|
 In
order to cur the favor of God, one must be faithful to His cause
and devoted to His principles. Christ "became the author of
eternal salvation to all them that obey Him" (Heb. 5:8-9).
John wrote, "be thou faithful unto death and I will give
thee a crown of life" (Rev 2:10).
The
Bible term for faithful indicates a trust or confidence in God.
One manifests such a trust in obedience to God, the object of
his mental confidence. This idea is beautifully illustrated in
Hebrews 11:6, where the writer declares that a man must not only
"believe that he is" (that is, be convinced of His
being), but must also trust unhesitatingly in the fact that He
is "rewarder of them that diligently seek him." And
so, our faithfulness to God is seen in the conviction of His
being and in the performance of that which He has assigned,
believing that He is fully able to provide all that He has
promised as the reward for faithfulness.
There
are certain underlying factors which bring about faithfulness,
and the obvious failure of some to obtain or maintain these
conditions is tire primary cause for most of our unfaithfulness.
Love
for God. To know God is to love Him, and His great and
abiding love for us is a magnificent and wonderful thought to
contemplate. The fact that He loved us "while we were yet
sinners" is grand to ponder. And what of His marvelous
character? Consider His care; muse upon His mercy; reflect upon
His righteousness; meditate upon His mystery; study His
salvation; and chances are very good that you will not only
choose
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Him as your sovereign, but that you will be greatly
motivated to faithfully dedicate your life in service to Him.
Love for God is the very foundation for faithfulness.
Love
for souls. The soul of man is his most precious possession.
Its care should occupy the very highest place on our list of
things to which we attend. The Bible teaches that in order to be
faithful we must care for not only our own soul, but for the
souls of others as well. And while soul winning is not the only
responsibility of the faithful, it deserves a high place when
considering what is and what is not important. Sin is the common
enemy of mankind and the faithful person so realizes the fact
that he is vitally interested in the remission of sin for both
his own soul and the soul of others. (See Prov. 11:30)
Love
for truth. A faithful man will seek after truth simply
because he has come to realize that truth and voraciousness are
the identifying marks of faithful men. He knows that the truth
is that which dispels doubt, retards prejudice, quiets anxiety,
instills hope, and, ultimately, saves souls. Without truth no
man could be faithful, for he could not know if and when he is
going the right way. Truth and faithfulness are inseparable,
though one is cause and the other effect. Truth produces
faithfulness, and would be unnecessary only if faithfulness was
not demanded.
Let
us strive to be faithful by knowing and loving God, His truth,
and the souls of men. -- Dee Bowman
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