The steadfast Christian is the very best of the
Savior’s family. This person is unwavering in their dedication to God. They are
committed for life because everything else has been abandoned and their bridges
have been burnt. This Christian is totally loyal and can be depended upon in
any and all situations. Every steadfast follower of Jesus Christ will gladly be
faithful unto death. Many different things can contribute to this most
excellent life style. This proposal will use the word “stead” to outline its
recommendations. Webster says that this word means “a place, occupied by a
substitute”. In other words, in the case of a Christian, something has taken
the place of our old nature. Our old fallen nature will always fail when we
depend on it for our righteousness. Yes, in salvation we do receive a new
nature and it has great potential. But we do not automatically become “a
steadfast person”. Hopefully, we can learn something about building a faithful
life as we construct an acrostic with the word “STEAD.”
“Seeing”
the purpose of God in our life. Do we believe that our life can be steadfast?
When the children of Israel were told to enter the Promised Land they refused.
They were afraid and could not see what God was offering to them. A Christian
must “see” or believe that Jesus through the Spirit will grow their new life
into a powerhouse of steadfastness. Can we believe, without doubt, that God’s
power can operate inside of us: Work hard to show the results of
your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you
the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Phil 2:12-13 (NLT) After the men of Israel all died in
the wilderness, their children came again to the Promised Land. This time they
believed God and poured into the Land, conquering everything in their path. My
friends, do we stand in front of our new life with a fear that keeps us from
being a great Christian. If we have been in the wilderness for any length of
time then let us rise up and believe that God will give us victories as we live
a great Christian life. “Seeing is believing.”
“Trusting” the Spirit of Christ completely. We
all say “I trust Jesus” but then we go about our life and do not obey His
commands. We are not being obedient when we live our life in some worldly
pattern that blends in with everyone else. When we follow the savior we will
stand apart. How can we really trust Jesus when we are not living in the way He
wants for us? The trusting life that Jesus wants for us is about how well we
obey Him. Someone said that the most we will ever be like Jesus is when we are
obeying God completely. We show our trust in Jesus when we obey in the same way
He did. Trust Jesus to make us faithful by the power of the Spirit. Step out in
faith and obey every day. Although we don’t live our new life for rewards,
Jesus made it clear that trusting in Him through obedience is of great value.
One of His parables says: “Well done!’
the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you
will be governor of ten cities as your reward.” Luke 19:17 (NLT) The Spirit
of Christ is continually telling us what God wants and we must learn to trust
Him with our life.
“Expecting” victory in our life is necessary.
Sitting in church and believing God will be victorious is easy but accomplishes
nothing. But it will take courage to get up and do something in faith,
expecting that God will guide us into victory. We cannot be steadfast if we do
not expect victory’s in faith. If we have any sin in our life we may have some
victory but God will not accept any glory from it. A Christian must only expect
a victory that brings glory to God. Paul told some Christians that; As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your
generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the
Good News of Christ. 2 Cor 9:13 (NLT) In this verse we also observe that
the expected victory brings glory because these people were obedient to God.
Many people today feel that just living a regular life is all that is necessary
for God. That is not good enough. Paul said: I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I
have already reached perfection. But I
press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed
me. Phil 3:12 (NLT) We must push forward in faith and live for God like we
mean it. Victories are possible.
“Accepting” the life that God has for us. Many
people have studied the Bible and know everything about living for God. But
they are not doing it. It seems that only a few believers have accepted the
Gospel as their complete way of life. Most people today have been sidetracked
into things of this world that interest them. We only have one life to live and
when it is over only the life lived in God will have any meaning. It would be a
terrible thing to end this life with an eternity of regret. Accepting the new
life takes bravery and certainly the help of God. Jesus said that the new life would be possible: Righteousness is available because I go to
the Father, and you will see me no more… When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. John
16:10-13 (NLT) The Spirit stands ready to help if we will only allow his
ways into our life. It is important
to our salvation that we accept the responsibilities of our new life. Every
Christian at some point in time must accept the role as their brother’s keeper.
To deny this role is to tear the heart out of our local church.
“Desire” is the power that drives
Christians. The requirements of our new life cannot be met with our own power. We
must have the desire that the Spirit can generate inside of us. Why were the
sick that Jesus healed so ready to trust Him? Those people knew their own
helpless position and they desired a change in their life. My friend, if we
want to live with God our position is absolutely hopeless unless we become His
servant. There must be a pure desire in us in order to serve God and to please
Him. Real faith is only as strong as our desire. We can improve our desire by
obeying everything Jesus has told us. As we are obeying, the Spirit in us gives
us more desire because this is one of the reasons He lives in us. This brings
us back to steadfast Christians. May the Lord show us how that a righteous life
is a great plan! Also, that we must get up and do things fully believing that
the Spirit will lead us. May we expect the Lord to work in our life if we
accept everything the Spirit has for us. We should be able to say, “I long to
serve God and with my whole heart I will seek Him.”
