Stand Firm

[Read 1 Peter 5:12-14]

The Christian life is not easy. It’s not sunshine and roses. It’s not walking on fluffy clouds of cotton candy. It’s hard at times. 

Yet, for some reason, we don’t like to talk about the Christian life this way. We often want to portray the Christian life as easy. We want people to think that once they become a Christian everything will go smoothly and all their problems will be solved. Sometimes we do this because we feel like we need to give a sales-pitch about the Christian life, trying to convince people to believe. We become like “As Seen On TV” salesmen, trying to convince people that the Gospel is going to solve all their problems—and they don’t even have to pay $19.99, it’s free. 

Yet, Jesus didn’t speak about the Christian life this way. He said, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:14, ESV). He also said, “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’” (Luke 14:27–30, NIV). The way that leads to eternal life—the Christian life—is HARD and Jesus tells us that we need to count the cost. We need to count the cost so we can finish the race and not stop short of the finish line.

As we run this race, we need to be aware that it’s longer than a marathon. We will encounter hills and valleys in this race. We will have to ford rivers in this race. There will be bandits and robbers along the way. There will be traps laid out for us. We will be injured. We will lose our way at times. There will be moments when we are tired, exhausted, and despairing of ever finishing the race. We will lose hope. 

I’ve never run a Marathon before (I’d rather ride my bike), but I’ve heard that most runners hit a wall somewhere between miles 18 and 22. I saw a meme this week that read, “At mile 20 I thought I was dead. At mile 22 I wished I was dead. At mile 24 I knew I was dead.” This is a typical experience for marathon runners at this point in the race. So, what happens that helps them finish the race when they think they are dead? Fans are strategically placed at these miles to cheer them on and encourage them. There are people throughout the race, but from miles 18-22 there are more fans and they’re louder. They’re screaming, “You can do it. Come on! You can finish. You’re almost there! Push through. Keep your eyes on the people in front of you. They’re still going. You can too!” Often, this is just enough of a boost to help the runners keep going and finish the race. 

We need this in the Christian life too. The Bible calls this exhortation and witness. Because the Christian life is hard—and there will be times when we “think we’re dead”—we need exhortation and witness to help us finish the race. We WILL NOT finish the race without them. 

This is why Peter is writing to these Christians. He says, “With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying…” (1 Peter 5:12, NIV). Peter is writing this letter in order to encourage and testify to the church as they run a difficult race. He wants to strengthen them and give them hope in the midst of a difficult time. 

Witness is really important in the Christian life. A witness is someone who is pointing away from themselves to something else. So, when we witness to Christ, we are pointing away from ourselves to Christ. 

When we think about finishing a marathon, witness is really important. When the fans are yelling from the sidelines, “Keep your eyes on the person in front of you. They’re not stopping. They’re still going. They’re finishing the race.” They’re helping the runner turn their eyes/mind away from themself to something else—another runner. As you do that, you stop focusing on yourself and your pain/struggle, but keep running the race. There’s something inside you that says, “If they can do this, so can I.” 

That’s the power of witness. We look beyond ourselves and our situation to the way God is working in the lives of other people. Then, we end up applying that back to our life saying, “If God is working in that person’s life, then He is probably working in my life. If God can support them through that difficulty, then God can support me through this difficulty.”

We benefit from the power of witness in a couple ways. 

First, we benefit from the power of witness through scripture. That’s what the entire book is about—pointing us to the works of God amongst his people, showing us how God worked in people’s lives in the midst of a variety of situations, helping us to see that God will never leave us nor forsake us. This is why it’s so important for us to keep reading our bibles—especially in the midst of difficult times. When things are going poorly, we need to read stories about how God walked with other people through poor situations. We need to be reminded of God’s faithfulness. We NEED this witnesses to finish the race. We need to be reading, studying, and meditating on scripture if we want to finish the race. We need to be strengthened and encouraged by it. Regular bible reading is NECESSARY for us to finish the race. 

Second, we benefit from the power of witness from the Body of Christ. God is still working in his people. He is still leading his people through the valley of the shadow of death and into green pastures and beside quiet waters. He’s still with us working. It’s important that we tell each other these stories from our lives. It’s important that we witness—pointing away from ourselves to God. We need to be regularly telling stories that begin with “I was in this difficult situation…” and includes “this is how God walked with me through it.” That’s witnessing. It’s as simply as telling stories of the works of God in your life. As we do that with one another in the Body of Christ, we strengthen each other to finish the race. Again, we are reminded, “If God walked with Deanne (or Jerry or Tom) through that difficult situation, then He will walk with me too.” 

