The Persistent Christian

            “Persistence pays.” Any salesperson that lacks persistence is probably not going to make a lot of sales; a student who is not persistent in his studies will probably not graduate with honors; and if a politician wants to make some office, the higher the office he is perusing, the greater persistence he will need in order to get there. This is also true when it comes to being faithful Christian men and women. Even for us, as we will see in this lesson this morning, persistence is a necessary quality for us to have as Christians.

The Need For Persistence

Well, what is persistence? When I see those bicyclers on TV straining and struggling to get up those mountains, or marathon runners giving everything they have to make it across the finish line, that is persistence. When I see an athlete fall or crash and then get right back up and keep struggling onward, bleeding and limping, that’s persistence. When someone is told that they will never walk again, but somehow and some way, we see them overcome all odds and prove everybody wrong, and they walk again, that’s persistence. To persist means: “to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of opposition, importunity, or warning” (Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary).

The apostles had this quality of persistence, and in Acts chapter 5 we can see an example of it in their persistance. It says that they were there teaching in Solomon’s porch, which is part of the temple in Jerusalem, and doing many “signs and wonders” among the people. In verses 14-16 that multitudes of people were added to the Lord and people were coming in from cities all around Jerusalem.  The high priest and others that were with him became extremely jealous of that and imprisoned them (v. 17-18). Do you think that that stopped them? It didn’t stop them at all. Instead, an angel released them and the next morning at daybreak, they were right back at the temple teaching the people (v. 21). So the captain went and got them again and stood them before the counsel. After being warned and beaten, the apostles were released, but instead of giving up and going home, instead of going on back to Galilee, the Bible says in verses 41-42, “They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name. And every day, in the temple and at home, they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus as the Christ.” These were a persistent, persistent, group of men. Did persistence pay in this case? Yes. Not only does it says that “multitudes both of men and women” were “added to the Lord” in verse 14, but the high priest, who was very much opposed to what they were doing said himself, “ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching” (v. 28). That was exactly what they were trying to do. So yes, their persistence did pay! But, why were they so persistent? “We must obey God rather than men, ” they said (v. 29). That persistence in teaching the people and converting them, no matter what opposition they faced from the Jewish counsel, was done in obedience to God.

Jesus taught His disciples to be persistent in prayer by telling them a parable about persistence in Luke 18:1-5. It says,

And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, and regarded not man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came oft unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest she wear me out by her continual coming.

That judge didn’t care about her or being righteous before God, he just didn’t want to be warn out by her persistence, or “continual coming,” so he gave her what she wanted just to be free from her bothering him. For her, again, persistence paid.

            In Revelation, Jesus said to the church in Smyrna,

I know thy tribulation, and thy poverty (but thou art rich), and the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and they art not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Fear not the things which thou art about to suffer: behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life. (Rev. 2:9-10).

They were to persist against whatever opposition came against them from the enemy. Not only that, though, they were commanded to persist in faithfulness, even till death. It doesn’t say, “be faithful until death by old age.” Though that would be included. But for some of them, being faithful until death meant death by persecution. So, in essence, what He is telling them is, no matter what you face, no matter what you come up against, remain faithful and persistent even to the point of death. Well, what good will that do; how did “persistence pay” for them? They received a “crown of life.” There could not be any greater reward than that!

            The next verse says, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death” (Rev. 2:11). That means us; what he said to the church at Smyrna applies to us also. If we “overcome” and persist until the end, we will receive the “crown of life” also, and the “second death,” or hell, won’t “hurt” us.

            So, persistence can, not only be a good thing, but it is also necessary. It is an important ingredient in the Christian recipe. A Christian without persistence is like bread without yeast, or Kool-Aid without sugar. At some point, we will face opposition as Christians, in one fashion or another; “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Ti. 3:12). The question is, though, how will we respond? Will we do as the song we sometimes sing says, “foes may oppose me, friends may beset me, yet will I enter in,” or will we give up or give in? Jesus said, “It is those that continue on and keep going forward in the face of opposition that I will give the crown of life to.”

            So, there is a need for persistence. What’s next?

Persistence Requires Work

The very definition of persistence implies unusual effort against something, or someone, who is working against you. Remember what persistence is: “to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of opposition, importunity, or warning.” If it were easy, it wouldn’t require persistence. It is “an uphill battle”; it is “going upstream”; and it is work.

I said a little bit earlier that the apostles were a persistent group of people.  Well, how did we see their persistence? We saw their persistence in the face of opposition from the high priest and the counsel in Acts 5. There was a tremendous amount of opposition against them everywhere they went. They were beaten, imprisoned, and all martyred, except for Judas, who hanged himself, and John, who died of old age. But, even at the close of the New Testament, John said that he was a “companion in tribulation” (KJV) and “in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 1:9). Paul said,

Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from my countrymen, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Besides those things that are without, there is that which presseth upon me daily, anxiety for all the churches. (2Cor. 11:24-28)

Again,

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves; we are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (2 Cor. 4:7-11)

Their persistence came with a heavy price.

            There is a temptation for us sometimes to look at the examples set by the apostles and say, “well, they were apostles.” As if to say, “Because they had a special mission, and some special abilities, not as much is expected out of us.” No, that’s not right. They were apostles, but they were still human beings, and also Christians. Stephen was no apostle, and yet he suffered as a martyr there in Acts 7. Even though there was, perhaps, no more influential apostle than Paul throughout the church, he still tells everyday Christians like you and me to be “imitators” of him (1 Cor. 4:16; cf. 1 Cor. 11:1; Eph. 5:1; Phil. 3:17; 1 Thess. 1:6).

