If you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. -Colossians 1:23
The Bible says that Paul’s desire was for the believers to become established and firm. The question is, established and firm in what? And the answer is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Just as Paul desired help them to stand firm in the faith, we too desire that followers of Christ stand firm and become solidly grounded in the faith. Folks in the church ought to be encouraged to seek and put to use their spiritual gifts given to them by the Lord. The more we serve Christ, and the more we explore and put to use our spiritual gifts, the more established we become in the faith. We are meant to become established in the faith; that is an ever-present safeguard that keeps us from falling away.
Someone may read this and think, "What kind of weak Christian does he think I am? I won’t fall away! I won’t stop following Christ! I would never deny the Lord Jesus! Not me – never!" My response to all of that is, really? I believe a disciple named Simon Peter said pretty much the same thing; he swore that he would never deny or abandon the Lord (Matthew 26:31-25). “"Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." he said. And yet, when the time came, Peter not only abandoned Jesus, but he also denied Him three times. Let’s not grow smug or overconfident. By the grace of God we stand firm in the faith. Anytime I hear of someone who has fallen away from God or gotten their lives off track I think, “But by the grace of God go I.”
Understand that having questions and maybe even having some doubts is not necessarily falling away. Many followers of Christ have questions and they have doubts; that does not make you an apostate. The power of God in our lives doesn’t push us away, but the power of God brings us in and holds us close – even in those times when we are having doubts and questions. I don’t mean to sound glib, but let me put it this way; you’ve got questions, God has answers. You have doubts, God can bring assurance. I was reading an article recently, and the writer, an unbeliever, said that the reason he didn’t believe in God was because you can’t prove the existence of God. And I thought, well for Heaven’s sake! That’s it?! That is what is keeping you from accepting Christ?! Believing and trusting in the Lord is all about faith. The Bible says that the righteous will live by faith (Romans 1:17, Hebrews 11:1). I can’t prove to an atheist that God exists. All I can do is let him see Jesus in me.
