Throughout the New Testament, the charge is unmistakable: guard and keep what you have already received. This is not a suggestion for the immature or a gentle encouragement for the fainthearted—it is a command from the Lord Himself. Jesus says plainly:
“But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.” (Revelation 2:25)
“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” (Revelation 3:11)
We are not called to chase after novelty or to graduate from the gospel that first reconciled us to God. Instead, we are commanded to cling to the original message—the gospel of Christ crucified and risen—refusing to be moved away from it by any means. The crown, the assurance, the very blessing of our reconciliation and holiness before God, hangs on this perseverance. If you let go, you risk losing not just a sense of peace, but the very assurance of your standing before God.
Paul’s words to the Colossians are explicit. God has already reconciled us in Christ’s body through death, presenting us holy, unblameable, and unreproveable in His sight. But this is not an automatic, mechanical state. Paul’s warning is sharp:
“And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard…” (Colossians 1:21-23)
Here is the dividing line: to continue in the faith, grounded and settled, is to remain in the state God has provided—holy and unblameable. To be moved away from the hope of the gospel is to forfeit the assurance and blessing that flow from Christ’s finished work. The apostles do not treat this as a secondary matter. Every epistle is filled with exhortations and warnings: remember what you heard at the beginning, continue in it, and do not allow yourself to be drawn away by the teachings of men.
Paul presses this point further:
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6-7)
How did you receive Christ? By faith—by hearing the gospel and believing. That is the only way to walk. The Galatians were rebuked for abandoning this principle, thinking they could perfect themselves by works after beginning in the Spirit by faith. Paul insists: the way forward is the way you began. Stay in the initial sense of blessing that comes from the gospel—the announcement that your sins are forgiven, that you are reconciled, that you are a child and heir.
But the enemy is relentless. His chief strategy is not to tempt you with open sin, but to destroy your assurance by shifting your focus away from Christ and His sufficiency. He uses philosophy, vain deceit, and the traditions of men to spoil believers—to rob them of their confidence and completeness in Christ. Paul’s warning is not theoretical:
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power…” (Colossians 2:8-10)
To accept these human teachings is to be diverted from Christ’s sufficiency. The result is not harmless; it is catastrophic. You are no longer settled, no longer abounding in thanksgiving, no longer complete in Christ. The initial sense of blessing is destroyed, and with it, the assurance and vitality that mark the true Christian life.
Let this be clear: if you allow yourself to be moved away from the hope of the gospel—if you trade the original message for the philosophies and traditions of men—you do not merely lose a feeling. You forfeit the very crown, the assurance, and the spiritual vitality that God intends for you. The gospel is not a starting point to be left behind; it is the only ground on which you stand holy and unblameable before God.
Therefore, guard what you have received. Refuse every message that adds to or subtracts from Christ. Persevere in the faith as you received it, and you will remain complete in Him—abounding in thanksgiving, confident in your inheritance, and unshakable in your sonship. Anything less is not a minor error; it is a collapse of the very foundation of your justification and assurance. Hold fast.
