Steadfastness

Acts 11:23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.

The church in Antioch has a great importance in the history of Apostles. The believers were called Christians because Antioch was not part of Israel or Samaria. We can also read that after Paul had gone back to Tarsis, which is not very far from Antioch, he was relatively idle or did some undocumented ministry. But this revival in the Church in Antioch made Barnabas come there and bless them and Paul was brought there after the revival. We should note that Peter or Paul were not called Christians or those in Jerusalem. Since this event is placed in the same 11^th Chapter which speaks about acceptance of Gentile conversion which happened in Caesarea by those in Jerusalem, we should understand the importance of the word Christians here. Since these men were uncategorized because they were is Syria where they could not be called either as Roman, Greek or Jew, they identified themselves as Christians. This name stands till today to all of us.

When Barnabas came to Antioch, he was very happy and urged them to be faithful to the Lord with a steadfast purpose. The excitement is good for any church when it grows but it is important for every church to understand how this excitement can fail and to make precaution measures. For this reason, we read Barnabas had brought Paul back to ministry and they worked together for a year. Reasons for us to lose our stronghold are mentioned in the Bible and it is required of us to meditate on them cautiosly.

In Joshua 23:7, we read how there are gods that remain among us. During our initial stages of salvation, we live among gods which elevate themselves in front of us and threaten. These Gods come in forms of needs, social standards etc. Sometimes, preachers become gods and mislead us. Deut 31:18 says that because of evil people do, they would turn to other gods. Prosperity preaching is a god which justifies greed and corruption. If we could pray everyday asking our Father God to be the only God in our lives and have complete authority, He would help us always prioritize Him. In Job 11:14,15 we read how if we can purify our hearts from iniquity, we can lift our face without any moral defect and be steadfast. Let us ask Him to help us identify our iniquities. Sometimes, spiritual gifts can become gods and we long for them instead of longing for Christ himself.

1 Cor 15:58 wants us to be immovable after we understand that our toils are not wasted. Satan’s one deception is to give us an idea that our works are wasted. We may not see fruits immediately aroe even in our lifetime, but God wants us to understand that these works will produce in due time. We read in 1 Peter 5:9 to hold firm in our faith and comparing other examples of men who suffered much for the Lord. The problem is we compare with other ministers or churches who either have earned a growth after many many years of toiling or by corruption.

Galatians 5:1 says that slavery can remove our steadfastedness. This means that the devil can easily put us into slavery. If we value our freedom properly, we will be firm. To honor our freedom, it is important to understand that this freedom was bought for us with a price by Christ our Lord. This freedom makes us not to fall into on any of the world’s lavishness or illusions. The verse explains that it is a status that we are put in this state of freedom and if we move away, we are going away from the safety Christ has given us. It should also be understood that any position away from this standing firm is slavery.

In 2 Peter 3:17, we read how unprincipled men can carry us away from our steadfastness. We do not have to follow them, but hear them to fall. People translate the scriptures wrongly to confuse us. We read these men as unprincipled because they do not have a vision or a purpose. People only try to prove themselves strong and wise without any concern on the state of the Christian. Let us see if we are holding tightly to the teachings as per 2 Thes 2:15.

Paul calls believers as his joy and crown in Phil 4:1. They are expected to stand firm in the Lord because there is a larger hope for them from Christ. Paul mentions in the previous chapter that this is a worthless body we are in but Jesus will renew us soon. So, let nothing of this world affect us from the hope of calling.

Living a steadfast life is actually much easier as the focus is one. Psalms 16:8 explains that we will not be shaken if we set the Lord before us and keep Him at our right hand. Let us note that we have set Him and not that He set us in this position. We prioritize Christ and He takes care of everything else.