THE HEART OF A FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.      I received a phone call from a friend on one occasion.  He told me:  “I want to be baptize.”  I told him that we needed to study.  We did, and he was baptized.

 

B.      We studied after that, but he was never faithful.

1.       He attended off and on.

2.       He got involved in a couple of works of the church.

 

C.      Before long, he left the church and never came back.

 

D.     Obeying the gospel of Christ is essential to salvation, but following baptism there is the need to be faithful (Rev. 2:10).

 

…be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

 

E.      To be faithful requires the heart of the individual (Prov. 23;7).

 

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…

 

F.      In this lesson, let’s look at some of the things that will be found in “The Heart of A Faithful Christian.”

 

I.                    A DEEP, FERVENT, SINCERE LOVE FOR GOD

 

A.      When a person learns the gospel, he learns about the love of God.

1.       “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son…” (John 3:16).

2.       “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

3.       Ephesians 2:4-5

 

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace are ye saved).

 

4.       “…Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (Rev. 1:5).

 

B.      God’s love is designed to illicit a response from man (1 John 4:19).

 

We love him, because he first loved us.

 

C.      We can display our love for God in words, but words are not enough.  Love must be manifested in obedience to God (John 14:21).

 

He that loveth me, and keepeth my words, he it is that loveth me…

 

D.     The faithful Christian who loves God is constantly asking:  “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”  When that question is answered from the pages of God’s Word, the individual responds in prompt obedience to God’s will.

 

 

 

 

II.                 A HEART THAT DIES TO SELF

 

A.      There are two wills that struggle against one another in the world, the will of God and the will of man.

 

B.      The faithful Christian knows that when he submitted to God, he died to self.

1.       Romans 6:6

 

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

 

2.       Galatians 2:20

 

I am crucified with Christ:  nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:  and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

 

C.      This is the one of the most difficult battles the child of God will face during his/her life.

1.       Doing the will of God is easy as long as it does not conflict with the individual’s will.

2.       When the two paths cross, he has to make a decision.  Will he do God’s will?  Or, will he fulfill his personal will?

3.       To answer that question, we must remember that we crucified self.  He was put to death (Col. 3:3).

 

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

 

a.       Dead men are lifeless.  Thus, we cannot serve self.

b.       Christ lives in us.  Therefore, we choose to do His will.

 

D.     The Christian knows that this is a lifelong battle.  We have to do as Paul commanded in Colossians 3:5.

 

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth…

 

1.       The definition of “mortify.”

a.       Strong (3499):  to deaden, that is (figuratively) to subdue

b.       Thayer:  to make dead, to slay, to deprive of power, to destroy the strength of

c.        Vine:  to put to death

2.       In Romans 8:13, Paul gives a promise to those who mortify the flesh.

 

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die:  but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

 

III.              A HEART THAT GRASPS ONE IS A MEMBER OF THE BODY

 

A.      Christ has one body (Eph. 4:4).  That body is composed of many members (1 Cor. 12:12).

 

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.

 

B.      The moment a person becomes a Christian God sets him in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 1;18).

 

But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it pleased him.

 

 

C.      The purpose of a body part is to carry out a function.

1.       Examples:

a.       The eyes see.

b.       The ears hear.

c.        The mouth speaks.

d.       The hearts pumps blood.

e.        The feet walk.

2.       Likewise, God placed each Christian in the body with a function that he is to carry out.

a.       A faithful Christian grasps this concept.

1)      “I am a member of the body of Christ.”

2)      He knows that this is more than an idea.  It is a reality.  The body of Christ truly exists.  It is the church of our Lord Jesus Christ.

b.       A faithful Christian seeks to fulfill his role in the body. (Question:  Aren’t you glad your body parts do not get to choose whether they will participate in the actions of the body?)

c.        NOTE:  Most body parts can do more than one thing

1)      Ex., the mouth:  talks, sings, eats, laughs, protects, etc). 

2)      How would you feel if you wanted to eat, but your mouth said, “All I do is talk,” and refused to feed you?

3)      In like manner, faithful Christians are doing many things in the body of Christ.

a)       Paul (2 Tim. 1:11)

 

Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.

 

b)      Peter:  an apostle (1 Pet. 1:1) and an elder (1 Pet. 5:1)

 

IV.               A HEART THAT KNOWS IT IS ACCOUNTABLE TO JESUS

 

A.      The Bible teaches that Jesus is the head of the church.

1.       Ephesians 5:23

 

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church…

 

2.       Colossians 1:18

 

And he is the head of the body, the church…

 

B.      As the head of the church, the members of the body are accountable to the Christ (Eph. 4:15-16).

1.       The head gives the commands to the body.

2.       The head expects the body to carry out those commands.

3.       If a member is not functioning properly, the head holds the member accountable.

a.       The body part may need therapy.

b.       The body part may need medication.

c.        The body part may need an operation.

d.       The body part might have to be removed.

4.       Question:  Does Jesus, the head of the church, know which parts are functioning as they should and which ones are not?

a.       Under the Old Law, the Jews began to live as they desired to live.  In Romans 2:3, Paul asked them a powerful question.

 

And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

 

b.       As members of the Lord’s church, do we think that we will escape the judgment of God?

CONCLUSION

 

A.      1 Corinthians 4:2

 

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

 

1.       Note the word “required” in the verse.

2.       Definition:  literally “to seek after” 

3.       It is a quality that is sought after by the master. 

It is the quality that is demanded by the master.

It is a quality that is authoritatively enjoined by the master.

It is a quality that is an imposed obligation by the master.

4.       NOTE:  When something is required, it is not an option.

 

B.      We have looked at four aspects of “A Heart of Faithfulness” in this lesson.

1.       A heart that has a deep, sincere, fervent love for God.

2.       A heart that has died to self.

3.       A heart that grasps that one is a member of the body of Christ.

4.       A heart that knows that as a member of the body, he/she is accountable to the Head, Jesus Christ.

 

C.      Faithfulness begins in the heart and rises to every inch of a person’s body.

Faithfulness begins in one’s life and is manifested in every aspect of the Christian’s life.

Faithfulness is turned on at conversion and supposed to gather more and more steam until death.

 

D.     Faithfulness will be a word we will be listening for in judgment (Matt. 25:21, 23).

 

His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant…