The Watchword For Today–“Stand Fast”

The Watchword For Today–"Stand Fast"

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, APRIL 17, 1887,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"For our citizenship is in Heaven, from where, also, we look for the
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it
may be fashioned like unto His glorious body according to the working
whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. Therefore,
my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, standfast
in the Lord my dearly beloved." Philippians 3:20,21; 4:1.

EVERY doctrine of the Word of God has its practical bearing. As each
tree bears seed after its kind, so does every Truth of God bring forth
practical virtues. Hence you find the Apostle Paul very full of
"therefore"–his therefores being the conclusions drawn from certain
statements of Divine Truth. I marvel that our excellent translators
should have divided the argument from the conclusion by making a new
chapter where there is least reason for it.

Last Lord's Day I spoke with you concerning the most sure and certain
Resurrection of our Lord Jesus [#1958– The First Appearance of the
Risen Lord to the Eleven]–now there is a practical force in that Truth
of God which constitutes part of what is meant by, "the power of His
Resurrection." Since the Lord has risen and will surely come a second
time–and will raise the bodies of His people at His coming–there is
something to wait for and a grand reason for steadfastness while thus
waiting. We are looking for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ from Heaven and that He shall "fashion anew the body of our
humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of His Glory."
Therefore let us stand fast in the position which will secure us this
honor. Let us keep our posts until the coming of the great Captain
shall release the sentinels. The glorious resurrection will abundantly
repay us for all the toil and travail we may have to undergo in the
battle for the Lord. The Glory to be revealed even now casts a light
upon our path and causes sunshine within our hearts! The hope of this
happiness makes us even now strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might.

Paul was deeply anxious that those in whom he had been the means of
kindling the heavenly hope might be preserved faithful until the coming
of Christ. He trembled lest any of them should seem to draw back and
prove traitors to their Lord. He dreaded lest he should lose what he
hoped he had gained, by their turning aside from the faith. Hence he
beseeches them to "stand fast." He expressed in the sixth verse of the
first chapter his conviction that He who had begun a good work in them
would perform it, but his intense love made him exhort them, saying,
"Stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." By such exhortations,
final perseverance is promoted and secured.

Paul has fought bravely and, in the case of the Philippian converts, he
believes that he has secured the victory, but he fears lest it should
yet be lost. He reminds me of the death of that British hero, Wolfe,
who, on the heights of Quebec, received a mortal wound. It was just at
the moment when the enemy fled and when he knew that they were running,
a smile was on his face–and he cried, "Hold me up. Let not my brave
soldiers see me drop. The day is ours. Oh, do keep it!" His sole
anxiety was to make the victory sure! Thus warriors die and thus Paul
lived. His very soul seems to cry, "We have won the day. Oh, do keep
it!"

O my beloved Hearers, I believe that many of you are "in the Lord," but
I entreat you to "stand fast in the Lord." In your case, also, the day
is won, but oh, do keep it! There is the pith of all I have to say to
you this morning–may God the Holy Spirit write it on your hearts!
Having done all things well up to now, I entreat you to obey the
injunction of Jude, to, "keep yourselves in the love of God," and to
join with me in adoring Him who alone is able to keep us from falling
and to present us faultless before His Presence with exceedingly great
joy. Unto Him be glory forever! Amen.

In leading out your thoughts I will keep to the following order–

First, it seems to me from the text that the Apostle perceived that
these Philippian Christians were in their right place–they were, "in
the Lord," and in such a position that he could safely bid them, "stand
fast" in it. Secondly, he longed for them that they should keep their
right place–"Stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." And then,
thirdly, he urged the best motives for their keeping their place. These
motives are contained in the first two verses of our text, upon which
we will enlarge further on.

