HOW TO ENDURE TO THE END
by
Keith Hunt
Jesus made it plain in Matthew 24 when He said, He that shall endure to the end shall be saved.
He also said in this same chapter that before He came again, Evil shall abound and the love of many will wax cold.
Is there some verses in the Bible that amplifies enduring to the end? Yes there is indeed!
“And besides this, giving all diligence add to your faith— VIRTUE, and to virtue KNOWLEDGE, and to knowledge TEMPERANCE, and to temperance PATIENCE, and to patience GODLINESS, and to godliness BROTHERLY KINDNESS, and to brotherly kindness LOVE (2 Peter 1: 5-7).
The AMPLIFIED BIBLE puts it this way—
“5 For this very reason, applying your diligence [to the divine promises, make every effort] in [exercising] your faith to, [e]develop moral excellence, and in moral excellence, knowledge (insight, understanding), 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, steadfastness, and in your steadfastness, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly affection, and in your brotherly affection, [develop Christian] love [that is, learn to unselfishly seek the best for others and to do things for their benefit].”
MORAL EXCERLENCE
You can not play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal. He who wants to keep his garden tidy doesn’t reserve a plot for weeds.
From a work called “Markings”
It will be difficult for children raised in this era when they reach adult life to be decision makers about right and wrong, because they have been without guidelines. They will have no idea what moral concepts are all about.
The U.S. News and World Report — October 13 - 1975 Part of a report on the state of morality in the western world.
Baseball umpires are carved from granite and stuffed with microchips. They are professional dispensers of pure justice.Once when Babe Pinelli called Babe Ruth out on strikes Ruth made a popullist argument, Ruth reasoned fallaciously (as populists do) from raw numbers to moral weight. “There’s 40,000 people here who know the last one was a ball, tomato head.,” Pinelli with the measured stateliness of John Marshall: “Maybe so, but mine is the only opinion that counts.”
Christians are also pressed by the weight of numbers aligned against the moral law of God. But the Christian knows that in the end, only one opinion counts that of the umpire of all human affairs.
750 Engaging Illustrations
KNOWLEDGE
There are those— “Ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3: 7).
There are over 150 verses in the Bible that contain the word "knowledge" (varying slightly depending on the translation, such as the KJV, ESV, or NIV).
The Foundation of Knowledge
- Proverbs 1:7 — "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
- Proverbs 9:10 — "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."
The Value and Pursuit of Knowledge
- Proverbs 8:10 — "Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold."
- Proverbs 15:14 — "The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly." [1]
Warnings and the Lack of Knowledge
- Hosea 4:6 — "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me."
- Yes God sees our people do lack true knowledge of Him and His word.
- Ecclesiastes 1:18 — "For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow."
- Yes having the knowledge of prophecy gives us sorrow to know what will come to pass before the the age to come arrives.
Knowledge in Christian Growth
- Colossians 1:9–10 — "...asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding..."
- Yes we must grow in true knowledge.
TEMPERANCE [SELF CONTROL]
In May 1996, 5 foot 7 inches, 118 pound Miss Venezuela won the Miss Universe contest. According to the Chicago Tribune, after her victory reporters asked her what she wanted to do first. “’I'm going to do something,” she said., “I have not been able to do for three weeks— eat, eat, and eat and sleep.”
Apparently she kept her word. She quickly gained weight, to the point where pageant officials were complaining. One pageant official explained “She has various swimsuit contracts, and they are not happy she has gone a bit chubby.”
She kept on gaining though. According to People Weekly by January 1997, a new personal trainer weighed her in at 155 pounds. And at one point she weighed in at 160 pounds. But with the help of her trainer within a few months she was back down to an ideal weight of 130 pounds.
Without ongoing self-discipline how quickly we can squander our accomplishments. See-control must be a life style, not an occasional event.
750 Engaging Illustrations for Christians
Our coach and teacher is the Father and Christ. They are in us (John 14: 23).
They are in us via the Holy Spirit, the divine nature (2 Peter 1: 4). They and their world teach us the right way to live, in thought, word, and deed. Through them and their Spirit we can live a life of self-control.
PATIENCE [PERSEVERANCE]
Jean Dominique Bauby, a French journalist who had been editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine ELLE, suffered a stroke in December of 1995. It left him unable to to either speak or move, although his mind was unaffected. The only part of his body still left under voluntary control was his left eyelid.
Bauby learned to communicate with that eyelid. First, he learned a signal for “yes” and another for “no.” Ten when a therapist recited or pointed to the letters in the French alphabet, he would blink when she reached the letter he wanted. In this way, he formed words, then sentences. Difficult though it was, he composed an entire book, THE DIVING SUIT AND THE BUTTERFLY, prior to his death on March 9, 1997. In its first week of publication, it sold 146,000 copies.
BAUBY DID VWHAT HE COULD WITH WHAT HE HAD., To each of us the Lord has given some ability and some opportunity for service.
1001 Quotes, Illustrations and Humorous Stories
Think on the PATIENCE Jean Bauby had to have to write a book this way. But it was the only way he could.
We are also in a distance race of PATIENCE—one step at a time in our Christian walk. We must have enduring patience living as a Christian each day we are given.
GODLINESS
Godliness is defined in standard Canadian English dictionaries as the quality or practice of conforming to the laws and wishes of God, or the state of being devout, pious, and morally upright. [1, 2]
Most of us understand Godliness as being like God. So to be like Him we need to read and study His word, the Bible. We must let Christ’s mind be in us as the apostle Paul said (Philippians 2: 5).
We understand God by what He has told us about Himself in His word. When we know what He is like we then apply all that He is to ourselves. This we can do if we are humble in attitude, willing to learn truth, willing to admit we are in need of God’s Holy Spirit to lead and to teach us the way of life that God lives. As Peter said God in the form of Jesus Christ came to set us the example to follow in His steps (Peter 2: 21, 22).
BROTHERLY KINDNESS
The apostle John told us this, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death. Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer and you know no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down his life for us, and we ought trot lay down our life for the brethren” (1 John 3: 14-16).
Jesus laid down His life for us. “Laid down” is in the Aorist tense in the Greek. Aorist mean an action done and completed in the past. Jesus was killed and died at one set time in the past, to take our sins upon Himself.
“We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” The words “lay down:” here is in the present continuous tense. As a way of life we are to serve the brethren.
This truth is shown in verse 17. “Whosoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother have needs, and shuts up his compassion from him, how can dwell the love of God in him.”
Verse 18, “My little children, let us not love [only] in word and the tongue, but in deed and truth.”
There are many passages in the New Testament that show and teach we are to serve in what ever way we can, our brethren.
LOVE
Love that is the love of God is expounded by the apostle John in his letters and his Gospel, expounded for us in plain language.
You could spend hours looking up the word “love” in the Bible. Use Strong’s Concordance to do so. It would be a fitting family study, each member of the family reading a verse in turn.
SO THERE IT IS. WHAT WE ARE TO DO TO REMAIN FAITHFUL TO THE END .
“8 For as these qualities are yours and are increasing [in you as you grow toward spiritual maturity], they will keep you from being useless and unproductive in regard to the true knowledge and greater understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is blind—shortsighted [closing his spiritual eyes to the truth], having become oblivious to the fact that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, believers, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you [be sure that your behavior reflects and confirms your relationship with God]; for by [f]doing these things [actively developing these virtues], you will never stumble [in your spiritual growth and will live a life that leads others away from sin]; 11 for in this way entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly provided to you” (2 Peter 1: 8-11 Amplified Bible version).
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