By John Thiel, Beholding Christ Series, Part 14, mp3

We are spending time beholding Jesus in Gethsemane and at the cross.

Isaiah 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 

Isaiah 42:21 The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make [it] honourable. 22 But this [is] a people robbed and spoiled; [they are] all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. 23 Who among you will give ear to this? [who] will hearken and hear for the time to come?

A people robbed and spoiled, snared in holes, a pray, a spoil, no one to restore.

The Son of God, looking upon the world, beheld suffering and misery. With pity He saw how men had become victims of satanic cruelty. He looked with compassion upon those who were being corrupted, murdered, and lost. They had chosen a ruler who chained them to his car as captives. Bewildered and deceived, they were moving on in gloomy procession toward eternal ruin,–to death in which is no hope of life, toward night to which comes no morning. Satanic agencies were incorporated with men. The bodies of human beings, made for the dwelling place of God, had become the habitation of demons. The senses, the nerves, the passions, the organs of men, were worked by supernatural agencies in the indulgence of the vilest lust. The very stamp of demons was impressed upon the countenances of men. Human faces reflected the expression of the legions of evil with which they were possessed. Such was the prospect upon which the world’s Redeemer looked. What a spectacle for Infinite Purity to behold! {DA 36.3}

God sees we are in prison. In the prison house of Lucifer and we don’t know it. Many don’t even want to know it. Is this the case today; gloomy procession and lost aspirations? Things are getting worse and worse. Life today is the same as when Christ came the first time. Before every single one of us on this planet there is that conclusion. To young people and youth opens up a hopeful future. They are taught to venture into something, put your best into it and make something of yourself. As these youth grow up and they see the world around them, they see a lot going wrong and they say I’m going to do it better than all that. They see their parents getting married and say I’m going to have a better marriage than that. They think yes, what a challenge I will venture into something. When it comes to religion, those who have been brought up in the religious world think I want a better religion than that and I’m going to make it right for me.

With relish they embrace the challenge. They resolve to do better than others. They tackle their preparation for a career and they become capable to earn their money. They come up to the age of marriage and they look for the one they think is right for them and they fall in love and think we are going to be happy in our marriage. Children look at all the mistakes their parents are making and say we are not going to make those kinds of mistakes. We are going to bring our children up right. When it comes to financial security, the youth plan well and think I’m going to do it better.

When it comes to the choice of their religion and their walk with God, they see how their religion around them makes mistakes and think they will make a better home and religious life. They venture forward. In due time they discover what Solomon discovered and if any think it’s going to be any different don’t think so because I did but it wasn’t different. When I was a youth, I thought I was going to do it better than anyone else.

King Solomon was endowed with wisdom from God and look what he discovered;

Ecclesiastes 1:12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

This is no mean person, this is one of the top ranking preachers in the Bible.

Ecclesiastes 1:13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all [things] that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all [is] vanity and vexation of spirit. 

Ecclesiastes 2:1 I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also [is] vanity. 2 I said of laughter, [It is] mad: and of mirth, What doeth it? 3 I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what [was] that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. 4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards:

He applied himself to that which every aspiring mind would apply him or her self.

Ecclesiastes 2:9 So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me.

What a man. What did he discover? What did he sense as he went on with this?

Ecclesiastes 2:10 And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.

He really enjoyed himself and appreciated and savoured what he had done.

Ecclesiastes 2:11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all [was] vanity and vexation of spirit, and [there was] no profit under the sun.

He was trapped. Trapped after he had tried and he was trapped in nothing of value.

Ecclesiastes 2:17 Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun [is] grievous unto me: for all [is] vanity and vexation of spirit. 18 Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.

I’ve been aspiring to get satisfaction from it and then I discovered I’m empty. I’m absolutely done. It is all vexation and vanity as I should leave it to the man that should be after me and what am I left with? All is vexation and vanity. Humanity that is aspiring to reach its objective. Every individual has got this drive in him, but there comes assuredly the same sense that came to Solomon.

As humanity slowly discovers that everything I laboured for to make life successful, becomes vanity to my sense and I hate life. People want to escape it and they look for some way out and some become derelicts. I have found many derelicts in my life who were very intelligent men when they started off. They had businesses, were lawyers and capable men who became drunkards, derelicts. I used to ponder, how could such a person with such capability and who has made success of life become a derelict? Solomon could have too. We can turn to God and discover something deeper.

Jesus lays out before our mind that there is something worthwhile taking hold of. He brings Solomon into the picture. Solomon took thought of his life. What did he do? He dressed himself nicely and he had lavish circumstances.

Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.

In taking hold of the provision that God has made and listening to God’s suggestion, we have something to live for. King Solomon discovered it when he concluded his preaching in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. He comes to the final conclusion.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.

Whatever he had done before, he discovered was vanity and vexation of spirit. He was trapped and there in his old age he said young men, learn from me. As we take this seriously, and embrace this purpose in life, that I will fear God and keep His commandments that I will seek the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness, what will I gain? I throw my whole effort into this cause. I sacrifice everything that I might have aspired as a youth and I don’t pursue it as I pursue only that which is contained in the words of Solomon. I will defend the truth and law of God. I make a firm decision.

Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort [you] that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

A Challenge

Here is a challenge to keep the commandments of God, the kingdom of heaven, the fear of God, all the truth that is connected with that is what I’m going to throw myself into. As this enterprise unfolds to its culmination, what have you on this planet?

Isaiah 59:14 And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. 15 Yea, truth faileth; and he [that] departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw [it], and it displeased him that [there was] no judgment.

Is that something worth fighting for so that as you fight for it you are going to become a prey? Everything you have done in the world comes to naught, trapped once again only to suffer being a prey. If you embrace the real thing that Jesus told us to do, here is your story;

2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

What does this all mean? I put my whole interest and weight behind the things worthwhile living for that God told me to do, and I feel trapped again. Everybody was in prison on this planet and the gloomy procession goes on and as this is happening in the last days and you decide you are going to pursue Jesus and His righteousness and embrace the law of God and all that is contained, what is our future?

They have faithfully given the warning, looking to God and to His word alone. God’s Spirit, moving upon their hearts, has constrained them to speak. Stimulated with holy zeal, and with the divine impulse strong upon them, they entered upon the performance of their duties without coldly calculating the consequences of speaking to the people the word which the Lord had given them. They have not consulted their temporal interests, nor sought to preserve their reputation or their lives. Yet when the storm of opposition and reproach bursts upon them, some, overwhelmed with consternation, will be ready to exclaim: “Had we foreseen the consequences of our words, we would have held our peace.” They are hedged in with difficulties. Satan assails them with fierce temptations. The work which they have undertaken seems far beyond their ability to accomplish. They are threatened with destruction. The enthusiasm which animated them is gone; yet they cannot turn back. {GC 608.3}

Charged up with the power of the Holy Spirit is gone yet they can’t turn back. Trapped? I will not preach smooth messages, as we will get disappointed. As we move forward into the time of trouble we will feel trapped. Have you already felt some of these things? Have you felt as you have launched out thinking this is the right way to go and as you pursue this, the world crowds in upon you? Things get hard to bear and you want to say, let me out of here and you have nowhere to turn but to continue. If you do turn back, where do you go? Remember when the seventy left Jesus. Where did they go? When He said to the twelve, are you also going to leave me, Peter said where else can we go? We are trapped. They thought they were trapped when Jesus was nailed to the cross. These are the realities. What happens to those who really embrace the truth?

Isaiah 59:16 And he saw that [there was] no man, and wondered that [there was] no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. 17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance [for] clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.

Who is this speaking about? We are beholding Jesus. What are we to behold; the very thing that took place in the life of Jesus Christ who lived only for God and for His righteousness. There was none to help Him.

Go to dark Gethsemane,

ye that feel the tempter’s power;

Your Redeemer’s conflict see,

watch with Him one bitter hour,

Turn not from His griefs away;

learn of Jesus Christ to pray.

Fear God and keep His commandments. Jesus had the commandments in His heart. He is there as the epitome as a true law keeper and what happened to Him? Judgement has fallen in the street, truth faileth, and I’m on my own. I’m trapped. How am I going to get out of this? He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet as salvation. Here is a trapped condition but how do you get out of it? Behold Jesus Christ. As He came forth to embark on a grand enterprise, what was the grand enterprise that He came to embark on?

Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Jesus looked upon the planet and saw the terrible condition. These gloomy people walking this terrible path in this prison house, I will go and save them. He entered into the enterprise and He continued through it and there were opportunities for Him to say I’m trapped. What was He overwhelmed by?

Isaiah 49:1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. 2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; 3 And said unto me, Thou [art] my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. 4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: [yet] surely my judgment [is] with the LORD, and my work with my God.

Does that sound a bit like Solomon? All is vanity and vexation of spirit. I’ve come to seek and save that which was lost and I’ve laboured in vain. I’ve spent my strength for naught and laboured in vain. Surely I was doing the right thing but it was in vain.

Isaiah 49:5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb [to be] his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.

