“You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked…”
from your own steadfastness
There are two dangers Christians might face with false teachers. The first is that they may lose their stability. Instability will unhinge their souls. Their souls will become like the wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
The word “steadfastness” means to set firmly and carries the idea of fixedness. It is a state of security and safety. Peter is saying that his readers should get a firm hold on the Word of God.
“For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ” (Colossians2:5).
This phrase is not referring to falling from salvation but falling from stability in the faith. God can keep us from falling.
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen” (Jude 24-25).
Principle:
We gain solidity of the soul by knowing God’s Word.
Application:
Some of us neglect our faith. We rarely study the Bible. When a crisis comes, we are great candidates for false teaching and distortions of Christianity. We do not attach the anchor of our souls to anything. Our anchor floats in the water, and the boat of our soul tosses furiously with every new religious wind that comes from afar.
The only way to gain stability of soul is to know God’s Word.
