by David Gibson<\/p>\n
What do new converts especially need to hear?<\/p>\n
These babes in Christ were urged:<\/p>\n
In view of the “many tribulations” ahead, these exhortations to hold true were exactly what these new disciples most needed to hear.<\/p>\n
Newly-baptized believers are the most vulnerable (Matthew 13:20-22). Yet even we who have been in Christ for decades need these exhortations too.<\/p>\n
Paul said of one of his coworkers, “… for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica<\/em>” (II Timothy 4:10 NASB). Tragically, Demas let the powerful world-magnet pull his soul more strongly than the promises of God.<\/p>\n “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever<\/em>” (I John 2:15-17 NKJV).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So there we have it-we can either love the world or do the will of God. We can either cling to a perishing world or abide forever. We know what Demas chose. We know what Paul chose.<\/p>\n And each day we are choosing-what?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by David Gibson What do new converts especially need to hear? Barnabas was sent to encourage the newly formed church in Antioch of Syria. “… when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord …” (Acts 11:23 NASB). In Antioch…<\/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_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[642,1946,917],"class_list":["post-99078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-christianity","tag-new-christian","tag-persistence"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":93917,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/stand-firm-in-the-lord\/","url_meta":{"origin":99078,"position":0},"title":"Stand Firm in the Lord","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hugh DeLong \"Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved\" (Philippians 4:1). Our relationship with the Lord comes with resistance from the world and the devil. Often, it isn't the 'big pushback' but the\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":54038,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-stop-using-social-media-that-advertises-abortions\/","url_meta":{"origin":99078,"position":1},"title":"Should I stop using social media that advertises abortions?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was on Instagram and saw an ad for Planned Parenthood. it made me so mad! I immediately reported it as offensive. But should I just stop using it altogether? Would it be wrong for me to make a post about why abortion is evil? I'm a woman and\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":15161,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-god-forgive-me-for-using-his-sons-name-in-vain\/","url_meta":{"origin":99078,"position":2},"title":"Will God forgive me for using His Son’s name in vain?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading your web site about using God's name or Jesus' name in vain. I was reading it because this morning I made a big, huge mistake! My 10-year-old daughter was asked to sit next to her 9-month-old brother on the couch so that I could grab his\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":28584,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/any-suggestions-for-obsessive-worrying\/","url_meta":{"origin":99078,"position":3},"title":"Any suggestions for obsessive worrying?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 21, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a member of the Lord's church and have been since my teenage years. I am now middle-aged and have kids and a husband. For many years I have dealt with unwanted and compulsive thoughts in which they have all been pretty much related to worry and fear.\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":16644,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-you-say-judges-1131-is-better-translated-as-whoever-instead-of-that-which\/","url_meta":{"origin":99078,"position":4},"title":"Why do you say Judges 11:31 is better translated as “whoever” instead of “that which?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I don't know where you have received the understanding\u00a0about Judges 11:31 because it is not coming from the text. Verse 31 uses the relative and all-purpose preposition\u00a0'asher. Strictly translated, it means in this case \"that which\". \"And it will be that which is going up from the doors of\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":44145,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-i-learn-about-the-bible-i-get-anxious-that-im-not-doing-well-enough\/","url_meta":{"origin":99078,"position":5},"title":"When I learn about the Bible, I get anxious that I’m not doing well enough","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I've been reading through a lot of these questions and answers looking for some guidance, but I continue to feel a little lost. I've always struggled with anxiety, and when I pray to God asking Him to forgive me, guide me, and tell Him that I have faith\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":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99078"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99081,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99078\/revisions\/99081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}