Foundations of Truth
This is the podcast of Firm Foundations ministries. Our mission is to help you build your life on the unshakable foundation of God's Word, rooted in Scripture and anchored in the grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each episode is designed to strengthen your faith, deepen your understanding, and encourage you to stand firm in a shifting world.
Foundations of Truth
Faith That Endures
What happens after we're saved? When doubts creep in, suffering strikes, or sin resurfaces, how can we be confident in our salvation? Pastor Timothy Mann delivers a powerful message that cuts through confusion about eternal security with a clear Biblical truth: those who are genuinely saved will endure to the end—not by their own strength, but by God's sustaining grace.
Drawing from Philippians 1:6, Pastor Mann reveals the profound promise that God finishes what He starts. This isn't spiritual wishful thinking but a divine guarantee that shapes our understanding of salvation. The Christian journey isn't about maintaining salvation through willpower but trusting the God who began the work to complete it.
Many Christians have reduced salvation to a single prayer or moment, missing the biblical reality that true faith perseveres. Through Hebrews 10:35-39 and 1 Peter 1:3-9, we discover that saving faith continues believing even through hardship. This doesn't mean believers never struggle—we might fall but don't forsake, doubt but don't desert—because our security rests not in our grip on Christ but His hold on us.
This message offers extraordinary comfort for anyone feeling spiritually weary. Your salvation isn't hanging by a thread dependent on your performance. Like a construction site that appears chaotic but follows a master blueprint, your spiritual life might seem unfinished, but the divine Architect is faithfully working toward completion.
For those wondering if they'll make it to the end, this message brings hope. Endurance isn't manufactured through sheer determination but flows from the indwelling Spirit. When you see your faith persisting through trials, it's evidence not of your strength but of God's sustaining power—the clearest sign that He who began the good work in you will be faithful to complete it.
Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. That's Psalm 119, 105. Welcome to Foundations of Truth with Pastor Timothy Mann from Providence Church in Ormond Beach, Florida. Join us now as we let God's word illuminate our lives and guide us into his truth today. Today's message is from the God Saves series.
Speaker 2:So we're going to start in the little letter of Philippians. Philippians, chapter 1, chapter 1. And then from there we'll turn to the right in our Bibles, to Hebrews, chapter 10, hebrews 10 and 1 Peter, chapter 1. Philippians, chapter 1, verse 6. We're going to focus on one verse in Philippians 1 and then we'll move through Philippians, chapter 1, verse 6.
Speaker 2:The Bible says God's Word says, being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Now go with me to Hebrews, chapter 10. Hebrews, chapter 10. Now go with me to Hebrews, chapter 10. Hebrews, chapter 10. We'll look at verse 35 down to verse 39. Hebrews, chapter 10, verse 35 through 39. The Bible says Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward, for you have need of endurance so that, after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. And then he quotes the Old Testament For yet a little while, and he who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith. But if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. 1 Peter, chapter 1. We'll read verses 3 through 9. 1 Peter 1, verses 3 through 9. Verse peter 1. Verse 3 through9. The bible says blessed be the god and father of our lord, jesus christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith For salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, for though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes Though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ whom, having not seen you love, and though now you do not see him yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. It is God's Word.
Speaker 2:So what happens after we're saved? In this series, we've seen that we are saved by God's grace alone, through faith in Christ alone. We've seen that God forgives our sin and that he puts us in right standing with him when we genuinely believe on Jesus, in repentant faith. We've seen that we've been made new by being born again from above, also adopted by God into his forever family. What a blessing. God into his forever family, what a blessing. And we've also seen, we've learned, that we are safe in his hands because Jesus is our shepherd and we are his sheep.
