Endurance to the End: The Mark of True Conversion

"But he that endureth to the end shall be saved" (Matthew 10:22). Perseverance is the badge of the saint—marked in Scripture, confirmed by analogy, and vindicated by common sense. Those who merely begin without holding out shall not be saved.

Perseverance becomes the target of all spiritual enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. It will be tried in service, suffering, steadfastness, and doctrine. Yet perseverance is also the glory of Christ, and should be the great care of every Christian.

Only he who reaches the goal may be accounted a Christian. A ship bound for Australia that stops at Madeira deserves no name as an emigrant vessel. A builder who erects one wall and abandons the work is no builder. Warriors praised for one desperate charge but losing the campaign earn no honor. The Duke of Wellington's strength lay not in achieving triumph but in reaping the harvest sown in blood. He alone is a true conqueror, crowned at last, who continueth till war's trumpet sounds no more.

So it is with the Christian: conquest has made you what you are under Elohim, and conquest must sustain you. When Mr. Smeaton built the lighthouse upon the Eddystone, he watched anxiously after storms to confirm it still stood—his great joy that perseverance had proven the structure's strength where earlier builders' hubris had failed.