STAND FIRM!

“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”

-2 Thessalonians 2:15, NIV

All of Paul’s teachings were passed to everyone who believes in Christ from different generations through the bible and the church. Now for us believers, we must stand firm and hold on to the gospel and the teachings of Paul.

Question: We are already in Christ, so why do we need to stand firm and hold on to these teachings?

Yes, we were already saved at the time we received Christ in our lives, but Christian life does not just end in that. The question after receiving Christ must be “What’s next?”. Of course, our life does not just end in that. We know that when we go back to the world outside, temptations, pressures and struggles would be there trying to get us back to where we are before. They will try to put us back into our failures. BUT if we stand firm, we wouldn’t fall just like that. Why? Because we hold on to the teachings!

“May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope.”

2 Thessalonians 2:16, NIV

All of the teachings that Paul passed to us is all about the grace of God, which is Christ Jesus. And if we stand firm in his teachings and the grace, we would have:

1. Eternal Encouragement

Ø      Encouragement that comes from our friends and family are not bad, but we must remember that they would not be there with us forever. Humans have limitations and we die, but encouragement that comes from the word of God is eternal, meaning, it will always be there. With the word of God, we would never be discouraged because we know that God is with us. Even if we fall sometimes, we know how to get back up. If we stand firm in the word of God, nothing can stand against us.

2. Good Hope

Ø      Before, when we don’t know God yet, we are just hopeless people. We would just cry out and have low self-esteem when we fail in something we do. But now that we know God, if we just hold on to all the teachings taught to us about Him and His Son, we wouldn’t be like that anymore. We would never lose hope because of His promises to us. Well of course, all we need to do is to fully believe in them. PLUS, our hope will not lead us to nothing because we know that our God is the God of truth, and He will do everything that He says. If we stand firm in His word, we would never be shaken by any struggles that come to our lives.

So brothers, stand firm with the word of God! Even if the largest storm enters in your life, just hold on to God and believe in Him. He will never fail you.