Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong. Your every action must be done with love. (1 Corinthians 16:13,14 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Whenever the Bible encourages us to “be alert” in the New Testament it is usually in anticipation of some future event. What we do today prepares us for tomorrow’s victory or sets us up for tomorrow’s defeat. Whenever we fall into sin or end up doing something seriously wrong, nine times out of ten we’ve been heading in that direction for a while. The sin or wrong didn’t all of a sudden come over us, we’ve been compromising and being lazy for some time already before we make that mistake. Here Paul encourages the Corinthians, who lived in a very similar environment to us today, to watch out. Not to be afraid, but to be wise and know that temptations and difficult times were on their way.
We’d all like to think that this week will be free from problems and temptations, but we would be deluding ourselves if we thought that way. Faith doesn’t tell us that. Real faith in God knows that problems are coming and prepares for them in the certainty of victory.
“Stand firm” is probably a more needed encouragement for us today than it was for them back then. Corinth had a lot of false teaching, but today we are surrounded by every sort of false teaching and thought — in church, outside of church, in the media, in entertainment… everywhere. Stand firm means to be convinced of what you believe in and refuse to budge. In Ephesians six when the armor of God is spoken about, truth is one of those pieces. If we know that God is faithful, no matter what is going on around us, though our eyes are telling us that God has failed, we have to stand firm and trust that everything is going to work out in the end. That’s what standing firm means, holding on to the truth no matter what.
It’s interesting to note that the Holy Spirit tells us to “have” these four strong qualities — be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man (or woman), be strong. He doesn’t tell us to pray to have these qualities; He tells us to “be” these things. And this is another secret to faith: it’s not enough to pray for something we want, we have to start doing it. When we do God makes it a reality.
Paul’s command to do everything with love serves as a balance to these four strong exhortations. Without love for God and for those around us — even for lost strangers — the other qualities can make us fanatical. We have to be extreme, but God always wants us to be balanced.
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