Your Faithfulness Is Always Grounded in the Gospel

One of the more interesting observations that I have made over the past several weeks is this: Your faithfulness is always grounded in the gospel.

With that said, I believe there are three ideas for you to consider in light of this statement. Please notice these three thoughts below:

• Discouragement hurts and/or hinders many of us.
• Paul encourages our faithfulness based upon the heart of the gospel.
• Notice, there’s a defensive and offensive side of faithfulness.

As we will discuss at the end of this article, let’s face it; in this world we will have trouble..

Discouragement hurts and/or hinders many of us.

The list of things that can discourage me or you individually or us corporately seemingly is endless. Not one, two, three, or four things, but literally anything in our physical world alongside those things in our hearts can produce disappointment and discouragement. The physical things weigh on us enough. In this season of COVID, those things seem to be everywhere. We have lost opportunities in every fathomable way. I do not know any individual who would fall outside of this; in fact, almost all of us have lost people. As I type, many individuals cross my mind. Gone. That alone would be enough to capture our hearts, our minds, and our emotions. Yet, so many more things in our physical world, for example, like our evil culture, can lead us toward discouragement.

Further, our physical bodies could influence us toward discouragement. This week I read of one who described thyroid conditions three generations deep. Another person who suffered from severe hypoglycemia described the difficulties associated with the condition. This just scratches the surface of how our physical bodies can influence us toward discouragement.

However, those things which often bring discouragement include much more than what is in our physical world. When you consider every person’s own heart, emotions, thoughts, and affections, this category of possible-things-which-bring-discouragement balloons infinitely. People disappoint us, and sometimes they sin against us. God may answer our prayers differently than what we wanted, which could lead from disappointment to discouragement. Our own personal expectations, desires, and longings can produce the perfect environment to produce discouragement.

I do not want to belabor the point here; however, I want you to realize that if you are discouraged, hurt, or hindered in your life right now, there may be many possible reasons why. Many or most of them may rest squarely on legitimate loss and real pain. You and I live in a world that groans for redemption. To say that we live in an imperfect world where absolutely anything may cause disappointment or discouragement seems like an understatement of fact.

If that is where you are today, the Apostle Paul speaks to you.

Paul encourages our faithfulness based upon the heart of the gospel.

Consider Paul’s words as he encourages us:

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

As part of his encouragement, he begins with the word Therefore.

What, then, does he base his encouragement on? In this particular sentence, the foundation of his word of encouragement lies in his argument before this verse. What is it?

• With total historical proof, Jesus resurrected from the grave (1 Corinthians 15:1-11). He tells us of all those who saw Jesus, including himself. Similar to the Apostle John who described the resurrection of Jesus, Paul explains the physical nature of the resurrection. He calls people by name and refers to all the others who saw the resurrected Jesus. He does not just depend upon his experience and the experience of thousands, he repeatedly confesses that all these things were according to the Scriptures.
• Paul describes how the resurrection, which is the pinnacle of the gospel, provides each one of us hope. Without the resurrection, we would be most pitiable and without hope. With the resurrection, we can have absolute hope; that is, total certainty in the future return of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).
• Whereas the first Adam brought death upon all men, which includes an eternity outside of a relationship with God, the last Adam, Jesus Christ, brought life (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).
• He describes throughout the rest of the chapter how Jesus’ resurrection provides the basis for our own future resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:29-57). We have the victory over the corruption that is in us and in the world through Jesus Christ. Paul writes, “But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

The gospel message of Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and what those things functionally provide the individual person who has victory in Christ is the basis for Paul’s word of encouragement.

Notice, there’s a defensive and offensive side of faithfulness.

Back to Paul’s word of encouragement. Again, he writes:

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

In this word of encouragement, please notice with me both a defensive and offensive side of faithfulness.

The defensive side of encouragement refers to the terms steadfast and immovable. Spiritually speaking, Paul says to settle in, lock your legs, refuse to be drawn away one inch. Think of this in terms of someone who sits down so that he cannot be moved and then locks his legs against something to guarantee he can’t be moved. This man or woman of God determines that the world will not drag them away from the heart and hope of the gospel. Disappointment and discouragement will not pull him or her away from the most precious One, Jesus.

The offensive side of encouragement refers to always abounding in the work of the Lord. Here, the Christ follower does not simply settle for a defensive posture, but instead, the child of God strives to do what is right in the midst of life’s circumstances and disappointment as well. The work of the Lord includes anything that we would consider the fruit of the Spirit. Not only do we defend ourselves from being pulled away from Christ, but we also continually strive to abound in the work of the Lord. Sometimes abounding may be slow. The late David Powlison would say that in a particular season, at times, this simply means that our feet are pointed the right direction without much progress. However, we continually strive to walk in the Spirit which is the first step in abounding in the work of the Lord.

Defensively we refuse to be drawn away from our most precious Lord, Jesus Christ. Offensively, we strive to live faithful as we walk in Christ.