Matthew 24:13: Enduring till the End

“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”   Jesus, Matthew 24:13

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”  (Jesus in John 10:27-29 ESV)

 “Heston, you just stay in the race, and I’ll make sure you win.”  (A quote commonly attributed to Cecil DeMille, director of Ben Hur to Charlton Heston when Heston told him, regarding the movie’s chariot race, he could drive the chariot but he wasn’t sure he could win.)

Jesus is speaking of the difficulties that His disciples, of all ages, will have in following Him, especially as time nears the “close of the age” (24:3).   Disciples of Jesus will be delivered up to death and hated by all (see 24:9).  Jesus adds, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved,” (v.13).   Jesus did not mean by this there will be a great cosmic test to see if one is worthy of heaven.  No one is worthy of heaven (see Psalm 130:3-4).

As we wrestle with the idea that he “who endures to the end will be saved,” we must not isolate one verse and make it a pillar of our soteriology (a big word meaning, “the study of salvation”).  We must interpret one verse by the rest of Scripture and not vice versa.  That said, I wish to make three points about the relationship between our salvation and our own efforts to live the Christian life, particularly during distress and tribulation. 

First, salvation is a gift that cannot be earned (see Ephesians 2:8; Romans 3:24; 6:23).  Our salvation is based not on our worthiness but on the worthiness of Christ’s death on the cross to pay for our sins.  With salvation comes justification and peace with God (Romans 5:1), as well as the knowledge of God.  Scripture speaks of intimacy with God as a mark, a result or a fruit of salvation (see Matthew 7:21-23; John 17:3; 1 John 5:11-13).   

Second, there is no room for human boasting before God.  If good works or endurance resulted in salvation, then man could boast that he earned salvation.  But there will be no talk like that among those in Christ (see Romans 3:27; Ephesians 2:8-9).   He has worked so that in our salvation we would praise His grace and glory (see Ephesians 1:6, 12; 2:7), not our own glory.   He will share His glory with no one (see Isaiah 42:8).

 

John MacArthur says it succinctly in his commentary on Matthew chapter 24: “Endurance cannot initiate salvation any more than can any other human effort.” Some have asked a good question: “Isn’t faith a ‘work’?”   I like how my friend and Denver Seminary graduate Gary Rickard answered this question: “Faith is the acknowledgment that our good works cannot save us.” 

Third, it is God who is at work in growing our faith.   Paul says that he is sure of this: “that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ,” (Philippians 1:6).   In a few verses later, Paul admonishes “to work out your salvation in fear and trembling,” but so we know where the burden lies, Paul adds, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).

What Jesus is saying in this verse is that those who have salvation will endure to the end; true saints will persevere.    We must abide in the vine for apart from Him we can do nothing (see John 15:5); our enduring until the end will be the result of our abiding not of our striving.     And when hard times come, we will lean on the truth that nothing can separate us from the love of God (see Romans 8:38-39).  Even those who deliver us to death cannot snatch us from His hand.  We are His.  Let us encourage one another with these words.