of Christ knows that a father is commanded to teach, model, and imprint the wisdom of the Lord upon the hearts and minds of his children. When they wander, fathers you must correct them. Not out of anger, but grave concern for their soul. When they return, you must forgive as freely as you have been forgiven. Rejoice as the father of the prodigal son did—because that’s how your heavenly Father celebrates over your repentance. That Father promises, (Rev. 2:10) be faithful—to the very end—and I will give you a crown of life.