God's faithfulness

Corporate prayer is a funny thing.  Someone stands up in front of all those gathered and leads them in prayer, confessing their sins for them, pleading for healing for some and for His wisdom and courage for others, and thanking Him for bringing in the money previously requested.  Once in a while I think to myself, "I would never say something like that; please just let me speak to my heavenly Father myself."  For example, last week someone prayed this for me: "And thank you, Lord, that when we are faithful to You, You remain faithful to us."   What a tremendous burden to put on us all, but is it true?  Is God's faithfulness to us based on how faithful we are to Him?  And what did he mean, exactly?  I'm sure he knows that God is always faithful, no matter what man does, and that this was as true in the OT and NT as it is today.  So because it is a very common belief today, I think he must have meant, if we are obedient and faithful to Him, He will be faithful and bless us.

Then yesterday I read this Bible verse on somebody's status on facebook:  "Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Mal 3:7 #Truth42day"  It has the same gist as the prayer I heard, doesn't it?  If man does this, then God will do that.  Many such verses can be found in the OT (e.g., Deut 7:9, 30:1-33, 32:20; 1 Sam 7:3; 2 Chron 10:11, 30:9; Prov 28:20; Jer 3:12-25, 15:19; Hos 6:1; Zech 1:3).

But let's back up a bit and look at the context of Mal 3:7.  To whom was this promise given?  It was given to the nation Israel — not to an individual.  Of course individuals made up the nation Israel, but the nation as a whole had to return to the Lord.  Many apply this verse to the nations in which we live today, but we must remember this promise was given to the nation Israel, not to the United States, the UK, Canada, etc...    So direct application to ourselves starts to break down already.

Looking further at the context of Mal 3:7, what were the circumstances regarding this promise?  First of all, keep in mind that Israel was under the law and God had promised to bless them when they obeyed it and punish them when they didn't (Deut 11:26-28).  By the time the book of Malachi was written, about 100 years had passed since Israel had returned to Palestine.  The city of Jerusalem and the second Temple had been built, but initial enthusiasm had worn off.  Although the people and priests had backslidden and become lax in their worship (1:7) and mechanical in their observance of the law, they couldn't understand why God was displeased with them, so God sent Malachi to rebuke them for their neglect of true worship of the Lord and to call them to repentance (1:6; 3:7).

We, however, are not under the law, nor has God promised to punish us for disobedience or bless us when we obey.  But the law did (and continues to do) its job.  It clearly shows us we were incapable of remaining faithful to God and need a savior.  So, Christ took our punishment upon Himself (Is 53:5; 2 Cor 5:21) and blessed us with every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3).  What unfathomable love!  I think Charles Ryrie in his book, The Grace of God, explains what this means rather well: 

"One could say that he will live for the Lord in order to be blessed, but since we have already been blessed with all spiritual blessings, no amount of good works can add to that fact."

Under the law, however, mans' unfaithfulness could cause God to turn away for a time.  But now, because of Christ's death and resurrection, God sees Christ's righteousness when He looks at us (Acts 13:38-39; Rom 3:24, 5:8-9, 8:33-34; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:24), we are already seated in the heavenlies in Him (Eph 1:3, 2:6; Col 3:1-2), and our blameless position depends on God's faithfulness, not on our own (1 Cor 1:9; 1 Thes 5:24; 2 Tim 2:13).  

It makes me sad to think that many believers listening to that prayer last week thought, "Yes, I must get right with God again so that He will be faithful to me and bless me."  I remember having similar thoughts and feelings of tremendous pressure at such times, before someone helped me understand that Christ did it all because I was incapable of doing any of it. 

I can't say this emphatically enough, fellow Christian: Because of Christ, we are right with God now!  No longer is it — "If man does this, then God will do that."  Everything's been completely flipped around; now it's — "Because Christ has done it all at the cross, I serve Him out of deep gratitude and love" (Eph 4:32). 

It's so easy to get confused, and to confuse those around us, when we carelessly drag OT promises into the present that were never intended for us.  So please, please be careful and "diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15).