I. Paul joyfully perceived that his BELOVED CONVERTS WERE IN THEIR
RIGHT PLACE. It is a very important thing, indeed, that we should begin
well. The start is not everything, but it is a great deal. It has been
said by the old proverb, that, "Well begun is half done," and it is
certainly so in the things of God. It is vitally important to enter in
at the strait gate–to start on the heavenly journey from the right
point. I have no doubt that many slips and falls and apostasies among
professors are due to the fact that they were not right at first–the
foundation was always upon the sand and when the house came down, at
last, it was no more than might have been expected. A flaw in the
foundation is pretty sure to be followed by a crack in the
superstructure! See to it that you lay a good foundation. It is better
to have no repentance than a repentance which needs to be repented of!
It is better to have no faith than a false faith! It is better to make
no profession of religion than to make an untruthful one! God give us
Grace that we may not make a mistake in learning the alphabet of
godliness, or else in all our learning we shall blunder on and increase
in error. We should learn early the difference between Grace and merit,
between the purpose of God and the will of man, between trust in God
and confidence in the flesh. If we do not start aright, the further we
go, the further we shall be from our desired end and the more
thoroughly in the wrong shall we find ourselves. Yes, it is of prime
importance that our new birth and our first love should be genuine
beyond all question.

The only position, however, in which we can begin aright is to be, "in
the Lord." This is to begin as we may safely go on. This is the
essential point. It is a very good thing for Christians to be in the
Church, but if you are in the Church before you are in the Lord, you
are out of place! It is a good thing to be engaged in holy work, but if
you are in holy work before you are in the Lord, you will have no heart
for it, neither will the Lord accept it! It is not essential that you
should be in this Church or in that Church–but it is essential that
you should be, "in the Lord!" It is not essential that you should be in
the Sunday school, nor in the Working Meeting, nor in the Tract
Society–but it is essential to the last degree that you should be in
the Lord! The Apostle rejoiced over those that were converted at
Philippi because he knew that they were in the Lord. They were where he
wished them to remain and, therefore, he said, "Stand fast in the
Lord."

What is it to be, "in the Lord"? Well, Brothers and Sisters, we are in
the Lord vitally and evidently when we fly to the Lord Jesus by
repentance and faith and make Him to be our refuge and hiding place. Is
it so with you? Have you fled out of self? Are you trusting in the
Lord, alone? Have you come to Calvary and beheld your Savior? As the
doves build their nests in the rocks, have you thus made your home in
Jesus? There is no shelter for a guilty soul but in His wounded side!
Have you come there? Are you in Him? Then stay there. You will never
have a better refuge! In fact, there is no other. No other name is
given under Heaven among men whereby we must be saved. I cannot tell
you to stand fast in the Lord, unless you are there–hence my first
enquiry is–Are you in Christ? Is He your only confidence? In His life,
His death and His Resurrection do you find the grounds of your hope? Is
He, Himself, all your salvation and all your desire? If so, stand fast
in Him.

Next, these people, in addition to having fled to Christ for refuge,
were now in Christ as to their daily life. They had heard Him say,
"Abide in Me" and, therefore, they remained in the daily enjoyment of
Him, in reliance upon Him, in obedience to Him, and in the earnest
copying of His example. They were Christians! That is to say, persons
upon whom was named the name of Christ. They were endeavoring to
realize the power of His death and Resurrection as a sanctifying
influence, killing their sins and fostering their virtues. They were
laboring to reproduce His image in themselves so that they might bring
glory to His name. Their lives were spent within the circle of their
Savior's influence. Are you so, my dear Friends? Then stand fast! You
will never find a nobler example! You will never be saturated with a
more Divine spirit than that of Christ Jesus your Lord! Whether we eat
or drink, or whatever we do, let us do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus and so live in Him.

These Philippians had, moreover, realized that they were in Christ by a
real and vital union with Him. They had come to feel, not like
separated individualities, copying a model, but as members of a body
made like their Head. By a living, loving, lasting union, they were
joined to Christ as their Covenant Head. They could say, "Who shall
separate us from

the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord?" Do you know what
it is to feel that the life which is in you is first in Christ and
still flows from Him, even as the life of the branch is mainly in the
stem? "I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me." This is to be in
Christ! Are you in Him in this sense? Forgive my pressing the question.
If you answer me in the affirmative, I shall then entreat you to "stand
fast" in Him. It is in Him and in Him, only, that spiritual life is to
be sustained, even as only from Him can it be received! To be engrafted
into Christ is salvation–but to abide in Christ is the full enjoyment
of it! True union to Christ is eternal life. Paul, therefore, rejoiced
over these Philippians because they were joined unto the Lord in one
spirit!

