Run with Endurance

Dear friends in Christ, 

Let me encourage you today, especially those of you who feel like giving up. 

The Scripture says, "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." (Heb 10:36)

That applies to everything you do within God's will, including all your service to the Lord. You need to persevere. You need to hang in there to the very end. Keep on believing God. Keep trusting the Lord!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Gal 6:9).

The promise that you will reap a harvest at the proper time is conditional. It is only given if one does not become weary in doing good, and does not give up.

As Jesus said, "The one who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Mt 24:13).

It's not the quitters who will be saved. He made that clear in his parable of the sower, in which one of the seeds was sown on rocky soil, where it sprouted quickly, but was quickly scorched by the sun (Mt 13:5-6). The Lord said this represents someone who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy, but when trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, he soon falls away, because he has no root and lasts only a short time (Mt 13:20-21). The one who falls away from the Lord will not be saved, so you mustn't do that. Likewise, no matter what you undertake to do that is in God's will, you need to stand firm until the end, and finish what you started just as God always does (Phil 1:6).

Nothing that is truly worthwhile comes easily without making any effort. Anything we seek to do that is of eternal value is going to come with challenges and resistance, because we have an enemy that always tries to stop us from doing God's will. That's why we need to be persistent like the importunate widow (Lk 18:1-8). You need to press on, stay the course, and refuse to cave to the enemy.

We also need to remember that trials come to test our faith, in order to produce perseverance in us. James wrote:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (Jas 1:2-4)

This means that what you need to do is change your perspective on the trials, and consider it pure joy. You must let perseverance finish its work in you, which is the only way you will become mature and perfect.

You need to stand firm and let nothing move you, giving yourself fully to the Lord's work, as Paul the apostle wrote:

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1Co 15:58)

Before you undertake to do something for the Lord, whatever that may be, you need to pray and ask Him if this is something He wants you to do. Once you hear from Him that it is His will for you to do it, and you have confirmed that it is, by checking the Word of God to make sure it does not contradict Scripture, then that is your direction from God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is what you received when you were in the light.

Once you set out to accomplish it, you will often encounter a crisis of belief, where you will question whether you really heard from God. In those moments when you are in a crisis of belief, you must remember in the dark the direction you received when you were in the light, and follow it by faith without wavering. You must be obedient to the heavenly vision, as Paul was (Ac 26:19).

The entire chapter of Hebrews 11 is filled with accounts of saints who kept the faith and endured to the end like Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. That's our great cloud of witnesses, who have gone on into glory before us, and now it's our turn to run this race. 

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12:1-2).

You must run with perseverance (Greek, hupomonē, endurance). No one else can do that for you. But be sure that what you are running is the race marked out for you, and not the race you have marked out for yourself, or the race that someone else has marked out for you. Be sure it is the will of God you are doing, and not your own. And be sure it is not something you are doing simply to please man.

And don't put any confidence in the flesh. If you put your confidence in yourself, then you will surely fail, as Peter did. Remember that he said, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will. Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." (Mat 26:33, 35). Of course, we all know that he did deny the Lord that very same night, and the Lord knew in advance that it was going to happen. But the Lord didn't condemn him, because He knew that it was satan's plan to try and sift Peter like wheat. Rather, he prayed that Peter's faith would not fail.  

Therefore, put your confidence in the Lord, not in yourself, and avoid making prideful oaths like, "I will never do this or that." Rather pray with that same intensity, "Lord help me never to deny you. help me to never quit, never give up, never give in, and never give over to the enemy. Help me never to love my own life, even so much as to shrink from death. Help me endure to the end. May Christ always be exalted in my body whether by life or by death. I trust in you, Lord, to keep me."

Notice it says to fix your eyes on Jesus. That's because all our confidence is in Him, and not in ourselves. We know that, if it were not for the grace of God, then we, like Peter, would deny Him, too. But Jesus is the author and the finisher of your faith. He authored your faith, and He will finish it. He is our perfect example, who endured the cross, finished the work the Father had given Him to do, and sat down at the right hand of God. He knows no defeat. He never fails. His love never fails. And His words will never pass away. 

Closing Words

Run with perseverance the race the Lord has marked out for you, fixing your eyes on Jesus, who is the author and the finisher of your faith. He who authored your faith will finish it. Trust in Him to keep you until the end, because he who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.

You should not quit, give up, give in, or give over to the enemy. You won't accomplish anything worthwhile that way. Unless you are quitting something sinful or bad for you, like cigarettes, heroin, or lying, for example, then you should always finish any good work for the Lord that He told you to do, unless He tells you to stop. There is no reward or honor in heaven or on earth for quitting. Keep the faith. Be faithful in all things. Stand firm and endure to the end. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord. If what you are doing is the will of God, then finish doing it. God always finishes what He starts, and we must be imitators of God. 

I hope this has encouraged you not to quit doing God's will.