Speaker 2:Isn't that good? All right, but what about the long journey ahead? I mean, what about when the path gets hard, when doubts creep in, when suffering comes, when sin resurfaces, when we feel weak, weary and afraid? Well, that's where the truth of today's message, where the truth of God's Word, really matters deeply. And the truth is this I'll just state it this way and we'll move from here those who are genuinely saved. Now you may have a different view, but I believe God's word really is pretty clear about this, and we'll walk through this as we go through it. Those who are genuinely saved will endure to the end, not by their own strength, but by god's sustaining grace. In other words, let me put it this way saving faith is enduring faith. Saving faith is enduring faith not because we are strong, but because god is faithful.
Speaker 2:The bible, again, I I stand on this, on what I believe is the truth of god's word. The bible never teaches that true believers can ultimately and finally fall away and lose their salvation. However, it does teach that true believers continue to believe. It teaches that true believers continue to believe they persevere, not in perfection, but in repentance, not without failure, but without final falling away. And why? Well, because the god who saved them is the God who keeps them. And I'll tell you this morning that's a promise. You can build your life on that. The God who saves you is the God who keeps you. You can build your life on that promise.
Speaker 2:I want us to explore three key truths as we consider why true believers in Jesus continue to believe. Why do true believers in Jesus continue to believe? If you've ever felt weak in your faith, if you've ever wondered whether you're going to make it to the end, then this message is for you. So let's begin with one of the most, I believe, reassuring verses in all of Scripture, back in Philippians 1. Philippians 1. Let's start with that.
Speaker 2:Philippians 1, verse 6. Being confident of this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. That single sentence from the Apostle Paul, from the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, is a bedrock for our assurance and our hope, because it speaks not only of how salvation begins, but it also speaks of how it continues and how it ultimately ends. So we'll start with this powerful truth that, if true believers continue to believe, why? Why is that? Well, first, and I would even say most importantly, it's this God finishes what he starts. God finishes what he starts. Philippians, chapter 1, verse 6. So let's unpack this some, verse 6. Put your eyes on it. Let's unpack it some. First of all, we see in verse 6. So let's unpack this some, verse 6. Put your eyes on it. Let's unpack it some.
Speaker 2:First of all, we see in verse 6 that salvation begins with God. It says he who began a good work in you. So notice who begins the work. God does, and it's not abstractly, it's not that he begins the work out there somewhere. No, he begins the work where, in you, in you. He begins to work in you. Salvation is not a human achievement, it's a divine initiative. It doesn't start with our resolve, it doesn't start with our decision, it doesn't start with our morality. No, it starts with god's grace and god's power. He called you, he opened your eyes, he brought you understanding of the gospel, of what jesus did in dying for your sins and rising from the dead to give you eternal life. He gave you faith, he began the work, and that's incredibly freeing. And that's incredibly freeing, actually, it's incredibly freeing. You don't look, you don't climb your way into salvation and you won't maintain it by sheer willpower. The same God who began the work is the one who sustains it. That's what we see first. Look what else. It's a good work, but it's not finished yet.
Speaker 2:The apostle Paul here calls salvation a good work, he who began a good work in you. Now that includes regeneration, or being born again, as we've called it. That includes justification, that is to say being declared by God that you are righteous before Him, based on your faith in Jesus. That is also to say sanctification, that is, being made more like Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. And it also includes glorification, which is our future resurrection and our future perfection. And so the work of salvation has a beginning, a middle and a glorious end.
Speaker 2:But the reality is this the reality is that many christians get discouraged, and maybe you can testify to this. Many christians get discouraged because they see their flaws and they see their failures and they wonder how could I struggle? How could I still struggle like this if I'm saved? Anybody ever been there? Yeah, but god's word reminds us we're still in process. We're still in process.
Speaker 2:God's work in you is not finished, but it is good. And so every moment, every moment of growth, every step of obedience, every battle with sin is part of his master plan to make you more like Jesus. Look what else it says We'll complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. So God will complete the work. This is the heart of the promise. God finishes what he starts.