Peter also says that he wrote to the church to EXHORT them. I always tell people that exhorting falls somewhere between encourage and rebuke. Typically when we think of someone encouraging someone, we think of someone softly and gently offering encouragement. Typically when we think of someone rebuking someone, we think of a harsher, sharper interaction. Exhortation falls somewhere in between those poles. The Greek word for exhortation actually means to be “called alongside.” 

I was watching a documentary a couple weeks ago, and saw a great example of exhortation—being called alongside. This guy was in this insane Race Across America on his bike. They ride 3000 miles across the United States in 7-10 days. It’s crazy. At one point in the race, this guy was so tired he was falling asleep while riding his bike. His legs were shot. He didn’t feel like he could pedal anymore. Yet, he had to make it to a checkpoint before midnight or he would be disqualified. So, his support team took turns running alongside him on his bike. They were doing more than just encouraging—“You can do it”—and they weren’t rebuking him—“You’re weak!” As they ran alongside him, they exhorted him saying, “Keep pedaling. Keep your eyes forward. Don’t stop. Stay straight. Left. Right. Left. Right.” Then, when one got tired, another would hop out of the van and start running alongside him until he reached the checkpoint. 

Just like witness, we need exhortation if we’re going to finish the race of the Christian life. We need more than the Christian radio slogan of “uplifting and encouraging” and we need more than rebuke. We need exhortation. We need people running alongside us saying, “Take another step forward. Keep your eyes on Christ. Finish the race. Don’t quit. Left. Right. Left. Right. Stay on the path. Stop thinking about yourself and keep looking forward.” We will never finish the race without it. 

Just like witness, we find exhortation in the Body of Christ and in Scripture. Yes, we need other believers walking alongside us exhorting us in the Christian life, but we also need the Holy Spirit inspired Scriptures. 

Did you know that one of the names of the Holy Spirit in the Bible is the Paraclete? Do you know what that means? It means, “One called alongside.” It’s the noun version of exhort. That means we could also call the Holy Spirit the Exhorter—the one running alongside us as we run the Christian life. One of the powerful ways the Holy Spirit exhorts us is through the Bible. In his second letter, Peter says, “For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21, NIV). As scripture was written, the writers were carried along by the Exhorter. So, all of scripture functions to exhort us in the Christian life—to come alongside us and carry us to the finish line. Regular Bible reading is NECESSARY for finishing the race of the Christian life. 

Then Peter gives the powerful command to the church. He says, “With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.” (1 Peter 5:12, NIV). Knowing that the Christian life is hard. Knowing that it’s easy to fall into despair or to slip into despair or sin, Peter says he wrote to them so that they would Stand Fast. He wrote so that they wouldn’t slip and fall. He wrote so that they wouldn’t sit down and quit. 

Yet, notice what he says about Standing Fast. He doesn’t say, “I wrote this so that you would Stand Firm in your own strength.” He didn’t say, “I know that the Christian life is difficult, so I wrote to you to tell you how strong you really are—that there’s strength deep within you.” Nope. He says, “This is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.” (1 Peter 5:12, NIV). The things he wrote in this letter are the TRUE GRACE OF GOD. Stand fast in that. Stand fast in the grace of God. Not your own strength. Not your own power. Not your own abilities. IN THE GRACE OF GOD! 

How do you do that? How do you stand firm in the grace of God? How do you finish the race in the grace of God? Here are two things. First you recognize that you are not strong enough to finish the race in your own strength. Then, you open your Bible and start reading, trusting that God will provide you strength and perseverance. As you read your Bible, you will come across stories witnessing to God’s faithfulness in the midst of difficulty. You will come across exhortations that help you put one led in front of the other. As you encounter these exhortations and witnesses in God’s Word, you begin to experience His grace and you begin to be firmed up to finish the race. So, read your bible and stand fast in the grace of God. 

Then, you go find someone to talk to. Talk to them about what you’re experiencing. Ask them to share a story about a similar experience. How did God walk with them through their difficult experience? What exhortations do they have for you in the midst of your own? Again, as you talk with a fellow believer, hearing stories of God’s faithfulness and exhortations, you will begin to experience the grace of God firming up your faith so that you can finish the race. So, fellowship with other Christians, tell stories, and stand fast in the grace of God. 

This is how we’ll finish the race of the Christian life—through Word and Fellowship. We have to hold tightly to both of these things. We need to cling to them like our lives depend on them—because our lives DO depend on them. When we find ourselves in situations where we don’t think we can take another step or don’t know which way to turn, we should turn to the Word of God and Fellowship for witness and exhortation. When we do, we will begin to experience the grace of God and stand firm.