In my Community Bible Study group, we're exploring Revelation. I'm enjoying it immensely—it's a great group of ladies ranging in age, spiritual maturity, and life-experience. While many have different viewpoints or interpretations of some of the event-related prophecy/scripture, we are respectful and thoughtful.
As I listened to the group over the last couple of months, one thought permeated all of our conversation as a singular, shared thought in the back of our minds: Am I going to be one of the ones to remain true to Christ until the very end?
Regardless of what you think or believe about the remnant, the 144,000, and the saints in the throne room—whether you are a pre-tribber, mid-tribber, or a post-tribber—we all want to be counted in that final number of faithful.
But will we? Make it, that is. Be faithful, until the end.
What could possibly keep us faithful to the end? When we consider our own, daily, unfaithfulness we may become fearful and disheartened. If I can't be faithful to read my Bible daily, how on earth am I going to remain faithful in full-on persecution?
I refuse to be satisfied with the half-hearted comfort provided by trite sayings of "God will keep us" or "The Bible will keep us." It's not enough to say faith will keep us but fail to answer: what keeps faith?
Faith can falter. It can grow and it can shrink. We can lose faith. Break faith. Keep faith (2 Ti. 4:7-8). Build it up (Jude 1:20-21) and conversely, tear it down. Wander from it (1 Tim 6:10). Be encouraged in it and encourage others in it (Romans 1:11-12), which implies we can be discouraged in it.
The clue comes in Romans 10:17, which tells us faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the gospel of Christ. This faith that Christ is the Son of God and lives within us is what overcomes the world and its master, Death & Destruction:
"...because every child of God is able to defeat the world. And we win the victory over the world by means of our faith." - 1 John 5:4 (GNT)
But what keeps this faith that overcomes the world? What nourishes faith?
"...but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith..." - Romans 16:26 (ESV)
Obedience of faith nourishes our faith. And what is "obedience of faith"? It is three things wrapped up in one extraordinarily simple-sounding phrase:
Obedience of the Faith: Obedience to the gospel, Christ's teachings, which we receive through faith and which first birthed faith in us. Romans 12:9-14 outlines in detail what it looks like to be committed to obey the gospel.
Obedience as a natural result of faith: The gospel leads to obedience because it leads to faith and obedience comes from faith (John 14:23). To know Christ is to love him and to love him is to obey him. The natural result of abiding in the Vine is conformity to the Vine.
Obedience that is kept by faith, in faith: When faith keeps us obedient, resting and connected to the Vine, our faith grows and is nourished.
"Jesus answered him, 'Those who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and my Father and I will come to them and live with them.'" - John 14:23 (GNT)
This is the ultimate goal of the gospel: for God to dwell in us, with us. The gospel births and nourishes faith that leads to conformity to Christ, whose victory through us continues to overcome the god of this world, displaying the glory of God.
It is the eternal gospel of Christ that births the obedience to faith that keeps us faithful to the end.
Grace has come to enable us to overcome.