Are you a "stable" Christian?
In Colossians 1 we read some wonderful truths of reconciliation with a potentially scary caveat.
The truth:
vs. 21 & 22 We were before alienated from God, hostile toward him in our minds, and doing evil deeds. Now, however, due to Christ’s work on the cross on our behalf, he presents us holy, blameless, and above reproach to the Father. That is glorious news about reconciliation for which we have done nothing.
The caveat:
vs 23 This reality is true for us only “IF we continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel.”
This caveat can be potentially very scary for good hearted Christians who are very sensitive to their still-sinful state. They don’t feel stable. They face moral failures, fluctuating emotions, and seasons of spiritual dryness. They certainly don’t feel holy, blameless, or above reproach. They are worried that they aren’t stable enough or steadfast enough…and maybe never will be.
I would like to give two words to help understand this caveat:
Position and Profession
Position
Possibly you are thinking of your “stability” similarly to that scene from Cliff Hanger: Sylvester Stallone is holding on with one hand and always doing something else with the other. He is the hero and he doesn’t let us down. We think of ourselves as hanging onto Christ but unlike Sly, the Italian Stallion, our strength is small even when we’re at our best.
Paul, however, is alluding to a specific parable that Christ told to conclude his Sermon on the Mount. The language he uses demands that we have this picture in our minds: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” This is the picture of a stable and steadfast faith that doesn’t shift with the winds of life.
The position of the house on the rock is what made it stand stable and steadfast. It was NOT THE QUALITY of the house that was built. Paul is not saying, “If you will try really hard to be stable and steadfast, then this good news of reconciliation will be true for you. But work hard to build and we’ll see in the end if your house passes muster.” No. He is saying, if this house of yours, however battered by life’s winds, is built on the rock of Christ, if you don’t move your house, your life from that position on Christ, then this good news of reconciliation is true for you. We are built on Christ the rock, not hanging on to Christ the rock.
Your standing with God is all about what your life is built on not how well you are doing at building your life day to day. Your position with God is based on your position in Christ.
Profession
Second, notice the language of “shifting”. Anywhere there is a new movement there is a lot of excitement and shifting. In Colossae this was surely true. Many people had come into this new community of Christ followers with enthusiasm and then quickly shifted… maybe a week later, maybe a month later, maybe a year later. They decided that Christ and his cross aren’t really their “cup of tea” and they’d go back to the idols they were praying to before or perhaps on to the next trend.
Paul wants the Colossian Christians to know that they should have no faith in the profession of these in-one-minute and out-the-next people. This was certainly true of the ministry of Jesus when many professed faith in him (John 2) and then a few short weeks later walked away from him when they realized that they weren’t going to get free lunches forever (John 6).
This is certainly a timely word for today when certain denominations of the American church have taught that if you will pray a prayer and be baptized then you are saved regardless of the endurance of your faith. Many parents I have met believe their adult children are saved because of a childhood profession though that adult child has no evident love for Christ. This is an American heresy that is far from biblical reality.
Conclusion
Let, then, this caveat be a comfort to the sensitive of heart. If you love Jesus and you are building your house on him, your rock, then you are secure in Him and his work, no matter the quality of carpentry of your house or the strength of materials.
And let this caveat be a warning to those hard-hearted abusers of grace who would think they can jump in, get their extra bonus of eternal life secure, and jump out to live the rest of their lives for self. Let this caveat be a warning to young people who grew up in church. The gospel isn’t something to jump into and out of. It is the rock solid foundation for you to build all of your life and eternity on.
Do not shift away from the hope of the gospel! Plant your roots down deep, deep, deep. Christ is our stability not the strength by which we are holding on.