"Stand Firm and Hold Fast"

Overview

The Joy of Belief

Martin Luther's own words reveal a believer wrestling without joy: confessing endlessly, numbering sins, performing penance, and still finding his conscience uncertain and afflicted. The harder he tried to remedy his weak conscience with the traditions of men, the more troubled he became. Yet through this very struggle, God used Luther to recover for the church the joy that belongs to faith—a joy grounded not in our striving but in God's promise. On Reformation Sunday, the question worth asking is the one Luther's anguish forces upon us: where does joy in believing actually come from?

Paul gives the answer in 2 Thessalonians 2:15: "Stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter." This is not a suggestion but a command. To "stand firm" is to persevere under opposition; to "hold fast" is to grasp and not let go. Crucially, the traditions in view are not the inventions of men that drove Luther to despair, but the apostolic deposit itself—Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and the preached Word—each delivering the forgiveness, grace, and mercy of Jesus Christ. Without that anchor, we are, as Ephesians 4:14 warns, "tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine." The world keeps trying to refashion God in its own image, but as Isaiah 29:16 reminds us, the clay does not instruct the Potter. There is one truth to which we cling: Jesus Christ Himself, who declared in John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life."

The comfort Luther sought—and finally found—is right there in the next verses. 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17 speaks of "eternal comfort and good hope" given through grace, comforting and strengthening our hearts. And 2 Thessalonians 2:13 names the source of that comfort plainly: "God chose you as the first fruits for salvation, through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth." Ephesians 1:4–7 drives it deeper—chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, adopted as His children, redeemed through His blood. You are not enough on your own, and you never will be; that is the honest truth Luther kept colliding with. But you have been chosen. The gospel, as Paul defines it in 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. That promise is pure sweetness, never to be mixed with law, never to be turned back into something we must achieve.

This is why faith brings joy: not because of what we do for God, but because of what God has already done for us in Christ. Stand firm, then—not on your own truth, but on the living Word. Hold fast—not to your performance, but to the promise delivered to you in Baptism, in the Supper, and in the preaching of Christ crucified and risen. When difficulty comes, when the surrounding culture insists that truth shifts with the times, when your own conscience accuses you as Luther's did, return to this: you have been chosen, you have been redeemed, you have been adopted. The joy of belief is the joy of being held by the One who will not let you go.

Transcript

We are going to be continuing in our series of joy. 1s

We have talked about the joy of revelation, the joy of God, and we are currently in the 7s

part of this series where we are discussing and learning about the joy in us. 13s

And today we are going to focus in on the joy in belief. 20s

So I want to share a quotation with you from a believer. 26s

And he wrote, I tried to live according to the rule with all diligence. 32s

And I used to be contrite to confess my number and number my sins and often repeated my confession 38s

and said, 45s

I am so jealously performed my elotted penance and yet my conscience could never give me certainty. 46s

But I always doubted and said, 53s

you did not perform that correctly. 55s

You were not contrite enough. 59s

You left that out of your confession. 61s

The more I tried to remedy an uncertain, weak and afflicted conscience with the traditions 64s

of men, the more each day found it more uncertain, weaker, more troubled. 70s

The joy in belief. 80s

That man believed, but there doesn't sound like there's much joy in his belief. 87s

That quotation is actually from the great reformer Martin Luther. 97s

Martin Luther, he struggled a lot with depression. 103s

He struggled a lot with not knowing or feeling as if he had been abandoned by Christ. 108s

And he struggled not knowing if he believed enough or was sorry enough for his sins. 115s

He was taunted day and night by the devil of his belief. 123s

There was not joy in that belief. 131s

And yet Martin Luther was absolutely instrumental in reclaiming the joy that we do have in belief. 134s

In the belief that God gives us today is Reformation Sunday. 144s

And we also celebrate confirmation today. 150s

We will have our confirmation service later this afternoon. 154s

And the Reformation and confirmation and teaching and learning the doctrine of our faith, 159s

the Word of God, that gives me so much joy that I'm so excited to be able to share God's 168s

Word with you today in this time of preaching. 177s

And I hope that you too will find the joy that is in the true gospel and the joy that is in believing in God. 181s

So we are going to start. 193s

We know that the three principles, the solas of the Reformation are grace alone, faith alone and word alone. 194s

And today in honor and in the spirit of the Reformation, 203s

we are really going to dig in and listen to that word alone here. 209s

What God's Word has for us. 215s

We're not going to lean on the traditions of men or the traditions of what we would like to explain God's Word to be. 218s

But we're going to let and present and put forth God's Word that it would speak on its own for God's Word is a living Word and does speak to us. 226s

We're going to start with verse 15 of our text. 238s

If you would, please open your Bibles to second Thessalonians, the second chapter. 242s

Second Thessalonians, the second chapter. 249s

And our verses begin with 13. 250s

But we're actually going to start in 15. 253s

Because we're hearing about the joy in belief today, 258s

but we just heard a quotation of Luther's where he was in despair and in the depths of depression. 262s

