Loyalty in Marks of the Christian

 

Loyalty in Marks of the Christian

Message for Sunday  Romans 8; Parable Matthew 13:44..

"Pray as though everything depended on God.
Work as though everything depended on you."
— St. Augustine

Today we continue thinking about the six marks of the Christian: " Loyalty, Courage, Patience, Humility, Freedom & Generosity" The quote above reminds us that being a Christian depends on God's call. Romans 8 says that in the Epistle lesson. God was loyal to us before we believed. We have been called to know Him. Salvation is of the LORD.

God is loyal to us when we were in unbelief. Romans 4: 11 tells us that Abraham was reckoned as righteous when he was in uncircumcision. 4:10 Romans 8 talks about a calling through God's predestination. Whatever we think that says we know it is clearly teaching that God gives us eternal life. He foreknew that He would call us . We say this is God's work on our behalf even before we believed through the call of the Holy Spirit to know and love His Son Jesus Christ. John 3 tells us we must be born of water and of the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God and that is His action to call us through His Holy Spirit. We cannot birth ourselves. We must be born again, or as we know it says in the Greek, be born from above.

We should rejoice in this truth. God is loyal to us before we were loyal to Him, but He now calls us to be loyal to Him. That is another mark of the Christian according to our book, Six Marks of a Christian by Shatford. " The mark of loyalty was found upon the personality of Jesus and upon the life of Paul, and must be upon the life of everyone who would follow Him as a disciple." God is working all things for those who love God for good. Romans 8:28 " And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose."

Are we loyal to our Lord? We said earlier we bear in our bodies as did ST Paul the marks of the Lord Jesus. Galatians 6: 17 The opposite of loyalty is lawlessness. Our age is characterized by that. Let me quote what Canon Shatford, Rector of ST James in Montreal, said is book written in 1925:" I do not think there ever was a time when lawlessness was so marked as it is at this present time. All authority seems to have gone by the board....loyalty in the home, loyalty of citizens to the laws?.."

God had been loyal to us. WE must loyal even in the little things. Luke 16:10 “ He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much….” “ Take care of these little things, and then you need never fear the great emergency, because, having been in the habit and custom of loyalty all through your life, you will be aware when the great temptation comes.” Canon Shatford

I think we assume that we know about other people. The other day I heard from the person I would never expect ,” Well this is not happening ...so we can see that God will work it out, and we were not supposed to do this thing now…” I was quite amazed at the statement. It made me realize that I need to trust God when I am disappointed at others or in situations. Did we not cover that last week in our study on patience?” Patience is difficult under a sense of disappointment…” Shatford

Our Epistle lesson makes us think, “ If God is for us, who can be against us?” 8:31
Hitler imprisoned a German pastor, Martin Niemoeller, for eight years. He spent some time in prisons and concentration camps, including Dachau. Hitler realised that if Niemoeller, a First World War hero, could be persuaded to join his cause then much opposition would collapse, so he sent a former friend of Niemoeller to visit him, a friend who now supported the Nazis. Seeing Niemoeller in his cell, the one time friend is reported as saying, "Martin, Martin! Why are you here?" To which he received from Niemoeller the response, "My friend! Why are you not here?"

Today we are encouraged that God is loyal to us. We know that from the Scriptures. The real question today is that knowing that, “ Are we loyal to Him?” We are tested and tempted to deny Him in so many ways, and this as we said starts with the little customs and habits we practice. “ The first mark, the mark of loyalty----loyalty in little things, loyalty in inward things, loyalty in the home, loyalty in the church, loyalty in the state, loyalty in the business. Wherever you may be, let this be manifested in your life, and then you will be a worthy disciple of Jesus Christ.”- Shatford