Speaker 2:The word complete here in the original language, the Greek language in which it was written, the word complete means to bring to full maturity, it means to carry something through to the end. And so there's no doubt here, in the Apostle Paul's voice and in the through the Holy Spirit, there's just confidence If God started the work, he will finish it. And so, the day of Jesus Christ look at that, the day of Jesus Christ. That refers to the return of Christ, when every believer will be fully transformed and finally perfected. And so, until that day, fully transformed and finally perfected. And so until that day, god is faithfully shaping us and on that day the work will be gloriously complete. So that brings deep assurance. If you are saved, it brings deep assurance if you're saved. Saved, it brings deep assurance. If you're saved, that means that means your salvation is not hanging by a thread. That means your security doesn't depend on you, that your performance does not sustain you. You are kept by the faithfulness of god, and that's our hope, that's our security. We persevere in faith because god preserves us by his grace.
Speaker 2:Let me give you an illustration. Imagine walking past a massive construction site. There's still plenty of them around the area. You can go by and see a lot of them these days. You're walking past a massive construction site and at first it appears to be chaos. There's exposed beams, there's unfinished rooms, there's these scattered tools around, there's equipment sitting around. But over on the edge of the property tools around, there's equipment sitting around, but over on the edge of the property there is a large sign with a rendering of the final design, and it's beautiful and it's complete and it's intentional. That's your life in Christ. That's your life in Christ. Oh, it might look messy now. It could be that you might still see scaffolding and unfinished walls, but I want to remind you this morning that God, the master builder, is at work, and I'm glad to tell you that he never abandons his projects. What he starts, he finishes, and the blueprint is already drawn. You will look like jesus.
Speaker 2:So what does this mean for daily living? Well, first of all, this truth should lead us to confidence, not complacency. So if you're struggling this morning, take heart. God is still working. If you're growing, if you look at your life and you can say, okay, I might not be where I want to be, but there's growth, I'm growing. If that's true, then rejoice in that, because that's evidence of his spirit in you.
Speaker 2:If you're doubting, come back to this promise he will complete what he started. Now. It doesn't make us passive. It actually makes us hopeful and faithful. We keep running, we keep trusting, we keep repenting, not to stay saved, but because we are saved and we know God is still at work. And so when you grow weary in the battle, remember who started this work and trust that he will finish it. Keep your eyes on the day of Christ.
Speaker 2:The reality is, it could be that you're here this morning and you might feel overwhelmed this morning by how far you still have to go. Maybe you look at your life and you think, man, I've still got ways to go. But god is not finished. The work he began in you is good and he will see it through. Now, if you're not saved, I mean You're not a Christian. God is calling you today and if he begins the work in your heart, drawing you to Jesus, you can be confident that he will carry it all the way To completion. So, believe on Jesus today, believe on Christ today, repent of your sin today. Lean into that calling. That's happening.
Speaker 2:So if true believers continue to believe, why? Well, the second big truth I want us to see is in hebrews 10. Let's turn there, hebrews 10, and it's this not only does god finish what he starts, but another reason that true believers continue to believe is because saving faith perseveres. Saving faith perseveres. If philippians, chapter 1, verse 6, gives us confidence that god finishes what he starts, then hebrews 10 shows us how that truth plays out in real life. Because, look, true faith is not in a moment of time. True faith is not in a moment in time, but it's in lifelong perseverance. It's not in a moment of time, it's in lifelong perseverance.
Speaker 2:We have really, uh, messed this up very much in the church in the 20th century and on into the 21st century. We have. We have truncated the gospel. We have reduced salvation to convincing people that if there's a moment in time where you will simply repeat this prayer after me and I'll write the date in the fly leaf of your Bible and now that's your spiritual birthday and if you prayed that prayer, then you're saved, and then life goes on. And we've got folks who, for the last 30 or 40 years since that date that was written in their Bible, they have no interest in the things of God, they have no desire to be around God's people, they don't want to read God's Word, they don't want to serve Him, they don't love Him, they don't want to crucify their flesh and allow Jesus to be Lord of their life. But yet somebody told them if you'll pray that prayer, cliff, if you'll repeat after me, you'll punch your ticket, I'll mark down the day. And now, once saved, always saved, because you did that, you did that, saving faith, true faith, is not a moment in time, it's not a moment, it's a lifelong, it's lifelong perseverance.
