Holding Fast & Holding Forth

Any believer in a position of spiritual authority would want those he leads to continue serving Christ right up until the end. He would want this so that he could have cause for joy at the judgment seat of Christ. Investing in the lives of people so that they become more like Christ need not be in vain. Paul wants that to be true of the Philippian believers for his sake. I want that to be true of people I teach and touch as well. Pastors are appointed for the perfecting of the saints, but that perfecting must be done with the word of God. Paul feared that he labored for the Galatians in vain (Galatians 4.11). He said that he labored in birth again until Christ be formed in them (4.19). He said that he would have like to be present with them and change his tone because he had doubts about them (4.20).