This expression is very short, but very full. "In Christ." Does it not
mean that we are in Christ as the birds are in the air which buoys them
up and enables them to fly? Are we not in Christ as the fish are in the
sea? Our Lord has become our element–vital and all surrounding! In Him
we live, move and have our being. He is in us and we are in Him. We are
filled with all the fullness of God because all fullness dwells in
Christ and we dwell in Him. Christ to us is all. He is in all and He is
All in All! Jesus to us is everything in everything. Without Him we can
do nothing and we are nothing! Thus are we emphatically in Him. If you
have reached this point, "stand fast" in it! If you dwell in the secret
place of the tabernacles of the Most high, abide under the shadow of
the Almighty! Do you sit at His table and eat of His dainties? Then
prolong the visit and think not of removal. Say in your soul–

"Here would I find a settled rest,

While others go and come;

No more a stranger, or a guest,

But like a child at home."

Has Jesus brought you into His green pastures? Then lie down in them.
Go no further, for you will never fare better. Stay with your Lord,
however long the night, for only in Him have you hope of morning!

You see, then, that these people were where they should be–in the
Lord–and this was the reason why the Apostle took such delight in
them. Kindly read the first verse of the fourth chapter and see how he
loves them and joys over them. He heaps up titles of love! Some dip
their morsel in vinegar, but Paul's words were saturated with honey.
Here we not only have sweet words, but they mean something–his love
was real and fervent! The very heart of Paul is written out large in
this verse–"Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my
joy and crown, stand fast in the Lord my dearly beloved."

Because they were in Christ, first of all they were Paul's Brothers and
Sisters. This was a new relationship, not earthly, but heavenly. What
did this Jew from Tarsus know about the Philippians? Many of them were
Gentiles. Time was when he would have called them dogs and despised
them as the uncircumcised. But now he says, "My brethren." That poor
word has become very hackneyed. We talk of brethren without
particularly much of brotherly love, but true Brothers and Sisters have
a love for one another which is very unselfish and admirable–and so
there is between real Christians a brotherhood which they will neither
disown, nor dissemble, nor forget! It is said of our Lord, "For this
cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren." And surely they need
never be ashamed to call one another brethren! Paul, at any rate, looks
at the jailor, that jailor who had set his feet in the stocks–and he
looks at the jailor's family, at Lydia and many others–in fact, at the
whole company that he had gathered at Philippi and he salutes them
lovingly as, "My brethren." Their names were written in the same family
register because they were in Christ and, therefore, had one Father in
Heaven!

Next, the Apostle calls them, "my dearly beloved." The verse almost
begins with this word and it quite finishes with it. The repetition
makes it mean, "My doubly dear ones." Such is the love which every true
servant of Christ will have for those who have been begotten to the
faith of Christ by his means. Oh, yes, if you are in Christ, His
ministers must love you! How could there be a lack of affection in our
hearts towards you, since we have been the means of bringing you to
Jesus? Without cant or display we call you our "dearly Beloved."

Then the Apostle calls them his "longed for," that is, his most desired
ones. He first desired to see them converted. After that he desired to
see them baptized. Then he desired to see them exhibiting all the
Graces of Christians. When he saw holiness in them, he desired to visit
them and commune with them. Their constant kindness created in him a
strong desire to speak with them face to face. He loved them and
desired their company because they were in Christ! So he speaks of them
as those for whom he longed. His delight was in thinking of them and in
hoping to visit them. Then he adds, "My joy and crown." Paul had been
the means of their salvation and when he thought of that blessed
result, he never regretted

all that he had suffered–his persecutions among the Gentiles seemed
light, indeed, since these priceless souls were his reward! Though he
was nothing but a poor prisoner of Christ, yet he talks in right royal
style–they are his crown.

