HOLD FAST WHAT THOU HAST

Hebrews 2: 1-8; 2 Timothy 4: 3, 4; 14, 15; Rev 3: 11-18

I think, beloved brethren, if ever there was a day when this word in Revelation 3 should come home to our hearts and consciences it is the present moment: “Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown”. It is a day which is characterised by the giving up of everything that is vital and true in the professing body of God’s people generally, everything of God revealed in Christ. The leaders of Christendom to-day (speaking generally) are unitarian or infidel, and those who are led by them are content to accept such a teaching as they get; it is the fulfilment of 2 Timothy 4: 3. It is characterised by the profession of having new light and the deliberate giving up the truth. Everything is tending as fast as it can to apostasy. It will end in the giving up of the very profession of Christianity. The tide has set in and is running hard in that direction.

And if all this is going on in the professing body of which we are a part, there is grave danger of our being affected in the same way, doing what others have done and are doing, letting slip what God has given to us. We ought to take heed and it applies very forcibly at the present moment: “Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown”. Do not surrender! Do not let Satan rob you. “Hold fast till I come”, Rev 2: 25.

We must be deeply conscious that we have received immense grace from God, great light, an immense deal has been committed to us. It seems to me the whole scope of God’s mind and ways has been recovered and brought to light in our days as it has not been known since the days of the apostles. We have had the testimony of the Christ, that is, Christ has been set forth; this includes three parts, first in what He is to us personally—every one begins with that. I might speak to every one here and say, What is Christ to you? You say, He is everything to me, the One in whom the grace of God has reached me, in whom the light of God has shone to me; He is my Saviour, my Lord, my support, my Priest, my all. Let us cultivate the thought of this more and more; let us seek to realise more and more what Christ is to us personally.

Then another thing has been brought out very strikingly, what Christ is to the church, His body. He is the Head from whom the whole body having nourishment ministered increases with the increase of God. He is the Head of the body, and the body while here on earth has in Him all it needs as resource and support. All that sustains the body, the nourishment, comes from Christ, and the grace that knits together comes from Him. We have come together in the faith of it to-day. If we did not know Christ in relation to the church, something of what He is to the church and what the church is to Him, we would not have come to these meetings. We came together counting upon His unfailing grace to the church. If we fail He never fails, and never will fail any who look to Him. However small a company may be, if they are in the faith of the Head, they will prove that the grace of Christ is sufficient to supply all that is needed to sustain and knit together. We cannot knit ourselves together.

Again, He is in a way the Husband of the church, as we heard last night; He lives now to nourish and cherish the church; He is always thinking of the church; His interests are there, she is the object of His love. The church, the object of His undying love, is here, and the church will never lack whilst it looks to Him. She will always prove His sufficiency; He will never fail. The servants may go—one and another through whom He has ministered to us—and they do go; but He does not pass away, He remains, and He lives to nourish and cherish the church as well as to cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, and He will present it to Himself another day not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but holy and without blame.

That is part of the testimony of the Christ that has been ministered to us very distinctly.

And then one point more, that may have come to light more recently: Christ in what He is to God, Head over all things, the great Sun and Centre of the universe of God. The One in whom God will establish everything according to His mind. In the administration of the fulness of the times He will head up all things in Christ and ultimately will establish the new heavens and earth, where God will be all in all, and all will answer to His pleasure and satisfaction, everything originating from Christ and sustained by Him who is Head of all. That is another part of the testimony of the Christ and gives us great thoughts of His glory, and the greatness of His Person.

As I said, I believe the whole scope and purpose of God's will has been manifested and kept before our minds through the Lord’s grace. Now the great thing is, what are we going to do with it?

I am not looking for anything new; I think the whole scope of truth has been revived. We have been left a little longer in responsibility, do we value what we have received? A man will not cling to or hold fast very much what he does not value. “Hold that fast which thou hast”; are we conscious of having received anything? do we appreciate what we have received? “Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown”. The words themselves shew there is a great deal of opposition, a great effort of Satan to lead us to drop and to give up, as Christendom has done; the word says not only, Hold it, but, Hold it fast. And He gives the reason: “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown”. What does He mean by “quickly”? The force of that is, the time of testimony and conflict will soon be over; testimony and conflict always go together. If we are seeking to be here in testimony for Christ we shall be in conflict certainly. We have heard to-day of the apostle’s conflict, and how he sought to identify the saints with him in the conflict. It is met by opposition and conflict in this world, but the time of testimony and conflict will soon be over. Hold on, He says, as it were, do not give up the conflict now; hold to the colours; do not let down the flag; I come quickly.

Then another thing. Not only the conflict will be over, but there will be a day of reward; see that no man take thy crown. If you give up just before the end you will lose your crown, the approval of the Lord which will be manifested in the day of glory. Let us seek grace to be faithful to the testimony of the Lord, to hold fast, to keep up the flag, and stand for Him, that when He comes we may be found faithful to what He has committed to us. That is the great thing to be exercised about.

One more word. There is only one way in which we can hold fast. It is not enough to have the truth as doctrine. Orthodoxy will not stand against the wiles of the devil. We must have it in the power of the Spirit of God and in connection with the Person of Christ and maintained as life in our souls, or we shall surely let it slip.

It is a day of letting slip, and giving up. May we, by grace, be found holding fast till He come.

NOTE.—I should like to add a few thoughts which were in my mind, but which I was unable to bring out at the meeting. The passages read indicate a gradual decline in departure from the truth. The beginning is what is spoken of, Hebrews 2: I, 2, that is, neglecting, or letting slip, the things which we have heard. It was so with Israel, they did not hearken to the word spoken to them. If the Holy Spirit is speaking, and He will never cease to speak as long as He remains here in the church, it must be a serious thing not to hearken to His voice, or to be negligent of His ministry. If we let the word slip, we shall ourselves slip away. The next step in the downward path is the refusal of sound teaching, and the deliberate turning away from the truth, 2 Timothy 4: 3, 4. Then the next step is quickly reached, that is positive opposition, as we see in the case of Alexander, of whom the apostle says, “he hath greatly withstood our words”, 2 Tim 4: 15. It is painful to think of those who once professed to value the truth and to proclaim it, being found in such a path as set forth in these passages. This should serve as solemn warning to us all, what others have done and are doing, we are liable to do. We need to pray continually that the truth may be maintained in us in living power by the Spirit, and that we may not compromise it in our ways, so that we may be prepared as good soldiers to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. The Lord grant we may be found so doing when He comes.

From Notes of readings & Addresses at Quemerford (1904)