By Holding Fast The Word Of Life

In our efforts to determine how we might truly “shine as lights in the world”, we have gleaned from Paul's comments that we must:

Work out our own salvation - Php 2:12

Allow God to work in us - Php 2:13

Do all things without “murmuring and disputing” - Php 2:14

Be children of God without fault, by being “blameless and harmless” - Php 2:15

Fundamental to our ability to do all these things, and to “shine as lights in the world” is that we “hold fast the word of life”

Philippians 2:16 NKJV

holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

It is the “word of life” that instructs us HOW to work out our own salvation. We saw that the “word of life”is designed to teach us the “fear of the Lord”. The “word of life” is the “sword of the Spirit”, and therefore a crucial element to allowing God to be at work in us. Through the "word of life" we learn the danger of disputing and murmuring. And with the help of the "word of life", we can be blameless and harmless, children of God without fault, but for all this to occur we must HOLD FAST the "word of life"; what is the proper way to do this?

Let’s look at Ezra to discover what is necessary, and the proper order.

Ezra 7:10 NKJV

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Let’s look at that one piece at a time.

To seek it

To do it

To teach it

With this in mind, let’s go back to our key verse:

Philippians 2:16 NKJV

holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

Does that not sound like Ezra learned the how to “hold fast the word of life”? The question then, how do we do that?

Through diligent study

Diligent study requires...

Longing for the Word like a baby longs for milk.

1 Peter 2:2 NKJV

as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

Receiving the Word with meekness, and implanting it our hearts

James 1:21 NKJV

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Psalm 119:11 NKJV

Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

The only way I know that this can be done, is through:

Daily Bible reading on your own

Joshua 1:8 NKJV

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Psalm 1:1–3 NKJV

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

Taking advantage of every opportunity to study with others.

Such diligent study is necessary

2 Timothy 2:14–16 NKJV

Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.

Otherwise, we can lead to the ruin of hearers! Because we might shamefully mishandle the word of truth! Rather than leading others to God, we might instead increase to more ungodliness!

Whoa! Quite a stark warning! Notice Paul's warnings to the young evangelist Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:3–5 NKJV

If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.

1 Timothy 6:20–21 NKJV

O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.

He also had a warning for another evangelist, Titus.

Titus 2:7–8 NKJV

in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

Titus 3:9–11 NKJV

But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.

So if we really want to "hold fast the word of life" in a way that will help us “shine as lights” and not be ashamed, we must start by preparing our own hearts to study it diligently!

We must also “hold fast the word of life”...

Through consistent application

There is the danger of being a hearer and not a doer.

James 1 NKJV

James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

James 1:22–25 NKJV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

We deceive only ourselves - not God because He knows our hearts! Not the devil because if we are hearers only, he has us right where he wants us! Not those who know us because they can see our inconsistency. We deprive ourselves of the true blessedness of God's Word, which comes in the DOING of it, not just in the HEARING (or reading) of it.

The world already has enough Pharisees!

Who is a modern day Pharisee? They are the people who “say, and do not do” even though what they were saying was correct, they failed to “practice what they preach”. Nothing undermines our efforts than those who claim to be Christians, but do not live like it!

Being Consistent

By consistently hearing AND doing the Word of God we demonstrate the value of the will of God.

Romans 12:1–2 NKJV

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

By offering what is “reasonable service”, we can “prove” (demonstrate) that the Will of God is “good and acceptable and perfect”. Often when people do not, or will not listen to your words they will often listen to your actions and think differently if we demonstrate in how we live our lives that God's way is the best and only way!

So after we have learned God's Will, let's be sure to live it! Then, and only then, are we in a position to do the next thing as we try to “hold fast the word of life”.

But wait, there’s more! We also hold fast the word of life

Through teaching it to others

It is the natural follow-up to study and application.

Remember Ezra? He realized that this was the proper order -

Ezra 7:10 NKJV

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Sadly, many people go about it in reverse order (teach, attempt to do, and then study) But if we have properly studied and applied God's Word, people will take note, and want to know more about who we are and why we are the way we are! The biggest headache I had as a pastor in this church (when we were bigger) as well as the previous church I pastored in Green Valley was that so many people wanted to be a teacher, and I would have liked more people to teach, but when I looked at their life, the fruits of really knowing and holding fast to the word of God weren’t there. See, they were going about it the wrong way. In fact, if you are wielding the word of God properly, you won’t have to “set-up” a Bible study, or ask the pastor to give you the opportunity to preach. People will seek you out on their own. Not because of what you say, but because of what you do.

As the people of God,

Proclaiming the “Word of life” is our primary function in this world!

1 Peter 2:9–10 NKJV

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

We are to “proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”. Is this not another way of saying that we are to teach others, to share the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ with others?

Herein lies the greatest hope of becoming light bearers in this darkness!

For if God has called US through His gospel out of darkness into His marvelous light, then perhaps He will do the same for others with whom we share the same gospel! So as we endeavor to "shine as lights" with the help of that Word which was used to call us into God's marvelous light, let's not neglect to share it with others!

CONCLUSION

Like many others, I am very concerned about the direction our society appears to be going. I do not take issue with the motives and zeal of others, but I question the WAY some people who believe in God are trying to change our society for good

Can we not learn from the failure of the "Civil Rights Movement" to change the hearts of men through legislation or even violence that maybe there is a better way?

Not to say that changing legislation through legitimate means is not a worthy goal for Christians, but to say that it alone is inadequate. The "better way" is the way God used His people to ultimately change "pre-Christian culture" (known for immorality and injustice) into one that at least on the surface held up Christianity as a religion of preference rather than ridicule.

How did they do it? Though it took several hundred years, it was done by "Shining As Lights In The World", in the manner in which Paul wrote in...

Philippians 2:12–16 NKJV

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

With the help of God, perhaps we can do the same. At the very least, we can assure that we will save ourselves through God's grace!