They were his stephanos, or crown given as a reward for his life-race.
This, among the Greeks, was usually a wreath of flowers placed around
the victor's brow. Paul's crown would never fade. He writes as he felt
the amaranth around his temples–even now he looks upon the Philippians
as his chaplet of honor! They were his joy and his crown! He
anticipated, I do not doubt, that throughout eternity it would be a
part of his Heaven to see them amid their blessedness and to know that
he helped to bring them to that felicity by leading them to Christ! O
Beloved, it is, indeed, our highest joy that we have not run in vain,
neither labored in vain–you who have been snatched as "brands from the
burning" and are now living to the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ–you
are our prize, our crown, our joy!

These converts were all this to Paul simply because they were "in
Christ." They had begun well; they were where they should be and he,
therefore, rejoiced in them.

II. But secondly, it was for this reason that HE LONGED THAT THEY
SHOULD STAY THERE. He entreated

them to stand fast. "So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." The
beginning of religion is not the whole of it. You must not suppose that
the sum of godliness is contained within the experience of a day or
two, or a week, or a few months, or even a few years. Precious are the
feelings which attend conversion, but dream not that repentance, faith
and so forth are for a season and then all is done with! I am afraid
there are some who secretly say, "Everything is now complete. I have
experienced the necessary change, I have been to see the Elders and the
Pastor. I have been baptized and received into the Church–now all is
right forever."

That is a false view of your condition! In conversion you have started
in the race, but you must run to the end of the course. In your
confession of Christ you have carried your tools into the vineyard, but
the day's work now begins. Remember, "He that shall endure unto the
end, the same shall be saved." Godliness is a life-long business. The
working out of the salvation which the Lord, Himself, works in you is
not a matter of certain hours, or of a limited period of life.
Salvation is unfolded throughout all our sojourn here. We continue to
repent and to believe–and even the process of our conversion continues
as we are changed more and more into the image of our Lord. Final
perseverance is the necessary evidence of genuine conversion!

In proportion as we rejoice over converts, we feel an intense
bitterness when any disappoint us and turn out to be merely temporary
camp-followers. We sigh over the seed which sprang up so speedily, but
which withers so soon because it has neither root nor depth of earth.
We were ready to say–"Ring the bells of Heaven"–but the bells of
Heaven did not ring because these people talked about Christ and said
they were in Christ, but it was all a delusion! After a while, for one
reason or another, they went back. "They went out from us, but they
were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have
continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest
that they were not all of us." Our Churches suffer most seriously from
the great numbers who drop out of their ranks and either go back to the
world, or else must be pursuing a very secret and solitary path in
their way to Heaven, for we hear no more of them. Our joy is turned to
disappointment; our crown of laurel becomes a circle of faded leaves
and we are weary at the remembrance of it. With what earnestness,
therefore, would we say to you who are beginning the race, "Continue in
your course. We beseech you turn not aside, neither slacken your
running till you have won the prize!"

I heard an expression yesterday which pleased me much. I spoke about
the difficulty of keeping on. "Yes," answered my friend, "and it is
harder, still, to keep on keeping on." So it is. There is the pinch. I
know lots of fellows who are wonders at the start. What a rush they
make! But then there is no stay in them–they soon lose breath. The
difference between the spurious and the real Christian lies in this
staying power. The real Christian has a life within him which can never
die–an incorruptible seed which lives and abides forever–but the
spurious Christian begins after a fashion, but ends almost as soon as
he begins! He is esteemed a saint, but turns out a hypocrite. He makes
a fair show for a while, but soon he quits the way of holiness and
makes his own damnation sure. God save you, dear Friends, from anything
which looks like apostasy! Hence I would, with all my might, press upon
you these two most weighty words–"Stand fast."

