Running With Endurance

The Peachtree Road Race offers runners of varying abilities the challenge of covering the distance of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) in the early morning heat and humidity of July 4 every year. This year’s race will be my 34th run from the Lenox Mall to Piedmont Park, though in the earlier years it began at the Sears store in Buckhead and finished in Downtown Atlanta. One thing is required of all entrants; world class runners, age group competitors, or fitness aspirants. Physical endurance is necessary.

Long distance runners know the value of endurance. Whether it’s a marathon or a 10 kilometer run, durability is required. Actually, endurance must be combined with stamina and speed in a competitive road race. Endurance gives the runner a strength base on which stamina can be built so that a desired speed (pace) can be maintained. These principles of road race training illustrate basic truths about the Christian life. We will come back to this.

What is the role of endurance in the Christian experience? One popular writer has said, “Must we endure to the end to be saved? Yes.” But what does this mean? Do believers in Jesus Christ have to hold on to their salvation through the sheer force of their will by means of good works in order to go to heaven? Does perseverance in the race of the Christian life clinch one’s salvation? The basic question before us is this: “Must those who profess Christ as their Savior endure to the end (of their life) in order to be saved?” To answer this question certain words have to be defined. First, the definition of the word “saved” must be properly understood. The Bible speaks of salvation from sin in three tenses. (1) We are saved from the penalty of sin (Rom. 8:1). This is a free gift, and comes because of God’s saving grace (i.e., we do not earn it). It comes by faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone (Jn. 3:16). (2) We are being saved from the power of sin (Jn. 10:10; Gal. 5:16). This is a process of growth/maturity in Christ which is a lifetime in nature. (3) We will be saved from the presence of sin (Rom. 13:11). At that time there will be reward for perseverance in the faith (Rom. 2:6-7; Gal. 6:8). According to the Christian’s faithful obedience there will be rewards.

Secondly, the truth of endurance has to be understood. Does endurance bring us our justification? Absolutely not. If so, then our acceptance by God is based on our works. Justification becomes an ongoing process. This is not biblical (Eph. 2:8, 9; Rom. 3:24). Does endurance bring about our glorification (salvation from the presence of sin)? Absolutely not. We do not earn our entrance into the presence of God, nor do we have to wait until the end of our life to know if we are saved (Jude 24, 25). The gospel of Jesus Christ must not be front-end loaded with works or back-end loaded with works. A final question remains. Does endurance bring about our salvation from the power of sin (we are being saved)? It most certainly does. We are to be faithful before God by walking in obedience to His Word. To the degree we live faithfully and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are delivered from the power of sin (i.e., its tyrannical rule in our life). Our ability to bring glory to God throughout eternity is related to endurance. This brings us back to the picture of the Christian life as a race. We are to run the race by laying aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles us (Heb. 12:1). As we obey God’s Word and do those things that please him we accumulate the gold, silver, and precious stones of works that are valuable and enduring. Some Christians run a better race than others, but every Christian finishes the race. There are no “DNFs” (did not finish) for true Christians. The question is, how are you running?

So, in summary, it can be said that no Christian will ever stand before God because they have endured or persevered. Our acceptance before God is because of who God is and what He has done for us in Christ (Rom. 8:1-4). When we are declared righteous before God (2 Cor. 5:21) we are secure in Christ forever (Phil. 1:6; Jn. 10:27-30; Rom. 8:35-39). We are “protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:5).

It would be convenient if all evangelical Christians believed the same way about the role of endurance/perseverance in the believer’s salvation. But that is not the case. Some, for example, believe that it is possible for a Christian to fail to endure and thereby lose their salvation. How would this happen? Different answers are given, but most who believe in conditional security (“a believer can lose his salvation if he doesn’t persevere in holiness”) say that Christians may lose their salvation when a willful sin is committed or they willfully deny Christ. There are many problems with this view. But, in short, it is contradicted by the explicit teaching of the Scriptures that the security of the believer rests in God’s hand and not in the durability of the Christian (Jn. 10:27-30).

Those who believe in the eternal security of the Christian have different views of what persevering in the faith means. Some say that continual obedience is necessary for salvation in the sense that all true believers will endure in this obedience. Others say, however, that true Christians can backslide and do Christ-denying things with the result of loss of blessing and rewards. The difference between these two persuasions is the degree to which a believer can sin. These issues will be left for future analysis.

But, let’s come back to the Christian life as a long distance race. The race is entered by faith in Jesus Christ. It is to be run by faithful obedience to Christ. Endurance makes increasingly effective service possible (stamina). The better the race we run the more Christ is exalted. We must put aside anything that hinders our progress in the race. It could be a habit, a relationship, a secret pleasure, a house, a sport, entertainment, and anything that keeps us from finishing well. We must also put aside sin which is an ever-present threat to progress in the Christian life. Pride, envy, covetousness, and a host of other entangling sins can trip us up and make us fall. Christian, how are you running your race? Are you enduring? Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. It is His example that is to drive us to the finish line. If you want to know what faith is, look at Christ. He ran the race of faith to its triumphant finish trusting the Father each step of the way. He did so joyfully. Is that where you are? May we cry out to God for the grace needed to endure and finish well.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church