Can you defend the faith? What do you believe? Do you think you should defend your beliefs?
In Philippians 1:3-7 the apostle Paul was in prison for the sake of preaching the Gospel. He wrote, “…inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.” Paul was not concerned about his imprisonment because he knew there was a greater cause, the salvation of souls! In verses 8-19 he continues to exhort the believers not to lose heart because of an apparent set back. “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
Even though the great crusader was chained, the Gospel he preached was NEVER chained. In fact, many who may have been shy or afraid to speak were now emboldened because of Paul’s great example. This caused the Gospel to be carried on no matter what kind of persecutions would come to the church. That was then…
What about us? Have we “earnestly contend[ed] for the faith once delivered?”-Jude 3.
Can we know what faith is? Yes. The bible defines faith as, “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”(Heb. 11:1. If you can desire and expect something that you have never yet seen, that’s faith. Faith is another word for belief. To have faith is to have belief and vice versa. How and where do we center our faith? The answer: in our belief of the Gospel. Does it matter what we believe? Answer: Yes. Anything other than the Gospel cannot produce a faith that saves.
When a child is learning to walk, he or she will often pull up on furniture and carefully grasp to keep from falling. As a person becomes elderly, again he or she will grasp onto handrails, furniture and walking aids to keep from falling. Both young and old alike will also want a clear path to their goal. The spiritual walk is no different. We walk by faith and defend our steps toward our salvation. (2 Cor. 5:1-11)
We must learn to submit to the teaching found in God’s Word and fit within it, not make it fit our own ideals (Gal. 1:3-12). The Christian must willingly fight against the world’s influence by knowing the difference between fleshly and spiritual things. Blurring the lines between the two will only lead to failure and defeat.
Our Savior died for the defense of the Gospel and asks us to deny ourselves and carry our own crosses. Revelation 2:10 tells us to be faithful to the point of death. This kind of language surely indicates a necessity to cling to one deliberate faith. Read Ephesians 4:1-6.
Do not be afraid of the world (1 Pet. 3:13-16). Christ, not the world, is our Savior now but He will be our Judge later (Acts 10:33-43). We have been given everything we need to defend the faith (Eph. 6:10-18 & 2 Tim. 3:12-17).
We have been called to this glorious Gospel. Let us hold fast to it!! “…to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.” 2 Thess. 2:14-17.
CED