“Hold Fast What Is Good!”
Opening Thought
– God is Light and in Him is no Darkness!
1 John 1:5-7
“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that
God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and
do not practice the truth.
7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all
sin.”
Light is
the most fundamental and essential form of energy in the universe and is
part of the building blocks of virtually every known phenomenon in the
universe.
It is also
the scriptural description of truth in all intellectual and moral realms.
Note the expectation of all of us who wish to abide with God:
1 John 2:3-6
“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4
He who
says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the
truth is not in him.
5
But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By
this we know that we are in Him.
6
He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
We were
created in Christ Jesus for good works –
Ephesians 2:10.
God is
Holy, thus we must be holy –
1 Peter 1:16.
God is
Light, thus we; His children must cling to what is good! Good has been
revealed and given to us (a literal system of provision):
2 Timothy 3:16-17
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness,
17
that
the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
1 John 5:3
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His
commandments are not burdensome.”
This system
of provision for all that is good, light, and truth establishes the child of
God with a foundation of righteousness which protects, chastises, and
encourages them in hope. This foundation is everything to life and godliness
– 2
Peter 1:3.
The Truth
of Entropy
– This is
an English word that has its roots in the Greek, ‘Entrophe’;
which is from two root words: ‘En’
– inward, and ‘Trope’ –
transformation. In the New Testament, the word is used to describe, “To turn
one upon himself and so produce a feeling of shame”.
1 Corinthians 6:5
– Paul said, “I say this to your
entrophe – shame”.
1 Corinthians 15:34
– Paul again said, “I speak this to
your entrophe – shame”.
The English
word describes disorder in any given system!
The
universal law of increasing entropy states, every system tends to
disintegrate into disorder or confusion if left to itself, or without a
true, reproducible guide!
Without an
established order, there is chaos!
James 3:16
“For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil
thing are there.”
This
establishes the vital importance of an established order, a universal guide
which prevents turning in upon oneself and or universally the entire body
(which we are each individual members of –
Romans
12:4-5;
1 Corinthians 12:12-13;
Ephesians 4:16;
Colossians 2:19).
Hold Fast
What is Good
– Now we are ready to talk about the importance of holding fast what is
good!
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
“Test all things; hold fast what is good.
22
Abstain from every form of evil.”
This being
the first letter of the Apostle Paul to Christians, would for the first time
in writing offer a series of exhortations (charges to do their duty). After
they had engaged in proving what is good or not, the simple instruction
tells these Christians to hold on to the good, and eject the bad.
The words
“Hold fast” actually come from a
single Greek word, “Katecho”,
which in many other cases is translated,
“Hold Firmly”, or
“Keep”.
Paul gave
these instructions knowing the hearts of most of these brethren:
-
That their love would soon wax feeble, as ours does from time to time.
-
That their faith would waiver, as ours does from time to time.
-
That their zeal would soon fail to keep pace, as ours does from time to
time.
-
That none of these members of this body of Christ, being fallible, were
beyond decay and the influence of the evil one, just as we are today!
-
Paul
knew that these Christians were under siege from persecutors (1:6;
2:14;
3:3), just we are today!
-
Paul
knew that they would be betrayed by false friends from within (4:3-6;
5:14;
2 Thessalonians 3:6,
14),
just as we are today!
Yet, Paul
also knew that through incessant prayer (Vs.
17), a continuing stream of Spirit guidance (Vs.
19), testing everything against the established good of truth (Vs.
21), they could hold onto the good! This was a trust in the
order, wisdom, and power that comes from God to us, through the doctrine of
Christ, which Paul speaks of often:
1 Thessalonians 4:1-2
“Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you
should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to
walk and to please God;
2
for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.”
Note:
The English translation in this particular passage is interesting. Instead
of “holding fast” or
“keep”, the translators in this
passage based on the context have chosen to use two words
“Hold Fast”.
What is the
significance of these terms? Well
“Hold Fast” is also a title for a wood working tool used on a wood
working bench. It was used to fix a work piece to another, until permanence
is established!
Hold Fasts
looked like shepherd hooks, and fastened a piece of wood to a master piece
tightly, until it was firmly secured. It has been replaced by C-Clamps
today. Now based on the translators understanding of the purpose of this
tool, and the context of Paul’s instruction; now you know the rest of the
story!
Concluding
Thoughts
– The source of all good is the revealed word of God!
-
We were created in Christ for good works –
Ephesians 2:10.
-
We are to be zealous for good works –
Titus 2:14.
-
We are to be purified and transformed by the
word
– Romans 12:1-2.
-
We cannot be children of God keep anything
other than His word –
1 John 2:3-6.
Scripture
speaks of works in this fashion:
-
Works of the flesh,
born of the lusts of the flesh, eyes, and pride of life; always
condemned in scripture –
Galatians 5:19-21;
1 John 2:15-17.
-
Works of the Law,
always referring to the works of the Law of Moses; emphasized by
circumcision and the traditions of Moses that were trying to be
introduced into the church and the doctrine of Christ by Judaizing
teachers –
Acts 15:5;
Galatians 2:16. The complete abrogation (doing away with
power) of the Old Law is emphasized in the New Testament as a system of
righteousness –
Colossians 2:14;
Hebrews 7:12,
18-19;
8:13;
10:9. It remains to us a teacher
of the character of God, and a school of types and shadows that enhance
our understanding of the Christian dispensation –
Romans 15:4;
Galatians 3:24;
Hebrews 3:7-4:1.
-
Meritorious Works,
born in the minds of the Gentiles and idolaters that often thought that
by some great victory in battle, or saving a city or village, etc… they
could achieve a greater place in the after-life (by their own hands).
The salvation of man is the soul prevue of God through Jesus Christ; the
only name by which we must be saved (Acts
4:12). The method of our salvation, which only God could
provide and accept, is not ours to create –Ephesians
2:8-9; however, not to be confused with the expected
obedience that God has rendered necessary on our part to access the gift
of our redemption
– Acts 2:38,
42,
3:19;
8:12-13,
36-38;
9:6,
18;
etc…
-
Good Works
– These are defined in the doctrine of Christ as the commands of God –
Philippians 2:13
“for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good
pleasure.”
James 1:22
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
1 John 2:29
“If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices
righteousness is born of Him.”
With the
testing process concluded, we can draw the clear conclusion that it is the
“Good Works” revealed in God’s
word that we are to be affixed to, until permanence is achieved!!!
The universal truth of this lesson is that if we are so busy testing and
doing what is right, we have far less time and energy for what is wrong!!!