            What about those who were there a Smyrna? They were going to “suffer” and be imprisoned (Rev. 2:10). What was the Lord’s expectation of them? They were expected to persist and persevere to the end. And what about us? “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches” (Rev. 2:11).

            The Hebrew writer said,

But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak: for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and the love which ye showed toward his name, in that ye ministered unto the saints, and still do minister. And we desire that each one of you may show the same diligence unto the fulness of hope even to the end: that ye be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Heb. 6:9-12)

            As we look down through the pages of history, through the last 2,000 years, we can see imitators of Christ, imitators of Paul and the apostles, and imitators of those “who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Christians have been killed by wild animals and gladiators in Roman coliseums for public entertainment. They have been burned at the steak, drawn and quartered, tortured in many different ways, separated from loved ones, starved, and persecuted from continent to continent and from one century into another. And many times, all they had to do to avoid those things was to give in and do or say what was demanded of them, but they would not.

            We may not face those same extremes today, but that doesn’t mean that persistence will be free, or come without a struggle. Our struggle may be against fornication. Our struggle may be against alcoholism. Our struggle may be against the love of money, selfishness, or pride. But wherever we are struggling against someone or something that is trying to derail us spiritually, we need to have the persistence necessary to get through it, and it will usually require a big effort on our part.

            So, persistence requires work and sacrifice. What’s next?

We Must Be Persistent In Every Aspect Of The Christian Life

            It is not up to us to pick and choose what things we are going to be persistent in, and what things we are not going to be persistent in. For one thing, that’s not up to us, but also, when we start picking and choosing, there is a tendency to choose those things that are easier and come with less effort, while leaving out those things that require more effort and sacrifice. Really though, if it is a Christian responsibility, then we must persist in it.

            We are to be persistent in prayer. We looked at the parable that Jesus told his disciples in Luke 18: 1-5 about the women who kept going to the judge until he gave her what she wanted a little bit earlier, but we didn’t look at the application that Jesus made with that. Let’s back up a few verses, and then continue reading through verse eight:

And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest she wear me out by her continual coming. And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge saith. And shall not God avenge his elect, that cry to him day and night, and yet he is longsuffering over them? I say unto you, that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Lk. 18:4-8)

If someone who doesn’t care about others or about God will finally give in to someone who keeps asking and asking for something, then surely God will answer the prayers of those who “cry to him day and night.” God doesn’t always answer our prayers according to our schedule, but he does answer them. God isn’t like a dog that barks when we say “speak.” It is we who are making a request of Him, and He answers in His own way and in His own time. However, we know that He does answer, and in the way that is best. So, if he doesn’t seem to be answering our prayers as quickly as we want Him to, that doesn’t mean that we quite praying, that just means that we keep on praying and persisting in our prayers, because we know that they will be answered.

            We are to be persistent in good works: “And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9).

            We are to be persistent in teaching:

Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. (Mt. 28:19-20)

We are to be persistent in the truth:

I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; which is not another gospel only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema. For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? or am I striving to please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ. (Gal. 1:6-10)

            We are to be persistent in love:

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing. (1 Cor. 13:1-3)

We are to be persistent in our faith: “And without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him” (Heb 11:6).

We might also add obedience, holiness, righteousness, and fellowship, as well as anything else that is part of being a Christian and that a Christian is commanded to do. We must be persistent in every aspect of Christianity, not just those things that come easy to us, with little sacrifice, or that we like and enjoy. 

Conclusion

            One thing that is certain about the devil is that he is persistent! Peter warns, “Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Where can we look, geographically or otherwise, where his influence is not present within this world? Whether we turn on the news or walk through a shopping mall somewhere, his influence will be visible. Even within the church, because the church is comprised of human beings, his influence is often seen among our members. When we open the Bible, in Genesis chapter one we read about creation; in chapter two we read about Adam and Eve; then, in chapter three, we read about the serpent. And to make matters worse, Satan never sleeps. With such and enemy as this, we must also be persistent ourselves, we must be persistent in everything, and we must be persistent at any and all cost!

            This lesson began with the adage, “persistence pays.” That could never be any more true that with reference to our faith in Christ. There could be no greater reward than that which has been promised to the faithful child of God.

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven of God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God: and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away. And he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. (Rev. 21:1-4)

What a wonderful thing we have to look forward to!

That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us: which we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and stedfast and entering into that which is within the veil. (Heb 6:18-19)

Heaven is a reality, promised to us by God, if we will remain faithful.

            If you are not a Christian this morning, don’t pass up another opportunity! It would be such a shame to reject the good news of Christ and miss out on all that He has in store for you if you will just accept His invitation to come and have eternal life in Him. What is holding you back? Is it worth the price of not obeying the gospel? If you have not already done so, and if you need to come, please come and respond to the invitation this morning. Act upon your faith in Christ by repenting of your sin, confessing that faith in Christ, and putting Him on in baptism this morning.

            If you have sinned in some public way and you need to confess that this morning, or if you have wandered away from the fold of God and you are ready to come back, if you need to come, please do so now, as we stand and sing.