Persevering In Perilous Times

Dane K. Jöhannsson 

Lead Pastor, Agros Reformed Baptist Church 

(The following is a section of my notes from a preached 6/14/20, titled "Perilous Times")

Perseverance In Perilous Times
Now for the application. How shall we as Christians endure in such times? How do we hold fast to the faith in perilous times? How can we keep our minds from error when false teaching abounds? Isaiah gives the clarion call, “To the law and to the testimony!” To the word of God, dear Christian! The Scriptures will guide us if we will listen. False teaching is easy to detect, “If they speak not according to this word, It is because there is no light in them.”(Is.8:20) Paul walks us through how we may persevere in perilous times.

1. By looking to the examples of godly men. Paul puts himself forward as an example of what persevering faith looks like in perilous times. “But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.”(v.10,11) As Christians we are “are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.”(Heb.12:1) We may look to the faithful who have gone before us and now live among us. Here Paul recommends this pattern of instruction. Timothy is to look at Paul as an example of perseverance in perilous times. Let us briefly examine a few particulars.   

• His Doctrine. What did the faithful who came before us believe? What do the faithful now among us believe? There is a direct corollary between what one believes and perseverance in the faith. Paul tells Timothy, “You know my doctrine. I have taught nothing but Christ and Him crucified; the need for regeneration by the Holy Spirit, self-denial, holiness, mortification of sin, victory over death and hell through Christ, His resurrection from the dead, His glorious return, life in His name, faith in Him, justification by Him, peace through Him. Thus, I am a faithful guide for persevering in the faith during these perilous times.”

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• We must know what we believe! We must know sound doctrine. It is only when we truly know who Christ is and what He has done, that we will realize “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”(Rom.8:18) In perilous times, sound doctrine is more needed than ever in order to persevere in the faith. But that is the key, IN THE FAITH. In the truth. Not in error, but in truth.  Sound doctrine is power and life.  Correct action cannot lead to correct belief, but correct belief should lead us to correct action. 
  

  

• His manner of life. Doctrine is nothing without a corresponding lifestyle. Experiential Christianity not only stresses doctrine, but doctrine for life. Paul could say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”(2Tim.4:7) He stood up against falsehood, walked in the course of godliness always, and remained steadfast in sound doctrine. This is a life worth imitating. Paul lived through Christ and by Christ. Holiness gives us great confidence before God to stand fast in the midst of perilous times.

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• His purpose and faith. Timothy well knew what was the great thing that Paul had in view, both in his preaching and in his lifestyle: “Thou hast known my purpose, what I aim at. You know how far it is from any worldly, carnal, secular design, and how sincerely I aim at the glory of God and the good of men’s souls.” His purpose was clear, that in all that he did, “whether he ate or he drank or whatever he did,” that he would “do all things for the glory of God.”(1Cor.10:31) His faithfulness to God gave proof of this. He held fast to the faith, He fought the good fight. If imprisoned for preaching he would just preach to his jailers and fellow prisoners. If shipwrecked on an island, he would aim at converting the locals. Paul was tenacious in serving God. His purpose was one: to love, glorify and enjoy God. Such character makes us steadfast in perilous times.

• His long-suffering, charity and patience. Paul in long-suffering bore with the Churches he planted and presided over. He was rich with love toward them and patient with them, never giving up.  His letters, especially to the church in Corinth, demonstrate this. Such character made him a faithful guide for persevering in perilous times. 

  

• His sufferings. Paul reminds timothy that he had witnessed the suffering Paul endured for the gospel first-hand. In those cities Timothy saw Paul reviled, beaten and imprisoned for the gospel. Paul would rather suffer than cease preaching the gospel or opposing falsehood. Look to Paul and men of kindred spirit for motivating examples of persevere in perilous times.

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2. Paul goes on to say that we all must be prepared to suffer for the truth (v.12)”Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” True godliness upholds the powerful truth of the gospel and powerfully opposes falsehood. We can be assured that we shall suffer if we be godly.

• It can be a fearful thing to stand for the truth. We will suffer persecution for it. Your name SHALL be slandered, you WILL lose friends, family, finances, jobs and possibly our own life. But we look back to the faithful before us for motivation. We must count the cost dear congregation. What is a greater treasure to us? Is having Christ or possessions greater? Is having Christ or reputation greater? Is having Christ or friends greater? Is having Christ or physical life greater? If you are a Christian you MUST stand for the truth, and when you stand for the truth, you WILL suffer persecution.

 

• Jesus tells us, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”(Jn.15:18) In another place He says, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?”(Mt.10:22-25) Therefore we WILL suffer for Christ. But what is our greatest treasure? The man who found a great treasure buried in a field counted the treasure to be of more value than all his possessions, sold them all, and purchased that field (cf. Mt.13:44). We must see Christ as the greatest treasure and be willing to sacrifice all that we are that we might have Him. What is your treasure, dear believer?

