Success in Christ

Sam Stringer

Jan 14, 2025

Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is

required in stewards that one be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged

by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I know nothing against myself, yet I

am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.

1 Corinthians 4:1-4 NKJV

I’ll never forget years ago reading a book entitled, “Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome,” by Kent

Hughes. I would highly recommend this book to any of you because the primary theme found therein is that God is

not looking for us to be successful, but rather, faithful. If we could carry that thought out a bit further, we would be

saying this: faithfulness to God is success. Faithfulness to God does not require a certain type of employment, age,

health, etc. Faithfulness to God can be done by any believer today wherever they are to be found, so long as they

are willing to live in submission to Him within the plans He has for them.

Paul gives us a few key words in this text that help not only draw identification, but also to define success within

that identification. A servant is successful when they serve their Master according to their Master’s wishes. The

word here for servant refers to being a subordinate assistant, helping as they are tasked. A steward is a manager of

another’s property; the original word goes back to the idea of managing another’s house. Paul says he is a steward

of the mysteries of God; much of his ministry dealt with teaching the Gospel and grounding others in God’s Word.

Paul went further on to explain one necessary element of a steward: they must be found faithful. What does this

word mean? It means to be found worthy of trust, to be dependable, to be reliable. Are any of us perfectly

dependable in our service to Jesus? I’ve only heard such at funerals, but in all honesty, I don’t think I’ve ever met

anyone (myself included) that was a perfect example of faithfulness. The Lord is perfectly faithful, and for that we

ought to be grateful. Nevertheless, we do ourselves a great disservice when we move away from seeing ourselves as

servants of Jesus, as stewards using His resources in His time in His world. Faithfulness makes more sense when

we see ourselves more as servants and stewards of Someone else.

Why include the other verses though? Verses 3 and 4 are part of a thought process that shows what others think of

us, or even what we think of us, does not matter in relationship to what God thinks of us. Others may praise us, but

that doesn’t cover for the praise or lack thereof from God. We may hold ourselves in high regard, but this does not

make us good or worthy in God’s sight. Only God’s opinion truly matters, so if we lose sight of who we are, of

course we’re going to try to pursue success in relationship to how we see ourselves. If I see myself as a professional

basketball player, but I don’t play in the NBA and I’m not very good at basketball in general, I will feel like a

failure. I’ll only feel successful when what I do seems to me to be aligning with who I am. But you see, we are not

autonomous creatures living in a world at our disposal; no, if we are Christians, we are servants and stewards of the

Most High God. Success, therefore, can only mean living to please Him. Success also can’t be determined by us

because we’re not the One being served or the One who owns what’s being managed. We must caution ourselves

that we do not go about redefining faithfulness on our own terms, but instead, study Scripture and only find it as He

lays it out.

“Just be faithful.” I don’t know where I heard it, but it’s a statement that’s run through my head for many years, and

yet I somehow need to be reminded of it constantly, too. God wants you to be faithful, and in your faithfulness to

Him, there you will find what it really means to succeed.

God be with you, and may you rest in His grace and move forth in faith, daring to be “braver than lions.”

Sam Stringer

Success in Christ

Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is

required in stewards that one be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged

by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I know nothing against myself, yet I

am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.

1 Corinthians 4:1-4 NKJV

I’ll never forget years ago reading a book entitled, “Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome,” by Kent

Hughes. I would highly recommend this book to any of you because the primary theme found therein is that God is

not looking for us to be successful, but rather, faithful. If we could carry that thought out a bit further, we would be

saying this: faithfulness to God is success. Faithfulness to God does not require a certain type of employment, age,

health, etc. Faithfulness to God can be done by any believer today wherever they are to be found, so long as they

are willing to live in submission to Him within the plans He has for them.

Paul gives us a few key words in this text that help not only draw identification, but also to define success within

that identification. A servant is successful when they serve their Master according to their Master’s wishes. The

word here for servant refers to being a subordinate assistant, helping as they are tasked. A steward is a manager of

another’s property; the original word goes back to the idea of managing another’s house. Paul says he is a steward

of the mysteries of God; much of his ministry dealt with teaching the Gospel and grounding others in God’s Word.

Paul went further on to explain one necessary element of a steward: they must be found faithful. What does this

word mean? It means to be found worthy of trust, to be dependable, to be reliable. Are any of us perfectly

dependable in our service to Jesus? I’ve only heard such at funerals, but in all honesty, I don’t think I’ve ever met

anyone (myself included) that was a perfect example of faithfulness. The Lord is perfectly faithful, and for that we

ought to be grateful. Nevertheless, we do ourselves a great disservice when we move away from seeing ourselves as

servants of Jesus, as stewards using His resources in His time in His world. Faithfulness makes more sense when

we see ourselves more as servants and stewards of Someone else.

Why include the other verses though? Verses 3 and 4 are part of a thought process that shows what others think of

us, or even what we think of us, does not matter in relationship to what God thinks of us. Others may praise us, but

that doesn’t cover for the praise or lack thereof from God. We may hold ourselves in high regard, but this does not

make us good or worthy in God’s sight. Only God’s opinion truly matters, so if we lose sight of who we are, of

course we’re going to try to pursue success in relationship to how we see ourselves. If I see myself as a professional

basketball player, but I don’t play in the NBA and I’m not very good at basketball in general, I will feel like a

failure. I’ll only feel successful when what I do seems to me to be aligning with who I am. But you see, we are not

autonomous creatures living in a world at our disposal; no, if we are Christians, we are servants and stewards of the

Most High God. Success, therefore, can only mean living to please Him. Success also can’t be determined by us

because we’re not the One being served or the One who owns what’s being managed. We must caution ourselves

that we do not go about redefining faithfulness on our own terms, but instead, study Scripture and only find it as He

lays it out.

“Just be faithful.” I don’t know where I heard it, but it’s a statement that’s run through my head for many years, and

yet I somehow need to be reminded of it constantly, too. God wants you to be faithful, and in your faithfulness to

Him, there you will find what it really means to succeed.

God be with you, and may you rest in His grace and move forth in faith, daring to be “braver than lions.”

Sam Stringer

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.