1 Corinthians 1:8-9 – “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
I know that beards are making quite the comeback these days, but every day, no matter what, like most men, I shave. Many women do too. Perhaps you shaved at one time, but that doesn’t mean that you are “shaved” now. You have to work at being “shaved”. You may profess a belief in shaving, but faith without regular works of shaving, shaves no one. Shaving is a tricky business, you need to “hold fast” when you shave. You have to work out your shaving with fear and trembling. And lastly, he who shaves to the end will be shaved.
I’m smiling as I write this because, apparently, shaving and being saved have much in common…you have to work hard at both…at least that’s what some people think.
On the contrary. When you are secure in your Father’s love, He holds you, He keeps you, He will never let you go, ever. But many are not secure. They’ve been told that they have to abide, continue, hold fast to the end, overcome, obey, endure and lots of other things to stay saved. Naturally, this unsettles people. “What if I don’t do what God expects of me?” “What if I stumble?” One of the main reasons that people are insecure about their salvation is that they don’t see salvation as a person. They treat the gift of salvation as though it comes in a box. If you don’t hold onto it, you may lose it. Or like your car keys, you can misplace your salvation if you are not careful. Salvation is not a box or a thing, it’s a Person. “It is Christ living in you”, Colossians 3:4, “Christ Who is your life”.
Have you ever broken a promise or failed to keep your word? You probably have. Now you know why some people are worried they may fail God. They made a commitment to follow the Lord, but the pattern of their lives reveal a consistent inability to deliver. They have good days when they feel they are serving with their whole heart, and they have bad days when they feel like a failure. The problem is, they are standing on the commitment and promises they have made to God when they ought to be standing on the Rock Solid promises He’s made to us.
In 1 Corinthians 1:8-9, Paul is addressing the church in Corinth, which you might say were…pretty scandalous. Yet, he clearly said, “He will keep you firm to the end”. You are blameless because Jesus is blameless.
1 Corinthians 1:21-22 says, “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (NIV). The word guarantee means a down payment, or pledge. God has more good stuff planned for us, guaranteed, to the end. It’s not about us folks! It’s about Him. Be secure! In Him!