Staying True to Convictions

Conviction is an ardent belief in the God of Scripture; being utterly and totally convinced about the Christian faith. Christians of conviction are needed today.

Compromise is happening all around us. This is because society is bombarding us at every corner and pressuring professing Christians to cave, to comprise, to throw their conviction out the window.

And unfortunately, that’s happening in droves.

It’s evident that many who claim the name of Christ are willing to throw His name in the mud at the first sign of opposition. It’s clear that some who profess to follow Jesus will reverse course and flow with the culture at the drop of a hat. All that’s needed is a little push and they cave, falter, and are tossed to and fro by other teachings (Eph. 4:14).

Society is not going to retreat; culture will never stop throwing haymakers at Christians. Our stance shouldn’t change simply because we are receiving intense opposition. When opposition comes, we should plant our feet all the more firm on the Bible. We must, above all else, stay true to our conviction that God is true, faithful, sovereign, forgiving, and holy.

But what particular teachings of our faith are vitally important that we must maintain conviction?

On the Bible’s Sexual Ethic

This one is what is really getting us in trouble these days. Of course, the Bible’s teachings on sexual ethics—sexuality, marriage, and the like—has never been popular, because each generation brings new sinners who hate God and His commandments. There will always be people who despite such teachings because they despise the Teacher.

But things seem to have been amplified. Each day comes with more shouts of bigotry, more screams of hatefulness, increase moments of seething anger. If a Christian simply conveys what the Bible has taught forever, they are labeled a homophobe, transphobe, and are treated like the scum of the earth. (To be sure, not all are like this, but it’s quickly becoming the norm.) Back in 2015, the LGBTQ+ community wanted mere recognition. They wanted to have the “right” the same-sex “marriage.”

John Piper said this in the sermon hyperlinked above:

Those who believe God has spoken to us truthfully in the Bible shouldn’t concede that the committed, lifelong partnership sexual relationship of two men or two women is marriage. It is not marriage no matter what anyone on the planet says.

As Piper notes, we should not concede that same-sex marriage exists. He is correct. And in the same token, we shouldn’t concede that there are more than two genders, that God makes mistakes, or that God is fine with people pretending to be another gender. (To be sure, it’s also important for us to show compassionate for those who are genuinely confused about their gender. But the answer is not to “transition.”)

The Bible’s sexual ethic will always be unpopular; we must never cave, however, to the demands of the culture. It is thatimportant. We will believe what God says, come what may.

On Doctrine

Everyone has doctrine. Even the ardent atheist; even the free-spirited, self-help follower who claims to say no religion has it all right. Doctrine is important. It separates the sheep from goats, believers from unbelievers, Christians from non-Christians.

Those on the political Left have doctrine as well. From the kind liberal who simply disagrees to the mean-spirited Leftist who seeks to “come for your children,” each one has set doctrine they abide by—without exception. So what we must not do is apologize for believing, even firmly believing, in doctrine.

From the Trinity and justification by faith alone to the virgin birth and the sinlessness of Jesus Christ, there are doctrines of the Christian faith that must be believed in. They are non-negotiable. Some of those who claim to be Christians will attempt to deny these doctrines and still be part of the faith—that’s impossible!

Never apologize for believing, ardently so, in the historic teachings of the Christian faith. Never apologize for standing firm on Christian doctrine. Never apologize for staying true to your convictions on the reliability, infallibility, and inerrancy of God’s Word.

Consistent Convictions

In world full of people who compromise convictions at every turn and those who seek to oppose us, we Christians must stand firm; we must not be tossed to and fro; we must be compassionately firm in our beliefs—regardless of who it offends.

Our opinions and beliefs must not be swayed by what the culture preaches when we know, according to the Bible, they are not only wrong, but ungodly. Christian: remain true to your convictions. Don’t cave; don’t falter. If your tempted to, fall on your face before God and plead for strength, for grace to endure pressure from all sides. This world, with all its opinions and demands, will not get easier. The pressure to compromise will increase and we must stand firm on the Bible.

Jesus is worth it—the gospel is worth it. Come what may, it is imperative for us to be true to our convictions—our convictions that the Bible is true, God is faithful, and Jesus is the Son of God and the only way to Heaven.