SAVED CHRISTIANS ARE EXHORTED TO CONTINUE IN THE FAITH
"But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 3:14,15. KJV.
Receiving God's free gift of salvation through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, by the death of His cross, no doubt, it is the greatest miracle that can take place in the life of sinner, and that is because when a sinner is saved, he passes from eternal death unto eternal life!
But as wonderful as that may be, once saved, we are exhorted by God's Word to continue in the faith of the holy Scriptures.
Thank God for the holy Scriptures, the 66 books and epistles of the completed Bible! The holy Scriptures are not only able to make people who believe in them wise unto salvation [to receive God's gift of salvation], but also when we continue in them, as we are exhorted, they help us to be rooted, grounded, settled, and established in the Faith, and every saved Christian needs to be established in the Faith!
Unfortunately, this great truth of the precious Word of God, to continue in the Faith, has been perverted by the advocates of the "eternal security" doctrine, which contrary to the Scriptures they teach "once saved always saved" regardless if one continues in the Faith or not, and as a result, they have done, and continue to do a great deal of serious spiritual damage in the lives of many believers.
But contrary to what they teach and preach, as we see in the verses quoted in this article, as well as in many other verses throughout God's Word, the Bible, we are commanded by God's Word to continue in the Faith that we might grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord, and be established in the Faith!
For those who do not obey the command of the Lord to continue in the Faith, who would rather remain "babes" in Christ as the Corinthian Christians were, and "children", God's Word states that such are: "tossed to and from, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." Ephesians 4:14. In other words, they will be carried about by every wind of false doctrine, and they will be deceived!
Being saved is one thing, and continuing in the Faith is another, and we are not only exhorted, but also commanded by God's Word to continue in the Faith, and to be grounded and settled in it.
The sad thing in our apostate and lukewarm age, is that many who claim they have been saved, for different reasons, they do not continue in the Faith, nor do they have a desire to do so, and as a result, the consequences are tragic as many are in different ways deceived and fall victims to the great apostasy of our time!
God's will for His people is:
"...to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight." And in order for that to happen, WE MUST CONTINUE IN THE FAITH.
"If ye continue in the Faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, as ye have heard.." Colossians 1:22,23.
May the Lord help us to continue in the Faith, that we might be the people He wants us to be, "holy, unblameable, and unreproveable in His sight".
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