NOV 7
Colossians 2:5
Memorise Hebrews 3:14
“…stedfastness of your faith in Christ…”

After commending their church order, Paul also commends the Colossians’ “stedfastness of faith”. The word for stedfast carries the idea of being strong , stable and firm. It evokes an image of soldiers in a battle array, firmly holding their ground and never yielding to the enemy. A church that has stedfastness of faith is one that holds firm to the truth of God’s Word and never compromises. They would be able to stand strong against the false teachers who would try to creep in and introduce damnable heresies. In our modern day set-up of the church, with the many differences and compromises from the truth that abound in Christendom, we have doctrinal statements to protect us from threats of apostasy, and to clearly spell out what we believe and stand for. Every faithful church would have a statement of faith that is entirely in line with the Bible. Those wishing to become members take a membership oath to abide by this stand, and thus any infiltrators can be admonished if they attack this stand. Paul was much heartened when he heard of how the Colossian church stood firm in the faith that they had received, for he knew that it meant they were not succumbing to the false teachers in their midst.

History is replete with so many occasions where churches have ignored such warnings and watered down their doctrinal stand, or no longer stood firm on the doctrines they once held strongly to. I remember being invited to speak at the youth fellowship of an overseas ‘daughter’ church, where I was told on arrival by the ministry leader not to mention certain doctrines because there were considered too controversial for the youth, even though the church apparently supported these doctrines (!) The preaching topic had nothing to do with these doctrines, but I felt very uneasy about this strange request. Much later that church did an about turn and now publicly did not support the doctrines in question. The false teachers had taken over. Dear teen, if you later become a ministry leader, remember that you are accountable to God for your actions especially since they affect those members who belong to that ministry, and it is God’s will for the church to be steadfast in faith, not to be broken up from within due to your actions. As members in your church, make sure that you support the church’s doctrinal stand, and humbly study God’s Word and clarify any areas of doubt, lest over time Satan turns that doubt into disbelief.

Thought: The more the doubt, the less the faith.

Prayer: May I always ensure I support the church stand 100%.