Speaker 2:Let's look at hebrews 10. He was saying let's pick it up in verse 35 again therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward, for you have need of endurance so that, after you have done the will of god, you may receive the promise. And he quotes old testament for yet a little while, and he who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now, the just shall live by faith. But if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. And so this passage that we just read reminds us that saving faith is persevering faith, and that one reason it's one reason that true believers continue to believe, because saving faith is persevering faith.
Speaker 2:The Christian life is not I just want to say it again the Christian life is not about a single decision made years ago. It is about a daily walk of trusting Christ, even through hardship. And so these verses that we just read really do exhort us and challenge us with some truths regarding persevering faith. Let's just kind of hit them, let's walk through them. First of all, verse 35 says don't throw away your confidence. Don't throw away your confidence. Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.
Speaker 2:So the context of Hebrews is this the believers who are addressed in Hebrews were facing persecution, they were facing pressure, they were facing the temptation to retreat and in fact some if you read verse 32 through 34, some had already endured public shame and they had lost all their possessions. And now they're growing weary. And so the Holy Spirit, through the author of Hebrews, urges them don't give up now, don't walk away. Hold on to Christ. And this is the same word for us today. Because listen, when the cost is high, when the trials are long, when the answers are slow, don't cast away your confidence. Why the Scripture says because it has great reward. There is eternal glory on the other side of present suffering. Let's keep going. Verse 36.
Speaker 2:For you have need of endurance, so you need endurance. Endurance Also, in some of the English translations, can be translated patient perseverance. You need patient perseverance, you need endurance. And that's not a passive waiting, it is an active, faithful holding on to Christ in the face of pressure. I know it's an old cliche, but it's true. I'll go ahead and say it. Here's the old cliche the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. It's a marathon, not a sprint. I believe you'd agree with me this morning. You'd say, man, I think we could all go around the room and testify. There are days of joy, but there are also seasons of deep testing, isn't that true? There are, and what endurance does? Enduring faith, persevering faith. Endurance keeps believing when the healing hasn't come. Faith Endurance keeps believing when the healing hasn't come. Endurance keeps you obeying when your family and your co-workers mock your faith. Endurance keeps showing up in worship when your heart feels heavy. Endurance keeps trusting Jesus, even when you don't see how the situation resolves. And notice here we need endurance not to earn salvation, but because we already have it and we're walking toward the fulfillment of that promise. Let's keep going.
Speaker 2:Verse 38. Now the just shall live by faith. The word just, a synonym for just, is righteous. Now the righteous shall live by faith. We could say it this way those in right standing with God shall live by faith. Those who have been made right in God's sight shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith. This phrase in verse 38 echoes the prophet Habakkuk in Habakkuk, chapter 2, verse 4 in the Old Testament, and it's actually quoted three times in the New Testament and it captures the heart of the gospel. And that is this that we are justified, that is to say, we are made right with God by faith in Jesus and nothing else. We're put in right standing with God through faith in Jesus, nothing else. We are justified by faith and we live by faith. Listen, we don't live by explanations, we don't live by demanding answers, we live by faith. Faith isn't just how we began the Christian life, it's how we continue every day. We walk by faith, trusting God. We obey by faith trusting God. We obey by faith, trusting God. We endure by faith trusting God.
Speaker 2:Now, true faith doesn't mean we never struggle, but it means we keep returning to Jesus as our only hope. We might fall, but we don't forsake. We might doubt, but we don't desert. And that's not the dessert you eat and enjoy. That's not what I'm talking about. That's military lingo, that's army lingo. You don't desert, you're not a deserter, you don't go awol. We might doubt, but you don't desert. Amen. Verse 38. Look at verse 38. You don't desert, amen. Verse 38. Look at verse 38. This is tough, though, right here, verse 38. God is speaking, but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. This is a sober warning. Those who abandon Christ, those who fully and finally walk away, prove that they were never truly His.
