Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (ESV)

[13] Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. [14] Let all that you do be done in love.

Just yesterday I read the news that the lead singer of a Canadian Christian Band made the announcement that he no longer believes in God. He grew up in church as a preacher’s kid. He has written some great, biblical songs. Yet he has lost his faith. I appreciated the fact that people responded not by attacking him, but in love. Still, it grieves me to hear this. What happened?

There are several possible answers, and it is not my intention to address them here. I do not know him or his background well enough to even guess. But it does highlight the importance of the verses quoted above. “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Cor 16:13). Hebrews 11:13 says of those who had faith in God, “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” The Apostle Peter warned, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1 Pet 2:11). As believers, we are strangers, sojourners, and exiles in a land that is not home.

We are spies in a foreign land, and as such, we need to be watchful. There are dangers on all sides. Legalism is just as destructive as license. Standing for truth can move from faithfulness to arrogance and antagonism. Accepting others as they are can move from love to turning a blind eye to sin. “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” 1 Cor 9:22), can become wishy washy or fake. “Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), can become judgmentalism and coercion. Truth taken out of balance is not truth. Additionally, we have an enemy. “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8). The Apostle John warns in 1 John 2:18-19,

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

We are spies in a foreign land, and as such, we need to be watchful. There are dangers on all sides. Still, Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18). And so, we are encouraged to “be watchful,” to “stand firm in the faith,” to “act like men,” to “be strong.” And to “let all that [we] do be done in love” (1 Cor 16:13-14).

“Be watchful.” Be aware of the dangers, the lies, the distortions of truth that swirl around us. “Stand firm in the faith.” We do not stand firm in our resolve, or in our own faithfulness, but in the faith. We stand firm in that which we have believed. We stand firm in the truth of the gospel and the truth of who God is. “Act like men.” Courage seems to be the idea connected with acting like men. Do not allow fear to drive you or cow you. When Joshua took over leadership of Israel from Moses, he was tasked with leading the people into a land they had never seen. God encouraged him, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Josh 1:9). “Be strong.” We have no strength in ourselves, but our strength is in the Lord. Isaiah 12:2 says, “The LORD GOD is my strength.” It is in the indwelling Holy Spirit that we find strength. Learn to trust him and rest in his power. When we neglect these truths, we become bitter or disillusioned, angry or judgmental, discouraged or depressed. But, when we learn to live by these truths, we can do everything in love.