BE: Be Steadfast
1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
One of the definitions of steadfast is to be firm! In this verse, Paul was telling the church of Corinth to be firm and to be unmovable in what they knew to be true. They also should always abound (or thrive) in doing the work of the Lord.
There’s something to be observed here. What you choose to be firm in, what you’ve decided to be unmovable regarding, is what you will thrive in!
Let me set the context of this chapter. In the first four verses, Paul is reminding those that have already experienced the Gospel what the Gospel is. If they already know it and have experienced, why would he remind them? He wanted them to be steadfast and unmovable so they could THRIVE!
I Corinthians 14:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
Guzik, in his commentary, writes, “Every Christian must take seriously their responsibility to not only have a good past, and a good present, but to determine to have a great future with the Lord, also.”
Today, I am praying for a declaration today over individuals, over families, over our marriages, and over our children…..a declaration of a decision to be steadfast and unmovable.
Concerning the Gospel, Spurgeon said, “We are not makers and inventors; we are repeaters, we tell the message we have received.”
It is not up to me or you to reinvent the Gospel. We can’t create our own way. We can’t change what has been established. It’s not for us to decide.
In today’s world, many people have watered the Gospel down. They’ve taken bits and pieces, but not the whole. Men have watered it down. Churches have watered it down. The same thing happened in Paul’s day, which is why he had a reminder for the church of Galatia.
Galatians 1:6-9, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
Look what Paul said to the Colossians….
Colossians 1:23 NLT, “But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.”
The Kings James Version says it like this, “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled….” Colossians 1:23
That word, settled, is the same word in the Greek that is used in 1 Corinthians 15:58 for “steadfast.”
There is a warning today to not to drift away. Drifting is a slow fade.
As a kid, I grew up swimming in the ocean in Miami. I remember swimming, thinking I was staying right in front of my family, only to find myself further down the coast. I would frantically search to spot my family on the sand. The drift had been so subtle, I hadn’t even realized I was moving away from my family.
Somebody today needs to reset an anchor that has been pulled up. The anchor that once kept you steadfast and settled during the storm is no longer holding you steady.
Without an anchor, this world will blow you off course little by little. It is easy to justify the little stuff…to make excuses or to overlook certain things. Then, before you know it, you’ve gone farther than you thought was possible.
There’s a call today to get back to where you know you need to be. There’s a call to make up your mind and firmly declare, “As for me and my house, we WILL serve the Lord.”
BE STEADFAST. BE UNMOVABLE.
