Are you willing to risk it all for Jesus Christ?
Matthew 10:22
We’ve been in kind of a Disney World experience here as Christians in America. We have not really experienced the suffering, persecution, and opposition that many of our brothers and sisters in Christ face around the world. And so, when it does come (as it surely will), we’re going to be very much like that soldier who can hit the target when there’s no stress, no suffering, and no struggle of battle. But when the real test comes, he will drop the weapon and be paralyzed, not ready to perform.
Imagine living someplace like China, where going to church could mean facing arrest and imprisonment simply for worshipping. Would you still go? Would you still go to church? Are you willing to risk it all for Jesus Christ? And what if the choice were your life or your faith, what then? What would you decide? If you could save your life by denying Christ, would you do it? Or would you persevere and stand firm to the end?
Imagine living someplace like China, where going to church could mean facing arrest and imprisonment simply for worshipping. Would you still go?
Consider what Jesus says concerning this matter, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). It’s an interesting verse when you think about it. In one sense it’s a promise and in another a warning, isn’t it? In one sense it’s a dual promise with two edges to it. There’s a promise that you’ll be hated. Okay, that is a promise, you can see it. Look at the text, verse 22, “All men will hate you because of me.” “Because of my name, because of your association with me, you will be hated, you’ll be rejected.”
Who is Jesus speaking to? In Matthew 10, Jesus is preparing his apostles to go out from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth to preach the gospel to people. What kind of reception will they receive? Will they be welcomed? Will there be parades and celebrations? No, not at all. There’ll be persecution, there’ll be opposition, and difficulty. Jesus is getting them ready by telling the truth. And he says, he gives them a promise, and says, “You will be hated by all on account of me.” Now, this doesn’t mean every single solitary human being will hate the messengers of the Gospel, or else there would be no Christians.
It’s not that, it’s just that you should expect opposition from any one of a number of sources. It could come from the lowest to the highest in society. Don’t be shocked when it’s your own mother or your own father. Don’t be shocked when it’s your best friend that you grew up with. Don’t be shocked if it’s a king, and don’t be shocked if it’s a servant or slave. “Don’t be shocked because you’ll be hated by all on account of me.” So that’s the promise, that’s the one side of the promise.
But then he makes another promise, doesn’t he? Look at the second half, “But he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” That’s a promise. Saved from what? Well, certainly not saved from physical death, because he already said that they would be betrayed to death. So, if it’s not salvation from physical death, what is it? You will be saved from hell, saved from condemnation, and saved from damnation on that great, final Judgment Day. This is an incredible promise! Anyone who can speak to me a word of promise that I will not have to go to hell, I want to listen to that. How much more if it’s the Judge of all the earth, Jesus himself, who sits on the throne and will judge every single solitary human being. All of us will stand before him because he is the Judge of all the earth.
If Jesus tells me that there is a way of salvation, I want to know what that way is. But apparently, the way is not what we thought it was. We thought it was one thing, but it ends up being very different. Jesus said, “You know the way to the place where I’m going” (John 14:4). Does that not imply a journey? Does that not imply traveling? Does that not imply that we’re going to be moving from point A to point B? We’re going to be journeying, we’re going to be traveling.
Well, what is that way like? Jesus makes clear it will be a way of suffering, a way of distress, a way of persecution and opposition, a way of trial and testing. That is God’s way of salvation, and there is no other. But if you persevere in that, if you stand firm in Christ in that way to the end, you will be saved. You’ll have eternal life. You need not fear for your sins, but you will most certainly be saved. So, you can see it’s a promise, it’s a promise of persecution and opposition, but it’s also a promise of life for those who stand firm.
(Excerpt from Sermon Standing Firm to the End – Matthew Sermon 39)
