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Foreward
The Scripture speaks frequently about the last days, the times immediately preceding our Lord’s return. Christ compared the conditions in the last days to the days of Noah. The end of the age will be characterized by perilous conditions. For, men will be lovers of self and pleasure rather than be lovers of God. There will be wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes in diverse places. And because of lawlessness, most people’s love will grow cold. In spite of these indicators, many Bible teachers have opined that these signs are too vague to actually pinpoint the last days. These ministers assert that these negative conditions describe much of the last two thousand years of history. But, this begs the question, why then would our Lord give us in His discourses such detailed descriptions of the last days? According to our Savior, believers living in those last days will recognize them as such and not regard His description of those days to be imprecise. Additional indicators an abundance of mockers and scoffers and false teachers. Students of Western history and church history have found the following designation to be useful: The Christian era, the post-Christian era, and the anti-Christian era. Westerners are living in a unique period of history not seen before. In the Western world we enjoy the freedoms and rights won by Christian worldview and yet our world is increasingly anti-Christian. This is the first time in the ‘the Christian West’ that corporations, the media, the government, and the academy have all united in advocating an anti-Christian worldview. The narrowness of the gospel and the truth that God is just and holy are no longer regarded as truth, but instead as bigotry. A marked increase in persecution will be one of the reasons that people will abandon the faith in preference of a false church which is acceptable to the culture. The cultural and social conditions in the last days will provide a test of every persons profession of faith. For, it says in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 that God will send a great delusion upon mankind. Pressure will be exerted upon true Christianity in remarkable ways. One of the great themes in the book of Hebrews is the perseverance of the saints. Believers are commanded to run with endurance. This Epistle frequently imbues the reader with the great need of running to finish well the race that is set before us. Sadly, the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is completely neglected in countless evangelical pulpits. One of the reasons why is because this doctrine is disliked by nominal Christians because it makes them so uncomfortable. They hear this doctrine as if salvation were uncertain. But, that is not the case for the Bible tells us that the believer is sealed by the Holy Spirit for the Day of Redemption. The true believer is promised that nothing can pluck him out of the Lord’s hands. Furthermore, the perseverance of the saints is one of the five-point of Calvinism, the delineation of God’s sovereign grace. The saint perseveres in faith and obedience because the Lord perseveres in preserving him. That truth with its inherit tension, expresses that God’s faithfulness is the cause of our faithfulness. Therefore, this doctrine should not be a stumbling block even to a weak believer. And yet, it is one of the most neglected doctrines in the Bible. Bible teachers avoid this doctrine even though Christ proclaimed the one who endures to the end will be saved. This present author sees the great need for instruction in this matter of perseverance. For, endurance and stamina are needed in perilous times in which there is an increase in false teachers and persecution. Our Lord has said that we will endure persecution as well as testing. Persevering in the faith will be the response of the faithful. Thus, instruction in perseverance is needful because the saints must know what God requires of them to complete their race. The format for this quarterly journal is an offering of six articles for each issue. The themes of these six articles will fall under six general headings.
1) The Glory of Christ. 2) Running the Race with Endurance. 3) The Pursuit of Godliness. 4) The Holiness and Justice of God. 5) Living in Light of the Kingdom. 6) Established in the Gospel.
About the Author – Jay Wegter
Mr. Wegter is a university professor, speaker, writer, fine artist, and founder and executive director of the ministry Gospel for Life. He is an experienced Pastor and Bible teacher with a B.A. degree from Christian Heritage College and a Master of Divinity from the Master Seminary. He has served as an adjunct professor at the Master’s University for 15 years and has developed courses for their Christian ministry department. Because of his passion to help the church recover her New Testament mission, he founded Gospel for Life in 2005. GFL is a training ministry which assists local churches in fulfilling the Great Commission through gospel outreach and discipleship curriculum. GFL provides equipping in leadership development, evangelism, Christian apologetics and discipleship. (www.gospelforlife.org)