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3. The alternative to persevering is to capitulate and demonstrate oneself also to be “reprobate concerning the faith.” If we do not persevere in the faith, holding fast to the truth as it is in Jesus, but rather compromise on this or that point of doctrine, we shall be like the false teachers who are “evil men and seducers” and “wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”(v.13)

• Christians are willing to sacrifice everything for Jesus Christ. The evil men and seducing false teachers of this perilous age desire only to grow worse, to deceived and be further deceived. Christians are not to compromise, not to capitulate. For us it is better to die a thousand deaths than to add to or take away from the gospel of our sweet Savior Jesus Christ. Dear believer, the alternative is death, deceiving and being deceived, waxing worse and worse.

• As good men, by the grace of God, grow better and better, so bad men, through the subtlety of Satan and the power of their own corruptions, grow worse and worse. The way of sin is down-hill; sin proceeds from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. The apostle James traces the progress of sin, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”(Jas1:14,15)

4. What is the method we are to use in persevering? How can we do it? Paul reminds Timothy, “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.”(v.14) We must continue in the truth. We must remember our first love, Jesus. In the perilous, unsteady and unfaithful times which we live, we must have our eyes always set on the truth of Jesus Christ.

• We must continue in what we have learned from godly family, fellow believers, preaching and the Holy Spirit. Such things alone can give us assurance and veracious boldness. We must keep in mind that we are not our own, rather we have been “bought with a price”, the price of the death of God’s only begotten Son. Therefore we are to “glorify God in [our] body, and in [our] spirit, which are God’s.”(1Cor.6:20) Dear believer, continue in the truth. Relearn it, solidify yourself in it. Know that we have learned these truths from God Himself through regeneration and the renewing of our mind by the Holy Spirit.    

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• Notice also the importance of catechism. Timothy had been taught the truth of the gospel that made him “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus”, through the teaching of the “holy scriptures” by his godly grandmother “from a child.”(v.15). O’ how I wish that I had been reared up in a godly home! That I had been taught the Scriptures from childhood! But regardless, when in God’s providence, I was taught them, they alone made me “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” Saving faith is faith in Christ Jesus, and only as He is made know in the “holy scriptures”. Those of us with children must remember the great duty laid upon us to train our children up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”(Eph.6:4) But dear believers, we are all God’s children, and as such we must be subject continually to His catechization of us in the truth. We must subject ourselves to scriptural teaching, that we might know how to love, glorify, serve and enjoy Him.  
  

 
5. To persevere we must not stray even one inch from the Scriptures. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”(v.16,17)

• Dear believer, we are not only to be taught by the Scriptures once unto salvation, but must be continually taught from them unto perseverance. “All scripture” is “inspired of God”. There are certain parts that are of more immediate use, but they are all profitable. He who does not wish to make use of the Scriptures shall not hear from God. They are His life giving mouthpiece unto us. The same God that breathed life into the nostrils of man is still breathing life into our souls through the Scriptures.  

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• The only way we can discern truth in these perilous times is to stay close to the Scriptures. Many of us can quote lines from our favorite shows, movies, books and political commentators, but can barely remember a bible verse. If we do not see fit to use God’s Word, it should not be shocking that He may take it from us. It has been done before in history, why should He not do it again? It is being done to others in the world, why not to us?

 

• Upon the bibles of some believers enough dust has gathered to be able to etch the words, “We perish for a lack of knowledge.” The Word of God alone is sufficient for faith and practice, dear believer. How have you treated God’s Bible? You will be easily led astray in perilous times if you do not know His Word. Remember that those who neglect their bible, neglect sound doctrine, who indulge wandering minds during the preaching, are as “children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.”(Eph.4:14) Those who neglect God's Word shall be neglected by Him. 

 

• These are perilous times. Our minds must be renewed by God’s Word continually. Error is always mixed with just enough truth to deceive those who are “unskilful in the word of righteousness.”(Heb.5:13) For believers the Holy Scriptures are the only infallible, authoritative and sufficient rule for all faith and practice. They put forward everything we are to believe and how we are to live in light of the truth.

 
Dear Congregation, I have often been criticized for my constant railing against the modern church, even by those who have attended THIS church. But I have attempted to labor faithfully to prepare us for where we now are. Perilous times are not coming, they are upon us. Sentimentality for routine, naïve fancies that these times are really not that perilous, and childish desires to just feel "uplifted and encouraged in a sermon” will no longer suffice. The enemy is upon us, even in our midst. The battle cry of the hour is, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”(1Pet.5:8,9)
 
Where has Satan led you astray in your mind this week, dear believer? What areas of faith and practice have you compromised in? What areas of your life do you still refuse to surrender to Jesus Christ in? We must discern and remedy. Repent and believe. The Scriptures must guide us in such examination.

The sufficiency of the Scriptures, the deity of Christ, the power of godliness, the leading of the Holy Spirit, the supernatural regeneration of sinners, the all sufficient substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on behalf of sinners, and the Lordship of God over the inhabitants of the earth are being attacked and denied all around us. We must stand strong, being assured of the truth. Let us give ourselves promptly and sincerely unto our Lord Jesus Christ in these perilous times. Dear congregation, “he which hath begun a good work in [us] will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”(Phil.1:6) Amen.