FAITHFULNESS UNTO DEATH
Revelation 2: 8- 10; 1 Timothy 1: 12 -14; 2 Timothy 2: 1,2
H.W.K. One is impressed with the thought of being faithful unto death. The Lord says to Smyrna "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give to thee the crown of life". This city we are in is named, I understand, after one who was faithful unto death. We tend to think only of those who are faithful at the present time, but I believe we should think more about those who have preceded us in the testimony and particularly of the martyrs. We are not called to martyrdom at the present time, but there have been times when persons have actually been faithful unto death. They could have just denied the Lord's name and their lives might then have been spared, but they were prepared to surrender their lives in faithfulness to Him. I expect all of us have read about the martyrs and all they went through during such times as the Reformation. Now we are not in such times, but we are still in times when faithfulness is required. We have just sung 'How good is the God we adore, Our faithful unchangeable Friend' (hymn 23), so we must first see how faithfulness is set out in God. Paul reminds the unfaithful Corinthians, who were thinking of themselves first, that God is faithful (see 1 Cor 1: 9). Now Paul had a link in the truth with this young man Timothy and knew what there was potentially in him for the maintenance of the truth after his own departure. Therefore Paul would commit the whole truth to Timothy. Paul was concerned that the truth should not be broken up, with various ones carrying part of the truth, but rather that Timothy should be in possession of the whole truth, even as Paul had been, and that he should pass it on intact to faithful men. The basis on which the truth had been committed to Paul was that the Lord had counted him faithful and had appointed him to ministry even though he had been beforehand a blasphemer and persecutor, and an insolent overbearing man. So Timothy was to entrust what he had heard from Paul to faithful men who would be competent to instruct others also, which would involve the handing down of the truth on the line of faithfulness to ourselves. So we should think about the faithfulness of those who have preceded us in every era of the testimony, with a view to our being more faithful.
D.E.R. The test is not so much in holding the truth in our minds or in terms; it is the practice of the truth which arouses the opposition of the enemy and it is then that faithfulness is particularly called for.
H.W.K. Just so. If we are faithful we shall experience what it is to be rejected by the world, but we shall not know it otherwise.
C.M. It is remarkable that Paul says that the Lord "has counted me faithful". He was conscious in his own links with the Lord that the Lord knew that faithfulness was one thing that had marked him, even if he had not much else to his credit in his past history.
H.W.K. Paul never had mixed motives. Even when he was persecuting the saints he thought he was doing right to stamp out the name of the Lord Jesus whom he truly believed to be an imposter. But after his conversion the zeal of Paul eclipsed the zeal of every other man. His zeal in persecuting the saints was turned to set on the truth of Christianity which had been committed to him and to which he was faithful.
C.M. And the Lord gave him power.
H.W.K. The twelve had been given power personally by the Lord in order to establish Christianity at its outset, but Paul received power from the Lord on high.
C.M. Paul was given power because he was faithful and could be entrusted with it.
H.W.K. Power in the hands of man not under the headship of Christ is dangerous, but Paul could be entrusted with the greatest power.
D.E.R. Paul had a transaction with the Lord on the Damascus road which had completely changed him, and it is our own personal links with the Lord and our affection for Him which will empower us to follow in the path of faithfulness to Him.
H.W.K. It is therefore important that each one of us has a similar transaction, to receive a personal impression of Christ, so as to be faithful to Him. It has been said that infinite love and infinite hatred met on that Damascus road, and infinite love overcame so as to leave the impressions which Paul had.
D.E.R. Do such impressions link with the true riches credited to the company in Smyrna? Such rich impressions are not Laodicean riches.
H.W.K. Yes; so the Lord can exhort that company to be "faithful unto death, and I will give to thee the crown of life". We should think more of the faithfulness of those who have preceded us in the testimony.
C.H.S. Everything is set out for us in the Lord Himself who became dead and lives. It is a question of preparedness to go the way He went, to follow Him and deny ourselves.
H.W.K. Exactly.
C.M. On every occasion that the Lord tells the disciples about the sufferings He is going to meet with in Jerusalem, He also refers to His rising again on the third day. We could not be faithful unto death without being in the light of that.
H.W.K. The ascension of Christ should also mean much to us.
A.C.S. In Philippians 3 Paul refers to the power of His resurrection before referring to the fellowship of His sufferings and being conformed to His death.
H.W.K. The truth of His resurrection would give us power in our testimony here. If we are faithful during the time of Christ's rejection He will be faithful to us and will reward us, not with a physical crown of laurel leaves (such as Roman soldiers used to receive) but with the crown of life in the sphere of life eternal.
C.H.S. He that hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal. It is not easy to hate your life.
