God Is Faithful

 Last Sunday’s sermon was preached by Pastor Harry on “God Is Faithful”
(Malachi 2:10-16). The sermon and the whole service can be watched on
our WIC YouTube Channel:

We continue our series of messages on being a good steward (servant, worker), looking after what God has given us to care for. Last week I was saying you can’t be a good steward if you don’t believe that God exists in the first place. It’s like being a stewardess and not knowing what airline company you work for! And I also mentioned that it’s not enough to just be a “good person” here on earth and not necessarily believe in God, as many seem to think – because then we won’t know what God actually wants us to do, in order to be a good steward for Him. For example, you might say: “I’m going to be a good steward – a good servant of God – by working as a missionary in Africa”. But how do you know that God wants that for you? He might want you to work as a missionary here in Poland! I’m saying our idea of what is good might not be the same as God’s idea.

It was the same with the sacrifices of the Israelites. God was displeased with those sacrifices, even though the Israelites thought they were good sacrifices – but God said they were defiled and imperfect, and He didn’t accept them. Why not? Because the people followed their own ideas of what is good and worthy, instead of regarding God alone as worthy.

Today we’re looking at the second chapter of the Book of Malachi. Now the prophet is drawing attention to another discrepancy between us stewards and God Himself. The same God created everybody, and gives everyone in the world opportunities to serve Him and others, and to be His steward. He’s faithful and unbiased towards us.

Faithfulness is His nature – He can’t deny who He is and start being unfaithful! But what about us? Are we faithful stewards of what he entrusts us with? Or do we betray our Master even as we serve Him?

You must have heard many sermons where pastors and priests tell you what to do: do this, don’t do that. It’s so easy for us preachers to just lay out the Ten Commandments and tell you to obey them. “You must be faithful to God: no idolatry! Faithful to your partner: no adultery! Faithful to others: no treachery!” Easy to do that. It’s also quite easy for us to tell others they’re practising idolatry. We say: “Do you pray to or worship anyone else apart from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? If so, that’s idolatry”. So it is. And we might do the same with someone who commits adultery. We might say: “Have you been cheating on your partner? If so, that’s adultery”. And so it is, too.

In today’s reading, even though idolatry and adultery are easy to recognize, it seems the Israelites were shamelessly indulging in both. The men were marrying idol-worshipping women and worshipping their gods; and they were also being unfaithful to their wives. But at the same time, they were also trying to serve the Lord, and presumably thinking they were doing a good job of it, because they couldn’t understand why things weren’t working out for them!

You see, they didn’t realize they were hypocrites. Maybe they didn’t even realize they were being unfaithful! When people keep on indulging in such sins, it becomes a habit, and gradually they see nothing wrong with it. But God withholds His blessing – because they’re serving their Master badly. They’re serving themselves!

But now, here’s my problem as a preacher: How can I wag my finger at you and tell you not to be idolatrous or adulterous, without being hypocritical myself? And it’s not the Law of Moses that makes me aware of this – it’s Jesus Himself, in His teachings! Jesus takes us much deeper than the Ten Commandments ever could. Look what He says about idolatry (Matthew 6:24): “You cannot serve both God and mammon”. The Amplified Bible tells us what “mammon” means: “money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord”. Doesn’t that make each one of us idolatrous at one time or another? It’s much more than just praying to someone who isn’t God! Ask yourself if there’s something or someone that you value more than the Lord right now.

I don’t want to scare you, but if there is, God might take it away from you sooner or later.

And how can I self-righteously preach to you: “Adultery is a bad thing – don’t do it”? Do you know what Jesus says about adultery? (Matthew 5:28): “Anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart”. I imagine it works the other way round too. The point is: I’m an idolator and an adulterer anyway. 

But if you’re not idolatrous or adulterous in this deeper sense, then congratulations: feel free to throw the first stone at the rest of us sinners. Former US President Jimmy Carter once said he committed adultery several times a day, obviously meaning casting a lustful glance at women around him. He was just being an honest Christian. But many people were shocked, thinking he was some sort of sexual pervert!

I think that, in the Bible, Jesus shows us that we are all faithless towards God and other people. He teaches us to be more compassionate in our dealings with others – because one day, He will expose our own hypocrisy. I really dislike it when people are full of their own self-righteousness, and so ready to point their finger at others because of what they regard as some failing. Jesus never did that. He never had an agenda. He understood people’s weaknesses and was gentle with them. The only ones He wasn’t gentle with were precisely the moralizers and self-righteous persons. He condemned them, because they condemned and judged other people – placing guilt and burdens on them, instead of examining themselves. There are so many people around, who don’t think they have any failings whatsoever.

So now, if we are so faithless, how can we become faithful stewards in God’s eyes?

Again, Jesus tells us. In Luke 12:35-36, He says that a faithful steward is someone who is dressed for service all the time, and waiting for his master to return from the wedding feast. The master could return at any time; but the servant is ready to let him in, the moment he arrives.

So again, being a faithful servant or steward is not a question of how good you are – because none of us are good. Only God is good. It’s a question of our being ready for God; looking towards Him all the time; aware of His nearness all the time; having the attitude of that watchful steward. Never look at yourself and your achievements. Instead, look at what God can achieve in you, through the power of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ. And in that way you will become faithful; and He will do the rest. And Christ will hold you fast. Amen.