Philippians 3:16: Only Let us Hold True To What We Have Attained

Philippians 3:16
[16] Only let us hold true to what we have attained. (ESV)

There is something about truth. It is unchanging. Our perceptions change. Our opinions change. Truth does not change. It is one of the defining characteristics of truth that it remains unchanged. In our current world there is a popular thought that you can have your truth and I can have my truth. That is an impossibility. Truth is universal. It is objective. It is actual.

Paul was a defender of the truth. He had taught the truth as revealed to him in Jesus Christ to the church at Philippi. They responded to the truth. Their lives had been changed and forever transformed. They accepted a salvation that is by grace, the free gift of God, and not by works of the Law.

As is often the case with truth it is challenged. In the case of the church at Philippi God's truth was challenged by the Judaizers. Judaizers were Jews who claimed that to truly be right with God the Old Testament Law had to still be practiced. This was in direct conflict with a belief in salvation by grace. Paul could have said, "Oh well, the Judaizers have their truth. The Philippian believers have their truth." He did not. He says in this verse, "Let us hold true to what we have attained."

It is important that we know the truth of God's Word. There is not room for two kinds of truth. Paul did not want the Philippian believers to be deceived into falsehood. Rather, he writes to encourage them to hold on to the truth. If you have attained salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, as a free gift of God's grace, stay true! Do not fall for a "false truth."

Have you begun the race with Christ? Do not be distracted. Truth is found in the Word of God. It is unchanging. Hold true to what you have attained!

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