Address—E. Smith
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#174.
174.
All patient spotless one, our hearts in meekness trained to bear thy yoke and learn of Thee. May we read together the 12Th of Hebrews, chapter 12 of Hebrews, and beginning at verse one. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.
Let us lay aside every weight.
And the sin which does so easily beset us.
And let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus.
The author and finisher of faith.
Who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross?
Despising the shame.
And they sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself.
Lest he be wearied and faint in your minds.
Ye have not resisted unto blood.
Striving against sin.
And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you, as unto children, my son.
Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him.
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
If he endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons.
For what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?
But if ye be without testament whereof all our partakers then are yeast ******** and not sons.
Furthermore, we have head fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and we gave them reverence.
Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure.
But he for our prophet, that we might be partakers of His Holiness.
Now no chastening, for the present seems to be joyous but grievous.
Nevertheless, afterward it yielded the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down in the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet.
Lest that which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed.
Follow peace with all, and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.
Looking diligently.
Lest any man fail of the grace of God.
Lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you.
And thereby many be defiled. It has been asked of me.
A question concerning the testimony of the work in Bolivia and in Peru, and they mentioned, they asked me where it was in these days of small things that so many of those dear ones were saved and happily gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, where we humble ourselves in the presence of God, known that it has been of Himself.
He has done it, but there are some things, beloved, that.
That have been manifested in the testimony there.
For instance.
Implicit obedience to the Word of God.
That is the first thing.
The second thing that has been emphasized during these long years in the Testament is the matter of the authority.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ in our midst, in their midst that has been kept before them and has been obeyed, and then again.
Another matter that has meant so much to the testimony.
An assembly decision holds.
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No one ever opposes that. During the 43 years that I served the Lord there 42 rather, that has never been opposed.
And that last is.
Sin. Now this is by the grace of God.
Sin has not only been recognized.
But it has been judged.
And put away.
These points.
I just simply mention as a reply to the question.
These have characterized that testimony and we rejoice, beloved, in spite of the day of small things, that there are over 1000 of these dear believers now there in that state.
These are not my own numbers. These. This is sent me by the five laboring brethren, and each Lords. The morning 500 Sit down and break bread together. In this we praise the Lord and take courage. And it is upon these points this afternoon.
I wish to speak. We wish to speak to you, beloved.
Looking up certain scriptures pertinent to these points.
You'll notice here.
That the Apostle Paul in speaking to these Christians, he says, seeing that we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. Well you get that crowd of witnesses in the previous chapter.
We shall call these rather spectators.
And their witnesses to the truth and to the reality.
Of God's sustaining grace.
Now the apostle says.
Let us lay awake, lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset.
I have noticed in studying this portion that verses one to two do link up the previous chapters we've just mentioned.
But also verses one and two.
Give us things to be put off.
As Christians to be put on.
And in verses 5 to 8.
There are things to be born beyond there are things to be born.
And I've often thought that as Christians.
It will either be with us, a weight or a wing.
And some dear Saints complain sometimes that they are always being harped at to put off something, get rid of something, do something to walk in the in newness of life. And I'm reminded of a young lady who came to me and said, Mr. Smith, must I do this? And must I put off this and must I do the other thing? And I said, dear sister, why don't you say, what can I put off? What can I?
Get rid of that. The Lord Jesus might be glorified in my life. And she did so.
A happy sister indeed.
And it says here, let us run with patience the race.
That is set before us.
Await, beloved, might not be a specific sin, but it would be something that hinders progress in the Christian life.
And I do feel.
That then this demands what we don't like to accept, not so heartily as we should. This demands discipline.
Discipline comes in below.
When these things that.
With hindrances to us or weights?
There has to be discipline exercised.
We might divide this up in a simple way.
I believe what we've read here this this afternoon from the 12Th of Hebrews is what we might call punitive discipline.
That is to say, let me illustrate that with what occurred when I first went to eulog.
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One day the chief.
Appeared on his white mule with 9 attendants and the chiefs, and they were on their way to a ranch of Indians just about 200 yards from our little home. And I said to my dear wife, honey, I said the the chief is on the warpath.
Well, he was going to inflict punishment on a young fellow.
Who had violated the virginity of a maiden?
Now that is a crime with the anchor.
And that's the only case I know of.
And down came this great big strapping chief 64684 with all the authority that he had. And what did he do?
