Proverbs 20:6
This past year I attended a pastors’ seminar where the speaker shared his pain over the lack of faithful people around a pastor. Along the way he said one sentence that lodged itself in my heart: “You cannot tell whether someone is faithful to you until he has been given the opportunity to be unfaithful.” The more I ponder that sentence, and the more I watch the people around me, the more I am convinced of how true it is. Before elections of every kind, we often hear talk about the need for “fresh, clean people.” Yes, those who have not yet held positions of responsibility may well be “clean.” But does that mean they are faithful? We still do not know. Whether they are faithful will only become clear once they are given the opportunity to be unfaithful.
You see, there is a difference between innocence and virtue. Before the fall, Adam and Eve were innocent, they were clean — but were they virtuous? No. That is why God placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden — to give them the opportunity to show what they truly were. After they failed, it turned out they had been innocent, but not faithful. So there is a difference between being clean because you have no opportunity to get dirty, and standing firm when you are tempted. This is especially true when it comes to speaking against the leader of a church. As long as the leaders around him — his assistants — are on good terms with him, they are “faithful” to him. But whether they are truly faithful to him becomes clear only when a conflict arises between them and the pastor. If he offends them in some way — consciously or unconsciously — then we need to listen to them. What do they say when they gather with others who are offended or embittered? Do they keep defending their leader’s reputation, or do they begin listing his mistakes and sowing distrust toward him? Do they go to him to sort out their relationship, or do they give vent to the hostility that has arisen in them? Only then does it become clear whether a person is faithful or not — when he is provoked to be unfaithful.
Proverbs 20:6 says:
6 Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? (Proverbs 20:6)
A faithful person is not found often. To find a faithful person, you must first see how he reacts when the real tests of life come. How does he react when he can secretly and without consequence steal, secretly and without consequence commit adultery, secretly and without consequence take revenge, secretly and without consequence take advantage of others, secretly and without consequence betray you… In truth, nothing is without consequence. For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
THE LORD FORBID THAT I SHOULD LAY A HAND ON THE LORD’S ANOINTED
One example of a man who was faithful with regard to authority was King David. I say “with regard to authority,” because with regard to his soldier Uriah he proved unfaithful. When he could secretly and without consequence commit adultery with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba, he did it. When he could secretly and without consequence have him killed by the hand of his enemies in order to hide his sin, he did it. But God, though He forgave David when David repented, afterward disciplined him for his sin. So even David was not faithful in everything. Yet he was faithful with regard to authority, and that is why God placed him as king over Israel.
David is an example to us in that he never “laid a hand on the Lord’s anointed.” He never took revenge on Saul — not even when Saul was hunting him to kill him. Twice David had the opportunity to be unfaithful toward Saul, and both times he acted faithfully toward the Lord’s anointed. The first occasion is described in 1 Samuel 24.
1 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2 So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. (1 Samuel 24:1-2)
Saul was the first king of Israel. But at one point he grew proud, became disobedient to God, and God decided to replace him. Then He sent the prophet Samuel to anoint David secretly as king. This, of course, was not official — it was something only between God and David. In any case, God’s Spirit was already upon David. After that came the problem with Goliath. Saul could not solve it. With God’s courage and precision, it was David who won the battle with the giant. And the women of Israel sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). This wounded Saul’s vanity, and he took offense (1 Samuel 18:8). From that moment on his bitterness against David only deepened (1 Samuel 18:9), until in his rage he hurled his spear not only at David (1 Samuel 18:11; 1 Samuel 19:10), but even at his own son Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:33), who was David’s friend. By this reaction of Saul, David understood that Saul had firmly resolved to kill him, and so he fled for his life. Through all of this, however, David never plotted against Saul. He did not grow proud because he had been personally anointed by the prophet Samuel. On the contrary, he even became friends with the king’s son Jonathan, married the king’s daughter Michal, and sought to support Saul in every way. As he fled from the king, David could also have grown angry at Saul and desired revenge, but he guarded his heart. On the day when he was given the opportunity to kill his pursuer freely and without consequence, he did not do it.
Here is how it all happened. There is a certain place where “even a king goes alone.” Though he had a three-thousand-man army at his disposal, at one point his natural bodily needs required Saul to be by himself. He went into a cave to relieve himself. But it so happened that this was the very cave in which David and his men had taken shelter.
3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way. (1 Samuel 24:3-7)
While he was in the palace, David would hardly have lifted a hand against Saul — he would have been seized and punished at once. But now he had the opportunity to be rid of Saul without consequence. He even had a reason to kill him, for Saul himself was seeking his life. And yet he does not do it. Why? Because he was faithful. A faithful person is faithful not only when he is on good terms with his leader, but even when there is a conflict between them.
