Chapter 36

Standing Firm

Sections

1. General
   1. Be Faithful to God
      • Be faithful to God and Jesus Christ
      • Hold fast to God and his ways
      • Serve God and Jesus Christ faithfully . . .
      • . . . Examples of faithful service
      • Do not be unfaithful to God by not keeping his commands
      • Do not forsake God
      • God and Jesus Christ protect and bless those who are faithful to them
      • God punishes those who are unfaithful
      • God punishes those who forsake him
   2. Remember God and His Word
      • Ensure you remember God
      • Remember what God has done
      • Remember God’s word and commands
      • Persistently meditate on God’s word and commands . . .
      • . . . Keep God’s word and commands in your heart and thoughts
      • Note: Forgetting God has dreadful consequences
   3. Hold to the Faith
      • Continue in the faith
      • Stand firm
      • Hold to Christian teaching, abiding in it . . .
      • . . . Continue to live by Christian teaching
      • Grow in the faith and in your knowledge
      • Grow in all aspects of your Christian life . . .
      • . . . and produce spiritual “fruit”
   4. Persist until the End
      • Stand firm until the end
      • Persist and be diligent so that you will receive the reward . . .
      • . . . Be like an athlete, striving for a prize
      • Be careful not to turn away from God . . .
      • . . . Do not rebel against God
      • Some people do fall away
      • Falling away brings dire consequences
      • Note: Dreadful consequences of Israel’s rebellion against God
   5. Be Ready for Jesus Christ’s Return
      • Await Jesus Christ’s return – and for all that will follow
      • As we do not know when Jesus Christ will come, “stay awake” and be ready
      • To be ready for Jesus Christ’s return, live a godly life . . .
      • . . . and live a constructive life
      • Do not live an ungodly life, leaving you unprepared for Jesus Christ’s return
      • Do not be deceived by false claims, for Christ’s return will be only after certain events – and obvious to all

2. Spiritual Warfare
   1. The Existence of Spiritual Warfare
      • Believers are involved in conflict of a spiritual nature
      • Believers have spiritual enemies, notably Satan
      • Believers have human enemies, spiritually opposed to them
      • Believers face internal spiritual conflict
      • God and Jesus Christ aid believers in spiritual warfare, enabling them to overcome
   2. Engaging in Spiritual Warfare
      • Beware of spiritual dangers
      • Resist Satan
      • Use spiritual weapons and armor
      • Spiritual weapons and armor include: faith; . . .
      • . . . God’s word; . . .
      • . . . and prayer
   3. Counteraction of Demons
      • Distinguishing between the Holy Spirit and demons
      • Jesus Christ drove out demons . . .
      • . . . Jesus Christ gave some of his followers similar authority over demons
      • Demons are driven out of people in Jesus Christ’s “name”
      • The Holy Spirit, faith and prayer also figure in the driving out of demons
   4. Ungodly Spiritualistic Practices
      • Do not practice witchcraft or other occult practices
      • Do not consult anyone who does perform occult practices
      • Do not have other “gods” or idols
      • Other “gods” and idols are lifeless and fallacies . . .
      • . . . Other “gods” and idols are useless
      • Worship of idols is correlated with worship of demons
      • Having other “gods” and idols is very detrimental
      • Having other “gods” and idols is detrimental to our relationship with God
      • Having other “gods” and idols culminates in God’s retribution
      • Note: Other “gods” and idolatry are not restricted to physical images

 ➜Major headings in: 36. Standing Firm (and all of Unit H)

Pray for persecuted Christians