Faithfulness, a rare quality nowadays. When Christians are judged, will you hear Jesus say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant,” as in Matthew 25:21-23?
All Christians should serve the Lord in some capacity, and general stewardship requires faithfulness. 1 Corinthians 4:2: “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
The biggest threat to faithfulness is compromise.
Three times the Bible tells us that Moses was faithful (Numbers 12:7; Hebrews 3:2; Hebrews 3:5). When you read the Exodus account of the ten plagues God placed upon Egypt, Pharaoh offers Moses several compromises that are offered to Christians today, and sadly, many of us are not as faithful as Moses.
If you are unfamiliar with the Moses and Pharaoh story, here is a little background. Jacob had twelve sons. His favorite son was Joseph, and Jacob showed his favoritism by giving Joseph a coat of many colors. Joseph’s brothers (except Benjamin) were jealous of Joseph. Joseph had some dreams that only worsened the situation and increased the brothers’ jealousy.
The brothers agree to get rid of Joseph, but they disagree about what to do. Do they kill him or sell him into slavery? They put him in a pit, and while they argue amongst themselves, a group of merchants comes along, saves Joseph from the pit, but sells him into slavery themselves.
However, the brothers have his coat. They cut it up some and put animal blood on it and return to dad with the story that Joseph must have been attacked by a wild animal and killed. All they found of him was his coat.
Over decades, through God-orchestrated events, Joseph ends up second in command in Egypt; only Pharaoh has more power. With God’s help, Joseph masterminds a plan to keep Egypt alive through a seven-year famine. Eventually, Joseph saves his family from starvation, and his dad and eleven brothers also end up living in Egypt. Pharaoh respects and appreciates Joseph so much that he welcomes the family with open arms and gives them the land of Goshen in Egypt to live in and tend their animals. Pharaoh treats them as first-class citizens.
Years and generations pass; Pharaohs arise who did not know Joseph, and eventually the Hebrews are used as slaves instead of welcomed guests.
After hundreds of years, God raises Moses to bring the Hebrews back to Canaan. Ten chapters of Exodus are devoted to the ten plagues God sends to Egypt, intermingled with the interactions between Pharaoh and Moses. Pharaoh will flat-out refuse, offer compromise, and even when he does let Israel go, he still comes after them. As mentioned earlier, Christians today often fall for Pharaoh’s compromises.
The very first time Moses comes before Pharaoh to demand that the Hebrews be allowed to leave to worship their God, Pharaoh responds with a question that some professing Christinas fall for. “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice…” (Exodus 5:2).
Many professing Christians doubt Jesus’ divinity. If He’s not God, then why should I obey Him? Questioning Christ’s divinity leads to a Christianity without any foundation. Christ said He would build His church on the words, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:15-18). If Christ is not God, He holds no authority.
After a while, Pharaoh stops giving a direct “no” and offers a compromise. Exodus 8:25: “And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.”
In the Bible, Egypt pictures the world. Many modern Christians have accepted this compromise. When a church chooses entertainment over Bible teaching, prayer, fellowship, and true worship, it has decided to stay in Egypt. When the number of people in the pews takes precedence over the truth of God’s Word, the church’s priorities have shifted from God to the world. When the bottom line, instead of God’s will, becomes the deciding factor, a church has chosen the world’s priorities over God’s. When individual Christians have decided that not fellowshipping with other Christians and an assembly of believers is no longer necessary for their Christian growth, they have decided to accept Pharaoh’s offer of staying in Egypt. If Moses had decided to remain in Egypt, God would not have called him faithful.
Pharaoh’s next compromise comes only a few verses later, in Exodus 8:28. Pharaoh will allow them to worship in the wilderness, but “only ye shall not go very far away.”
This is the idea that we can worship God without getting too far from the world. Many Christians see nothing wrong with being in church on Sunday and living like the devil the rest of the week. They refuse to give up their worldly ways, yet they “serve and worship” God on Sunday. This is the definition of hypocrisy and is a main reason Christianity does not have the number of converts it once had. Yet many Christians are unwilling to give up pet sins or a worldly way of life. They are willing to worship God but unwilling to move very far from Egypt.
Pharaoh’s third compromise seems small at first, but it has ramifications that will last for generations. The men can go worship, but they must leave their families behind (Exodus 10:11). Many young people raised in Christian homes leave the church in their teens or early twenties. Reasons vary, but a few common ones can be seen through the eyes of young people, and it often boils down to parents and/or other adults in their lives not being faithful.
When family church attendance is sporadic, when Bible study or even biblical discussion is nearly nonexistent at home, and the family treats prayer as a last resort instead of the first option, these things show the children that God is not a high priority. When God is low on mom and dad’s priority list, the odds of God being a priority in the children’s lives when they grow up are greatly diminished.
Under these conditions, as generations pass, families grow farther and farther away from God, churches close, the influence of the Holy Spirit wanes, and ungodliness reigns within society. It is no wonder God wipes away our tears after the final judgment as we watch generations of grandchildren growing up behind us are cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-21:4).
As Christians, one of our compromises can affect the eternity of those around us and hundreds coming up after us. Is it worth accepting one of Pharaoh’s compromise offers? Will you be faithful?
Preacher Johnson is Pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Parke County Indiana. Website: www.preachers-point.com; Email: preacherspoint@gmail.com; Mail: 25 W 1200 N; Kingman IN 47952. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Timothy-Preacher-Johnson-101171088326638. All Scripture KJV.
