Holding Fast

Articles

T. Sean Sullivan
01/26/25 - Living A Christian Life

HOLDING FAST

Sean Sullivan

The world is full of books – as Solomon said through inspiration many centuries ago, "Of making many books there is no end…" (Ecclesiastes 12:12). Out of that endless supply one book reigns supreme-only one book is sourced from God (James 1:17-25).

This one book reveals the unchanging will of our Creator. This one book teaches us about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. This one book reveals Christianity and the church. This one book teaches us how to work for and worship God. Without the Bible, we will be left without understanding who we are, why we are, or what we are supposed to do. Let's get to the Scriptures and consider these thoughts together:

Hold fast to God's Will

God has not left us to wonder-He has provided the necessary information. The Bible is the revelation of the mind of God to man (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). The New Testament, our covenant with God, is described as having been "prepared" by God "for those who love Him". We can know what God thinks on all the subjects that He has revealed to us; in ancient times by various prophets but for our time through His Son Jesus the Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2). We have "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3). We can know who the Father is (John 14:6-9), who the Son is (John 20:30-31), and what the Father expects from us (Ephesians 5:8-10; 2 Timothy 2:15).

The revelation of God's will is known as the Bible. A cohesive collection of words revealed over 1400 years, written down by 40 different inspired penmen. The Source of these words is, however, Divine (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God's word provides us with one "doctrine"-the parameters of our practices. God's word provides us with the knowledge to practice "reproof"-knowing how to judge right and wrong. God's word provides us with direction to "correction"-our loving Creator does not point out error without also graciously providing direction for correction. The Bible, in all these points, provides us with "instruction in righteousness"-so that His seekers might be "complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work".

Since we can carefully search the divinely delivered word, we must be confident of God's will. We must hold fast to the will of God.

Hold fast your Confidence

We must be confident that the truth of God is timeless because His directions require complete obedience. We are not to serve God in partial measure (Matthew

6:24), but rather "all" of who we are is to be committed to God (Mark 12:30). We are to "give ourselves entirely" to God's instructions (1 Timothy 4:13, 15-16). We cannot fully commit to anything that will change tomorrow.

God's will is unchanging. Its Source is "the Father of Lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17). Its all-sufficiency is clearly proclaimed-we are never to add to, nor take away from, that which has been given (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18). It is the enduring standard by which all souls are expected to adhere (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16)-that will never change. It is constant and it will remain the revealed expectation of God, all the way through to The Judgment (John 12:48-50; Acts 17:30-31).

Hold fast the Pattern

The will of God is a pattern to follow. Paul instructs Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:13, to "hold fast the pattern of sound words". In other words: Find and follow the pattern set and delivered by God. "Pattern" is both an interesting word and an interesting concept. Our word "pattern" is translated from hupotoposis which means "to be imitated" (Strong's #5296). Its root word is "tupos" – a die to be struck (Strong's #5179)-when struck, or applied, renders an exact copy. It is with this knowledge that we seek the pattern of all that God has determined to be right-so that we can be right. We must allow the Word of God to render us as God would desire. As if the word were a "die" and we were a "blank" on which the die is struck.

This certainly means that the concept of church is not left up to man to decide (Romans 10:1-3). It is clearly patterned in the Scriptures and it is God's intention that we follow the pattern He has provided (James 1:22-25). Since we can carefully search the divinely delivered word, we must be confident that God's expectations are set as a pattern for us to follow exactly. Because of this need, we hold fast to "the will of the Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

There is one book, and we need to be holding fast to what it teaches us. In a world filled with different concepts of faith, many souls are being misled. There is a way to be certain of God's will, and that is to hold fast to the pattern He has provided.

The doing of God's will is the only hope for any soul to be saved. We must hold fast to the Bible as the unchanging pattern of God's will. According to this divinely given pattern, we know how to be saved. Have you followed the actions of those who became Christians in the 1st Century? This is your opportunity to follow the revealed pattern and take on your salvation, right now.