And so we're going to ask the question, how do we find joy in belief? 272s

And God's Word is going to answer that for us. 278s

So let's begin with verse 15. 282s

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, 286s

either by word of mouth or by our letter. 296s

So how are they going to find joy in belief? 302s

They're going to stand firm and hold fast to the preached word of God. 306s

And now as disciples in our day and age, the written word of God. 313s

When Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, stand fast and hold firm or stand firm and hold fast, 319s

they're written in the imperative. 327s

They're not an encouraging word from Paul. 330s

They're not a suggestion from Paul that this would be a good thing to do. 333s

But they're given as an authoritative command to stand firm and hold fast. 339s

Standing firm is to persist to persevere in the opposition when there are difficulties. 346s

In spite of all that to persevere and he's saying persevere in what we teach persevere in what we write. 354s

And he also said to hold fast. 364s

Holding fast is to obtain, to grasp, to hold on to not discarding the traditions that were handed down. 368s

In the Christian church there are a lot of traditions and it was the traditions of men within the Christian church that plagued Martin Luther and the people of his time so heavily that he had to achieve certain things in order to gain forgiveness from God. 379s

He had to confess enough. 403s

He had to number his sins and if he forgot one he would have to go back. 406s

He would hurt himself in the tradition of man within the church and it drove him into despair. 411s

It drove him into a spiral of self-loving and not being able to be good enough for God. 420s

But that's not what Paul writes here. 432s

The traditions that Paul writes of are the traditions that were handed down and that were taught by the apostles themselves. 435s

Baptism, communion, the preached word. 446s

What is delivered in each of those traditions? 452s

The forgiveness, the grace and the mercy of Jesus Christ. 456s

That is what the disciples that Paul was writing to. 463s

That is what we as his disciples are to hold fast on to. 467s

Where's to stand firm in that confession and not let it go? 473s

There are a lot of distractions. Luther was distracted by the traditions of the church in his day and age. 481s

There are a lot of distractions that we find around us and I say this especially with the 491s

conformance in mind. There are a lot of distractions for our young people. A lot of 497s

truths that are being told and upheld as truth which are distractions that that Jesus is 504s

but one of many gods that Christianity is one way within many ways to reach heaven, to reach 513s

Nirvana, to reach complete peace and the afterlife. There are distractions and morals, shifts, 522s

shift and change and we think that we need to move with the day and age in which we find ourselves. 532s

But that's not the tradition that the apostles handed down. 540s

That is not the word that we are to stand firm in or hold fast to. 545s

Let's look at Ephesians chapter 4 verse 14 where Paul wrote, 553s

we must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, 558s

by people's trickery, by their craftiness into seatful scheming. 565s

Paul knew, Paul experienced it. The disciples in Paul's day experienced it throughout all the ages, 571s

Luther experienced the changing and shifting doctrine and the winds that would blow in new doctrine. 579s

And we have that even today and there's much opposition that can come in our way, 587s

part of what we teach in confirmation is the doctrine. And God's word and the reason for doing what we do 595s

and for confessing the faith as we confess it. When we confess our faith, we are making a public 605s

declaration, a public confession just as the Comfort man's will do this afternoon and we're 613s

confessing that in the face of opposition, in the face of any difficulties that come our way, 621s

we will stand firm in what God's word has to say. I think of a young person of my own time of 629s

being a young person when I was in high school. And this young man that was a friend of mine 640s

was very much into the party scene. He was out every weekend, 648s

carousing, drinking. We weren't really good friends. We didn't hang out on the weekends. I'm 653s

just going to say that. But he went to Bible camp and he started going to a Bible meeting 658s

every single week, a weekly Bible meeting that we would have. And he came to faith. He heard 667s

God's word preached to him. He heard sound doctrine and he came to faith and he told his parents 673s

and his parents said no, this is not okay. We want you how you were. 681s

And he made that public confession to his family and he tried to stand firm in faith and he 692s

tried to hold on to what he had obtained in the face of difficulty, in the face of opposition, 701s

of his daily living with his parents. And it was hard. It was very difficult for him to stand firm. 711s

And that's what we're asking our young people to do. To hear and learn the word of God, 722s

to grow in the faith and in the living word that they receive in their confirmation instruction. 730s

What Martin Luther in the Reformation opened up to all of Christendom. 737s

We're asking them to go into the world and make that public profession and to stand firm 744s

and to hold fast to what they have obtained. The world is always changing. And mankind, 752s

we want to change God with us. We want to change God to fit the world in which we live. 762s

But that's nothing new. That's what people of all time have wanted to do. 772s

The prophet Isaiah in the 29th chapter wrote, 777s

Shall the Potter be regarded as the clay? Shall the thing made say of its maker? He did not make 781s

me or the thing formed say of the one who formed it. He has no understanding. In our own stubborn 787s

and sinful nature, we believe that we have all authority that we control our own 796s

existences and that what comes in and out of our lives does so only by our allowing it to. 804s

