12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Faith doesn’t have to be stopped all at once for it to fail in its purpose. More often than not, faith grows cold over time. Slowly lack of faith creeps in, growing imperceptively in influence and control. In the end times this waning of fervor will characterize many people’s walk with Christ. We have the responsibility to keep up our diligence. We can’t afford to let our guard down. I am sure you can name a few people who used to be on fire for Christ, their lives bearing the distinct mark of the Gospel. They spent time in the Word, prayer and fellowship. Their speech reflected His character. But something happened, they began to draw back. There can be many reasons, but only one result, if they don’t turn. We must stand firm to the end. We cannot give up our quest for His will in our lives. When wickedness is on the rise, it is easy to get swept away in its tide. It is easy to go along with the crowd and give in to sin and doubt. And when we do, we get colder, more distant. We must stand firm against the tide of wickedness and for the Truth of the Gospel. That is one of the reasons we gather for fellowship and worship. We so often experience our walk of faith as a solo operation. But we are part of His body, and we get to experience that togetherness when we gather for corporate worship. Don’t let your faith grow cold. Stand firm.
The Arnold Journey 