Faith on the Earth

Mark Dunagan
07/18/10 - Sunday Morning

At the conclusion of a parable dealing with the need for persistence in prayer, Jesus said, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). The term however “arrests the reader and makes him search for the contrast. It asks whether “in spite of the fact” that the gate of heaven is always open, that at any moment of need a Christian may seek God’s help without any preliminary wait for an audience to be granted, and that man’s need is so great and the hostility of the world so oppressive, will man yet seek the presence and help of God with enough frequency and perseverance that he will be able to prove faithful? The point of the question here is that although God is so patient and His answer to prayer so certain, yet man always tends to tire, to lose his appreciation, and to desert God” (Foster, p. 1002). Not just faith – but the type of faith described in this parable, faith that is unwavering and persistent. Observe that Jesus does not answer the question He posed. “Jesus leaves the answer to us and to all the elect that follow us” (Lenski, p. 898).

It Is Not Locked In

There are many passages which reveal that our salvation is not locked in and that whether or not we make it to heaven depends upon the choices and efforts we are making today. Will Jesus find me “faithful” – that all depends upon whether I choose to remain faithful, whether or not I continue to believe.

• “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved? And He said to them, ‘Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able’” (Luke 13:24-25).
• “Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God’” (Acts 14:22).
• “But I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).
• “But I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus... forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14). 
• “Let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained” (Philippians 3:16).
• “If indeed you continue in the faith...” (Colossians 1:23).

God Is Concerned About The Future

God cares about whether or not people believe in the future. He has a long-range way of viewing things. Will there be faithful people in the future? From a number of passages we know that the Lord’s church is indestructible (Daniel 2:44; 7:14; Matthew 16:18-19; Hebrews 12:28-29). This is very reassuring! We know that the church will never cease to exist, and that there will be Christians on the earth when Jesus arrives (1 Thessalonians 4:13ff), yet to what extent will faith exist in our area or in our nation? Will the church in our area be strong, growing, energetic, and faithful? Or, will it be compromised, weak and lukewarm? If God is concerned about the future then so must we. What are we doing presently to make sure that “faith exists” in our particular part of the world? One can also understand why God wants “real faith”. The church of Ephesus in the Revelation letter had accomplished many things, it was known for labor, patience, perseverance and being intolerant of evil men. Problem was, it wasn’t enough. God wanted more. He wanted all of their love. Who can blame Him? I wouldn’t want a marriage like that myself – dutiful deeds, but no romance.

Something Must Be Done

This statement given by Jesus reveals that we cannot just sit back and say, “Well, it will all work out”. Neither can we say, “God will make sure that this congregation doesn’t die out”. From the first two chapters in the Revelation letter, we know that congregations can change dramatically for the worse in a very short period of time. So what can we be doing presently to make sure that there is faith on the earth in the future?

The Preaching Must Be Strong

There is a maxim which states, “As goes the pulpit, so goes the church”. Every member must insist on hearing sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:2-4). We can never be any stronger than our diet. Paul was clear, he noted that it was the word of God which was able to build us up (Acts 20:32). Even when the preaching gets under our skin and makes us uncomfortable we must never want it to be watered down for our own comfort or convenience. “Surely God knew the type and quality of preaching needed to establish and maintain His church. The Holy Spirit supervised such preaching on Pentecost (John 14:26). So what kind of preaching was done on that day? (a) It had a constant appeal to the scriptures, (b) it set the record straight, (c) it was Christ-centered, (d) it reached a conclusion and definitive deduction, (e) it convicted of sin, (f) it gave the plan of salvation, (g) it called for a change of conduct, (h) it resulted in membership in the Lord’s church” (The Spiritual Sword, January 2000, p. 45).

We Must Evangelize

For our survival, evangelism is not optional, it is a do or die matter. It is reach out or fade out. It is evangelize or fossilize. “A family who refuses to bear children will soon cease to be” (p. 46). Clearly Jesus intended that evangelism was to continue until He came again (Matthew 28:18-20).

We Must Instruct the Next Generation

As many have noted, apostasy and not just a little apostasy, but a total collapse may only be one generation away (Judges 2:10). And each new generation comes along every 18 or 20 years. What this means is that:

• Parents must continue to play a very active role in the spiritual instruction of their own children. The Bible classes at the building cannot make up for a lack of parental instruction. 
• This parental instruction about spiritual things must be “diligent” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Psalm 78:1-8). Could we say that such instruction needs to be “extreme”?
• The instruction must include the basics or the fundamentals. “In our congregational Bible classes we must cease teaching only stories. When the story of Noah and the ark is taught, children need to know there was only one ark, it had to be building according to the pattern, a person had to get into it to be saved... Then, in the antitype, children learn of the one church, that its worship, organization and mission must be according to the pattern, and that salvation is therein and therein alone” (p. 45). 
• There are times that we need to test our children, ask them a Bible question, sit back and see if they can “give an answer” (1 Peter 3:15).

The Teaching Must be Clear and Distinctive

Some who attend various denominations complain that the teaching or sermons have been watered down to the point that no one is convicted, nothing of eternal value is learned, and that what is learned could have been easily learned by simply reading the latest self-help book. In a speech given at Harvard, Alexander Solzhenitsyn observed the false courage of politicians who latch on to a conviction that is supposedly daring and bold when they can see that it is actually the up-and-coming trend and soon-to-be popular thing. It is no longer courageous or daring to speak out against the Bible, Bible morality, obedience, and so on – you couldn’t be more trendy. Speak the truth – and your courage personified (1 John 4:5-6). “Common experience shows how much rarer is moral courage than physical bravery. A Thousand men will march to the mouth of the cannon where one man will dare espouse an unpopular case”. (Clarence Darrow)

• We must remain salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). We must refuse to compromise God’s standard of morality and personal purity (Ephesians 5:3-6). We must live differently, and refuse to conform to the culture around us. “Indeed, our future is tied to our being salt. Just this observation: salt permeates the substance to be salted while at the same time retaining its distinct nature... Can a difference be seen between us and the world in the apparel we wear, the recreation we choose, the speech that comes from our lips, in our set of priorities and in the habits we form and exhibit?” (p. 47). 
• Our children need to know the difference between the Lord’s church, the church established by Jesus, and human denominations. 
• They need to understand that the Bible is a pattern, and not a book of suggestions. This pattern reveals how Christians are to worship, how the church is to be organized, what the mission of the church is, and how a person becomes a member of the church.
• Every generation needs to grasp the concept of Bible authority, that is, how God teaches us or gives us permission. He gives us instruction or permission through direct statements (commands) (1 Corinthians 11:23-25), approved examples (Acts 20:7) or precedents and necessary inferences (i.e. the first day of the week comes every week, therefore, communion is to be served every week). 
• Seeing that our children are growing up in a culture that seeks to divorce laws, rules or commands from loving others, we need to stress all those clear passages in which Jesus linked God’s commands, rules, laws together with love for Him (John 14:15, 23).