Page Three: “Continue In The Faith” 11/11/12
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No one can or will agree that this person had truly repented and was now a Believer. Why? Because the lifestyle of a Christian tells on you. A Believer in Christ persists when hardships come. A Believer not only persists, but he matures in his spiritual life. His faith grows. His character grows.
Notice again what Paul says in verse twenty-three. (23) “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;…” As you can see, the matter of faith is critical, isn’t it? Folks, a Believer is one who has faith. Do you remember what Paul said to these Christians in his salutation to them? Colossians 1:4 “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,…” Paul is writing this epistle to those who do have faith in the LORD. Here’s Colossians chapter two. Colossians 2:5 “For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.” And in the same chapter, he adds this. Colossians 2:7 “Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” Continuing in the faith; stedfastness of your faith; and established in the faith. All of these phrases convey the very same thing. Your faith in Christ is a living a growing thing. Faith cannot remain idle. The questions you must ask yourself are these. “Am I perseverant in your faith” or is it “I can take it or leave it”? “Am I continuing in the faith?” First, then, perseverance in spiritual things. Second, grounded in the LORD. Verse twenty-three again. (23) “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel,…” Let me show you exactly what it is that occurs in your life as you grow up into a mature Believer. |
One, you are grounded.
Two, you are settled. And three, you do not move away from the hope you have in Christ. By the way, for those of you who are followers of the grammar of the Bible, each of these three terms describes people. All three are participles. So you could easily say this. “If ye continue in the faith as those who are grounded and those who are settled and those who are not moving away from the hope you have in the Gospel.” “Grounded” = “standing on a firm foundation” Do you remember the story Jesus told about the wise man and the foolish man? Here’s one of those words. It’s the exact same word as you have here in verse twenty-three. Matthew 7:25 “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” Next, settled. “settled” = “stedfast” And here are two verses in the NT where this same word is translated as “stedfast.” I Corinthians 7:37 “Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, …” (15:58) “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” A Believer in the LORD Jesus Christ continues in the faith by being grounded and by being stedfast. Are you grounded in Him? First, then, perseverance in spiritual things. Second, grounded in the LORD. Third, the hope of the Gospel. And, says Paul, he also is not being moved away from the hope of the Gospel. Vs. 23 (23) “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;…” |