Lesson 781

(Lesson 781)(10-15-13) Todays lesson comes from Matthew 10:21-23;

"And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come."

This is another extremely important lesson for those who believe eternal salvation is an "on again, off again" deal, that depends upon whether or not one is a "sinner" at any particular time.

There is much misunderstand about what Jesus meant when He said, "but he that endureth to the end shall be saved."

First, we must remember that Jesus was talking to a group of Jews who were about to set out on a mission to replace the religious laws of their own people. They were about to openly defy the very laws that had governed their belief system for most of their entire history.

Jesus, very correctly, prepared them for that task by warning them of the dangers they would confront. Jesus knew the faith of those men would be stretched to its limits, it was His test of their worthiness to go on as His representatives, after He had ascended back to the Father. His statement, "he that endureth to the end shall be saved." meant that those who, while He was yet with them, held firmly to their faith in Him, even in the face of death, would show themselves worthy to be called His Apostles. Jesus gave this test knowing that if they placed their faith in Him, they would not die at the hands of those they would confront. Therefore, just as faith in Jesus Christ secures the eternal salvation of the children of God today, the faith of those Apostles would ultimately save not only their lives but, after the sacrificial ordeal of Christ, also their eternal souls.

Once we have accepted the amazing grace of God, through Jesus Christ, we are guaranteed that our souls will be sealed by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:30, "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." This passage clearly says that the sould of the saved are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption! ~