Ordered 4 stakes to be put in the ground, two to tie this young man's hands to and two to tie his feet to. And naked he dealt him with his rawhide whip. 6 cuts that lifted the flesh. Oh, it really made my heart ache to see that young man.
Is it any wonder?
That they feared.
To engage in that promiscuous business. Now, what he do, he took the name away from that young man of the tribe, banished him, and he called for the maiden and he pulled her ears until blood ran out of them and banished her from the tribe. And this is what we call punitive chastisement. It's rough, it's terrible.
Oh beloved, here we have the Father coming into your life and mine.
And it says here.
Ye have not resisted unto blood, that is, you're not martyrs.
Striving against sin and he mentions how the Lord Jesus what suffering he endured.
Of the contradiction of sinners against himself. Now don't be faint in your mind, because you're not even martyrs.
And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you unto children. And then the apostle says, My son.
Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord.
Nor faint when thou art rebuked of him.
Whom the Lord loveth.
He chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Now, the apostle goes on. This is the the Father, Beloved, coming into our lives and causing us to reflect upon our actions as believers.
He comes in this way into your life and mine.
And then the apostle draws our attention to our fathers.
Who meted out punishment accordingly?
I always think of dear father. My father was a powerful man and he was rather irritable.
Before he was saved and he never touched his children.
Because he was afraid of breaking a bone.
But he stood by mother.
100% and with those steely blue eyes he watched her inflicted and we got it.
Thank God for it, it seemed pretty hard at the time.
But we thank God for it at an early age. His seven children.
Were saved and happily gathered to the precious name of Christ. Later on, Father was saved and happily gathered too.
Used to have a switch on the wall and she called it her admonition. She called it her admonition.
We got it. But here's the Father coming in, beloved.
And he says here.
Our fathers of the flesh corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father's spirit, and live?
They verily for a few days chasing us after their own pleasure, but He for our prophet, that we might be partakers of His Holiness. And yet, and the other day we remarked.
Holiness really is the rejection of everything out for my life and yours. That would be contrary to God's mind and to God's nature. Yes, it was grievous.
And so the apostle says, now lift up the hands which hang down the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet. And then it says in verse 15, which will come back to this as the Lord enables, looking diligently, any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. We'll come back to that.
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Now the next aspect of we might look at John's Gospel now.
The 15th chapter of John's Gospel, and we may call this another form of discipline.
I think we can call this preparative discipline. Hebrews 12 is punitive and it's done in love by the Father.
But here we have preparative discipline and this is very simple and very beautiful.
This discipline we might read a few verses. I am the true vine. That's verse one, beloved, And my father is the husband, man. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. You never can be. You never can be reborn, beloved, that's once and forever.
Now abide in me, though, he says. And I knew.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except he abide in the vine, it abide in the vine. No more can ye except ye abide in the vine. Abide in me. Rather I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. And I think that's the theme here. Here we have preparative discipline. The Father comes into your life and into mine and begins pruning.
The pruning process which we do not care to endure.
So often, unfortunately.
I had remarked in another meeting that I had a very dear friend, a Colonel in the Bolivian army with whom I was associated when I was preaching the gospel to the troops. And the war was over. And he invited me down to his beautiful ranch. And he said, Smith, I want you to come and be a few days with me, and I want you to preach to my people. Well, that was an opportunity. I did go.
And he was pruning his vignette. I said, Colonel, so and so I think you're doing.
You're cutting away too much.
I think you're going to spoil those lines. No, he said Smith, that we are not spoiling the vines, we are preparing them, that they might bear much fruit. And he says when grape season comes round again, come down and stay a week, preach the gospel to the people and enjoy the grapes, which I did further away, beloved, the Colonel has passed on without Christ, but there's a nice assembly formed there where he lived of 26 in fellowship.
Well, the Lord blessed them. Now here is the here is the Father coming into the vineyard and he's pruning the scissors. He's getting these scissors at work, you know.
Cutting off those things that hinder fruit bearing. Now the Father would have us stand the pruning process below it, and in order to do so, He has to cut deeply very often. This is then preparative discipline. We'll have to hurry on now. Would you kindly turn to 2nd Corinthians 12?
Verse one, Chapter 12 Second Corinthians.
Verse one. It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the law. I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago. Whether in the body I cannot tell. Whether out of the body I cannot tell. God knoweth such in one caught up to the 3rd heaven and I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell. God knoweth.