We have the hubris to believe that what we want to be true for ourselves. What we want to be true 813s

in our own lives is good is right and valid. But we are not our own truth. We are not fit as to be good, 822s

right or valid. There is, however, one truth to which we hold fast. And that truth is Jesus 840s

Christ. In the Gospel of John the 14th chapter, he said, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. 851s

And what Martin Luther did or one of the things that Martin Luther did for the Christian church 862s

was to seek the truth. He was miserable. As we heard in his quotation, he was miserable in faith. 869s

He was miserable in belief that condemned him, that accused him of not being enough. 877s

And this is where we look at what God's word says. Let's look at verse 16 of our text today. 887s

Now, may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father who loved us and through grace gave us eternal 895s

comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. 903s

The Lord Jesus Christ, God our Father, it says, Paul writes that through grace, we were given eternal 911s

comfort, good hope that our hearts should be comforted and strengthened in work and word by Christ. Martin Luther 920s

had God's word, but did he have comfort? comfort is found in the living word who is Jesus Christ. 935s

Let's look up at verse 13. But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, 948s

beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation, 955s

through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. For this purpose, he called you 961s

through our proclamation of the good news so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 970s

There is comfort in this living word of Jesus Christ. You are chosen to believe. 978s

You don't have to live under the Word of Christ in condemnation that you are not enough, 988s

that you will never be enough because the truth of God's Word is that you aren't. You aren't enough 995s

and you will never be enough in your own self and in your own doing. But here that again 1003s

that you are chosen, God chose you as the first fruits for salvation, 1013s

through belief in the truth. Let's turn to Ephesians chapter 1. 1022s

Starting in verse 4, just as he chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world to be holy 1030s

and blameless before him in love, he destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, 1037s

according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely 1045s

bestowed on us in the beloved. In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our 1051s

trespasses according to the riches of his grace. That is the truth. There again we hear that we 1059s

are chosen before the foundations of the earth. We are chosen to believe and that belief gives us 1071s

forgiveness not from what we can do not, from what we can be for Christ, but for who Christ 1079s

is for us. That is the living word that Martin Luther searched for. That is the truth, that Martin 1088s

Luther uncovered the truth of the gospel and my brothers and sisters, you are chosen and you know 1100s

that you are chosen because you are hearing the good news. You are hearing the gospel proclaim to you 1111s

in this moment from my lips, but Christ's words, God's living word for you, hold fast to that 1119s

word that you are chosen. Paul defines the gospel for us. He defines it in first Corinthians 1131s

chapter 15, starting in verse 1. He says, now I would remind you brothers and sisters of the good 1143s

news that I proclaim to you, which you in turn received in which you also stand through which you 1152s

also are being saved if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaim to you, unless you have 1160s

come to believe in vain. So he is saying, you have received this message. We are going to hear what the 1167s

message is. You have received this message, stand from in this message, hold fast to this message, 1172s

which you received and he continues in verse 3. For I handed on to you as a first importance 1180s

what I in turn had received. Here's the gospel that Christ died for our sins in accordance with 1187s

the scriptures and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with 1196s

the scriptures. That is the gospel that Jesus Christ took upon himself our sins, that Jesus Christ 1205s

through his blood has redeemed you, the sinner from your sin, that Jesus Christ was buried, 1219s

buried, but that he rose again and all of this was in fulfillment of scripture. All of scripture 1229s

as Martin Luther in the Reformation points out, points to Christ. All of the Old Testament points 1240s

to Christ, the promise of God and all of the New Testament points us right back to that promise 1250s

from God fulfilled in Jesus Christ. That is the gospel. Last week we heard how the gospel can be turned into 1262s

law, but Martin Luther wanted to make sure that God's word was not mixed, that God's word was 1277s

not distorted, that law was law and it would kill us. It would show us our sin, but that the gospel 1288s

would be purely sweet promise for you and the gospel is delivered through Jesus Christ and in 1297s

Jesus Christ and that is where we have the comfort. In verse 14 it says that we obtain the glory 1309s

find comfort in the glory that you have obtained in Jesus Christ. You have obtained the righteousness 1320s

that he gives you through his blood. You have obtained forgiveness of your sins. You have been chosen 1328s

to have that. You have already been set apart in Christ Jesus for eternal life with him. 1336s

We give thanks to God for you. We give thanks to God that you have obtained his word, 1350s

his word of mercy, his word of salvation, his word of love and of forgiveness. 1361s

And this is where as we proclaim and profess and confess our faith as the comfort man's will do, 1370s

this afternoon. This is where we are called to stand firm and to hold fast. 1379s

But you're not standing to your own truth. You're not holding fast to your own truth. 1387s

You're standing firm upon the living word of God and you're holding fast to the promise 1395s

that has been delivered to you and for you by Jesus Christ Himself. 1403s

So in belief we do have joy because it's not you who does anything for you 1412s

but it is God who has already claimed you and chosen you for belief that is joy. 1422s