David’s men dressed unfaithfulness in piety. They told him: “This is God’s doing. Look, now God is giving you the chance to take your revenge. This is God’s will.” But notice how clean David was. He cut off a piece of Saul’s robe so that he would have proof that he had the opportunity to kill him yet did not do it. And even though his motive was pure, he felt bad merely for having cut off a piece of the king’s robe. It says that he was “conscience-stricken.” He was sorry for what he had done, because the robe is a symbol of authority. In reaching for the robe, David was in effect reaching for the royal power. And David understood very well that authority is something divine. It is given by God (Romans 13:1). He is the one who “deposes kings and raises up kings” (Daniel 2:21).
8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. (1 Samuel 24:8)
David addressed Saul with the words “My lord the king,” and when Saul turned around and looked at him, David bowed down to the ground. What honor, what respect, what humility, what faithfulness!
9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’ (1 Samuel 24:9-10)
David was firmly resolved in his heart in no way to stand against “the Lord’s anointed.” Notice that in the next verse he even calls his mortal enemy Saul “my father.” He showed him the piece of the corner of his robe as proof of his goodwill toward him.
11 See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12 May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 13 As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you. (1 Samuel 24:11-13)
THE SPIRITUAL “IMMUNITY” OF CHURCH LEADERS
“My hand will not rise against the Lord’s anointed.” This was David’s decision. And to make things even more relevant, I would say that the pastor of a church, if he has been ordained in the proper manner, is the “Lord’s anointed” for that church. Therefore, anyone who “raises his hand” and begins to kill him with words or slander stands not only against him, but against God.
The apostle Paul knew that pastors and elders would be attacked. They are watched. They are the center of attention. For this reason they very often become the object of envy, slander, and gossip. That is why he wrote to Timothy, who at that time was the leader of the Ephesian elders (1 Timothy 5:19):
19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. (1 Timothy 5:19)
You may know that during their term of office, members of parliament have what is called parliamentary immunity. They cannot simply be prosecuted over every little thing. A similar immunity, only in the spiritual realm, belongs to church leaders as well. The devil can turn many people against them. Does this mean we should pay attention to every slander?
It is quite likely that the accusations Paul had in mind were accusations of financial abuse, because the preceding verses speak in a delicate way about the wages of God’s workers (1 Timothy 5:17-18):
17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” (1 Timothy 5:17-18)
If someone does abuse his position in some way, he must be punished and rebuked before all. But the accusations against him must, first, come from two or three witnesses; second, be proven by the competent authorities; and third, the rebuke must come “from above,” not “from below” (1 Timothy 5:20).
20 But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning. (1 Timothy 5:20)
OVERCOMING EVIL WITH GOOD
Why was David faithful? Because he was humble. He said of himself: “Who am I? If the Lord is pleased, I may indeed become the next king, but I am still nobody. And Saul is the Lord’s anointed.” That is why he called him “my lord” and “my father,” and this was not pretended.
14 “Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? 15 May the Lord be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.” (1 Samuel 24:14-15)
David always entrusted his cause to the Lord. And in this he is an example to us. Does not the New Testament teach us the same?
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:16-21)
David was so clear in his defense that King Saul himself acknowledged his faithfulness and admitted that David surpassed him in righteousness, because he had repaid him good for evil.
16 When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud. 17 “You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18 You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the Lord delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward you well for the way you treated me today. (1 Samuel 24:16-19)
Saul was convinced that it was David who would be the next king, and so he asked him to swear that he would not wipe out his descendants.
20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21 Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.” 22 So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold. (1 Samuel 24:20-22)
FAITHFUL ONCE AGAIN
Sadly, this moment of insight for Israel’s king soon passed, and, stirred up by the Ziphites, he decided once again to hunt David down. It is striking that the second time too, when he had the opportunity to be unfaithful toward his king, David again refused to do it. In 1 Samuel 26 we read:
1 The Ziphites went to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which faces Jeshimon?” 2 So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph, with his three thousand select Israelite troops, to search there for David. 3 Saul made his camp beside the road on the hill of Hakilah facing Jeshimon, but David stayed in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul had followed him there, 4 he sent out scouts and learned that Saul had definitely arrived. 5 Then David set out and went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of the army, had lain down. Saul was lying inside the camp, with the army encamped around him. 6 David then asked Ahimelek the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down into the camp with me to Saul?” “I’ll go with you,” said Abishai. 7 So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. 8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t strike him twice.” (1 Samuel 26:1-8)
The scene repeats itself. Saul sets out to pursue David, and he himself ends up delivered by God into David’s hand. This time it is Abishai who offers his services. The king is asleep. One thrust of the spear and his head will be pinned to the ground. If we were in David’s place, we might have said: “I forgave him once, but a second time — no.” But the second time too, when he had the opportunity to be unfaithful toward his lord and toward God, David again acted faithfully.
