I Corinthians 16: 13-14 “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all you do be done in love.”  Our verses this week should be burned into a man’s heart as he leads his life and his family.  Paul gives five final imperatives, five last commands, to the Corinthians and to us.  First, we are to stay alert, to watch, to be awake, to be vigilant and to always be on guard against spiritual dangers.  We are to be alert to Satan, for temptations, for apathy and indifference, and false teachings.  The second imperative is to stand firm in the faith which refers here to the faith of the truth or content of the gospel.  Satan cannot take our saving faith away, but he can and tries to confuse our faith and the sound doctrines of the Bible.  He started this process when he twisted God’s command to Adam and Eve.

The third imperative is to be mature and courageous which Paul commands to act like men.  Maturity in our Christian walk is to know what God says and then obeying.  It is the opposite of immaturity where a person makes bad decisions or no decisions.  The fourth principle is to be strong which means to have inner, spiritual strength and character.  This strength comes from God and not ourselves as Paul described in I Corinthians 10: 12 “Therefore, let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” We grow stronger as we walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.  The fifth principle is that we do everything in love.  Love completes balances and compliments everything else.  Without it, we could become harsh, hard and even militant.

I know of no better way to lead your own life, your family and others around you than by the five imperatives we find in these two verses.  It starts with being on the alert just as you would be if you were walking in an Alaskan wilderness and bear country with a pellet gun.