Faith In Men
Good Morning,
When the disciples sat with the Saviour at the last supper, Jesus made several indications of who would betray Him, yet the apostles caught none of them. The apostles believed and trusted one another. If it were today, the apostles would have been slandered and ridiculed for not paying more attention and not seeing the “signs.” Judas betrayed Jesus, and the disciples spent no time reliving the circumstances, asking themselves how they could have missed it, wondering why Jesus allowed Judas to be among them, or anything else. They simply went on about their business serving God and preaching the Gospel. In Acts 1, you will notice that they had no problem appointing another apostle to take the place of Judas. Theologically, I think it was probably a bad decision. I think Paul was who God had in mind, but the point is, they did not lose faith in men or spiritual leaders, they picked another apostle and got busy with their work.
In Acts 5, two church members sold a piece of property. The husband and wife lied about the amount of money they received; the situation was serious enough to God that He killed both of them. I find it odd that no one seemed to lose faith in the folks at church; a couple messed up and were gone, yet the church went right on growing and reaching souls. The church did not start a new denomination or create a new religious movement. They did not even start a Facebook or Instagram program that pointed out the errors of the New Testament church.
When God called the apostles, he knew they would all forsake Him; it was foretold in the prophecies. Jesus named them one by one and carefully brought them into a unique relationship with Him, knowing one would betray him, and the others would abandon him. Notice, after His death and resurrection, He still met with those same disciples, had dinner with them on the sea of Galilee, sent them to preach the Gospel, gave them His power, and commissioned them to reach the world. Jesus did not lose faith in men; in fact, He continued to use men.
Paul had people abandon him, leave him alone in jail, and leave him alone in court, yet Paul’s prayer was, “I pray God that it not be laid to their charge…” Paul did not lose faith in men; he knew men were frail, and that, on occasion, they would turn back. This abandonment did not change Paul; he kept on preaching and bringing people with him, like Timothy, to go help with the great work of the Gospel.
The idea of someone losing faith in leaders, losing faith in husbands, losing faith in religion, or losing faith in Baptists is ridiculous; they need to get over it. Mankind is frail. We live for truth; faith in frail humanity comes and goes. Many marriages fail, but God still said marriage is honorable.
Imagine a professional sports team. They hired an expensive coach, but that coach gave them a losing year, so they fired him. What do they do next? They get another coach. Of all the nerve! They should know better than to get coaches because coaches cause failure –– This scenario is a prime example of the foolish thinking of today!
My dad left our home when I was in elementary school. A few years later, my mom got remarried. My stepdad not only became my closest friend, but he also became a great example and wonderful part of our family and church. I am glad my mom did not give up on marriage and men.
We know the story of Joseph; he was sold by his brothers, and, as far as we understand, no one even looked for him. But Joseph did not lose faith in his family, he made sure to care for them for many years to come.
When someone fails, it is our fault when we are shocked or surprised. Just because one baseball player fails does not mean we all quit picking baseball players. We simply pick another one and hope for better results. I could easily say that attorneys are corrupt, and that I have found them unfaithful, deceitful, corrupt, and only motivated by winning. I could also say I have given up all faith in attorneys. But if I got in trouble, I would certainly call one because many good ones are out there.
Do not buy the idea of “I’ve lost faith in the church“ foolishness. Whatever someone has lost faith in was by choice because they wanted to. Considering all the people who have said, said and done unkind things in forty years of pastoring, I could easily give up the ministry – but I love the ministry! I love the people of God! I assume that some people regret the things they have said or done, and some simply did not clearly understand the situation. I am not going to lose faith in that precious group of people called the bride of Christ. They belong to Jesus, they are precious to Him, He is coming back to get them, and I will live forever walking golden streets with them! I think I will keep my faith.
Pastor