Question:
Why the “if” in Colossians 1:21-23?

Answer:
Colossians 1:21-23:
21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

23  If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.The “if” is a challenge to all who profess to be Christians to show others that they are saved. God only knows our hearts, but we can show others that we are saved by our lives. Continuance in the faith is the most conclusive proof of the reality of our confession of Christ. If we are truly saved, we should show it to others by faithfulness in our lives. If someone turns away from the truth, we are right to wonder if they have ever been saved. A saved person may stray in his walk and we would not know he is saved, so that only the Lord would know that he is His (2 Timothy 2:19). There’s a difference between our standing (before God) and our state (our walk).