Matthew 24:13 “But the one who endures until the end will be saved.”
By the grace of God, I’ve never had too much trouble believing in Jesus as my Savior. Maybe it’s because I was introduced to the Gospel of Jesus at a young age, but believing in Jesus has always come quite naturally.
Yes, faith is certainly a gift that can only be received by God’s grace, but at the same time, the truth of the Gospel always made sense when I thought (and think) about it.
After all, over five hundred people witnessed the resurrected Lord. Furthermore, the Bible couldn’t be of human invention because the people that it was about were awful! If the Israelites invented their story, wouldn’t they have made themselves out to be a little less rebellious and sinful? Judgment, punishment, sin, exile, and very few moments of faithfulness; if I was going to invent a story about myself and my history, I would make myself out to be a little more of a winner (like ALL people who reinvent history do).
This is true even the New Testament. The disciples are constantly failing and getting it wrong! Even the ones who loved Jesus were hard-headed and slow to understand. Again, if these guys “made up” the story, it’s likely (knowing humans) that they would have been the heroic ones, not the confused, doubtful, slow-to-believe disciples that we read about in the Gospels.
No, faith in Jesus isn’t the hard part, it’s faithfulness that’s difficult.
Do I believe that Jesus is the one and only Son of God? Yes!
Do I believe that Jesus died on a cross for my sins? Yes!
Do I believe in his bodily resurrection and ascension? Yes!
Jesus, you would like for me love those who hate me?…hold on just a minute.
Jesus, you want me to forgive those who wrong me over, and over, and over again?…let’s talk about this.
Jesus, you expect me to be willing to sacrifice my own well-being for others?…is that REALLY required of me?
Faithfulness to the commands of Jesus, obeying Jesus every step of the way, that’s the hard part.
It requires very little discomfort for me (as a Western-world Christian) to believe in Jesus. I LOVE the idea that Jesus saves me from punishment for my sins. I LOVE that he brings joy and peace into my life and reconciliation with my Creator. It’s when he asks me to sacrifice my comfort that the rub comes. It’s when he asks me to die to my own will, and give everything up to follow him that the pressure is on.
Simply put, accepting Jesus as Savior is one thing; accepting him as Lord is another matter altogether. To be an authentic Christian, we have to embrace Jesus as both Lord and Savior. We must persevere until the end.
