Friday, June 10, 2022

GOD IS THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH


God is faithful; He doesn’t do anything haphazardly. He always finishes what He starts. He always brings His work to completion. After creation, He announced: “It is good.” And the apostle Paul admonished the Philippians: “God, who began the good work within you, will continue until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6).

For example, if God called Jeroboam to be king, you’d think he would trust the same God to help him reign. But that’s not what happened. As a result of King Solomon ending his reign so poorly through disobedience, God raised Jeroboam to be king over ten of the tribes of Israel, the northern tribe, leaving only two tribes for the house of David under Rehoboam.

 Soon after Jeroboam became king, he started to worry about the possibility of his subjects defecting to the king of Judah. Fearing that scenario could actually happen, he devised a plan. He imagined if he stopped them from going to worship in Jerusalem as God had commanded, his fears wouldn’t be realized. So instead of going down to Jerusalem to worship, Jeroboam made two golden calves on the advice of his counselors -- (not on God’s direction) and said to the people: “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!” (1 Kings 12:28) Really? Where was the God who appointed him to be king? Shouldn’t he have consulted Him instead? Wasn’t worshiping a golden calf a problem in the wilderness with their ancestors? How quickly we forget!

To complete his plan, he built shrines and ordained priests (not from the priestly tribe of Levi). He then instituted a religious festival in Bethel to correspond with the annual Festival of Shelters in Judah. He went up to the altar to burn incense on his appointed date.   

Needless to say, God was not happy! He rebuked Jeroboam through His prophet from Judah (see 1 King 13:2). In the same way, the apostle Paul criticized the Galatian church for allowing themselves to be misled by his opponents, who were teaching something totally different from salvation through faith in Jesus. Paul said to them: “I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ” (Galatians 1:6). Paul’s frustration with the Galatians is evident here: “Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? … How foolish can you be? …After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human efforts?” (Gal 3:1-3) Quoting Paul, we could say to Jeroboam, “After being made king by God, are you trying to reign in your own strength? How foolish!”

How are you running your race? Didn’t you come to God through faith in Jesus? “Trust the LORD with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Since He saved you, He can also keep you until the end of time; just obey His Word.

God does not expect us to go out on a limb and try to figure out on our own how to grow in faith. Instead, He expects us to seek guidance from His Word and the Holy Spirit and then rely on the fact that He prays for us: “He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf” (Hebrews 7:25). Had Jeroboam shared his fears with God, God would have shown him what to do. He would not have gone through so much trouble to secure the throne. Let’s seek God in all we do, turning our fears and concerns over to Him because He is able! He is the author and also the finisher of our faith.

 

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