I will put the exhortation thus–"Stand fast doctrinally." In this age
all the ships in the waters are pulling up their anchors! They are
drifting with the tide. They are driven about with every wind. It is
your wisdom to put down more anchors. I have taken the precaution to
cast four anchors out of the stern, as well as to see that the great
bower anchor is in its proper place. I will not budge an inch from the
old doctrine for any man! Now that the cyclone is triumphant over

many a bowing wall and tottering fence, those who are built upon the
One Foundation must prove its value by standing fast! We will listen to
no teaching but that of the Lord Jesus! If you see a Truth to be in
God's Word, grasp it by your faith–and if it is unpopular, grapple it
to you as with hooks of steel! If you are despised as a fool for
holding it, hold it the more! Like an oak, take deeper root, because
the winds would tear you from your place. Defy reproach and ridicule
and you have already vanquished it. Stand fast, like the British
squares in the olden times. When fierce assaults were made upon them,
every man seemed transformed to rock. We might have wandered from the
ranks a little in more peaceful times, to look after the fascinating
flowers which grow on every side of our march–but now we know that the
enemy surrounds us–so we keep strictly to the line of march and
tolerate no roaming. The watchword of the host of God just now
is–"Stand fast!" Hold to the faith once delivered to the saints. Hold
fast the form of sound words and deviate not one jot or tittle from
them. Stand fast doctrinally!

Practically, also, abide firm in the right, the true, the holy. This is
of the utmost importance. The barriers are broken down–they would
amalgamate Church and world–yes, even Church and stage. It is proposed
to combine God and devil in one service! Christ and Belial are to
perform on one stage! Surely now is the time when the lion shall eat
straw like the ox and very dirty straw too. So they say. But I repeat
to you this Word of God, "Come out from among them, and be you
separate, and touch not the unclean thing." Write, "holiness unto the
Lord," not only on your altars, but upon the bells of the horses! Let
everything be done as before the living God. Do all things unto
holiness and edification. Strive together to maintain the purity of the
disciples of Christ! Take up your cross and go outside the camp bearing
His reproach. If you have already stood apart in your decision for the
Lord, continue to do so. Stand fast! In nothing be moved by the laxity
of the age. In nothing be affected by the current of modern opinion.
Say to yourself, "I will do as Christ bids me to the utmost of my
ability. I will follow the Lamb wherever He goes." In these times of
worldliness, impurity, self-indulgence and error, it becomes the
Christian to gather up his skirts and keep his feet and his garments
clean from the pollution which lies all around him. We must be more
Puritan and precise than we have been. Oh, for Grace to stand fast!

Mind also that you stand fast experimentally. Pray that your inward
experience may be a close adhesion to your Master. Do not go astray
from His Presence. Neither climb with those who dream of perfection in
the flesh, nor grovel with those who doubt the possibility of present
salvation. Take the Lord Jesus Christ to be your sole treasure and let
your heart be always with Him. Stand fast in faith in His Atonement, in
confidence in His Divinity, in assurance of His Second Advent. I pine
to know within my soul the power of His Resurrection and to have
unbroken fellowship with Him. In communion with the Father and the Son
let us stand fast! He shall fare well whose heart and soul, affections
and understanding are wrapped up in Christ Jesus and in no one else.
Concerning your inward life, your secret prayer, your walk with God,
here is the watchword of the day–"Stand fast."

To put it very plainly, "Stand fast in the Lord," without wishing for
another trust. Do not desire to have any hope but that which is in
Christ. Do not entertain the proposition that you should unite another
confidence to your confidence in the Lord. Have no hankering after any
other fashion of faith except the faith of a sinner in his Savior. All
hope but that which is set before us in the Gospel and brought to us by
the Lord Jesus is a poisoned delicacy–highly colored, but by no means
to be so much as tasted by those who have been fed upon the Bread of
Heaven! What do we need more than Jesus? What way of salvation do we
seek but that of Grace? What security but the precious blood? Stand
fast and wish for no other rock of salvation save the Lord Jesus!

