endurance

Image source There are nearly two dozen New Testament scriptures that speak of enduring or holding fast to the end. The wrong way to read these scriptures is to think, “I must sweat and strive and endure or be disqualified from the kingdom.” If the Christian race is a marathon, it begins at the finish line. [...]

A reader asked for my thoughts on the following passage: This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. (Rev 14:12, NIV) When I was a younger man I might’ve preached a message on this verse that went something like this: “You gotta hang [...]

What goes through your mind when you see men in orange jumpsuits waiting to be killed for their faith in Jesus? Do you think, “I could die for Jesus,” or “Thank God that’s not me”? The earliest Christians faced the lions of the Roman circus and persecution remains a fact of [...]

“Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” (2 Tim. 2:11–13) This is a trustworthy saying that comes in two parts [...]

Some believe that Christianity is a race. But what kind of race is it? Is it like a marathon, something to be endured rather than enjoyed? And do only those who endure to the end qualify for the kingdom? You might think so to read verses like these… We are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of [...]

Can you can lose your salvation if you fail to stand firm or endure to the end? There are about two dozen scriptures that have some bearing on this question. Here we will look at three of them. (The others are found here.) These three scriptures are all from Jesus and they are all variations on this: All men will [...]