WATCH

by Kevin Rutherford

Living as a faithful Christian is not always easy. Satan will do all that he can in his attempts to prevent us from going to heaven (1 Peter 5:8). Satan will work against individual Christians and the church through false doctrine, immoral behavior, covetousness, pride, strife, etc. We must be determined not to let him win. We must have the attitude commanded by Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:13, 14. Paul said, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.”

Paul said we must “watch.” To watch is to be alert. We must not be lulled into spiritual sleep, because as soon as we do the devil will gain ground (Romans 13:11-14). Paul told us we “must stand fast in the faith.” To do so means we will stand firmly upon the Word of God without compromise, and we will do this with courage and strength. We must always be alert, we must always stand for the truth, and we must never give in to the devil.

It is important for us not to look at 1 Corinthians 16:13 and ignore verse fourteen. While we must stand strongly for what is right we must do so with love. Paul said, “Let all that you do be done with love.” When we oppose error, we do so with love. When we resist and oppose sin, we do so with love. Love for God, love for the lost, and love for our brethren makes us much stronger. In fact, love is a motivational force which helps us to “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”