Next, stand fast without wavering in our trust. Permit no doubt to
worry you. Know that Jesus can save you and, what is more, know that He
has saved you! So commit yourself to His hands that you are as sure of
your salvation as of your existence! The blood of Jesus Christ cleans
us from all sin this day–His righteousness covers us and His life
quickens us into newness of life. Tolerate no doubt, mistrust,
suspicion, or misgiving. Believe in Christ up to the hilt! As for
myself, I will yield to be lost forever if Jesus does not save me! I
will have no other string to my bow, no second door of hope, or way of
retreat. I could risk a thousand souls on my Lord's Word and feel no
risk. Stand fast, without wishing for another trust and without
wavering in the trust you have.

Moreover, stand fast without wandering into sin. You are tempted this
way and that way–stand fast! Inward passions rise. Lusts of the flesh
rebel. The devil hurls his fearful suggestions. The men of your own
household tempt you.

Stand fast! Only so will you be preserved from the torrents of
iniquity. Keep close to the example and spirit of your Master and,
having done all, still stand.

As I have said, stand fast without wandering, so next I must say stand
fast without wearying. You are a little tired. Never mind, take a
little rest and brush up again. "Oh," you say, "this toil is so
monotonous." Do it better and that will be a change. Your Savior
endured His life and labor without this complaint, for zeal had eaten
Him up. "Alas," you cry, "I cannot see results!" Never mind. Wait for
results, even as the farmer waits for the precious fruits of the earth.
"Oh, Sir, I plod along and make no progress." Never mind, you are a
poor judge of your own success. Work on, for in due season you shall
reap if you faint not. Practice perseverance. Remember that if you have
the work of faith and the labor of love, you must complete the trio by
adding the patience of hope. You cannot do without this last. "Be
steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

I am reminded of Sir Christopher Wren, when he cleared away old St.
Paul's to make room for his splendid pile. He was compelled to use
battering rams upon the massive walls. The workmen kept on battering
and battering. An enormous force was brought to bear upon the walls for
days and nights, but it did not appear to have made the least
impression upon the ancient masonry. Yet the great architect knew what
he was doing–he bade them keep on incessantly and the ram fell again
and again upon the rocky wall till, at length, the whole mass was
disintegrating and coming apart– and then each stroke began to tell.
At a blow it reeled! At another it quivered! At another it moved
visibly. At another it fell over amid clouds of dust! These last
strokes did the work!

Do you think so? No, it was the combination of blows, the first as
truly as the last! Keep on with the battering ram. I hope to keep on
until I die. And, mark you, I may die and I may not see the errors of
the hour totter to their fall, but I shall be perfectly content to
sleep in Christ, for I have a sure expectation that this work will
succeed in the end! I shall be happy to have done my share of the work,
even if I personally see little apparent result. Lord, let Your work
appear unto Your servants and we will be content that Your Glory should
be reserved for our children. Stand fast, my Brothers and Sisters, in
incessant labors, for the end is sure!

And then, in addition to standing fast in that respect, stand fast
without warping. Timber, when it is rather green, is apt to go this way
or that. The spiritual weather is very bad, just now, for green
wood–it is one day damp with superstition, and another day it is
parched with skepticism. Rationalism and Ritualism are both at work. I
pray that you may not warp! Keep straight; keep to the Truth of God,
the whole Truth of God and nothing but the Truth, for in the Master's
name we bid you, "Stand fast in the Lord."

Stand fast, for there is great need. Many walk of whom I have told you,
often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the
Cross of Christ!

Paul urged them to stand fast because even in his own case, spiritual
life was a struggle. Even Paul said, "Not as though I had already
attained." He was pressing forward. He was straining his whole energy
by the power of the Holy Spirit. He did not expect to be carried to
Heaven on a feather bed! He was warring and agonizing. You, Beloved,
must do the same. What a grand example of perseverance did Paul set to
us all! Nothing enticed him from his steadfastness. "None of these
things move me," he said, "neither count I my life dear unto me." He
has entered into his rest because the Lord his God helped him to stand
fast, even to the end. I wish I had power to put this more earnestly,
but my very soul goes forth with it. "Stand fast in the Lord, my dearly
Beloved."

