HOLD FAST

"Let us HOLD FAST the confession of our faith without wavering, for He who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23).

These beautiful roses will bloom for a time, but after a while, one petal after another will drop off and die. Thank God that His truth is not like that. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 10:28). And "the Word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8). It is as changeless as Christ because Jesus IS the Word. He IS the truth. He embodies every principle of Scripture, every promise, and each commandment.

The faith that has been handed down to us in the Scriptures is the faith that has been defended through the centuries. The apostles died proclaiming it, upholding and living it. And during the Dark Ages, when the papacy chained the word of God to the church wall, reformers like the Waldensians, Huss, and countless millions laid down their lives in its defense. Their faith gave them strength to sing hymns as they were led to the flames or the scaffold. But their blood was like seed. Their testimonies fueled the Protestant Reformation, until the words of the prophet came to pass: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined" (Isaiah 9:2).

The Word of God is NOT chained!
(2 Timothy 2:9)

That light has been shining brighter and brighter, as one reformer after another rediscovered a forgotten or buried truth. To Luther, it was "the just shall live by his faith" (Romans 1:17). To Huss, it was the authority of Scripture, that "God speaking in the Bible, and not the church speaking through the priesthood, is the one infallible guide" (The Great Controversy,pg. 102). One man after another was raised up, expanding on the work before him, but never relinquishing his confession--that the Bible is the infallible authority for our faith and practice. "They denied the right of popes, councils, Fathers and kings to control the conscience in matters of religion" (ibid, pg. 249). Their minds and hearts were captive to the word of God alone! 

And this was the heart of the Protest that caused men and women to be called Protestants. Their protest was that "We will stand for truth that is based on the Word of God. The Bible and the Bible only is our only infallible guide and we will take our stand on its enduring truths." This Protest is not over. The battle over truth marches on. The truths under fire may change with each generation. But the battle is still the same. Will we live by EVERY word that proceeds from the mouth of God? Will we be loyal to all of God's commandments? Will we hold fast to the confession of our faith without wavering?

May we say as Luther once did, "To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other. So help me God. Amen."