rewritten
We are looking at five steps that you can take to overcome sin in your life; to deal with areas where you are really struggling to do God’s will. And we are up to Step 5. When you are in a time of testing – endure.
Endurance has to do with the ability bear up under hardship for a long time. Other words might be persistence, fortitude, stamina, or patience. We need all this because –
Satan tries to wear us down in a time of testing
Even if we are successful at first, he continues to press us to give in so that we will fail – so that he can accuse us of sin before God and seek our condemnation. So we think we are doing fine, but then we realize that the struggle has really just begun. Satan is persistent in tempting us to sin and we must be more persistent in fighting this.
Here is an example for us to work with. A fellow student offers to let you cheat. But decline, and you feel pretty good about it.
But then as you go through the year, you find out that the class is a lot harder than you thought. You know you can get the answers – your classmate is more than willing, But you don’t. You just work extra hard.
And then you fall behind because you had to leave town for a week for a family emergency. And you don’t know if you can catch up. And it’s possible that you will fail the class. And if you fail the class you won’t graduate on time and with all your friends. So you think – ‘I didn’t want to cheat before, but it’s not my fault I’m behind and the stakes are really high now.’
The temptation lingers even as the circumstances increasingly pressure you to make the wrong choice.
The message today is, whatever the test, however long it goes on, and however hard it gets –
Don’t give in!
What this means is that we keep repeating the previous two steps:
- Step #3: You keep your mind focused on God’s will. This is the battle of the mind. When you are tempted to rationalize giving in, for instance, to cheat, you use the Scriptures to keep you focused on God’s will. You could think on Ephesians 4:25 which says, “put away falsehood.” It teaches us that we are to be people of honesty and integrity. And then you tell Satan to leave you in the name of Jesus.
- Step #4: You keep receiving strength from the Spirit to do God’s will. This is the battle of the heart. When you are tempted to give in, to choose what is wrong, for instance, to cheat, you look to God for help to do what is right. And so you deny those desires of your flesh that would lead you to sin – (your desire not to fail, your desire to graduate on time and with your friends).
No matter how long the test lasts, you don’t quit thinking what is right, and choosing what it right. This is what endurance means.
Other Scriptures use different imagery to speak of the same reality. For instance we are to resist Satan and his enticements. 1 Peter 5:8-9 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world.” James 4:7 tells us simply to “resist the devil.” We resist his lies and we resist his pressuring us to choose the desires of the flesh.
Also, we are to stand our ground. Ephesians 6:10-13 uses military imagery to make this point. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. . . . Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore . . ..” Notice we are not called to take any ground. We only need to stay firm and not give in, in terms of our Christian faithfulness. Satan can only defeat us if we quit; if we stop standing our ground.
How long must we endure?
Mark 13:13 talks about testing and speaks of enduring “to the end” – or until the test is over. You endure until your difficult circumstances change, or until your desire of the flesh to sin is gone, or until you die – as was the case with Jesus, who was faithful unto death.
Having the right perspective
Going through trials, testing and temptation is not easy! Scripture tells us that It “always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time” – Hebrews 12:11 (NRSV). And so we need to have the right perspective on this.
What we must remember is that, although Satan wants us to fail, God uses testing for our own good. God wants us to grow in righteousness and in character. God allows us to be tested “for our own good, that we may share his holiness” – Hebrews 12:10. Such testing, when endured “yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” – Hebrews 12:11.
Although Satan uses testing to condemn us and exclude us from God’s blessing, from God’s point of view, as Paul said, testing “is intended to make you worthy of the Kingdom of God” – 2 Thessalonians 1:5.
Because we know that God uses testing for our own good, we can have joy even as we struggle; mixed in with our pain and sorrow. As James says, “Whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy” – James 1:2. God is working in your life. God is making you more and more like him.
Encouragements to endure
Now, remaining faithful in times of trial is talked about a lot in Scripture. And there are many promises and words of encouragement to us in this regard.
First of all we learn that if we fight back, Satan will flee. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” He doesn’t have unlimited access to us, but must eventually yield.
We also learn that God watches over us in testing. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” God has regard both for how much we can take, he does not let us get in over our heads, and he provides a way out for us.
After a time, God will renew and restore us. 1 Peter 5:10 says, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
Finally, our endurance will be rewarded. Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up” (NRSV). 2 Timothy 2:12 says, “If we endure, we will also reign with him,” speaking of the life to come. And James 1:12 says, “Blessed is anyone who endures testing. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” (NRSV).
It’s hard to go through testing, but we can overcome and we will be blessed.
Once again I want to illustrate this step with –
The examples of Peter and Jesus
– as they were both tested when Jesus was arrested and taken off to die.
Peter’s failure. He sinned. He denied that he knew Jesus in order to save his life. As Jesus said in Mark 8:38, “Those who are ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Peter was ashamed of Jesus. This is, perhaps, the worst thing you can do as a Christian. When Peter realized what he had done “he broke down and wept” – Mark 14:72.
Jesus’ example. He endured his time of testing. He endured through arrest, beatings, mockery and crucifixion. He endured even when the test was so hard that he cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – Mark 15:34. Jesus endured, faithful to God – and this is the key phrase – until the end. Not for part of it or for most of it, but until the end. Mark 15:37 says, “Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.”
And as the Scriptures teach, he received God’s blessing for enduring. Jesus was raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of God as Lord of all things. As Hebrews 12:2 says, “for the sake of the joy set before him Jesus endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (NRSV).
Let me end by encouraging you to –
Endure in times of testing
Keep your mind focused on God’s truth, and keep receiving strength from the Spirit to do God’s will. It is worth it!
The same Jesus who endured to the end and was raised to new life; who knows how all this works from experience, says to us, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” – Revelation 2:10. Just as he was faithful unto death and was blessed, so if we are faithful, he will bless us with life everlasting.
William Higgins
Christian teaching 