III. Thirdly, THE APOSTLE URGED THE BEST MOTIVES FOR THEIR STANDING
FAST.

He says, "Stand fast because of your citizenship." Read the twentieth
verse–"For our citizenship is in Heaven." Now, if you are what you
profess to be, if you are in Christ, you are citizens of the New
Jerusalem. Men ought to behave themselves according to their
citizenship and not dishonor their city. When a man was a citizen of
Athens, in the olden time, he felt it incumbent upon him to be brave.
Xerxes said, "These Athenians are not ruled by kings: how will they
fight?" "No," said one, "but every man respects the law and each man is
ready to die for his country." Xerxes soon knew that the same obedience
and respect of law ruled the Spartans and that these, because they were
of Sparta, were all brave as lions!

He sends word to Leonidas and his little troop to give up their arms.
"Come and take them," was the courageous reply! The Persian king had
myriads of soldiers with him, while Leonidas had only 300 Spartans at
his side–yet they kept the pass and it cost the eastern despot many
thousands of men to force a passage! The sons of Sparta died rather
than de-

sert their post! Every citizen of Sparta felt that he must stand
fast–it was not for such a man as he to yield. I like the spirit of
Bayard, that "knight without fear and without reproach." He knew not
what fear meant. In his last battle, his spine was broken and he said
to those around him, "Place me up against a tree, so that I may sit up
and die with my face to the enemy." Yes, if our backs were broken, if
we could no more bear the shield or use the sword, it would be
incumbent upon us, as citizens of the New Jerusalem, to die with our
faces towards the enemy! We must not yield! We dare not yield if we are
of the city of the great King! The martyrs cry to us to stand fast! The
cloud of witnesses bending from their thrones above beseech us to stand
fast! Yes, all the hosts of the shining ones cry to us, "Stand fast!"
Stand fast for God, the truth, holiness–and let no man take your
crown.

The next argument that Paul used was their outlook. "Our citizenship is
in Heaven; from where, also, we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ." Brethren, Jesus is coming! He is even now on the way. You have
heard our tidings till you scarcely credit us, but the Word of God is
true and it will surely be fulfilled before long. The Lord is coming,
indeed! He promised to come to die and He kept His Word–He now
promises to come to reign and you may be sure that He will keep His
tryst with His people. He is coming! Ears of faith can hear the sound
of His chariot wheels! Every moment of time, every event of Providence
is bringing Him nearer. Blessed are those servants who shall not be
sleeping when He comes, nor wandering from their posts of duty! Happy
shall they be whom their Lord shall find faithfully watching and
standing fast in that great day!

To us, Beloved, He is coming, not as Judge and Destroyer, but as
Savior. We look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ! Now, if we do
look for Him, let us "stand fast." There must be no going into sin, no
forsaking the fellowship of the Church, no leaving the Truth, no trying
to play fast and loose with godliness, no running with the hare and
hunting with the hounds. Let us stand so fast in singleness of heart
that whenever Jesus comes, we shall be able to say, "Welcome, welcome,
Son of God!"

Sometimes I wait through the weary years with great comfort. There was
a ship, some time ago, outside a certain harbor. A heavy sea made the
ship roll fearfully. A dense fog blotted out all buoys and lights. The
captain never left the wheel. He could not tell his way into the harbor
and no pilot could get out to him for a long time. Eager passengers
urged him to be courageous and make a dash for the harbor. He said,
"No. It is not my duty to run so great a risk. A pilot is required,
here, and I will wait for one if I wait a week." The truest courage is
that which can bear to be charged with cowardice! To wait is much wiser
than when you cannot hear the foghorn and have no pilot and steam on
and wreck your vessel on the rocks! Our prudent captain waited his time
and, at last, he spied the pilot's boat coming to him over the boiling
sea. When the pilot was at his work, the captain's anxious waiting was
over. The Church is like that vessel– she is pitched to and fro in the
storm and the dark–and the Pilot has not yet come. The weather is very
threatening. All around, the darkness hang like a pall. But Jesus will
come, walking on the water, before long! He will bring us safely to the
desired haven. Let us wait with patience. Stand fast! Stand fast! Jesus
is coming and in Him is our sure hope!