H.W.K. No, but it is on the basis of preparedness to be faithful unto death that the truth has come down to us. What was given to Paul was given to him not because he had ability or knowledge or anything like that, but because he was faithful. Similarly, Paul handed on to Timothy what he was in possession of because he saw the element of faithfulness in that young man. God is now looking for that in us.
D.E.R. There is particular need at the moment to be faithful to the truth committed to Paul, involving the truth as to the assembly. The rudiments of the gospel do not provoke opposition, but the test is faithfulness to the truth of Paul's glad tidings.
H.W.K. Just so. The truth tests us as to our preparedness to be faithful unto death. Take the matter of separation: a person is not popular if he desires to be practically separate from the world. Mr Darby would still insist that separation from evil is God's principle of unity. The standard of the truth remains unaltered by breakdown.
D.E.R. When breakdown has come in, true hearts would rally to stand in the breach more faithfully than ever in order that the ground secured for us might be rightly held.
H.W.K. More faithfulness is required to-day because of the unfaithfulness all around us. We are called to be faithful like the Lord, who was 'Faithful amidst unfaithfulness, 'Mid darkness only light' (hymn 230). God would count upon us to shine in a difficult day. As being possessed of Christ, the believer has a constitution that would enable him to shine like the martyrs. What it must have meant to stand up in those days and fearlessly own their link with the Lord Jesus at the risk of their lives!
C.M. Stephen was an example of one who was strong in grace, for even in his martyrdom he was able to pray for his enemies.
H.W.K. Heaven took account of the close of his days here. He was not concerned to ward off the stones that were coming at him but he was concerned about those who were stoning him, so he prayed for them and then peacefully fell asleep. "The grace which is in Christ Jesus" is available to strengthen each one of us. We have been preserved thus far and now we need fresh grace to keep us true and faithful as we move in the sphere of testimony. We are kept here for that purpose and we must justify God every day of our lives in that sphere.
C.M. When David was a young man he overcame the giant but, in his old age, faith was not so active (although no doubt it was there) so that the giant was nearly too much for him. So we need to be getting constant supplies in order to be sustained.
H.W.K. What a man David was in the sight of God! He was the one who considered for God and set on the service of praise.
D.E.R. Suffering is something we naturally shy away from, but suffering and glory go together.
H.W.K. If we suffer with Him we shall reign with Him. While we do not experience physical suffering, as some did in the past, we should know something about suffering in our spirits. If we are faithful we shall be rejected and hated.
C.D.R. Paul and Silas were suffering in jail but they were singing praises to God.
H.W.K. What a triumph! They were not in prison because of some crime they had committed but because they were faithful. So Paul was rewarded with the greatest truths. How rich are the epistles from Paul in prison! Because he was faithful the greatest truths were revealed to him. Now wonderful truth has been given to us. It has come down from Christ personally, through Paul, through Timothy, through faithful men to us, and now it is our turn to be faithful.
C.H.S. Faithfulness to-day is, in a way, equivalent to martyrdom.
H.W.K. It is. If we are faithful we shall have the same feelings as the martyrs had and as the Lord had. In John 6, where the Lord is presented as the bread of life, many of his disciples turned away from Him and He felt it.
C.H.S. It is a question of feeding on His death - on His flesh and on His blood - and that is not easy.
H.W.K. We need to make time to appropriate and contemplate Him. When the Lord was here some contemplated His glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a father. How much do we contemplate Him?
D.E.R. The present moment is summed up in Paul's exhortation to Timothy: "Be not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner", 2 Tim 1: 8. The Lord is not wanted in the world, and Paul is not wanted in its religious aspect.
H.W.K. And if we are faithful we shall not be wanted; we shall experience something akin to martyrdom as we name the name of the Lord. We should therefore be thankful that the Spirit is here and that evil is held in check. How terrible is that which will take place on earth after the rapture when evil will be unchecked!
D.E.R. The reproach of the Christ is preservation and practical salvation for us, even if it may involve suffering in spirit.
H.W.K. It is. We do not know much about martyrdom in our country. Persons, such as the Pilgrim Fathers, who came to our country desired to be right with God and worship Him in the way they believed to be right; but most of the history of Christendom has taken place in this section of the world where there were actual martyrs, and particularly in Britain which as Mr Taylor suggested, was the cradle of the revival: It is a privilege to be here in the testimony and to represent the Lord, but it is also a great responsibility in view of the light we have and the faithfulness of those who have preceded us. Well, God is faithful and I believe He is helping us, as we count on Him to sustain us and give us power to be faithful.
ST. ALBANS
1 November 1976
KEY TO INITIALS
H.W.K. - H.W.Knauss (Indianapolis); C.M. - C.Middleton; C.D.R. - C.D.Remmington; D.E.R. - D.E.Remmington; A.C.S. - A.C.Stay; C.H.S. - C.H.Stay; (all local).