Attributes: Most Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, all rights reserved, used by permission. Image may be subject to copyright, used per the Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Faith in Action. The Active Nature of Faith, Seven Things That Accumulate Building Materials in Heaven, Overcomers in This Life, From Self-confidence to Confidence in the Lord, Walking by Faith, Obedient to the Heavenly Vision, Bearing Fruit in Every Good Work, Whatever You Do, Do All Like This, Faith Works, Pleasing the Lord, Living a Life Worthy of the Lord, and the other posts available through the links on the Home page. You may also access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Wesley and Henry on the Gospel Law

In my article The Spirit's Law of Life, I have written about the biblical expression, known as "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus", which is used in the New Testament Scriptures to refer to the rule of life in the Kingdom of God for all those who believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I call it "the gospel law" or "the gospel rule", which we must obey. As I wrote in that article, there are seven expressions used in the New Testament Scriptures to refer to this gospel rule, and one of them is "the law that gives freedom", which is found in James. He wrote: "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom," (Jas 2:12). 

In today's post, I simply want to share with you a couple of excerpts from the commentaries on that verse by two famous and well-respected English preachers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries -- Matthew Henry and John Wesley, equating "the law of liberty" with the gospel. I hadn't realized that they did so until after I had written that previous article of mine, but now that I have discovered what they wrote, I want to post it here in support of my point.

John Wesley

When I checked, out of curiosity, to see what Wesley had to say about the law of liberty, here is what I found. He wrote:

"So speak and act - In all things. As they that shall be judged - Without respect of persons. By the law of liberty - The gospel; the law of universal love, which alone is perfect freedom. For their transgressions of this, both in word and deed, the wicked shall be condemned; and according to their works, done in obedience to this, the righteous will be rewarded."

Wesley understood that the law of liberty that James spoke about refers to the gospel, saying that it is the law of universal love. I know that it's a foreign concept for most people these days to think of the gospel as a law, but it's biblical, and it alone is perfect freedom, as Wesley stated. He often follows what Matthew Henry said in the century before him, but usually says it in much more concise terms. 

Matthew Henry 

Here is what Matthew Henry believed as I do that the law of liberty is the law of Christ (1 Co 9:21). In his commentary on James 2:12, he wrote:

"James directs Christians to govern and conduct themselves more especially by the law of Christ. So speak and so do as those that shall be judged by the law of liberty, Jas_2:12. This will teach us, not only to be just and impartial, but very compassionate and merciful to the poor; and it will set us perfectly free from all sordid and undue regards to the rich. Observe here, 

1. The gospel is called a law. It has all the requisites of a law: precepts with rewards and punishments annexed; it prescribes duty, as well as administers comfort; and Christ is a king to rule us as well as a prophet to teach us, and a priest to sacrifice and intercede for us. We are under the law to Christ. 

2. It is a law of liberty, and one that we have no reason to complain of as a yoke or burden; for the service of God, according to the gospel, is perfect freedom; it sets us at liberty from all slavish regards, either to the persons or the things of this world. 

3. We must all be judged by this law of liberty. Men's eternal condition will be determined according to the gospel; this is the book that will be opened, when we shall stand before the judgment-seat; there will be no relief to those whom the gospel condemns, nor will any accusation lie against those whom the gospel justifies. 

4. It concerns us therefore so to speak and act now as become those who must shortly be judged by this law of liberty; that is, that we come up to gospel terms, that we make conscience of gospel duties, that we be of a gospel temper, and that our conversation be a gospel conversation, because by this rule we must be judged. 

5. The consideration of our being judged by the gospel should engage us more especially to be merciful in our regards to the poor (Jas_2:13): For he shall have judgment without mercy that hath shown no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. Take notice here, (1.) The doom which will be passed upon impenitent sinners at last will be judgment without mercy; there will be no mixtures or allays in the cup of wrath and of trembling, the dregs of which they must drink. (2.) Such as show no mercy now shall find no mercy in the great day. But we may note, on the other hand, (3.) That there will be such as shall become instances of the triumph of mercy, in whom mercy rejoices against judgment: all the children of men, in the last day, will be either vessels of wrath or vessels of mercy. It concerns all to consider among which they shall be found; and let us remember that blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

That was so well stated. Just to recap some of his key points, he wrote, The gospel is called a law, Christ is a king to rule us, and we are under the law of Christ, which is a law of liberty, an easy a yoke and a light burden; for serving God, according to the gospel, is perfect freedom, and we must all be judged by this law of liberty that will determine the eternal condition of all men. Therefore, we must speak and act now as becomes those who must shortly be judged by this law of liberty;

Closing Words

I think that both Henry and Wesley made excellent points, and I couldn't have said it better myself. I hope this has helped to explain and clarify the doctrine of obedience to the gospel that I teach, in accordance with Scripture, as well as the expression "the gospel law", that I wrote about in my article on The Spirit's Law of Life. If you have not read it, I encourage you to do so.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotation taken from the Holy Bible NIV.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, please see The Spirit's Law of Life and Part II to that article, called The Spirit of the Law.  You may also like Law of Love in the New Testament, Led by the Spirit, Is Practical Righteousness a Lost Truth?, and the other posts available through the links on the Home page.  You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Him.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.