April 3, 2025 - Hebrews 10:36 - Patient Endurance in the Faith

Hebrews 10:36

"For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."

The church of the first century was called to endure much suffering and opposition for Christ’s sake—arguably more than at any other time in its history. Therefore, the writer of Hebrews encourages them to persevere in the faith of Christ, to which they have been called by God’s grace.

The word for "patience" means "steadfast endurance." It describes someone who does not swerve from a deliberate purpose and loyalty—in this context, to the faith once delivered to the saints by God—even amid the greatest trials and sufferings: "But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; partly, whilst ye were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul" (Hebrews 10:32-39).

There is no greater example of patience than that of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who, as the Substitute for those whose sins He bore, suffered under the hand of His Father. He endured every trial and temptation to the full satisfaction of God the Father, without wavering: "Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously" (1 Peter 2:23).

By contrast, our flesh is weak. Under attack from the enemy—whether by external forces or the internal influences of our depraved nature—we need Strength and Power far greater than ourselves to endure. It takes nothing less than the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom He has sent into the world to indwell each of His redeemed ones, sustaining them in their earthly life until He is pleased to usher them into His glory. Our Lord promised: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever" (John 14:16).

There is never a time when we, as God's children, do not need patience. However, the blessing is that patient perseverance is supplied by God's grace. This is the effect of what the Lord Jesus purchased on the cross for those whom the Father gave Him and for whom He laid down His life. It is a covenant grace that comes to us through the Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, whenever we are tempted and weakened, Christ the Advocate is our Righteous Representative: "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2)

Since "all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (2 Corinthians 1:20), it follows that those that the Spirit of God preserves in Christ, having done the will of God by looking to Christ alone as the Author and Finisher of their faith, do receive the promise—preservation by Christ from ever falling away. Those who persevere to the end are saved, because they are preserved by God the Father on account of the completed work of the Lord Jesus. It is impossible that any should perish for whom He died: "O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer" (Psalm 31:23). "And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:15). "By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience" (Romans 5:2-3).

Our present conflicts in this life are often sharp and painful, yet they are tailor-made by God to meet our needs. The good news is that all these earthly trials are temporary and will soon be over. Through them, the Lord exposes those whose profession is merely formal and outward, who ultimately cannot and will not prevail. But those who are the objects of God's grace—redeemed and justified by Christ's death—are kept through even the greatest trials. Their endurance through past testing serves to strengthen their hope for the same sustaining grace in the future, enabling them to live by faith until they receive the end of their faith and patience—the salvation of their souls.

The teaching of God's Word on perseverance: endurance in the faith is a mark of those who belong to the Lord. It is not a work of human effort, but the fruit of God's sustaining grace. Perseverance in the faith does not depend on man’s will or strength, but on the power of God in Christ, Who preserves His people to the end. The patience (or steadfast endurance) required is itself a gift of God's grace, ensuring that believers will continue in submission to Christ until the end and ultimately receive the promised inheritance—eternal life in Christ. Philippians 1:6 declares: "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

The elect endure because God, in His sovereign power, upholds them, guaranteeing that they will finish the race He has set before them.