He was trapped in a terrible predicament of negativities that made it look as though everything He ever did was all in vain. As He was toying with that sensation, He says surely my judgement is with the Lord. Did I do it as God instructed me? My work is with my God. The Lord says to me, though Israel is not gathered, although it appears you are not succeeding, I’m very happy with you.

We always look for satisfaction that we have done the right thing. If we look for satisfaction that we have by the results and by what I’ve anticipated has happened, I will be trapped again. I will feel like escaping from this. Where shall I escape? Here is the only escape found in the scriptures. As I examine my life with my God, God says I’m very pleased for you; you have stood for me, and that is all that counts.

Jesus wanted the cup to pass from Him. Where did He find Himself? He found Himself in fashion as a man. He found Himself on the path of this planet, which was a prison house. Jesus said, I must come into the strong man’s house and bind him. How do you bind a prison warden? How do you bind those who keep you in prison? They are more powerful than you. Jesus came as a man. He found Himself fashioned as a man and placed Himself in prison with us.

Psalms 69:5 O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. 6 Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. 7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. 8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children. 9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. 10 When I wept, [and chastened] my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. 11 I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. 12 They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I [was] the song of the drunkards. 13 But as for me, my prayer [is] unto thee, O LORD, [in] an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. 14 Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. 15 Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.

Here is what happened when Jesus found Himself in fashion as a man. He submitted Himself to do what He had to do. The zeal of the Lord had eaten Him up. He did what God told Him to do and what does He get? He gets a prison house experience. Here is the prison, the pit;

Isaiah 69:2 I sink in deep mire, where [there is] no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.

Trapped in a pit in a prison. Trapped with every other human being including you and me in that gloomy consequence of everything I have sought to find joy in. As we look at Jesus and behold Him, embrace the lesson. Embrace the lesson because as we behold Jesus we are to learn something. When you find yourself in trapped circumstances do you seek a way out? Do you seek a way of escape? Do you seek to run away to change your course? To deny your earlier convictions that led you there? Do you feel tempted to indulge in a release mechanism? This is getting too hard I think I want to leave the membership. I can’t anymore so there is a temptation to leave the body of Christ and the calling God had given you and me. Take it deeply in.

Mothers who thought that child bearing and training was going to be so lovely. I still see the mothers cuddling their babies thinking it was lovely and as they grow up, they become little monsters. It is hard work to bring these children up in the fear of the Lord and it is so hard I can’t stand it anymore and I want out. How many have said I want a break can grandma and grandpa take them off me for a while? They come back just as bad.

How about the scenario of working hard to bring about good results and I get burdened with responsibility when I thought I was making good income and financial security. This is happening to everyone. They start off with riches and it falls. Everything we dreamt for is a gall around the throat as Solomon said. The true followers of Jesus come face to face and want to get out of it and want a way of escape. How does Jesus address us today?

Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

I don’t think I can love anymore I hate my life. The love that I had that stirred me into action is gone. Instead of pursuing the gone feeling, what does Jesus say?

Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Don’t give up endure. As we live now when everybody around is folding up, Seventh Day Adventism has also folded up. Why? They are no longer standing on the platform once delivered to them. As this is happening around us, everything we have grown up in we think is going to get us there but it goes down. What could Jesus have done when He was going through horrible experiences in Gethsemane when He said Father I can’t anymore? What did He say? Father if it is possible let this cup pass.

The angels had been watching the contest, but they could do nothing to relieve the Saviour until the last temptation had been resisted. The Commander of heaven, Christ, was accustomed to receive the attendance and adoration of angels. And at any time during His life on this earth He could have called to His Father for the help of the angels. But no bribe, no temptation, could induce Him to deviate from the path of God’s appointment. Great cunning was shown in the tactics which Satan followed. He assailed Christ on the point of appetite. He appealed to His trust in God. He presented to Him earth’s most captivating scenes. But Christ failed not. {BEcho, July 23, 1900 par. 9}

Satan says, you know what you are going to go through here is the world, you don’t have to suffer for this, just bow down and I’ll give it to you. How many times Satan places a way out of our sense of responsibility? If you just do this, you don’t have to suffer that anymore. Have you heard him speak like that? Is this real what I’m sharing? Look at Jesus.

But Christ failed not. He saw a world perishing in sin, and steadfastly and firmly He moved forward in the path of resistance. He had a world to rescue. He had come to seek and save that which was lost. {BEcho, July 23, 1900 par. 9}

He would not call the angles to relieve Him.

