Hold Fast

What does it mean to hold fast?

According to Strong’s Concordance, it means to hold literally or figuratively; direct or remote; such as a possession, ability, contiguity, relation or condition. It comes in a variety of tenses and moods, which depends on the context of the given verse. As I was meditating on God’s Word of the verses that pertain to hold fast, I thought of only two types of objects they talk about. Before I get to that, come with me and think on these passages to see if you can guess.

Job 27:6 - My righteousness I hold fast and will not let go; My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

Proverbs 4:13 - Take fast hold of instruction, let her not go; keep her; for she is thy life.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 - Prove (test) all things; hold fast that which is good.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 - Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

2 Timothy 1:13 - Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 3:6 - But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Heberews 4:14 - Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

Hebrews 10:23 - Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

Revelation 2:25 - But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

Revelation 3:3 - Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.

Revelation 3:11 - Behold. I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

So, what are the two types of things you hold fast to (or grasp)? Things that are firm or solid, and things that are precious in the eyes of the person holding it. Think about some of the things mentioned.

• Righteousness.
• Instruction.
• That which is good.
• Sound words.
• Profession (of faith).
• Salvation.

Things that are firm

Think about it. When people go mountain climbing, what do they hold onto? The mountain. The mountain doesn’t move. Now what if they grab onto a branch, or weed growing on the side? They may fall because it’s not a firm foundation.

Just as God’s Word, righteousness, and our salvation are firm. We don’t move it…it moves us. We hold onto it tightly, so that we are always strengthened by them. But not only hearing the Word of God is enough…but hearing and doing what God’s Word says is likened to a house build on the firm solid rock (Matthew 7:21-23).

Things that are precious

Before I was a Christian, I wanted to make my engagement to my wife very special. It was so memorable I can still remember it to this day. With the ring in my hand, we went to an Alice Cooper concert at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. We got there early and were 10 rows center from the stage. It was a great position…even though there were no seats. The bad thing is that we were almost on top of the mosh pit. Not good when you are carrying a $2,000 diamond ring. So what did I do? Instead of putting it in my pocket for fear of loosing it, I grasped onto it so tight I had the indentions (and the bloody marks) of the ring cut into my hand. Then, I knelt down during the guitar solo of “Eighteen”, and asked her to marry me and put it on her finger. It was safe at last because she was looking at it throughout the rest of the night, and would not let it go because it was precious to her as well.

God’s Word, righteousness, and salvation are precious to us. A Christian can’t live without them. God’s Word is likened to milk for newborn babes (1 Peter 2:2) and Jesus said that men shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). Not only that, but the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, and a pearl of great price, which a man found and hid, and sold everything he had to buy it and claim the treasure (Matthew 13:44-45).

Sin…precious to unbelievers but shifting sand

But there is an inverse of this meaning to the wicked.

Jeremiah 8:5 - Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

Backsliders love their sin, and their wicked deeds more than God. They too look at their sin as precious to them. Read Jeremiah 8:4-12 and look at the heart of the people who turn from God to serve themselves.

May it not be so for us Christians who love God more than our very lives. May we always look to God and His Word as a firm foundation, precious and worth more than gold.