~5 min read
Ps Paul Cheng
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
“…to stand fast in the Word of God…”
Dear Bethelites,
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity (1 Corinthians 16:13-14).
In this passage, Paul gave four imperatives, firstly it was to be watchful. Then he moved on to the second imperative, to stand fast.
I. Stand Fast
Stand fast in the faith. What is this faith? Whenever we see the word faith, it can either mean subjective faith (as in our faith, e.g. to trust and believe), or it can mean objective faith (as in what we believe in, e.g. the gospel or the Bible). Here, the definite article, “the,” before the word faith tells us it is not our faith as in our belief, but the Word of God. In other words, we have to stand fast in the Word of God.
Satan cannot remove the Word of God. Throughout history, he had tried to do that, but he had failed. However, what Satan can do is to obscure the Word of God so that we do not hold to the right understanding of the Scriptures. He wants us to have the wrong understanding and thinking which will lead to the wrong behaviour. Isn’t it true how some people would misbehave, and then quote the Scriptures saying, “Didn’t the Bible say that love will cover the multitude of sins?” Which means one can sin as long as he or she has love. Can you see how dangerous this misconception is?
Satan cannot take away our salvation. Once we are saved, we will never lose our salvation. Jesus says, And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand (John 10:28). But what Satan wants to do is to cause us to live a life that will dishonour God, and he does it to cause us to doubt God’s Word. That is why he sends false teachers and prophets; floods this world with all kinds of books to deceive the people with strange teachings, and confuse them with the different interpretations. So much so that many people think they are standing on the foundation, but the reality is that they are standing on the wrong foundation!
You may ask, “Alright, we have to stand fast in the faith, but how do we do that?” In 2 Thessalonians 2:15, the Apostle Paul said to the Thessalonians, Therefore, brethren, stand fast (same word, and how do we stand fast), and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle (emphasis mine).
When Paul used the word traditions, he was not referring to man-made religious ideas that were not based on the Word of God. Our Lord Jesus rejected the religious traditions of the Pharisees and scribes. The word tradition simply means “that which is handed down from one person to another.”
Whether by word, or our epistle, the truth of the Gospel was first declared by Christ and the Apostles, later on this truth was written down by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God’s truth was not invented by man, for it was handed down from God to man, and every generation of believers has the tremendous responsibility to guard the truth and pass it on to the following generation. This is the only way the church can be kept pure!
Dear friend, as a church, we have the responsibility to pass this truth to the next generation. As an individual, you have the responsibility to stand with the church, to uphold this truth and pass it on. As a family, you have the responsibility to pass this truth to your children.
The primary responsibility to pass God’s truth to your children does not rest on the Sunday school teachers, but on you the parents. At best, the Sunday school teachers can only re-emphasize what you have been constantly teaching them at home. Consider this, who would spend the most time with your children? Who has been commanded to bring up the child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? The parents, right? Proverbs 22:6! Your children watch you, and see how the truth has been articulated through your life. They listen to you as you teach the Bible, and watch you live it out. Thus, you must be consistent because the moment you are not consistent, you are doing great injustice to the Word of God. The same goes with pastors, preachers and teachers. If we say that we have been called by God, and we do not live up to the calling, we are doing great injustice to God’s Word. On the day of reckoning, we have to give an account to the Almighty God.
To stand fast means “do not move away from the truth”; whatever you have been faithfully taught in the Word of God, hold on to it, and don’t let it go. When the command is given, it implies that there will be certain forces that will cause us to move away, that is why we have to stand fast. The devil will try to tempt us to move away from the truth, but we must stand fast. People will tell us that the world has changed, times have changed, and people have changed. While that is true, the Bible does not change, and we must be unmovable.
By way of illustration, consider the guards at Buckingham Palace in London. The crowds came and went, but the guards stood still. The people may marvel, laugh or make funny faces at them, but they remain unmovable. Nothing could move them from their appointed places. In a similar fashion, we must guard this precious faith, and not be moved by the wiles of the devil. The world may be ever changing in regards to its views about the Bible (e.g. the attack on the inspiration and preservation of Scriptures), the theories of the world may be countless (e.g. the evolution, big bang and theistic evolution theories), the movements of the world may be many (e.g. the ecumenical, feminist or gay movements). The wiles of the devils may be crafty and diversified, but we must not be moved. We must stand fast in the faith! For the Word of God does not change!
We must not hold God’s truth in a careless way, but to hold it firmly and never to let it slip from us. Each generation of Christians who has received the truth from others, must guard it, and make sure it is kept pure to be passed to the next generation. So that the next generation can have the pureness of God’s truth, and drink it to the satisfaction of their souls.
How sad it would be if five or ten years down the road, to see that our church has drifted away from the pure Word of God. Can you imagine the little children we see running around in the church, having nothing to hold onto, or no foundation to build their lives upon? So, it must begin with us, this generation, so that our children can watch us as we receive the truth and stand fast in the faith. And they in turn who receive the truth from us, will stand fast in the faith, and pass on the tradition, for as long as the Lord would tarry in His return.
Shalom,
Pastor Paul Cheng
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