He who Endures to the end…
Introduction
Although salvation is one of the easiest
things in the world to do, it is also one of the hardest things to maintain. Scripture
states that you are to be faithful unto death (Rev. 2:10). But what if your
life is threatened? Will you still be faithful? Will you show loyalty to God
and the church; even if it means you forfeit your life?
Where’s your Loyalty?
Several years ago, I was in one of the
store’s Friday Morning Meetings and, in addition to the standard news of sales,
profits, and other things; they announced that one of our supervisors was
leaving the company.
They asked him to say some words; an
impromptu farewell speech if you will. And for the next ten minutes he talked
about how great a company it was for us all to work for. As he rambled on, I leaned
in to one of my co-workers sitting next to me and asked, “If this is such a
great company to work for, then why is he leaving it?” My co-worker’s response
was, “His old job offered him more money.”
There’s the kicker right there! What his
speech amounted to was that this was a great company to work for unless you’re
offered more money from somewhere else! That is a lack of loyalty if you ask me
but that’s the way the world seems to work. I understand the desire to earn
more, but what does it benefit your co-workers if, you’re praising the company
with one hand and shaking hands of a rival with the other?
This then could serve as a warning to
Christians in that you must remain loyal to God and the church as you will be
tempted to return to Satan. Remember what Jesus said about false prophets in
Mt. 7:15-20.
Faithful unto Death
Throughout scripture it is referenced
that all Christians should remain faithful through their entire life (Mt.
10:22; 24:13; Jas. 1:12; Rev. 3:11) and when most read these verses, they think
of dying in their old age. They don’t understand that this could also mean
under threat of death by some outside force who would demand that you denounce
God so that you might continue to live. Could you remain faithful in a situation
like that?
It is easy for any bible student to sit
in the assembly week after week and state that they would never denounce God if
physically threatened by someone. Considering that events like this don’t
really happen in America; they feel confident to respond in the affirmative.
But if that threat were to become a reality, would they still be in the
affirmative? Or would they denounce God to save their own life and then later
repent of what they said? That is what being ‘Faithful even unto death’ is all
about.
Now I’m not saying that you should look
for opportunity to prove your loyalty to God by requesting someone to threaten
you. I’m stating that if it were to unexpectedly appear in your life, what
would you do? I will not answer that question, myself, as I have not been
threatened in that way. I can only hope that my faithfulness to God is stronger
than my desire to continue living. It is a decision we may all have to make
individually, but I pray that you never have to enter into that trial.
I didn’t Sign Up for this!
There are those who simply believe that
they became a Christian because they want to go to heaven. And although that is
the ultimate goal, there is so much more to being a Christian than that.
Defending the faith is the main aspect of the Christian’s life (1 Pet. 3:15;
Jude 3). You can’t simply sit back after being baptized and wait for heaven.
You have to work at maintaining your faithfulness by teaching others and
standing for the faith when it is being challenged. Sometimes it means standing
alone and other times it means losing your life for what you believe.
When the apostle Peter wrote, “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be
ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.” (1 Pet. 4:16) He knew that
those who call themselves Christians would indeed be persecuted for their
beliefs. If you are not being persecuted, there is a possibility that you are
not living your life as a Christian. You may be one in the home but you must
especially be one out in the world.
Read Ephesians 6:10-18 which describes
the Armor of God. No soldier of Christ should ever go into battle without this
armor. Wear it every day of your life and never drop your shield (vs. 16).
Those in the megachurches and community
churches see the assembly as fellow believers and contacts; both social and
business, and don’t give a moment’s thought to being threatened for their
beliefs.
If they were to be threaten, some might state, “this
isn’t the reason I became a ‘Christian’, I don’t want any part of this.” I put
the word Christian in quotes to show that just because you go to a church
doesn’t make you a Christian. We’ll look at that more closely in future
articles.
Early Church Example
I found this in one of the commentaries
I was reading on Rev. 2:10. The individual, Polycarp is historically known as a
Christian in the first and second century. Said to have been a member of the
church in Smyrna (Rev. 2:8):
“It is said of
Polycarp that when brought before the judge, and commanded to abjure and
blaspheme Christ, he firmly answered, ‘Eighty and six years have I served him,
and he never did me wrong, how then can I blaspheme my king who hath saved me?’
He was then adjudged to the flames, and suffered cheerfully for Christ his Lord
and Master.”
From this
example we learn that Polycarp, like the apostles, suffered in the name of
Christ even unto death. This is the challenge that some Christians will face
even today in the 21st Century.
Conclusion
Paul wrote
to Timothy in 2 Tim. 2:3, “Suffer hardship with me, as a
good soldier of Christ Jesus.” (ASV) Paul knew that Timothy and others who call themselves
Christians would endure trials and tribulations all because they showed loyalty
to Christ and God. We hope and pray that in today’s society when the same
threat surfaces that we can face it with the same conviction as those in the 1st
Century.
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