Above is a picture of Dr Roger Bannister breaking the four minute mile barrier at Iffley Road Stadium Oxford in 1954. This was a wonderful example of enduring to the end. Not many of you are called to exhibit this much commitment. but sticking with the Christian walk is a demanding task requiring much dedication and courage, especially in these end times. Makes me glad to be a monkey.

Gibber! Gibber!

Chugley

Are You Enduring to the End?

By Bud Hancock

The Value of Endurance

As a metal modelmaker for one of GM’s manufacturers, I spent 30 years in an environment that dedicated much of its time, revenue and resources to developing better automobiles, those that would function as designed for a long time and remain robust and satisfying to customers.

Testing the various auto parts, and especially, the heart of an auto – the engine – was done in a laboratory, adjacent to my workplace, where GM engines were tested for reliability and endurance. One specific test was called “high speed endurance”, wherein a test engine was connected to a dynamometer and, except for regular stops to change oil and perform other maintenance-related checks, the engine was run at “WOT” (wide open throttle) until it either survived the required number of hours, or it died suddenly, usually in a violent explosion of engine parts and hot oil.

The results of those tests provided the manufacturer with information on whether the engine was properly designed and built to sustain normal conditions satisfactorily, or whether additional design changes were needed. In the same way that endurance is valuable in an automobile engine, so it is in our Christian walk.

Even as increased endurance makes for a better product, it comes with a cost. Many thousands of hours of testing, with a lot of failures and “rethinking” of the product results in a significant cost of the product to the customer who buys it.

ENGINE EXPLOSION

Jesus Speaks: We (Must) Listen

I learned many lessons as I was growing up and especially as I entered adulthood and began working for various employers. Probably one of the most valuable lessons I learned was this: “When the boss speaks, listen up”. During childhood, the boss was my Dad and sometimes, my Mom, each of whom had the power and authority to spank my behind if I failed to heed their words. Later, I realized my employer(s) were also in authority over me where my work for them was concerned.

There are several reasons for this being so important; one is that because he IS the boss/authority and can decide if I continue in his employe. Another is that, being the boss and the authority, he very likely reached that position because, based on age and experience, he knows what he is talking about.

The Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, Who is the Word (the Logos) of God, and Who is the highest authority in the Church on this Earth, made a statement during His Olivet Discourse, recorded in Matthew 24:12-14, that is one of the most challenging to the Christian of all the scriptures in the New Testament:

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come”.

I want to focus on one sentence in that scripture: “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved”. I believe every word of the Bible has a purpose in God’s Plan, but some seem to be more loaded with critical info than others. This verse might be one of those.

The English word “endure” is a translation of the Greek word “hupomeno”, (Strong’s 5278, pronounced hoop-om-en’-o), and it means “to remain, to persevere, to have fortitude and to abide”. An automobile engine must endure tremendous heat, resulting from exploding fuel and the friction of all its moving parts, all of which can cause excess wear and potential damage to engine assembly. In somewhat the same way, a Christian faces potential damage resulting from the temptations that Satan brings to us, and also from the many confrontations we will have with unbelievers, many of whom are God-haters and Christ-deniers.

In this discourse, Jesus was describing to His trusted disciples, the conditions that we are now seeing in abundance: wars, rumors of wars, nation rising against nation, famines, pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places. All of these events can take a toll on the human mind and cause distress, frustration, fear and bring doubt of one’s ability to survive them all.

In addition to these natural and political events, they were told they would face many hardships and trials because of their belief in Him. Jesus was telling His disciples what they would be facing from “the Gentile nations” at a specific time during the Church Age. While those early disciples did face great persecution in their lifetimes, Jesus was letting ALL His disciples, those of that time as well as all others in the future, know that perilous times for all believers were coming and that they would all face some persecution.

The danger He mentioned was being unable to endure all these events, the result being that they would become offended, betray one another and actually hate, NOT their persecutors, but one another, causing their love to grow cold. It follows that this state of fear and hatred  would open the way for false prophets to arise and deceive many (remember, Jesus is talking NOT about unbelievers, but His disciples, Christians). In verse 13, Jesus stated that, “But he that shall endure unto the end (to remain, to persevere, to have fortitude and to abide”), the same shall be saved”.

