Phil Johnson Stand Firm in the Faith

Be Watchful the Lord is Coming.  Stand Firm in the Faith - Phil Johnson gives instruction - watch video:

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1 Cor. 15:57,58

but thanks be to God, who give us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

Remember that God gives us the victory through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. This is cause for rejoicing! Be always abounding in the work of the Lord. Stand strong in the Faith. Be firm, deeply rooted in the Faith. Be established, not wavering. Do not give place to unsound doctrines or new teachings. Believers must test all things to the Word of God 1 John 4:1.

In these postmodern times it is said that we shouldn’t be certain about anything, and doubting shows humility, … but scripture corrects this false view and instructs the Believer to: Stand Firm in the Faith, be stable, be secure, and be confident in the truths found in Scriptures.

Eph. 4:13,14 tells us to not be unstable and unsound in teaching and doctrine. We are to have a steady, trusting confidence in the Scriptures. Stand Firm in the Faith! Being addressed to the Believers Paul says this:

“Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; “ Eph. 4:13,14

“And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach---if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul was made a minister.” Colossians 1:21-23

Notice from the Scripture in Ephesians above that:  our 'unity' is to be based on the knowledge of the Son of God.  Our confidence in the Scripture and steadfast trust in the Word of God brings this true unity. To stand firm in the Faith is a Command. It is not an option. God’s people are to be steadfast, immovable, growing in stability, steady in belief, sound in doctrine, and transformed by the renewing of their minds, and trusting in God’s Word.

STANDING FIRM WHILE BEING ASSAILED

As we live the Christian life we do well to remember that there will be sufferings, afflictions, difficulties, trials, hardships and troubles. It is by the strength of the Lord that we are able to persevere and endure when under spiritual attacks. 2 Corinthians 4:7,8 says: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; “

In all this, Christ will never leave us nor forsake us. Our sufferings are no indication of our spiritual condition or how much God loves us or values us as a child of God. Psalms 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Man looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart.

We are in a spiritual battle and need spiritual armor to stand Firm in the battle. Ephesians 6 outlines the armor that every Christian is commanded to put on and is needed to be fruit-bearing, obedient, and committed in serving the Lord. One of those pieces of the armor is having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Eph.6:15.

The Christian is a soldier in the battle. No soldier goes to war without first being prepared to fight. This is why the study of Scripture is so important. The scriptures train us in how to be prepared and aware of the enemy that seeks to destroy our witness and our faith. There is warning in the bible of false teachers, Impostors and false brethren. We are not unaware of Satan’s devices (2 Cor. 2:11) and the schemes of the devil. Eph. 6:11.

C.H. Spurgeon wrote well of this:

“He who marches meets with rough terrain, or if as a warrior he dashes into the thick of conflict, he is assailed with weapons, and therefore he needs footwear suitable to meet his perils. The active and energetic Christian meets with temptation that others do not meet. Idle persons can hardly be said to be in danger; they are a stage beyond that and are already overcome. Satan barely needs to tempt them; they rather tempt him and are a fermenting mass in which sin multiplies exceedingly.

But earnest, laborious believers are sure to be assailed, even as fruit-bearing trees are certain to be visited by birds. Satan cannot tolerate a person who serves God earnestly, such a person does damage to the archenemy’s dominions and therefore must be incessantly assailed. The prince of darkness will try, if he can, to injure the person’s character, to break his communion with God, to spoil the simplicity of his faith, to make him proud of what he is doing, or to make him despair of success. In one way or another he will, if possible bruise the worker’s heel or trip him up or lame him altogether. Because of all these dangers, infinite mercy has provided gospel shoes for the believer’s feet, shoes of the best kind, such as only those warriors wear who serve the Lord of Hosts. "

In the New Testament, “Sufferings” is used both of Christ’s sufferings and of believers’ sufferings for His sake. In 1 Peter 5:9 Peter admonishes; Resist Satan; ”But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” But, self-centered Christians who serve the Lord halfheartedly and for their own interests and comfort seldom have to pay a price for their faith. They are of little threat to Satan’s work, thus they are of little benefit to Christ. They do not stand firm on the truths of scripture and defend the faith.

Our being born again, and being given hope through Christ by His resurrection, and obtaining an imperishable inheritance with Him and our protection by God’s power gives us reason to greatly rejoice.

The Mind of God

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