After reading “saved through perseverance” I was reminded of a preacher that said we could lose our salvation. He cited Matthew 10:22. The preacher took the stand that if we don’t endure we would lose our salvation, but didn’t note specifically what a lack of endurance was. I would like your feedback on the context of that verse in Matthew 10.
Matthew 10 contains a set of instructions the Lord gave to His disciples before sending them out on their first missionary journey. But as sometimes happens, He included some tips that obviously are meant for the time after His crucifixion and others that are for the end of the age, after the rapture.
We know this because the Book of Acts confirms the circumstances of Matt. 10:17-20 as being post resurrection, and the phrase “he who stands firm until the end will be saved” from Matt. 10:21-23 appears again in Matt. 24:9-14 where the context is clearly the end of the age after the Church is gone.
More importantly the admonition to stand firm until the end in order to be saved violates several clear promises made to the Church. Both Jesus and Paul said for the church, salvation is guaranteed from the moment of belief. John 10:27-30, Ephes. 1:13-14, 2 Cor. 1:21-22 and others attest to this. Promises like these gave rise to the hymn “Blessed Assurance.” What kind of assurance would we have if we couldn’t know for sure if we are saved until after we die? From previous studies we know this assurance will not be given to post rapture believers.