Interestingly, the word “saved” in verse 13 is the Greek word “sozo” (Strong’s 4982, pronounced “sode’-zo”. It is the same word used in Romans 10:8-10, “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”.

Do the words of Romans 10:8-10 clash with what Jesus told us in Matthew 24:12-14? If, as Paul told us in Romans 10:8-10, that, in order to be saved (sozo) we must confess with our mouths the Lord Jesus and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, then why would it be necessary to “endure unto the end” as Jesus commanded in Matthew 24:12-14?

 Let me lay a little groundwork for my conclusions.

First and foremost, confessing and believing according to Romans 10:8-10 is NOT a separate human action or “life choice” from Matthew 24:12-14. In fact, as a believer lives and grows in his faith and Christian walk, the action of Romans 10:8-10 “becomes his life choice”, always believing that God indeed raised Jesus from the dead, and constantly confessing the Lordship of Jesus in his life.

In Romans, Paul is emphasizing that we must exercise our faith in order to receive the salvation God offers; in other words, we “speak” and then we “believe”, all in faith that is based upon the infallible truth of God’s word. As a result of these actions we are ”sozo” (saved). Now, considering that God is Love (1 John 4:8), when accepting His offered salvation, we accept that He functions in His kind of love (agape, Strong’s 26) that surpasses all understanding, and our acceptance of His salvation requires that we function, to the extent humanly possible, in that love also.

In Matthew 24, Jesus is saying that, with certainly, we will face situations, wars, pestilence, famines, earthquakes and hostile actions from Gentiles, and possibly even friendly fire from other Christians, that, unless we walk in love constantly, will cause offense and that offense will weaken our faith and allow doubt and fear to take control of our actions. Refusing the offense and continuing in love (agape) is the key to enduring to the end and, in the end, being saved (sozo).

For most of my life (81 years), I have not witnessed the kind of persecution that Jesus discussed with His disciples. But that does not mean that the believers in the United States or any other nation wherein Christians live, will be spared from it. On the contrary, the nation that was long the main provider of evangelism to the world, but which has now become one of the most apostate, may be the breeding ground for the kind of godless people who will provide the persecution Jesus spoke of, and according to 2 Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution”.

MEDIEVAL RACK TORTURE

I mentioned the cost of endurance when testing automobile engines; even so, there is a cost for the endurance we must seek after in our Christian walk. Sometimes, we must “rethink” everything we do, and be prepared to make necessary changes. Paul stated as much in Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”. If we are to be vessels of pure service to God, we must undergo the necessary testing and strive to emerge from it “better” in order “better serve” the One Who purchased us with His own blood. After all, that is the very least we can do for the One Who gave His all for us.

In conclusion, The true key to enduring unto the end is to not allow the persecutions to diminish our ability to walk in “agape”, the true Love of God, regardless of what comes our way. In so doing, we will not only endure to the end, but according to the words of James, half-brother of Jesus, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him”.

That crown, given by Jesus Himself, will make all the persecutions, trials, temptations and anything else that comes our way, fade away, never to be remembered again!

Maranatha and Blessings!

Bud Hancock

Born and raised in a small textile town in North Carolina, Bud’s family moved to Michigan in the hope of finding better employment with General Motors.  After graduating from high school, Bud began an apprenticeship with General Motors to become a Metal Modelmaker.  Retiring after a 30 year career, which included an eight year stint as a Metrologist (Science of high precision measurement), he and his wife moved back to North Carolina to be near his elderly parents.  Shortly thereafter, with both of his parents having passed, he began a new career in the bank security/ATM business, advancing from an entry level technician to one of two North Carolina customer service managers for his employer.  Retiring again after 13 years, he and his wife of 51 years relocated to Tennessee where Bud began writing articles emphasizing Biblical teaching and geopolitical issues.  At age 75, he and his wife relocated to South Carolina with their Miniature Schnauzer, Baxter.  Bud continues to study God’s word and write articles on Christian living and geopolitical issues from the Biblical end times  perspective.