Can you tell me, what qualities do you think a Christian congregation should look for in a pastor? In other words, if you were filling out a survey of what you want your pastor to be, would you say “I want a pastor who is…”
Dynamic
Friendly
Intelligent
Eloquent
A leader
Popular
Good looking
Faithful
You realize, of all those qualities, the one that God would say is #1 is which one? That’s right: faithful, as in faithful to God and faithful to his Word. God wants pastors to be like a faithful watch, something you can count on to tell you the truth. Or maybe a better illustration would be a GPS. If a GPS has all the bells and whistles and yet can’t accurately tell you where you are and where you need to go, what good is it? The same thing is true for pastors. A pastor needs to be faithful to God and faithful to his Word.
And yet, it’s not just pastors whom God expects to be faithful. Really, that’s something that God expects of every believer. In fact, that’s the point that St. Paul makes in our Scripture lesson today. Our sermon theme today is simply this:
Christian, Be Faithful!
- Because of what has been entrusted to you
- Because of who will judge you
First, be faithful because of what has been entrusted to you. So what has God entrusted to you and me? Obviously he’s given us our time, our talents and our treasures. And he wants us to be faithful managers of those gifts, using those gifts to serve him and our fellow man. But there is something much more important that God has entrusted into our hands. St. Paul refers to it here in our text. He says, Men ought to regard us as…those entrusted with the secret things of God. Hmmm. What does that mean? What are the secret things of God? (Maybe they’re so secret that nobody knows what they are.) No, actually, the secret things of God are things that nobody in the world could ever figure out if God had not revealed them to us in his Word. The secret things of God are things like God demanding perfection from us, but then gives us Jesus’ perfection as a free gift. The secret things of God are things like God using a little water and the word to wash away the sins of an infant child. The secret things of God are things like the resurrection of the Jesus Christ from the grave, guaranteeing that your body will not lie forever in the grave either. These are all things that the world will not “get” without God the Holy Spirit revealing it to them in the Word. How does St. Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 2? He says, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: ‘No eyes has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
There is the key. God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. Think about what that means. God has revealed to you his greatest secrets. Through his Word, he has allowed you to see into his heart and discover that he is a kind and compassionate God. He’s forgiven you in Christ and prepared a place for you in heaven. You don’t have to wonder how God feels about you. You don’t have to wonder where you stand with God. You know that for Jesus’ sake you’re all right with God. And God has revealed all those things to you—in the Gospel.
But now that you have the Gospel, the question is, what will you do with it? Well, here in our text, St. Paul gives you some good advice. He writes, Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (1 Cor. 4:2). Really, that’s a principle that comes from the world of business and finance. If I entrust my 401k to a money manager, I’m going to expect that person is going to be faithful with it. He’s not going to take my money and run to the Bahamas with it. Wasn’t that the point of Jesus’ Parable of the Talents? When the master went away for a time, he expected his servants to be faithful with what their master had entrusted to them.
Isn’t the same thing true about all the gifts God has given to us, especially the gift of God’s Word? God wants us to be faithful in the use of his Word. What does that mean—to be faithful in the use of God’s Word? Well, what does it mean when people say that they are “faithful” fans of the Packers? It means that when the Packers are playing, they are watching. It’s a priority in their lives. Isn’t the same thing true about being faithful to God’s Word? It means that when the Word is being proclaimed, when Christians are gathering around the Word, being faithful means you’re committed to being here. This a priority for you.
But being faithful with the Word means more than just faithfully hearing it yourself. It also means sharing it with others. What did the Lord say to the Prophet Jeremiah? Let him who has my Word speak it faithfully (Jer. 23:28). Really, there are two things there. Let him who has my Word speak it. That is, don’t keep it to yourself. Don’t keep it a secret. Share it with others. But speak it faithfully. In other words, speak it accurately. Be faithful to everything that God says in his holy and inspired Word.
