{"id":94207,"date":"2026-02-24T14:54:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=94207"},"modified":"2026-02-24T14:54:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:54:04","slug":"bound-and-determined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bound-and-determined\/","title":{"rendered":"Bound and Determined"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Gary Henry
\nvia WordPoints.com<\/a>\n

“When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord<\/em>” (Acts 11:23).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Barnabas knew it was not enough for the new Christians in Antioch to have obeyed the gospel. They would need to continue<\/strong> obeying it – and so he wisely urged them “that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

\"\"One of my mother’s many colorful expressions was “bound and determined.” It meant that a person was so intent on doing something, they could not be deterred: “I told you not to do that, but you’re just bound and determined to go ahead and do it anyway.”<\/p>\n

Let’s think about these two words as descriptive of the perseverance required to “continue with the Lord<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Bound<\/h2>\n

When we have made a commitment, as we did when we were baptized into Christ, we need to be bound by it. Pain and difficulties will not defeat us if we’re held<\/em> by the promise we made.<\/p>\n

Determined<\/h2>\n

Not even our most serious commitments will be carried out if we don’t decide<\/strong> to honor them. As we walk in Christ, it helps to remind ourselves daily of our confession of faith and to remake our promises to Him with renewed determination.<\/p>\n

When Paul was making his way to Jerusalem for what turned out to be his last time, his brethren tried to talk him out of going, knowing the dangers that awaited him there. But he knew he needed to go, and he would not change his mind. Luke wrote, “So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, ‘The will of the Lord be done’<\/em>” (Acts 21:14). Most of us would do well to emulate Paul’s doggedness in following his conscience.<\/p>\n

Like many other character traits, determination is good only if its objective<\/strong> is good. If the thing a person is determined to do is evil, or even inexpedient, then the unwillingness of that person to change his mind is not something we would praise him for. But when the objective is good, determination is wonderful – and it’s as powerful as it is wonderful.<\/p>\n

No matter the obstacles, if a person is “bound and determined” to reach his goal, he is likely to overcome them. In Christ, our object is heaven, the very best of all goals. May we be so determined to get there – and so open to every help the Lord will give us – the devil will be stunningly defeated.<\/p>\n

“Will is power” (German Proverb).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Gary Henry via WordPoints.com “When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord” (Acts 11:23). Barnabas knew it was not enough for the new Christians in Antioch to have obeyed the gospel. They would need…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1857],"class_list":["post-94207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-steadfast"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4913,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-continue-a-relationship-with-someone-of-a-different-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":94207,"position":0},"title":"Should I continue a relationship with someone of a different religion?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 27, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am involved with a young lady who is of a different denomination (AME). We've had a relationship for four years and have yet to make any decision on our future. She is convinced she saved but does not want to attend the Church of Christ because it is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57573,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-that-what-you-meant-to-say\/","url_meta":{"origin":94207,"position":1},"title":"Is That What You Meant to Say?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Steve Klein via The Bulletin of the Church of Christ at New Georgia, March 29, 2009 An insurance agent was writing a policy for a cowboy. \"Have you ever had any accidents?\" the agent asked. \"No, not really,\" replied the cowboy. \"A horse threw me off and kicked me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/cowboy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18437,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-satan-be-bound-if-he-is-walking-about-like-a-roaring-lion\/","url_meta":{"origin":94207,"position":2},"title":"How can Satan be bound if he is walking about like a roaring lion?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Would you please assist me with a question about Revelation 20? 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He made only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/divorce.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":91443,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-your-brother-is-overtaken-in-a-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":94207,"position":4},"title":"When Your Brother Is Overtaken in a Sin","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Heath Rogers The Parable of the Good Samaritan tells of a man who is ambushed, stripped, beaten, and left for dead (Luke 10:30-37). The first people to find him are his own countrymen, but they pass him by. It is the foreigner, a Samaritan, who stops and helps. 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