9 But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless? (1 Samuel 26:9)
And this time David’s motive is the same — respect for the one whom God had placed to rule His people — even when that ruler is in the wrong. David understood that corrections and rearrangements must come from the one higher up, not from the one lower down in the kingdom’s hierarchy.
10 As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11 But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let’s go.” (1 Samuel 26:10-11)
A second time David had the opportunity to be unfaithful and to raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed, but again he did not do it. This is what faithfulness is — to refuse to rebel even when your leader is in the wrong.
HOW DO UNFAITHFUL PEOPLE BEHAVE?
Because he was faithful, the Lord placed David as king over Israel. Now that he was king, because he himself had proved unfaithful toward Uriah, he had to face unfaithfulness from his own son Absalom and his chief counselor Ahithophel.
After Absalom killed his half-brother Amnon for raping his own sister Tamar, he fled to Geshur, where he stayed three years (2 Samuel 13:37-38). His return was somewhat difficult, but in the end it happened. How that came about is described in 2 Samuel 14. The chapter ends with the picture of King David kissing his son Absalom (2 Samuel 14:33). It seemed as though reconciliation had come, but what happened after that (2 Samuel 15:1-6)?
1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. 2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” 3 Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.” 4 And Absalom would add, “If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that they receive justice.” 5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel. (2 Samuel 15:1-6)
What was Absalom doing? He “stole the hearts of the people of Israel.” How? By gently turning them against “the Lord’s anointed.” In plain country terms, I call this “whispering” — a slight exaggeration and an “innocent” twisting of things, telling people what they want to hear and riding the wave of public discontent for one’s own advantage. Outwardly Absalom was “kind.” He would ask people where they were from, on what business they had come to Jerusalem. When someone approached to bow before him, he would lift him up, embrace him, and “kiss him.” When someone complained about David, instead of bringing him back to the king to sort things out, or informing his father about the mistake, Absalom would agree with the discontented person and encourage his protest against the king. “Well, you’re right, what can we do — but it’s not my fault, is it? If I were in the king’s place, I would not have treated you like this, but what can I do, since I’m not.” “I’m not to blame for this business. It’s not my fault that the pastor doesn’t do his job well. If I were in his place, I would not allow such a thing…” Does that sound familiar?
Is this how a faithful person would act? No. A faithful person will not put up with listening to gossips, nor will he cover for them. He will not take the side of the irritated. He will not fan the flames of their discontent. Yes, the pastor is not perfect. He too is a man, and he too sins. But instead of talking, or listening to what is said behind the pastor’s back, the faithful person will go and tell him — so that he may be corrected and there may be peace in the church, rather than letting the relationships among believers be undermined. Proverbs 11:13 says:
13 A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret. (Proverbs 11:13)
This does not mean that a faithful person does not expose the gossips. Gossips want to remain anonymous. But is that possible? Perhaps only for a short while. But afterward everything comes to light. In our church there is a mistaken understanding of faithfulness — that faithfulness means not telling who passed the gossip to you. But is that faithfulness or unfaithfulness? If you hear something bad about someone and keep it in your heart, even if you have not repeated it, you become a participant in the slander and take your place on the side of the unfaithful. In the church there are people who are like an amplifier. However quietly you whisper something to them, they amplify it and exaggerate it so much that in the end it becomes scandalous, and some of those who hear it eventually ask the pastor whether it is true. Everything you say behind the pastor’s back sooner or later reaches his ears. And when he hears it, he is set against you. So why not go and tell it to him directly, to his face? Does not Christ say the same thing (Matthew 18:15)?