Now how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, which is not.
It is not lawful for men to utter. Of such an one will I glory, yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.
Verse 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelation that was given to me, a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
This is what we will we shall call preventive discipline, and it is that we might not become puffed up, beloved.
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Pride is an abomination unto the Lord.
Oh, how many of God's dear people become lost dynamics through pride.
And how many problems do occur in the meetings?
Because of pride.
I remind my soul continually of two brothers.
They were useful men.
I'm not Speaking of South America now, I'm Speaking of old England. These were useful brothers.
Both were well taught in the word, and yet they were always at loggerheads with the result that that meeting never grew.
In fact, it almost folded up because of this continual trouble.
One day. After years of this procedure. One day.
One of the brothers lay a dying.
And he sent for his brother to come immediately as he wanted to speak to him before he went home.
And he went immediately, a thing he had never done all those years.
And he came and saw his dear brother.
Breathing his last, propping himself up as best he could, he said, Brother, would you do me a favor?
Oh, he says. Brother, I'll do anything for you, anything you like.
Says see that pillow?
Would you kindly take that out where the wind is blowing strongly open it and let the feathers fly in the wind, He said Certainly. And then shake it well, brother, and bring it back, please.
So he did, took it out where the wind was blowing, shook it well, and brought it back to his brother. And now he said, Before I go, one more little favor, brother.
Would you kindly go and pick up the feathers?
An impossibility.
The feathers were never picked up.
And that matter will be righted at the judgment seat of Christ.
Oh, the loss of it.
Pride, pride. And that brings us from.
Preventive.
Discipline over.
To another.
Kind of discipline and it's called trespass. A trespass. Look at Matthew 18 if you please.
Verse 15 of Matthew 18.
Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee Gold.
And tell him his fault between thee and him alone.
If he shall hear thee, thou hast gain thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church. But if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man.
And a publican verily I say unto you, whatsoever he shall bind on earth.
Shall be bound in heaven.
And whatsoever ye shall loose on earth.
Shall be loosed in heaven.
Do you know, beloved?
It's now 54 years since I gave my whole little life to the service of Christ.
And without stopping by his grace, still seeking to go on witnessing for Christ.
On the 1St of January 1915, I said, Lord Jesus, take this poor Sinner, saved by thy grace.
And give me grace to stand in the gap before the land, even as the ox between the plough and the altar, ready for labor or for sacrifice. And he heard that prayer.
And up to this day I find myself even though.
Tired not of it, but in it.
Still seeking to serve Him by His grace.
I've never known during those 42 years of ministry among those dilettants and Indians, never known to go beyond the first point. If thy brother hath aught against thee, go.
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Go. Do you know I had an experience not so long ago in Tampa? A certain dear brother whom we love.
He objected a little rather to my pointed preaching. Because we do speak pointedly to our dear brother and to the soul.
And he was offended and he didn't come. One of the brothers there.
In the meeting suggested that I better not go because he may be annoyed and there may be words I said brother.
May I just point you to this verse and I intend to go by the Lord's grace and speak to that dear brother. Well, I went 40 odd miles away and looked up our brother. There he was. He received me and I said, dear brother, I've come. I believe you have something against me. You know what happened. He just grabbed me in his arms and whipped like a child on my shoulder and so did I on his. It was all over. It's all finished.
All of it was finished, beloved, right there and then. There's never been any more trouble. If thy brother hath all against thee, go, go.
That's the order for the trespass, and if you compare that, we'll have to hurry along. If you compare Matthew 5, you'll see the other side of it. We might just read that below it, verse 23.
Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar.
And they remember us that thy brother have fought against thee. Leave there thy gift before the altar.
And go thy way.
First, be reconciled to thy brother.
And then come and offer thy gift. There's the other side of it. And it's very, very important, beloved, those two portions. Now just to hurry along a little.
I'd like to speak something concerning.
Ecclesiastical discipline. It's not easy, beloved. That costs lots of prayer.
And exercise before the law.
We might read first of all.
We might go now to 1St Corinthians 5 for a little while.
Verse one, it is reported commonly that there is fornication among you.
And such fornication is not so much as named among the Gentiles that one should have his father's wife.
And you are puffed up and have not rather mourned.
That he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
For I have only as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already.
As though I were present concerning him that hath so done this deed.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together and my spirit with the power.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the Spirit may be saved.
