He Who Stands Firm To The End

Q

I am here to ask about Matthew 10:22. Jesus is talking to his disciples and tells them that all men will hate them, but, “he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” This is confusing to me because it sounds like their salvation is depending on them standing firm instead of depending on God keeping them. With the help of your teachings, I have come to believe that we stay saved once we have been born again. But this verse is messing with my head because I don’t think Jesus is talking about the Tribulation here. Please help…. again!

A

In Matt. 10 Jesus was preparing the disciples for their first missionary journey in Israel. While giving His instructions, He expanded them to include all the time until the 2nd Coming (Matt. 10:23). The phrase “He who stands firm to the end will be saved” was repeated in Matt. 24:13, and is an indication that Jesus wasn’t addressing the Church in Matt. 24-25. He was referring to tribulation believers who will not receive the blessing of Eternal Security, which is reserved only for the Church.

As the parable of the 10 virgins (Matt. 25:1-13) tells us, at the Second Coming some tribulation survivors who had been believers will be excluded from the Kingdom due to their lapse of faith. This lapse is symbolized by the fact that they ran out of oil while waiting, meaning the Holy Spirit had left them. The Holy Spirit was sealed within us from the moment of our belief (Ephes. 1:13-14) as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. He can’t leave us.