Further, there was another motive. There was an expectation. "He shall
change our vile body," or rather, "body of our humiliation." Only think
of it, dear Friends! No more headaches or heartaches, no more
feebleness and fainting, no more inward tumor or consumption! The Lord
shall transfigure this body of our humiliation into the likeness of the
body of His Glory. Our frame is now made up of decaying substances–it
is of the earth, earthy. "So to the dust, return we must." This body
groans, suffers, becomes diseased and dies. Blessed be God, it shall be
wonderfully changed and then there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain!

The natural appetites of this body engender sad tendencies to sin and,
in this respect, it is a "vile body." It shall not always be so! The
great change will deliver it from all that is gross and carnal. It
shall be pure as the Lord's body! Whatever the body of Christ is now,
our body is to be like it. We spoke of it last Sunday, you know, when
we heard Him say, "Handle Me." We are to have a real, corporeal body as
He had, for substance and reality! And, like His body, it will be full
of beauty, full of health and strength. It will enjoy peculiar
immunities from evil and special adaptations for good. That is what is
going to happen to me and to you! Therefore let us stand fast. Let us
not willfully throw away our prospects of Glory and immortality. What?
Relinquish resurrection? Relinquish Heaven? Relinquish likeness to the
risen Lord? O God, save us from such a terrible piece of apostasy! Save
us from such immeasurable folly! Suffer us not to turn our backs in the
day of battle, since that would be to turn our backs from the crown of
life that fades not away!

Lastly, the Apostle urges us to stand fast because of our resources.
Somebody may ask, "How can this body of ours be transformed and
transfigured until it becomes like the body of Christ?" I cannot tell
you anything about the process! It will all be accomplished in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. But I can tell you by what
power it will be accomplished. The Omnipotent Lord will lay bare His
arm and exercise His might, "according to the working whereby He is
able even to subdue all things unto Himself." O Brothers and Sisters,
we may well stand fast since we have infinite power at our backs! The
Lord is with us with all His energy, even with His all-conquering
strength which shall yet subdue all His foes! Do not let us imagine
that any enemy can be too strong for Christ's arm. If He is able to
subdue all things unto Himself, He can certainly bear us through all
opposition. One glance of His eyes may wither all opposers, or, better
still, one word from His lips may turn them into friends!

The army of the Lord is strong in reserves. These reserves have never
yet been fully called out. We, who are in the field, are only a small
squadron holding the fort. But our Lord has at His back 10,000 times
ten thousands who will carry war into the enemy's camp! When the
Captain of our salvation comes to the front, He will bring His heavenly
legions with Him. Our business is to watch until He appears upon the
scene, for when He comes, His infinite resources will be put in
marching order!

I like that speech of Wellington, (who was so calm amid the roar of
Waterloo), when an officer sent word, "Tell the Commander-in-Chief that
he must move me, I cannot hold my position any longer, my numbers are
so thinned." "Tell him," said the great general, "he must hold his
place! Every Englishman today must die where he stands, or else win the
victory." The officer read the command to stand and he did stand till
the trumpet sounded victory! And so it is now. My Brothers and Sisters,
we must die where we are rather than yield to the enemy! If Jesus
tarries, we must not desert our posts. Wellington knew that the heads
of the Prussian columns would soon be visible, coming in to ensure the
victory– and so by faith we can perceive the legions of our Lord
approaching–in serried ranks His angels fly through the opening
Heaven! The air is teeming with them! I hear their silver trumpets.
Behold, He comes with clouds! When He comes, He will abundantly
recompense all who stood fast amid the rage of battle. Let us sing,
"Hold the fort, for I am coming!"