The Courage to Stand Alone

Cover Article

by Michael Jones · Week of August 2, 2026

There are moments when the ground beneath you narrows to a single strip of earth, and you discover that faithfulness is not a crowd activity. The Bible never promises that following God will make you popular. It promises something far better: that He will be with you when you stand alone. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). That promise is the bedrock under every act of holy defiance in Scripture.

Consider Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The king’s golden image towered over the plain of Dura. Music thundered, and an entire empire dropped to its knees, soldiers, governors, magistrates. But three young men remained on their feet. Their words to Nebuchadnezzar still crackle with conviction: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it… But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17–18). Notice the astonishing phrase: “even if he does not.” Their obedience was not contingent on rescue. They trusted His character so completely that they could walk into the flames without a guarantee of walking out. That is real faith: not the absence of fear, but the presence of a trust deeper than fear.

Centuries later, Peter and John faced the same kind of pressure in a different uniform. The Sanhedrin, the highest court in Jerusalem, commanded them to stop preaching in Jesus’ name. Yet Peter and John answered with breathtaking clarity: “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19–20). They simply declared where their allegiance lay and let the chips fall. Joshua spoke with the same resolve when he gathered Israel at Shechem: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). His declaration was not a threat; it was an invitation backed by a commitment that would not bend regardless of what the nation decided.

You and I may never face a literal furnace or a ruling council, but the pressure to bow is no less real. It arrives in the workplace when everyone cuts ethical corners and you are expected to play along. It whispers at family gatherings where your faith is treated as an eccentricity to be tolerated. It presses in through screens that normalize what God calls sin and mock what God calls holy. Paul warned Timothy that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). The form of persecution changes with the century; its certainty does not. We are tempted to soften our convictions one degree at a time, a silence here, a compromise there, until the gap between what we believe and how we live becomes a canyon. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). God does not ask us to be obnoxious or self-righteous. He asks us to be faithful, even when faithfulness is expensive.

Here is the promise that makes courage possible: you are never truly alone. When the three Hebrews walked through the fire, Nebuchadnezzar saw a fourth figure in the flames (Daniel 3:25). God did not remove the furnace; He entered it with them. Jesus told His disciples, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The trouble is guaranteed, but so is His victory. Isaiah records God’s tender assurance: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned” (Isaiah 43:2). Standing alone for Christ does not mean standing without Christ. It means standing with the One whose presence outweighs every crowd that ever gathered against you. So take courage. Plant your feet. Let the music play and the masses bow. You were made to stand, not in your own strength, but in His. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). - MJ

Other congregations are welcome to reprint this. It may be reproduced in another congregation’s bulletin or newsletter without asking permission. An acknowledgement of Orange View Church of Christ is appreciated but not required.

Bible Questions & Answers

How do I choose the right church?

The question itself needs reframing. The New Testament does not present church as something you shop for: it presents the church as something Christ built (Matthew 16:18), purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28). So, at a large, macro, level, the “right church” is just Christianity, as opposed to the various world religions that are out there (e.g., Islam, Buddhism).

It may be that the question is more about finding the right congregation within Christianity; “church” would then be used to refer to a local congregation, i.e., a group of Christians that work and worship together within the body of Christ. If so, the real question is not “Which church suits my preferences?” but “Where can I find the church that matches the pattern Jesus and His apostles established?” This is the restoration plea: rather than choosing among denominations, we go back to the inspired text and look for a congregation that follows the New Testament blueprint. The good news here is that congregations are described in detail throughout the scriptures, so every generation should be able to recognize churches that follow the scripture and churches that don’t.

Paul wrote, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17), that is, by His authority. Any practice or structure that cannot be traced to apostolic teaching has no rightful place in the church. Luke provides our first snapshot: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). Every element in that verse is a measuring stick.

First, examine what a congregation teaches about salvation. On the day the church began, Peter told a convicted crowd, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). The Greek preposition eis (“for”) denotes purpose: baptism is not a symbolic afterthought but the divinely appointed moment of forgiveness. Paul reinforces this in Romans 6:3–4: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” The language of burial demands immersion: the Greek baptizo itself means “to dip, to plunge, to submerge.” A congregation that reduces baptism to an optional symbol or replaces immersion with sprinkling has departed from the apostolic pattern on a matter tied directly to forgiveness (see also 1 Peter 3:21, Mark 16:16, Acts 22:16). Look for a church that teaches baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, exactly as the apostles preached it, and rule out any congregation that teaches a “sinner’s prayer” or any other method of salvation contrary to the scriptures.

Second, examine the congregation’s worship. The early Christians gathered on the first day of the week to break bread (Acts 20:7). Paul instructed the Corinthians about the Supper’s sacred significance (1 Corinthians 11:23–29), treating it as an important part of the worship assembly. In music, the apostolic instructions are specific: “Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19); and “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (Colossians 3:16). The early church for centuries understood this as unaccompanied congregational singing, and the term “acapella” means “in the way of the church”. A church following the New Testament pattern will practice a cappella singing and observe the Lord’s Supper regularly.

Third, examine leadership. Paul lists qualifications of elders, also called shepherds or overseers, in 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9: “above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2). Each congregation in the New Testament was overseen by a plurality of elders (Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5), not a single pastor-CEO. Look for qualified, godly men serving as shepherds according to scriptural criteria. Any congregation with women serving in role of an elder/pastor should be immediately rejected as not following the Biblical model.

Finally, look for a congregation that lives out the “one another” commands with genuine warmth. The Hebrew writer exhorts, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:24–25). The church is not a spectator event; it is a family where members bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), confess sins to each other (James 5:16), and reach outward with the gospel to the lost (Mark 16:15). The goal is not to find a perfect congregation: none exists this side of eternity. The goal is to find a congregation that honors Christ by holding fast to apostolic teaching in its salvation message, its worship, its leadership, and its shared life. That is not denomination shopping. That is restoration: seeking the church you can read about in your New Testament and being part of it today. - MJ