We are living in days when standing for the truth is considered an act
of intolerance. Being willing to compromise is considered an act of
graciousness. Being loose with the truth is better than standing for
the truth. We are clearly instructed in the church letters of the New
Testament to stand for the truth. Let us examine the clear instructions.
1. Stand Fast So That We Are Immovable (by J.R. Caldwell)
1 Corinthians 15:58 - Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your
labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Why does the apostle wind up this magnificent chapter on the
resurrection in this manner. Evidently he had counted the cost; he knew
that the work of the Lord would bring him reproach and loss; but none
of these things moved him, for his hope of recompense was in
resurrection. And so he exhorts the saints to go on steadfast in
purpose of heart and immovable in their adherence to the truth, knowing
that whatever it might cost them, the glorious end in resurrection at
the coming of the Lord would abundantly justify their decision. See
that lighthouse, far out upon a rocky islet; why is it so securely
built? Why such expense and labor to make it as firm as the rock upon
which it is founded? Because all the force of the ocean’s raging
billows will break upon it, and that just at the time when it is most
needed. And even such are the powers that will assail the believer; but
the glorious truth of the resurrection is given as an anchor for our
souls, both sure and steadfast. As the vessel moored outrides the gale
with its stern to the storm, so we, with our eye on that blessed hope,
will be kept from drifting, knowing that our reward is sure.
2. Stand Fast So That We Are Free (by G. J. Stewart)
Galatians 5:1 - Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has
made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
“This principle is very important; because you will find it is
constantly the resource of ignorance to say, Well, we all hold the same
thing to a certain degree; the only difference is, that I believe
something more than you do. Yes, but that something more is to
extinguish faith, and annul the worth of Christ. All this might furnish
a plausible platform for human feeling and argument; but the apostle
was led of the Holy Spirit to deal with the question of introducing the
thinnest wedge of the law. The attempt to add to Christ is in fact to
destroy salvation by Christ.” (William Kelly) “We are called then to
liberty, and this implies the new nature and its desires, a sort of
Christian instinct. It is to do what I want to do as a Christian, not
as a natural man. The law demands that a man should do what he neither
has the power nor the desire to do, and hence it is a yoke of bondage.
Christianity simply directs me in that which the new nature delights
in, that is, love and obedience.”
Let us therefore stand fast for the truth that sets us free from legal
entanglements that are so often introduced in a very subtle way by the
widespread acceptance today of man’s religious concepts.
3. Stand Fast So That We Are Moved By The Truth (by Hamilton Smith)
Ephesians 6:14 - Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness.
We are to stand with our loins girt about with truth. Spiritually
this speaks of the thoughts and affections held in order by the truth.
By applying the truth to ourselves, and thus judging all the thoughts
and motives of the heart by the truth, we should not only be set free
from the inward working of the flesh, but we should have our affections
formed according to the truth, and thus have the lowly mind with our
affections set on things above. Often we make great efforts to preserve
a correct outward demeanor towards one another while, at the same time,
careless as to our thoughts and affections. If we are to withstand the
wiles of the enemy we must commence by being right inwardly. James
warns us that if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts,
glory not, and lie not against the truth. (James 3:14) When the truth
holds the affections, strife, bitter envying and other evils of the
flesh will be judged, and when they are judged we shall be able to
withstand the wiles of the devil in the evil day.
4. Stand Fast So That We Are United In The Truth (by G. Christopher Willis)
Philippians 1:27 - Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of
Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of
your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving
together for the faith of the gospel.
Those who have the same interest can stand together. If our primary
interest is the faith of the gospel, then we have a united cause and we
are able to stick together.
“Standing firm is a favorite word of Paul, and has something of a
military tone in it: a regiment of soldiers standing firm, and refusing
to retreat. Do not give ground an inch! The thought is a regiment of
soldiers, who together contend in a desperate struggle. They must have
one spirit and one soul and though there may be many persons, they work
together as one. In John’s Gospel it is used twice; first of our Lord,
in 1:26: There standeth One among you, whom ye know not. What an
example of standing firm do we see as we trace the footsteps of the
Lord through this world. The second time is in 8:44, where our Lord
says to the Jewish leaders: Ye are of your father the devil .... he
stood not in the truth. What a contrast! May God help us to follow our
Lord, and stand fast. An older brother once said to me that all giving
up is of the devil.”
5. Stand Fast So That Our Example Encourages Others (by William MacDonald)
Colossians 2:5 - For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you
in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of
your faith in Christ.
In the infantry, as the soldiers of one battalion watch the battalion
before them, they are encouraged to continue their advance, no matter
how fierce the battle, if they see the other battalion moving on ahead
without wavering. “This verse shows how intimately aware the Apostle
Paul was of the problems and perils facing the Colossians. He pictures
himself as a military officer looking over the assembled troops as they
stand ready for inspection. The two words order and steadfastness are
military terms. The first describes the orderly array of a company of
soldiers, whereas the second pictures the solid flank which is
presented by them. Paul rejoices as he sees (in spirit though not in
body) how the Colossians were standing true to the Word of God.”
6. Stand Fast So That The Traditions Of The New Testament Are Not Exchanged For The Innovations Of Religion (by H.A. Ironside)
2 Thessalonians 2:15 - Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the
traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.
They were not to let anything turn them aside from the truth which had
been proclaimed. Do not misunderstand what the apostle says as to
traditions. Paul did not add human traditions to the Word of the Lord;
but he had told these Thessalonians certain things by word of mouth,
and he urged them to hold fast these teachings, as well as those he
committed to them in writing. Today we no longer have inspired apostles
proclaiming the Word. We have the Scriptures complete (2 Tim. 3:16).
When on earth our Lord told the scribes and Pharisees that they made
the Word of God of none effect through their traditions. There are
those today who have added a great many human traditions to the Word
and have utterly confused their followers. But those who honor the
Scriptures need no human traditions. These Thessalonians had listened
to the apostle and had also received his written word, and they were
exhorted to stand fast in all that they had received.
7. Stand Fast So That We Can Resist The Devil (by F.B. Meyer)
2 Peter 5:8,9 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil
walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist
him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are
experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
There is a terror in the devil’s threatenings, which may well strike
panic into timid hearts. But we must remember that it is the expending
of ineffectual rage. He makes up in noise what he has lost in power. He
hates our Shepherd, though he cannot now hurt Him. He did his worst
against Him, and failed. He must content himself with bellowing out his
hate; though this, too, shall be stayed.
So Rutherford used to say that
he preferred dealing with a roaring devil. It fills Satan with
redoubled chagrin and malignity to know that the weakest saint is more
than a match for him, if he dares to resist him steadfast in the faith,
and armed in the panoply of God.