Continue In The Faith (2)

Passage

Colossians 1:21–23 (KJV 1900)

21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

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;

It was needful for us to die. that is, we have to die to our sins and our old nature.

Jesus came and died for the forgiveness of our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice for us; therefore, he physically died for us.

The Apostle Paul gives us reason as to why Jesus died for us in:

2 Corinthians 5:14–17 (KJV 1900)

14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:

15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The death of Jesus on the cross substituted as death for everyone who has faith in Him.

But, thank God that He did not just die, but He rose from the dead guaranteeing us eternal life.

His death on the cross literally killed the old nature of every believer. He killed every habit, addiction, every evil thoughts, and nature.

Basically, He killed the influence of the fleshly nature of mankind. This death had to happen before we experience the life of Christ.

He made us a new creation by eliminating the old man and making us new. We became new when He was resurrected on the third day.

Therefore, since He has brought death to our old nature and has given us eternal life, we owe the rest of our life to Him.

It does not matter how difficult things may get for us or how hard or tedious life may be, we owe it all to Him.

As Paul states, we should not live to ourselves, but unto Him that died for us. Which means that all that we do, become, or experience in life belongs to God.

Even when Jesus blesses us and give us increase, it all belongs to Him. He blesses you and increase you, then He makes you a steward of those blessings.

In our lesson text, Paul writes “If we continue in the faith...”, which implies that our walk in the faith of Christ has to be an ongoing effort.

This also implies that some will not continue in the faith; some may fall from the grace of God or tun away from following Christ.

The Greek word epimeno, which is translated as continue means to continue in an activity or state—‘to remain in, to keep on, to persevere, to abide, to stay at or with, to tarry still, to remain in a place, and to keep yourself fit in the blessing that you are abiding in.’

We are obligated to become persistent and intentional in our walk in Christ. Yes, we need to become fanatical in our living for Christ.

We are living in a climate of compromise and blending in with everyone else. It’s as thought we have not heard or read this scripture:

2 Corinthians 6:17 (KJV 1900)

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

At times, it is hard to tell the saved from the unsaved; and I am not talking about how you dress physically, but how you dress spiritually.

We are good at putting on Jesus every Sunday, but taking Him off on Monday thru Saturday.

We must stay consistent in Christ; we must live truthful in Christ; we must be constant in Christ.

We are the light of the world; someone is looking to you as an example of how a saint of Christ should live and behave.

Therefore, Paul states that we must be grounded and settled in our faith. Grounded means established, stable, and firm; it also means to be steadfast. We must not be so easily moved from our faith in Christ.

Satan wants you to question you faith; questioning introduces doubt and a lack of trust. It weakens you faith and leads to instability. But, God is able to keep you from falling if you remain stable.

Settled means unwavering, to be well-founded and firmly established. this reminds me of a man whose house is built on a rock.

A house built upon a rock is on a firm foundation; it does not settle. A house built on sand shifts when the sand seeks to settle on a harder surface. Sand is always shifting, not rocks; rocks have a greater density.

Therefore, as I close we must become and stay firm in our relationship with Christ and we must not allow the sands of life to shift us.

Remember, we belong to Christ and we must give an account to all that He has entrusted to us, even our life.

As Paul states in:

1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV 1900)

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Christ will help you through every challenge that you may face. He has built victory on the inside of you.

I have always learned and believe that you can be kept if you want to be kept.

Continue in the faith that was won for you and delivered to you as you believe in Christ.