Lessons In Faithfulness
I. Faithfulness Is Living by THE Faith
II. Faithfulness Takes Fortitude
III. FaithLESSness Is Punished
IV. Faithfulness Receives Its Object
2 Kings 18:1-12
Dear fellow redeemed: So what is the key point in this text? It is the faithfulness of King Hezekiah, he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. Just as over the last few weeks we have been reminded that we are to live our lives with a view to the age to come, so also the Old Testament believers looked forward to the fulfillment of the prophecies. The main way they did this was by faithfully (with true faith) keeping the covenant of Moses, by means of the rites and ceremonies that foreshadowed Christ.
Among the kings of Judah, Hezekiah was unique. He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.
I. Faithfulness Is Living by THE Faith
The first thing about faithfulness is that it means we live according to THE faith, that which is true and has been revealed by God. THE faith is the truth contained in God’s word. It is summarized, for example, in the Apostles’ Creed, or the catechism.
To live according to the faith, we must first have faith, saving faith, that new spiritual life that caused us to be born again. We were all born physically, and needed to be born spiritually, as we were in our baptism or our conversion. But a child born physically is unaware of what IS, and must learn truths, from “Who is Mommy?” to “Stoves are hot,” to “2+3=5” and so on. So also born spiritually we learn to know “Who is our Savior?” and “Sin alienates us from God,” to “Christ is our righteousness.”
So Hezekiah learned, Yahweh, Jehovah, the unique name of God. He learned the Torah, such as Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (ESV) 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
He had to work at it. The books of Kings and Chronicles tell us it was a great effort to rediscover the truth and restore the worship around Passover and the temple and all the promises of God.
He was faithful, because he knew the truths to which he was faithful. Do you? We are called to be faithful when the world follows lies. We are called to know the truth when the world has fallen for deceit – and enforces it with the power of the sword. You MUST pay for abortions for others, or be fined. You MUST honor perverse relations or be fined, and pay the fine or be imprisoned. You must uphold humanist orthodoxy or lose your job. The courts WILL declare that we are the product of time, matter and chance.
Very significantly, many in government, the press, and positions of power insist that while you have freedom of worship, here in your church, you do not have freedom to live your faith if it conflicts with the humanist idolatry of the day. Do you know enough to discern truth from error?
And most important, do you understand what is most important? Are you focused upon grace, the mercy of God, forgiveness and righteousness based upon the atonement of Jesus, true God and true man? Do you understand that Christ is both LORD and Savior?
II. Faithfulness Takes Fortitude
You might think it was easy for Hezekiah, because he was king. How many politicians do you know who find it easy to buck the prevailing cultural tide? Just like today, being faithful was difficult. It required faith (first and foremost), clarity in what we believe, courage, and determination. Let’s review.
Remember that after Solomon the kingdom was divided into the Northern Kingdom of Israel, consisting of ten tribes, with the capital at Samaria, and the Southern Kingdom, consisting primarily of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, with the capital at Jerusalem. The kings of Israel were all unfaithful and led their people away from the true God and into Idolatry. The kings of Israel were hardly better, with a few exceptions, including Hezekiah.
At this time Hoshea was king of Israel. He encouraged and supported idolatry. There was also worship of The LORD, Jehovah, but just as another god, and so it wasn’t worship of the true God at all. During the time of Hezekiah the Assyrians conquered Israel and the people were spread across the Assyrian empire, never again to be a nation.
Hezekiah refused to compromise. He not only destroyed the places of worship of the false gods that had been added, he destroyed the bogus places of worship of the LORD, that were in name only, like churches today that claim to be Christian but deny the faith.
Yes, Hezekiah destroyed the worship places of the unbelievers, who gathered for their outrageous and immoral rites, from gluttony to sacrificing their own children. That is what God called the kings of His people to do. That is part of the Old Covenant. This nation, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were to live at the crossroads of the world and proclaim the promise to the world.
Now it is the church, as the Prophet Joel foretold, and as was fulfilled at Pentecost. Acts 2:17 (ESV) 17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
The temple is not the center of worship, but in Spirit and truth the faithful (that’s YOU!) bring the worship of the true God so that Joel 2:32 (ESV) 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Our faithfulness will not be enforced by government. If anything, government, the one beast of Revelation, the anti-Christian power, will together with the other, the anti-Christian propaganda, persecute the church.
Nevertheless, we are to discern the truth, resolutely cling to it, have courage, and as Jesus urges us, Revelation 2:10 (ESV) 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
If we are to be faithful, we must first cling to the word and sacraments of Christ. Don’t miss church. Don’t miss communion. Be here. Encourage one another.
As we have talked about the last three weeks, live in view of the coming age, of judgment, the resurrection and heaven. Marry Christian spouses. Choose schools with your faith in mind. Read the Bible. “Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.” “Put on the whole armor of God.” “Pursue virtues.” 2 Peter 1:5–8 (ESV) 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
III. FaithLESSness Is Punished
Now it is very important to understand that the difference between truth and error is not just opinion. When the P.C. police want the college kids to shut up about the transcendent truth of the Christian faith, or to be quiet about God’s order in the lives of individual human beings, men and women, they oppress truth for a lie. When the falsely-named “Christian” preachers down the street send out a letter condemning Christian churches for not recognizing the validity of Islam (Yep, I got such a letter a few weeks ago) they are sowing death. They lead to damnation.
So it was with Israel, which was faithless. 2 Kings 17:18 (NIV84) 18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. What God did through Assyria, obliterating Israel from the land, was a picture of hell itself, cast off from God forever.
So beware faithlessness. Be warned, as Israel was warned: 2 Kings 17:13 (ESV) 13 Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” They were warned, but nevertheless they were faithless.
IV. Faithfulness Receives Its Object
But while faithLESSness is punished, faithfulness receives what it hopes for. We hope for, look forward to, our resurrection because Jesus Christ is risen. We trust in His grace and mercy, and so we receive His mercy. We call upon him for forgiveness, and so we receive forgiveness. Faithlessness is to believe a lie, and so be disappointed. Faithfulness is to believe the truth, and so receive what is truly offered and given to us through the gospel – forgiveness, life and salvation.
Ephesians 6:10–13 (ESV) 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
AMEN!
Podcast: Play in new window
Subscribe: RSS