Perhaps the most repugnant word in any language is its word for traitor. There are few people more despicable than those who betray their family, their friends, their church, or their nation. The Bible emphasizes the importance of loyalty in general; however, of far greater significance than loyalty to any human person or cause is loyalty to God, which may be defined as loving Him with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deut. 6:5). Such loyalty does not come cheaply or easily. Loyalty to Christ can be a sword that severs family ties or even costs people their lives… a truth attested to by the countless thousands of martyrs who preferred death to disloyalty. In our text, Paul expressed the importance of loyalty to God, the gospel, and to genuineness.