Hold Fast

I Thess.5:21 - Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

II Thess.2:15 - Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

II Tim.1:13 - Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

Ti.1:9 - Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

Heb.3:6 - But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Heb.4:14 - Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

Heb.10:23 - Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

Rev.2:13 - I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

Rev.2:25 - But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

Rev.3:3 - Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Rev.3:11 - Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

There have been other dark days in the history of the church involving martyrdom and severe persecution, but these are the days in which it will take more than a passing lip service commitment to hold fast to Christ. The multilayered deceptions are strongholds of magnificent creativity and have become so unrecognizable and are even presented as orthodox Biblical avenues of true discipleship. These are dangerous days and must be navigated with humility, boldness, and a hunger and thirst for God’s truth and the approval of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The admonition to “hold fast” in the previous verses are not some benign suggestions to help us achieve Christian success, no, these are dramatic warnings that have eternal consequences inherent within them. I am one who doesn’t believe a true Christian can “lose” his salvation but I do believe that a believer can depart from the faith and eventually count the blood of the covenant through which he was sanctified as an unholy thing. Does it get any more serious than that? Even if you do not believe that completely, do not discount it entirely and give unfaithful Christians any comfort and thereby soothe their consciences. No one can sin away their salvation, but sin can harden the heart to such a degree a person will eventually deny their faith or be deceived into embracing a lie. Who can dissect that mystery fully except to say this is no time for games, these are days to gird up our loins and follow the cloud of God’s fire that beckons us to hold fast until the end. Melodramatic you say? Probably vastly understated indeed.

In order to hold fast you must examine yourself to make sure you are in Christ by faith. Not some mealy mouthed profession that didn’t even change your life and heart, but a faith that gave your entire life over to the Lord Jesus and began a journey that had some observers rejoicing and others confounded. We have too many professors of religion whose lives blend in with the course of this world, too many who have no divine light shining through their lives that substantiates their verbal profession of Christ. No one can be saved by anything other than faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but when true faith is placed on Christ the irresistible seed of followship is implanted in that believer’s heart and the fruit of that conversion will begin to manifest in his life.

A fruitless Christian life is a Christless life that often is a mirage, a shadow, and a counterfeit that blinds the person to his condition while religion assures him of his eternal reward. How can a person hold fast to something he has never laid hold of first? And how can the Creator of the Universe take residence within a person’s spirit without generating any evidence of that colossal visitation? We must lovingly but firmly warn all the religious bystanders of their peril because in the end we will be held accountable as well as they.

But if you are indeed a true believing follower of Christ you still must be fully aware of the devices of the Evil One. The devices of deception are panoramic in today’s Christian community including pragmatism, shallowness, doctrinal departure, universalism, ecumenicalism, and many other subtle tools controlled by the forces of darkness. We must hold fast or we ourselves may be swept away. Oh be careful, attractive books, persuasive preachers, friendly people, convincing arguments, new Scriptural interpretations, and many other tools of leverage seek to dislodge us from our faithful hold on Christ and His teachings. And sometimes those who are departing may seem friendlier that some who are not, but the demeanor of people is not our spiritual compass, only the Word and the Word alone must always be our rock upon which we rest.

The Scriptures have well said that their will be some who promise liberty but will themselves be drawn into bondage. Remember, a life that is defined by moderation, sacrifice, and a humble separation from the attractions that defile is not legalism, it is the narrow walk of a disciple that accentuates His life not ours. A believer at a gathering of sinners who stands and speaks words of faith to those in need in the midst of hedonism and carousal can be a strong light of witness, but that same believer smoking, drinking, and cursing and attempting to witness has a hedonistic bushel covering any light he might have. In short, he appears as a party goer and not a disciple. I do not speak of a self righteous removal that hugs the corners and judges the world, no, I speak of a powerful life of faith that shines the light in the midst of the darkness while not partaking of their evil deeds and by God’s grace rescues some. Let us hold fast to the teachings of separation, those that cleanse our outward lives in order to remove any stumbling blocks and glorify our Master. It is not popular today on earth but it still is pleasing to heaven.

And we need to hold fast to the foundational teachings that have always defined the Christian faith. I think the three basic doctrines that are the targets of attack are the nature of Scripture, the nature of Christ, and the nature of salvation. Let me say that both Calvinists and Arminians who are solid in Biblical faith are holding fast. Both believe in salvation by grace through faith and both believe strongly in the three doctrines I listed. Their differences lie elsewhere and although the differences are important they are not part of any departure. There are however Arminians who are departing and hyper-Calvinists who also have change the gospel, but to be fair the hyper-Calvinists are miniscule compared with the parameter-less Arminian watershed that is accommodating any and all streams of unbiblical thought.

Preachers who are tickling ears today are legion and very popular, many of whom are leading great swelling congregations away from true Christianity and into a spiritual morass of undefined teachings that seek to lift up man and not God. Stories and jokes and smiling tales of success have replaced solid Biblical teachings that challenge and seek to strengthen the hearers to exalt Christ in their mortal bodies. Judgment and hell have been sidelined in place of promises of financial prosperity, while some are systematically dismantling the doctrine of hell itself. Meeting the earthly needs of sinners has replaced meeting their eternal needs. I find it breathtaking how quickly the changes have come and the evangelical landscape does not even resemble any former generation, as a matter of fact, many mock former generations as backward and unenlightened.

But we must not be satisfied with creating easy inventories of obvious error, we must never neglect our own devotional vineyards because in the end, unless there is a massive and supernatural revival, the masses are not returning. And God forbid our eyes are dry and our hearts uncompassionate when we speak correction, pride stinks before God and He will never accept truth wrapped in the stench of our self righteousness. My heart is heavy when I see what many are saying and teaching and following because even during my early years at Bible College some of things would never have been dreamed possible much less embraced.

We can carefully tweak our methods and we are not bound by singing hymns, and we must be careful not to teach legalistic things about which Scripture is silent because that removes our credibility. Our calling is not to point out the world’s sins as if this generation was the first to pursue wickedness, no, our calling is to point out that their sin has separated them from a loving but just God who has paved a redemptive escape through the blood of His own Son. We, like Christ, are not sent to condemn the world but to preach Christ and Him crucified and that the world through Him can be saved. What a glorious privilege we have to spread the same good news that saved us from eternal destruction.

But hold fast to your first love, doctrinally and emotionally, truth and devotion, outwardly and inwardly, and do not be moved by what is taking place today which will only increase. You will be tempted to wrath and fleshly retaliation but always move in the love of God and with a humility that recognizes our utter dependence upon Him and that only by His grace have we come this far. Do not lose your joy and never be consumed with the controversies, be consumed with Jesus. Hold fast to your brokenness and contrition before our Lord, and hold fast to the time in your prayer closet, it must be your life. Pray for our wayward brethren and the lost world, but most of all pray that God will continue to break us and make us in the image of Him who we serve and adore. Every day must lead us through Calvary and out of that glorious tomb with His life pulsating through us. Weakness will sometimes be strength, boldness might be love, humility will be power, and the battle is His and we His unprofitable servants. We are revealing His victory not winning it. We cannot control the hearts of others, but we can hold fast to our own hearts of obedience and devotion toward our wonderful Lord and Master.

Hold Fast.