Chapter 12- Endurance
But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. Jesus
In the search for what is ‘essential’ we discover not only what we need in our life, but we also begin to understand the need to retain what we have found. Everything that we have discussed centers around the Spirit of Truth: it’s influence in our environment, it’s development of our character, and it’s concepts which frame our thinking process. But to retain the understanding is something that we must struggle to accomplish. Retention is what instills endurance. A Spanish synonym for endurance is endurecer, which means to harden, and in many aspects that is what endurance requires, hardness. In order to persevere we have to harden ourself against all that would weaken our purpose.
Jesus said: But he that shall ensure to the end, the same shall be saved (Mt. 24:13). Jesus prefaced this statement by saying: And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold (Mt. 24:12). Endurance is required in order to maintain our hold on Truth. The nature of man is focused on natural needs, but the spirit within man searches for something more. When we allow natural wants to overtake spiritual needs, iniquity abounds. This is a very common problem. The consequence is that our love for Truth waxes cold. In order to be saved from this experience, Jesus said we must endure.
Endurance is not a very romantic word. I wonder how a bride and groom would feel on their wedding day if their vow was, I will endure this marriage to the end of my days? But it seems in our service to God (the pursuit of Truth), the word endurance encapsulates the ups and downs, the mountains and valley’s, the tests and trials that are a part of our service. We serve God, and we serve in His kingdom, in love; but we learn that there are many things to be endured.
When Jesus came down from the mountain after being alone with his Father he was confronted by disciples questioning him why his apostles were unable to cast out a certain devil. Jesus answered by saying, oh faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?(Mt. 17:17). Jesus’ endurance was being tested.
There is also a descriptive picture given in the book of Revelation. It is a question being asked from the souls under the altar, souls of those who were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held (Rev. 6:9), crying out: How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? (Rev. 6:10). This is an eternal glimpse of the patience of Truth, a picture of God waiting until the work is completed before the time of judgement. The question of how long, indicates weariness. When we are weary in the spiritual warfare we must rely on spiritual endurance. We endure because we understand that Truth always prevails.
We also have the counsel from Jesus, in patience possess ye your souls (Lk. 21:19), and that seems to go hand in hand with endurance. This is not a statement of discouragement, it is more of what we call a ‘reality check’. Endurance is ‘essential’, it allows us to persist even when we are weary.
A Good Soldier, A Good Athlete
Paul, when writing to Timothy, a younger coworker in the ministry, Paul encouraged Timothy to endure. Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully (II Tim. 2:1-5).
Paul used the illustration of a good soldier, a soldier committed to his purpose. Paul said you need to be able to endure hardness. Commitment to a purpose or a cause is responding to the call to service. In order to be useful in the cause we must be fully committed. Paul explained that a good soldier does not entangle himself with the affairs of this life. Paul’s counsel was to not become entangled with anything that will sway us from our purpose. It is the loss of focus that causes our love of Truth to wax cold.
There is a statement made about a soldiers’ preparedness, that says, A good soldier never stands when he can sit, and he never sits when he can lay down. The lesson being that in order to serve you must guard your strength, you must rest whenever it is possible. It is when we are tired, whether it be physically, mentally, or emotionally, that our resolve weakens. In order to endure we must rest when the occasion presents itself.
Paul also used the example of an athlete, saying that the one crowned as champion is the one who obeyed the rules of the game. In this race, being crowned does not mean that you came in first, it means that you finished and that you obeyed the rules. There is no way to cheat and win if we are in the pursuit of Truth.
The Overcomer
Jesus said: These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33). In order to be an overcomer we have to endure temptation, endure hardness and coldness. In essence we have to outlast our enemies.
In distance races half the battle is being able to disconnect your mind from what you are asking of your body. If you are successful in altering your state of mind you can keep running even when your body is insisting that you stop. There are natural walls that can be broken if you keep training, if you keep pushing yourself. In the pursuit of Truth, the same concept is applicable.
Jesus said, Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. An example is worth a thousand words of encouragement. Jesus demonstrated in his life that it is possible to be an overcomer. We can be of good cheer because we know that it is possible to attain our goal, to claim the prize. Records are set and broken all the time. When someone sets a new record their example is an inspiration to all who are in pursuit of the same prize. The record proves that what once was thought to be impossible is now possible, and not only is it possible it can be beaten.
The reason that we can be of good cheer in our pursuit of Truth is that we have the example of what is attainable. Another unique aspect in this pursuit is that it is not exclusive; exclusive meaning that only one person can be the possessor of Truth at a time. Truth is a spirit, it is not a trophy. We can all be in equal possession of it simultaneously. We are not attempting to set records or break them, we are enduring. Those who endure to the end will be saved.
Paul counseled in his letter to the Romans, Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21). We can be overcome or we can be an overcomer. The choice is ours.
Resolution
We have touched on maintaining a tender heart before, but it is applicable in this context as well. There is a statement made in the 95th Psalm that is then repeated three times in the epistle to the Hebrews: Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart (Ps. 95:7). There are many things that we must harden ourselves against in order to guard the Spirit of Truth in our heart, but we must not harden our heart in that process. We must be resolved in our purpose like Joshua, who said when counseling the children of Israel: And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Josh. 24:15). Joshua was resolved in his purpose to serve God. Joshua held the responsibility of the office of Moses. Joshua served as the leader of the children of Israel, and he guided them into the Promised Land. At the time when Joshua made this statement the tribes of Israel had taken possession of their inheritance, and Joshua was reminding them that ultimately, the choice to serve is an individual commitment.
Paul, in his epistle to the church at Philippi, encouraged them to focus on the future rather than the past. Speaking from his personal experience, Paul said: Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:12-14). Paul was speaking about the resurrection, which for Christians, represents the hope of our belief. Just as in a race, or as a soldier in battle, the hope of the goal is what enables us to be resolute in our purpose.
Conclusion
The search for the Spirit of Truth initiates our journey, the possession of Truth develops our character, and the hope of an eternal habitation in Truth instills within us our resolve to endure. Those who endure to the end shall be saved. Endurance is ‘essential’.