Welcome to Hold Fast!
Welcome to my new blog!
I’ve named this little corner of the Internet "Hold Fast." This is a command found throughout the Bible – to hold fast to one’s wife, to the Christian faith, to what one has been taught, and finally to God Himself.
In a world gone mad, filled with terror and crime, depraved and unjust, Christians are called to be a light in the darkness. We are called to show the hope we have in Christ. This requires an ironclad commitment to the truth found in the Bible – the message of humanity’s wickedness, God’s resolve to punish all wrongdoing, the work of Christ to pay the price for the sins of those who believe, the promise of salvation by God’s grace through faith, and the hope of resurrection and eternal life for God’s people.
This is not a popular message. Even within the church, increasing numbers of people are uncomfortable with the clear, hard message God has for humanity. The temptation to compromise our beliefs in exchange for acceptance and tolerance by our sinful, fallen world will be strong. It is more and more attractive to downplay the tougher elements of the Christian message – the reality of hell and eternal punishment, the fact that Christ is the ONLY way to God, the requirement for men to confess and repent of the sins in their lives, and the call to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Christ.
This we cannot do. For the sake of God’s glory, for the sake of the Cross, for the sake of the world around us, we MUST present our message clearly and completely, regardless of the consequences.
So why the address "against-the-world?"
In the early centuries of the Church, a man in Alexandria, Egypt, by the name of Athanasius, stood for God’s truth. In his day, the majority of the teachers in the Church were denying that Christ was fully God, that He had always existed – indeed, denied God’s nature, the Trinity, itself. Athanasius was banished from his city no less than six times, and never gave up his dogged fight for truth.
When he died, the heretics of the day were still immensely powerful. Yet by the grace of God, Athanasius’ firm stand for truth was heard. Today, the Church fearlessly teaches that there is one God, in three Persons.
Athanasius was not a popular man. In his day, he was called "Athanasius contra mundum" – Athanasius against the world.
Christ calls us to stand firm. Christ calls us to stand against the world.
There’s more to come. Hold fast.
I’ve named this little corner of the Internet "Hold Fast." This is a command found throughout the Bible – to hold fast to one’s wife, to the Christian faith, to what one has been taught, and finally to God Himself.
In a world gone mad, filled with terror and crime, depraved and unjust, Christians are called to be a light in the darkness. We are called to show the hope we have in Christ. This requires an ironclad commitment to the truth found in the Bible – the message of humanity’s wickedness, God’s resolve to punish all wrongdoing, the work of Christ to pay the price for the sins of those who believe, the promise of salvation by God’s grace through faith, and the hope of resurrection and eternal life for God’s people.
This is not a popular message. Even within the church, increasing numbers of people are uncomfortable with the clear, hard message God has for humanity. The temptation to compromise our beliefs in exchange for acceptance and tolerance by our sinful, fallen world will be strong. It is more and more attractive to downplay the tougher elements of the Christian message – the reality of hell and eternal punishment, the fact that Christ is the ONLY way to God, the requirement for men to confess and repent of the sins in their lives, and the call to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Christ.
This we cannot do. For the sake of God’s glory, for the sake of the Cross, for the sake of the world around us, we MUST present our message clearly and completely, regardless of the consequences.
So why the address "against-the-world?"
In the early centuries of the Church, a man in Alexandria, Egypt, by the name of Athanasius, stood for God’s truth. In his day, the majority of the teachers in the Church were denying that Christ was fully God, that He had always existed – indeed, denied God’s nature, the Trinity, itself. Athanasius was banished from his city no less than six times, and never gave up his dogged fight for truth.
When he died, the heretics of the day were still immensely powerful. Yet by the grace of God, Athanasius’ firm stand for truth was heard. Today, the Church fearlessly teaches that there is one God, in three Persons.
Athanasius was not a popular man. In his day, he was called "Athanasius contra mundum" – Athanasius against the world.
Christ calls us to stand firm. Christ calls us to stand against the world.
There’s more to come. Hold fast.
posted by Jeff Jones | 7/27/2005 03:34:00 PM
1 Comments:
welcome! :)
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