Warren Wiersbe - Be Faithful - 1 & 2 Timothy Titus Philemon: ItS Always Too Soon to Quit! (Be Series Commentary)

BE FAITHFUL

Published by David C. Cook

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All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes,

no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form

without written permission from the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public Domain.) Scripture quotations marked ASV are from The American Standard Version. (Public Domain); NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , Copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version . NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved; PH are taken from J. B. Phillips: The New Testament in Modern English , revised editions J. B. Phillips, 1958, 1960, 1972, permission of Macmillan Publishing Co. and Collins Publishers; AB are taken from The Amplified Bible . Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; and wuest are taken from The New Testament: An Expanded Translation by Kenneth S. Wuest, 1961 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

LCCN 2008937431

ISBN 978-1-4347-6734-9

eISBN 978-1-4347-0213-5

1981 Warren W. Wiersbe

First edition of Be Faithful by Warren W. Wiersbe published by Victor Books
in 1981 Warren W. Wiersbe, ISBN 978-0-89693-685-0

The Team: Karen Lee-Thorp, Amy Kiechlin, Jack Campbell, and Susan Vannaman

Series Cover Design: John Hamilton Design

Cover Photo: Veer Inc.

Second Edition 2009

With much love and appreciation to some dear friends whose hearts and homes have been opened to me and my family:

Allan and Jane Carter

Taunton, Somerset, England

Harvey and Ann Johnson

West Bloomfield, Michigan

Sprague and Dorothy Willard

Chicago, Illinois

Contents

: An Introduction to Be Faithful by Ken Baugh

(1 Timothy 1)

(1 Timothy 2)

(1 Timothy 3)

(1 Timothy 4)

(1 Timothy 5)

(1 Timothy 6)

(Titus 1)

(Titus 23)

(2 Timothy 1)

(2 Timothy 2)

(2 Timothy 3)

(2 Timothy 4)

(Philemon 125)

The Big Idea

An Introduction to Be Faithful
by Ken Baugh

If you have ever been to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, no doubt you have seen Old Faithful. Its a geyser that shoots up thousands of gallons of boiling hot water about every hour or so. Why is it called Old Faithful? Because its predictableyou can count on it going off at regular intervals, because thats what it has done for hundreds of years. Its reliable.

Faithfulness is an important character quality found throughout the Bible. For example, Noah was faithful in completing the ark despite public ridicule. Abraham demonstrated faithfulness in offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice to the Lord. Moses was faithful as he led the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness to the entrance of the Promised Land. David was a faithful king who shepherded Gods people. Ruth faithfully stayed with her mother-in-law Naomi after her husband died. Esther was faithful to her people, risking her life by entering the presence of King Xerxes of Persia without being summoned and begging for their deliverance. And on and on it goes; story after story throughout the Old Testament extols this virtue of faithfulness.

Faithfulness is likewise emphasized in the New Testament. Through His parables, Jesus taught the importance of being faithful, drawing attention to the fact that every disciple is a steward and must be faithful with the resources that he or she has been given by God. The apostle Paul echoes Jesus words about the importance of faithfulness throughout his letters, especially in 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. In fact, being faithful is the Big Idea that weaves all four letters together.

Timothy, Titus, and Philemon were all trusted colleagues of Paul, men whom he mentored in the faith and charged to carry on the work of the Lord Jesus. Timothy became the pastor of the church of Ephesus, Titus became the overseer of the churches on the island of Crete, and Philemon was a businessman whom Paul led to Christ. Paul instructed each of these men to be faithful to the Lord, regardless of their role. Paul charged Timothy, And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others (2 Tim. 2:2 NIV ). He told Titus to appoint elders in every town throughout Crete (Titus 1:5 NIV ). And he asked Philemon to be faithful to his runaway slave Onesimus, whom Paul returned to him. Paul was so sure of Philemons faithful character that he said, Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask (Philem. 1:21 NIV ).

Faithfulness is an important concept that runs throughout the Bible and is an essential character trait that God wants each of His children to cultivate. The more faithful we become, the more responsibility God can give us in regard to the ongoing work of the Great Commission.

Our marching orders are clear: As followers of Christ, we are to seize the day, making the most of every opportunity by being wise and resourceful, using the time and money God has given us to invest generously in kingdom-building initiatives. Money and time are the two primary resources that we are to invest, and in order to steward these in the most effective way, we must grow in faithfulness. I believe that all believers can grow in faithfulness as they invest generous portions of their money and time into the work of God.

Let me show you how this works: God provides us with financial resources and asks us to be faithful with our money by investing generously in ministry initiatives that both win people to Christ and build them up in Him. Paul says, On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made (1 Cor. 16:2 NIV ). Each Christian has a responsibility to give a portion of their income to their local church to carry on the work of discipleship and evangelism. The amount is not as important as the attitude. If our attitude is that our money is our own and we resent God in requiring us to give back to Him, then we have the wrong attitude, and this will hinder our growth in faithfulness. The right attitude comes as we realize every penny we have is a gift from God. James reminds us, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (James 1:17 NIV ). Everything, including our money, is from the Lord, and as we are faithful with a little, God will give us more.

Now, it is completely okay to use money to buy nice things and enjoy life. We dont have to live an ascetic life in order to be faithfulwe are just not to spend it all on ourselves. So when we give to the Lords work with the right attitude and mindset, our ability to be faithful increases. And as our faithfulness increases, God often gives us more to continue to invest His work.

Here is a good question to ask yourself if you want to measure your level of faithfulness in regards to your money: Am I investing a portion of my income into my local church for the ongoing work of God in my community and around the world? If you can say yes to that question, you will continue to grow in faithfulness, and God will most likely continue to bless you financially so that you can invest more. But being faithful with money isnt a get-rich-quick scheme, nor does it obligate God to bless you financially. It is simply the right way to handle the financial resources that God gives you. So money is the first resource every believer is to steward wisely.