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. (Matthew 18:15)
THE BETRAYAL OF THE “SPIRITUAL COUNSELOR”
Then the unfaithful person looks for allies. In 2 Samuel 15:12 it says:
12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept on increasing. (2 Samuel 15:12)
Who was Ahithophel the Gilonite? Ahithophel was no ordinary man. He was, so to speak, part of the “spiritual council” of King David. In 1 Chronicles 27:32-34 we read who were in King David’s closest circle:
32 Jonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a man of insight and a scribe. Jehiel son of Hakmoni took care of the king’s sons. 33 Ahithophel was the king’s counselor. Hushai the Arkite was the king’s confidant. 34 (Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada son of Benaiah and by Abiathar.) Joab was the commander of the royal army. (1 Chronicles 27:32-34)
Ahithophel was the official “king’s counselor.” His successors were Jehoiada and Abiathar, but he was, so to speak, the “chief counselor.” He was evidently especially insightful. All his counsels were flawless. In 2 Samuel 16:23 it says:
23 Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice. (2 Samuel 16:23)
Imagine how informed this man was. He knew all the secrets of the state. You cannot receive counsel from someone unless you trust him. David had no secrets from Ahithophel. That is why it hurt him so deeply when this friend of his betrayed him and went over to the side of his opponents. In Psalm 55:12-14 he shares his feelings:
12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers. (Psalm 55:12-14)
It is understandable for your enemy to rise up against you. But when it is your friend, a person with whom you have shared your feelings, with whom you have celebrated your feasts, and with whom you have worshiped God together — when he betrays you, then the pain and distress are truly unbearable. In Proverbs 25:19 it says:
19 Like a broken tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble. (Proverbs 25:19)
Ahithophel was regarded as a faithful man of David. But was he really faithful to him? That became clear when he was given the opportunity to prove unfaithful. Why did he betray his leader? Perhaps David had embittered him in some way, perhaps he had offended him. Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba, with whom David had committed such a grievous sin. Moreover, Ahithophel’s son Eliam was a friend and fellow soldier of Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband. Perhaps Ahithophel could not forget David’s sin. Perhaps Ahithophel was displeased that David did not live up to his expectations. But is any of this an occasion for unfaithfulness? Was there no way for them to forgive each other and mend their relationship? Can we justify his betrayal?
How did Ahithophel end? David prayed for God to frustrate his counsel to Absalom (2 Samuel 15:31). God heard his prayer, and Absalom followed the counsel of Hushai the Arkite, who was among David’s faithful ones (2 Samuel 17:23).
23 When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his house in order and then hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb. (2 Samuel 17:23)
Ahithophel is one of the very rare cases of suicide in the Bible. Just as Ahithophel’s betrayal in the Old Testament ended in suicide, so also ended the betrayal of Judas in the New Testament.
JUDAS ISCARIOT
David is a type of Christ. Ahithophel is a type of Judas. Judas was the treasurer of Jesus. He was responsible for the finances of His ministry. He was quite intelligent and capable, and at the same time quite stingy and unfaithful. It is said that he secretly stole from the money bag. Remember how irritated he was when Mary anointed Jesus with a pint of nard (John 12:1-8).
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:1-3)
4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. (John 12:4-6)
7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” (John 12:7-8)
When Judas saw Mary pour out the whole flask of perfume on Jesus, he was scandalized. There are people who always want to control everything, and to whom it always seems that the money spent on the needs of the ministry is far too much. But the case of Mary anointing Jesus shows us that however much money is spent on worshiping Christ, it would never be “wasted.” Judas begrudged the money that could have passed through his hands had they sold the perfume, and he decided that Jesus was “too loose with His fingers.” So he went and sold Him for thirty pieces of silver.
You cannot tell whether a person is unfaithful to you until you are able to see how he acts in a situation where he is angry with you, offended, and has the opportunity to harm you without consequence.
THE LIST OF THE FAITHFUL
And so, we have seen both possibilities. On the one hand, David, who twice was faithful to Saul, even when he had both the opportunity and a reason to be unfaithful to him; and on the other hand, Absalom and Ahithophel, who, despite the love and trust David had for them, at a certain moment, when the opportunity arose to be unfaithful to him, betrayed him.
When is faithfulness revealed? When you have the opportunity to be unfaithful. That is why we must be very careful how we act when our leader makes a mistake — whether we are ready to reap dividends from his mistakes, whether we are ready to destroy him with our words and betray him. Or will we decide — “let us not raise a hand against the Lord’s anointed,” to be faithful, not to take the easy road of silence and gossip, but to go and do everything for the restoration of our relationship? This is the way the faithful act. They look for a way to restore harmony and peace. They are not easily offended; they are ready to forgive.
We began with Proverbs 20:6:
6 Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? (Proverbs 20:6)
Although it is very hard to find a “faithful person,” God’s Word nevertheless shows us that such people do exist. In the Bible there are at least ten people of whom it is expressly said that they were faithful:
- Moses (Numbers 12:7; Hebrews 3:5);
- Samuel (1 Samuel 2:35);
- David (1 Samuel 22:14);
- Nehemiah’s brother Hanani (Nehemiah 7:2);
- Daniel (Daniel 6:4);
- Apelles, “whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test” (Romans 16:10);
- the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 7:25; 1 Timothy 1:12);
- Tychicus, “the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:21; Colossians 4:7);
- Epaphras, also a “faithful servant of Christ” (Colossians 1:7);
- Antipas (Revelation 2:13).
You and I can be the next in this line — a line that begins with the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:6).
Otherwise, we number ourselves among the people on the list of the traitors — Korah, Absalom, Ahithophel, Judas Iscariot…
I do not know about you, but I do not want to be one of them.