Speaker 2:This isn't talking about believers who stumble. This isn't talking about believers who doubt. This isn't talking about believers who struggle. It describes those who turn back permanently, rejecting the gospel and renouncing Christ. And this is why perseverance matters Not because we earn salvation by enduring, but because those who are truly saved will endure, will endure, We'll endure. Look at verse 39. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition Perdition is another word for destruction. We're not those who turn back to destruction. We're not those who turn back to damnation, to destruction. We're not those who turn back to damnation, condemnation, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. This is a declaration of confidence. This is a declaration of encouragement. In other words, listen, true believers, keep believing. True believers, keep believing. True believers, continue to believe. Keep believing True believers, continue to believe. Their faith is real, not perfect but persevering, not flawless but enduring. And so if your faith this morning is in Jesus today I'm talking about for real if you're trusting in him, if your faith is in Jesus today and you continue trusting him tomorrow and you continue trusting him the next day, and on and on. Then you are among those who believe, to use the words of the scripture, to the saving of the soul. Saving of the soul.
Speaker 2:The great British Baptist pastor of the 19th century, charles Spurgeon, once said. He said faith is like a rope we cling to over a deep chasm. It's not the strength of our hands that keep us from falling, but the strength of the rope. And so our endurance doesn't rest in our ability, it rests in the strength of our Savior. And we keep holding on because he is holding us. And so endurance or perseverance, we can use that word.
Speaker 2:Endurance, perseverance, it's not a work of the flesh, it's not just your willpower. Endurance, perseverance is a fruit of the Spirit who indwells you. It's evidence of the fruit of the Spirit. So when you see let me encourage you when you see your faith enduring through trials, when you see your faith enduring through temptations, when you say, when you see your faith enduring over time, it's not a sign of your strength but of God's sustaining power. It's a sign of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you. It's a sign of the life of Christ in you.
Speaker 2:The apostle Paul said the life I live, I do not live it in the flesh because I've been crucified with Christ.
Speaker 2:I live the life.
Speaker 2:I live by the power of God, because Christ lives in me. This is why it's God's sustaining power. This is why the biblical truth of the perseverance of believers matters, not that Christians never struggle, but that true Christians never abandon Christ. Why? Because he never abandons them. He never abandons them. Keep going, keep going.
Speaker 2:Don't let weariness don't let sufferinginess, don't let suffering, don't let depression, don't let discouragement rob you of the reward, because your savior is worth it. He's with you every step, every step. I want to tell you if your faith is in jesus I mean if your faith is in Jesus, I mean really if your faith is in Jesus, then your faith is genuine, because it's not your hold on Christ that matters most, it's His hold on you. And listen, if you're not saved, if you're not a follower of Christ and, by the way, you know that, whether you are or not, be honest with yourself you know whether or not you are a follower of Jesus. And so, if you're not a follower of Jesus, there is only one way to endure to the end, and that is by being made new in Christ. Don't delay. Don't delay, repent and trust Him today and begin a journey of faith that leads to eternal life, not just your possession of it now, but ultimately and fully and completely in eternity.
Speaker 1:You've been listening to. Foundations of Truth, the Bible teaching ministry of Pastor Timothy Mann at Providence Church, ormond Beach, florida. You're invited to join us on Sundays at 1151 West Granada Boulevard in Ormond Beach, florida. You're invited to join us on Sundays at 1151 West Granada Boulevard in Ormond Beach For service times, bible fellowship groups and more information on activities at Providence Church. Go online to theprovidencechurchorg. If you feel led by God to financially support Foundations of Truth, visit the giving link at theprovidencechurchorg. Until next time, continue to build your life on the foundations of truth through Jesus Christ and God's written word.
