Proverbs 4:13 - Homiletics

Holding fast

I. THE NECESSITY OF HOLDING FAST . This is to be in regard to instruction in Divine wisdom. There are difficulties in keeping to the truth of God.

1 . The knowledge of it is an attainment. It is not innate; it does not come by inevitable experience; it is not received without conscious effort. What has been won may be lost. That which is not naturally a part of our being may be detached from us.

2 . The truth is spiritual. Therefore it belongs to a different region from that of everyday experience in the world, and it is in danger of being thrust aside by the rude demands of material facts. The rush and roar of outward life drown the whispers of the "still, small voice."

3 . It is morally exacting. God's instruction concerns our conduct, and that in a way not always agreeable to ourselves. It urges us with lofty mandates, it seeks to regulate our lives by great principles. But weakness shrinks and self-will rebels against such a yoke. Therefore unless we held fast to the instruction, we shall soon lose it. Mere negligence is enough to imperil the choice possession. By simple indifference we may let slip the truth of God ( Hebrews 2:1 ).

II. HOW WE MAY HOLD FAST .

1 . Attention must be directed. As we have a certain command of our thoughts in the power of fixing attention on certain topics in preference to others, we can turn our minds towards Divine truth by a voluntary movement. External aids are here of use. The reading of the Bible is most helpful, not merely to obtain fresh truth, but to impress and revive the truth we already know. The ordinances of public worship are also designed with this end in view. The Christian preacher has not merely to instruct the ignorant and to lead those who know some truth to higher regions of revelation. A great part of his work consists in impressing upon men what they already know, and aiding them to hold it fast. None of these means of directing attention are sufficient without the addition of personal prayer and meditation.

2 . Truth must be realized in practice. There is no better way of holding fast to instruction than by obeying it. The greatest truths are vague ideas till we commence to put them in practice. We hold best those truths which we follow most closely in life.

III. THE ADVANTAGE OF HOLDING FAST . It is our duty to hold the truth which God has revealed to us, and to attend to the commandments which he has sent us. But it is also for our own soul's profit. This is a matter of life and death. Divine truth is not a mere luxury for the leisured classes. It is a necessary of life.

1 . This truth is a guide from the way of ruin. God speaks words of the utmost moment to warn us from continuing in the old course of sin, and to show us the way of salvation.

2 . It is an immediate source of life. God gives his Spirit through his truth, and the Spirit of God is the quickening power of our souls. Thus God's truth is the soul's food. To lose it is to starve. To hold it fast is to secure eternal life. The words that Christ speaks to us are spirit and life ( John 6:63 ).