And yet, being faithful to the Word means more than hearing it regularly. It means more than speaking in accurately. It also means living it consistently. What does Scripture say? Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22). There is the greatest challenge to being faithful with God’s Word, right? Actually putting God’s Word into action in our lives. Letting our words and actions be consistent with what we say we believe, so we don’t come off like such hypocrites for saying one thing and doing another.
The question is, how can we do that? How can I possibly be faithful with the Word, when by nature I’m so often faithless? As sinful human beings, we’ve all made promises to God and then broken them. We’ve all been unfaithful to our heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus. Is there any hope for unfaithful people like you and me? Yes, there is. And our hope is found in the very thing that God has entrusted into our hands, namely, the gospel. Think about it. What does the Gospel say? It says that even though we’ve been unfaithful, Jesus was faithful. What did Jesus say to his Father? “Here I am. I have come to do your will.” (Heb. 10:9). Jesus obeyed all the commands of God perfectly. And now remarkably God gives you and credit for Jesus’ obedience. In effect, God took your unfaithfulness and in exchange, gave you Jesus’ faithfulness. And now that God sees you as faithful in his eyes, he says, now dear Christian, go live as my faithful people. Or to put it another way,
Christian, Be Faithful
- Because of what’s been entrusted to you.
But not only be faithful because of what’s been entrusted to you, but also: II. Be Faithful because of who will judge you. Now at first, you might say, “Really? Be faithful because of who will judge me? But I don’t like to be judged by others. I don’t like it when people look down their noses at me. I don’t like it when I feel like I’m not living up to other people’s expectations.
Well, I’ll tell you, you’re not the only person who has ever felt that way. Here in our text, St. Paul experienced some of those same emotions. In fact, Paul was feeling judged by the members of his congregation. And what’s worse, they were judging him not by the standards that God has set for ministers of the gospel, but rather, by the expectations they themselves had set for Paul. Remember the survey we looked at earlier? That’s what the Corinthians were using on Paul. They expected Paul to be a mover and a shaker. They expected Paul to a dynamic speaker. They expected Paul to win a popularity contest in a congregation where people were saying, “I follow Peter” and “I follow Paul” and “I follow Apollos.”
So, how does Paul respond to all these human expectations? He basically says, “I don’t really care what you people think.” Or in his own words, I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear. In other words, Paul is saying, “I’m not going to let other people determine how I should conduct my ministry. No, I’m accountable to a higher authority.” What does Paul say? It is the Lord who judges me. In other words, Paul recognizes that even though, yes, he was called to serve the people of his congregation, still, his ultimate responsibility is to God. God is the only who will judge his action, his motives, his heart. And that fact produces a powerful incentive for Paul. Paul is determined to be faithful to God because God is the One who would ultimately be his Judge.
My friends, isn’t the same thing true for you and me? Every day we are surrounded by people who want to judge us. People who want us to conform to what they expect us to be. They put pressure on us to do what they want us to do and condemn us if we don’t. It’s at times like these that we need to step back and say what Paul said, namely, “Wait a minute. You people are not my judge. I don’t have to live up to your expectations. I don’t have to conform to your will. I have to conform to God’s will. God is my Judge.
Now, I realize that there’s something rather unnerving about saying that God is my Judge, especially, when we realize that God is all-knowing, all-powerful and sets as the standard for our behavior, “Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” (Lev. 19:2) That fact can leave us all shaking in our boots. But remember what God has entrusted to you. God has given you the gospel. And in the gospel you learn that God’s righteous judgement on sin was laid on Jesus. Jesus absorbed God’s wrath there on the cross. That’s why Scripture says, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) That means that in Christ, God has declared you to be the blameless, holy, children of God. And really, it’s that fact, that powerful declaration, that gives you the desire and the ability to do what God calls on you to do, and that’s simply to…be faithful. Be faithful to the Lord. Be faithful to his Word. Be faithful with all the gifts you’ve been given.
And when you fail—and you and I will certainly fail—then go back to the gospel and find in God’s Word and Sacrament the assurance that for Jesus’ sake God has forgiven your unfaithfulness and once again, declared you to be his holy, precious, faithful child of God. Believe it and live it, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.