In the day of the Lord Jesus, your glory is not good.
Now there is beloved, we will notice.
Reading the last verses of this chapter.
There is something known as ecclesiastical discipline.
Let us read of one or two more verses.
First of all says purge out there for the old leaven, that you may be a new lump.
As ye are unleavened for even Christ, thou Passover is sacrificed for us.
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote unto you an epistle not to company with fornicators, yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous or extortioners, or with idolaters. For then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company. If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator or.
Or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, With such an one know not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within, but then that are without? God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
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This is ecclesiastical discipline, beloved, as you know.
And it's very solemn. I want to tell you what happened.
During the war between Paraguay and Argentina and Bolivia.
A commanding officer was saved.
A powerful man.
And he went on for God. He was duly He desired to be baptized and he went and he desired to break bread. And he went on for God for 20 years. That man I just loved so much. He was a gifted man. He was a gift to the church. But one day.
Suddenly fell with a stroke.
His speech was taken from him.
But we carried him partly because he couldn't work.
To his house.
And put him to bed. And he lay there with his pillow wet with tears.
He couldn't speak.
For one solid week. And then his speech came back.
And it was then he confessed his sin.
That he had gotten into sin with a woman.
All beloved.
What a shock it was.
To us all that, dear man.
And he had to be put away, and his own soldiers gathered to the precious name of Christ with him. His poor soldiers, these poor brethren, had to raid him out.
Well, what happened?
I used to go every day and speak with him.
And he said brother.
Oh, how Satan has sifted me now. The Lord freely forgave him.
But one day two of the young brothers, with not very much teaching, came to sympathize with him.
And you know what he said to them?
He said you, brethren, go home and behave yourself. Go home and behave yourself.
He forgot for the moment that he wasn't a commanding officer then, but he said, brethren, go home and behave yourself. And do you know what he told them? He said the assembly decision must hold.
Must hold, supposing it is wrong, one said, leave it with the Lord. He said it was a lesson for his beloved. Leave it with the Lord.
Well, he didn't live very long, but he went home happily.
And freely forgiven. But the Lord took him home.
There is a sin unto death.
That wasn't that, that wasn't a sin unto death, but Ananias and Sapphira, that sin was.
And if you read carefully, if you had time, Job 33 and also Job 36, you'll find that these these matters of a sin unto death and a sin not unto death, you'll find they're very beautifully portrayed. But there's a case where the the discipline of the assembly beloved held and it was a lesson for us.
Right throughout the years, many years of God since he was taken.
And that lesson has remained with the Saints.
An assembly decision beloved holds.
If we let that go, dear beloved brethren, in Christ, we are ruined.
And we are ruined also.
If we ever think.
That because fornication is practiced once, it is no longer fornication.
If it's practiced once beloved or 1000 times, its fornication and its wicked, and God will judge.
Sometimes we let the bars down, and we're sometimes unfaithful. And as an old man standing before you, beloved, with the love and confidence of my dear brethren, I want to be faithful.
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These are difficult days. These are days of slumming over truth.
Characterizes.
Us, if we let these truths slip.
We're going to be folded up.
The assembly discipline must hold and.
The other point is that an assembly that does not recognize sin, judge it, and put it out beloved is no longer on the ground of an assembly.
If sin is not recognized, if sin is not judged and sin is not put out, we cannot say that we are on the ground of an assembly of the Assembly of God. Some may take take an opposite view, but I believe the Scriptures hold fast concerning this.
I was thinking very particularly of this.
That ecclesiastical discipline, beloved, is not an individual thing. It is something that touches the assembly.
And the conscience of the assembly must be awakened below.
Not only awaken, but there must be humiliation and self judgment and confession.
We have sinned, Daniel Nine. We have sinned. Now there was a point came up recently in South America.
Where there was failure.
And the whole assembly took upon itself the guilt.
And I can see the Italians and.
And Philemon Garnica.
And.
And Domingo Choke, and those laboring brethren there weeping before the Lord, and wondering that if the assembly had been in a good condition, that calamity that came to one meeting might have been averted.
And so they all got together.
And ate the sacrifice in the holy place. We have sinned, we beloved, we hang our heads in shame before God because of our lackadaisical spirit, because of our unfaithfulness.
Because we are, we are afraid to offend.
No May we be found faithful, beloved.
The Lord is listening, the Lord is watching things as they are today, so that ecclesiastical discipline, though it is so solemn, it is sometimes strictly necessary.
