Colossians 1:23

Once Paul has established that Jesus is not a lesser God or emanation, that His death on the cross is the means of our reconciliation, and through His death, we can be presented to God covered with the righteousness of Christ, he turns the focus onto what these Colossian believers can do

…if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. Colossians 1:23 NIV

Namely, Paul encourages these believers to persevere (not quit) in their faith. But it is worth noting today just exactly in what “faith” does Paul desire for these believers to continue? This is a very important question for us in the 21st century as well as for the Colossian church. For these Colossian believers, Paul wanted them to continue in “the gospel that you heard and has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven”.

The Colossian believers didn’t have the New Testament and most likely didn’t have daily access to the books of the Old Testament. They had to trust the teachings of their leaders and full back on what they have been taught about Jesus and salvation from the founding of the church. We can understand how they might be susceptible to false teaching since they couldn’t reference the Bible any time they wanted.

For us, we have ready access to the Bible in dozens of translations. We literally have no excuse for not knowing the word of God and not staying faithful to its teachings. The culture of the 1st century attempted to influence the early church and the culture of the 21st century is working like a tidal wave against the church today. This is why Paul encouraged these believers not “to move away from the hope held out in the gospel”. The church throughout the ages has had to stand against the influence and infiltration of the culture. Some churches and denominations have moved away from the gospel of the Bible but let us not ever forget the encouragement to stand on God’s word and persevere in our faith. Let us not be moved!!

Questions to consider:
In what ways is our modern culture trying to influence and infiltrate our churches today?
What does it look like in your mind to not “move from the hope held out in the gospel”?
Ask God today to help you continue in your faith and move away from the true teachings of the Bible.