Is faithfulness enough?

I have far too often heard Christians say, “God does not ask us to be successful; he only asks us to be faithful”.  I must admit that I groan inwardly when I hear this, because it demonstrates a serious lack of understanding regarding our service for God.  However, the topic deserves more consideration.

It is probable that the passage of scripture from which the idea arises is 1 Corinthians 4:2.

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (NIVUK)

But the context for this verse is about the effectiveness of Paul’s, Peter’s, and Apollos’ ministries. To be ‘proved faithful’ is all about outcomes or results.  But almost always when I have heard this verse quoted, it has been as a comfort blanket or an excuse for failure.  If you employed a plumber to fix a leaking pipe in your house, and the only thing he did was look at it, rattle his tools, but leave you with a leaking pipe, would that be acceptable?  He could claim that he faithfully turned up, and that he carefully assessed what needed to be done, and the tools it would require.  But you had put your trust in him to fix the leak, and he had let you down.

It is precisely the same when it comes to the trust that God shows in us.  He entrusts to us the gospel message which is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe.  While we cannot be held responsible for how people might respond to that message, we are held accountable for sharing the message.  It is only as we share the message that we show ourselves to have been worthy of the trust God has placed in us.  The same principle is true for all aspects of ministry to which God has called us.

So, it could be true to say, “God has not called us to be fruitful; he has called us to be faithful”.  But even that requires more careful thought.  Certainly, there are instances within scripture where God requires a prophetic message to be declared, even though he knows they will not respond appropriately (See Jeremiah 7:27 and 1Corinthians 14: 21).  But we should never allow our expectations about how someone might respond to prevent us from doing what God has asked us to do or saying what he has asked us to say.  That would be unfaithfulness.  We would be like Jonah who fled to Tarshish rather than go to Nineveh, or Moses seeking to excuse himself from confronting Pharaoh or Ananias hesitant about going to the newly converted Saul.

To be faithful, then, requires whole-hearted obedience.  This is well illustrated in the Parable of the Minas which Jesus told (see Luke 19:11-27).  But we need to take this a little further.  If we whole-heartedly wish to obey, we would also want to do our very best to succeed. Before I began in Christian ministry I was a member of a school philosophical society in which I had to learn the skills required to debate effectively.  Then, as I trained for Christian ministry I studied homiletics (the science of which preaching is the art), so that my sermons were well constructed and clear.  In both situations I wanted to be as effective as possible, even though I recognised that eloquence was no guarantee of success. 

It is a few weeks since my last e-letter and blog.  During this time, I have been preoccupied with other responsibilities.  Throughout this time, what I have written above has been on my mind.  I wanted to make clear that being faithful requires diligence and should never be used as an excuse for ineffectiveness.  During this time, I spoke on Nehemiah chapter 1 at a village church in Northamptonshire.  We reflected on the fact that a man who apparently had no suitable qualifications, motivated others and together with them got the wall of Jerusalem rebuilt and the gates re-hung in just 52 days.  That was effective faithfulness!  As we related this account to the state of God’s kingdom in the rural areas, I asked four questions.

1.       Are we spiritually and emotionally moved as Nehemiah was?  It was not just the state of the walls of Jerusalem that moved Nehemiah, but the recognition that the cause of this was unfaithfulness.

2.      Do we have a vision of what could be?  Are we overwhelmed by what is, or inspired by what could be?

3.      Do we have a sensible plan to turn the vision into reality?  The work would not have been completed without resources and organisation.

4.      Does prayer permeate the process?  “It is not by might nor power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6)

There were many dangers and difficulties throughout those 52 days.  Faithfulness – of which Nehemiah is a significant example - called for courage and stickability.

Barry - 20th February 2018