But what about this question of discipline? It is that the dear soul who has fallen might be restored. Oh yes, that's beautifully taught in 2nd Corinthians 2. Because restoration is always to be sought in every case.
Of disciplinary measures.
There is another point.
We might read Enrollment 16.
And this is concerning heresy.
Verse 17 Now I beseech you, brethren.
Mark them which caused divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned.
And avoid them.
We will know that.
Heresy is not merely the negation of certain doctrines. It it it it absolutely has to do with that.
But heresy, beloved, as you know, is the forming of a party.
This is the sin of Corinth, besides fornication.
The forming of a party. I want to tell you what happened below it in that work in Bolivia, which is so precious to my poor heart.
A brother many years ago, an influential brother in that country too.
He got the impression that.
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I was rather exclusive.
And so he began to form a party with himself he wanted to have.
Music and he wants to have more liberty to mix with the same with the sect.
And that dear man caused me many a tear in those early days.
Very difficult case to deal with, very strong minded.
And so he managed to take with him 5 assemblies.
Five assembly.
And for five years, I never put my foot inside those meetings. All my own spiritual children.
Left it with the Lord, Prayed for this dear man.
At the end of the fifth year.
I got a letter.
Signed by 9 responsible breath saying Brother Smith.
Do come, we're in trouble. Do come, we're in trouble.
Well, that meant four days on mule mule back. So my dear wife, she prepared a little bit of a snack on my saddle bags and got on my mule in four days, battling through the rivers, sleeping under the stars.
Reach there once at the evening at 5:00.
Before I got there, sent a telegram from the nearest government station that I would arrive, God willing at that time and they were waiting.
And we got together over the Word and the we converse together until 2:30 in the morning.
This dear man and those he had tempted away were convinced that they were on the wrong position. They were in the wrong position, that they had sinned against the truth, that they were guilty of heresy.
Well, they saw it, beloved. Oh, I thank God for that time. I was tired out, went down with pneumonia after that, very nearly went home to glory. But I was happy in the knowledge that that breach was healed. Healed, they ceased.
To ever speak about party system parties.
Do you know who they were? I'll name them.
One is called Philemon Garnika, the other is called Lino Bueno, the other is called Domingo Choke, the other is called Demetrius, the other is called Cesar. 5 laboring brethren for God. Prayful, they learn their lesson.
And beloved, what has been the result?
Do you know that meeting there in Atocha? Almost. That's where a doctor class and I see his face here. That's where we went. And Doctor Class knows all about that trip.
A nice meeting today of 73 in Fellowship.
But it almost folded up.
Because of that party spirit, God was not pleased with it. It was heresy.
And I got a letter in this last mail from these dear brethren.
Saying Rejoice, Brother Smith.
With us that 21 have been added to the to the Lord during the year and they're all at the table 21 more.
What happened? The very heavens, the very doors of windows of heaven were opened. The breach was healed, and those dear men learned their lesson.
Beloved.
May we take these things to heart.
We dare not form any party spirit. I suppose one of the greatest trials of serving the Lord in in any particular place is the question of parental affection.
Parental affection.
Sometimes a decision is made to please.
One's own flesh and blood.
And the honor of the Lord is forgotten.
Brethren.
The.
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Honor, the glory and the authority of Christ in our midst must be maintained at all cost.
Must be maintained at all cost.
Sin in every form must be recognized.
Judged and put up.
That God might bless his testimony.
No, I'm not going to say anymore this afternoon. I'm pretty tired, beloved, but I just asked prayer.
For the work in South America, there are now 31, I understand 31 assemblies in Bolivia.
And now there are three more in Peru.
And if the Lord will that Francis and I have strength, the goal to try and begin to help establish the work in El Salvador, just pray that we may be given strength to go. There's a nice little group through the efforts of our love brother Ramon, who's present with us.
There in El Salvador they need instruction, they need help. And the last letter I got, a little photo has come. And by the way Ramon, I must give you that photo of 50 odd children in the Sunday school.
Pray that we may be able to go there and be a little help to them.
Then we do pray.
That, dear Ramon, will have your prayers now. I've been with dear Ramon.
I've heard his ministry.
Loved him and loved his work for Christ.
Pray for our brother. God has blessed the Word, His testimony to the dear Mexicans.
And God will bless the truth and faithfulness.