It was difficult for the angels to endure the sight. They would have delivered Jesus, but the commanding angels forbade them, saying that it was a great ransom which was to be paid for man; but it would be complete and would cause the death of him who had the power of death. Jesus knew that angels were witnessing the scene of His humiliation. The weakest angel could have caused that mocking throng to fall powerless and could have delivered Jesus. He knew that if He should desire it of His Father, angels would instantly release Him. But it was necessary that He should suffer the violence of wicked men, in order to carry out the plan of salvation. {EW 170.2}

As you are faced with your challenges and you have to fulfil them no matter how hard it is and you want to give up look at Jesus. He could have called ten thousand angels to be relieved from that suffering and He didn’t. He carried through and endured unto the end. When things get really tough and the zeal we have started out with is lost, look at Jesus. Let us delve into the scriptural expressions of Jesus. Look at His reactions and responses to the drama He was meeting.

Isaiah 59:15 Yea, truth faileth; and he [that] departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw [it], and it displeased him that [there was] no judgment. 16 And he saw that [there was] no man, and wondered that [there was] no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. 17 For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance [for] clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.

He decided that He was going to break through and not give up. He gained His strength by putting on His armour and persevering through the battle.

Isaiah 49:4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, 5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb [to be] his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. 6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

Can you see by Jesus going through this He became salvation to every one of us? If He had given up, would He have been our salvation. When I go through my experience, He persevered so I won’t give up. I have somebody there to show me, look I’m going right through till it kills me so I stay faithful. That is your salvation.

Isaiah 49:7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, [and] his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, [and] the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

Kings shall arise. Who was the king that comes to your memory that arose and was saved by Jesus? Nebuchadnezzar. I’m looking forward to meeting him. Why? When he went mad, all his kingship and rulership went down the drain and he went insane for seven years. How did his sanity came back? The Lord gave it back to him. If you feel like going insane, remember what Jesus did for Nebuchadnezzar.

Isaiah 50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

It looked so hopeless. As it looks hopeless in your experience, whatever your battles are in pursing what you know to be right, set your face like Jesus face. He did not give up. This is the lesson for us to keep on beholding until we have gained the victory at the very end. Endure unto the end as Jesus did.

Oh, how many stumble over such lives as his. They get the impression that when they take the first steps in conversion,–repentance, faith, and baptism,–this is all that is required of them. But this is a fatal error. The arduous struggle for conquest over self, for holiness and heaven, is a lifelong struggle. There is no release in this war; the effort must be continuous and persevering. Christian integrity must be sought with resistless energy and maintained with a resolute fixedness of purpose. {5T 412.2}

That’s what it means to endure but I do not cease to pursue the integrity of Christianity and the battle over self. You know how strong that battle is. How easily I fall to self. I’ve got to get there and I have to continue and if I don’t walk away from it, I will get there.

When souls are converted their salvation is not yet accomplished. They then have the race to run; the arduous struggle is before them to do, what? “To fight the good fight of faith,” to press forward to the mark for the prize of the high calling which is in Christ Jesus. There is no release in this warfare; the battle is lifelong, and must be carried forward with determined energy proportionate to the value of the object you are in pursuit of, which is eternal life. Immense interests are here involved. We are made partakers of Christ’s self-sacrifice here in this life, and then we are assured that we shall be partakers of all its benefits in the future immortal life, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. Think of this. {ML 313.3}

Let us behold Christ and be like those who were challenged at the end who said if only I knew what my beginnings were leading me to, I would have shut my mouth, I wouldn’t have done what I’ve done. Now they have done it they are caught and trapped.

They are hedged in with difficulties. Satan assails them with fierce temptations. The work which they have undertaken seems far beyond their ability to accomplish. They are threatened with destruction. The enthusiasm which animated them is gone; yet they cannot turn back. Then, feeling their utter helplessness, they flee to the Mighty One for strength. They remember that the words which they have spoken were not theirs, but His who bade them give the warning. God put the truth into their hearts, and they could not forbear to proclaim it. {GC 608.3}

When things get too heavy for us we need to flee to the mighty one for strength. Remember, proclaiming is not just what you have spoken, but done. That is the preaching as we studied it. There are many that have started well and put all the practise of reform into their lives and now they think they had better change because it is getting too hard, but no, they persevere. They know what they have put into practise that society around them squashes out of their life as possible, they say no this is God’s will, I am going to persevere. We who feel trapped and in prison in whatever way we turn, even turning to Jesus and being imprisoned with Him, we need not despair.

Isaiah 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, [and] them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. 

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

These are the wonderful comforts that will hold us.

Zechariah 9:11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein [is] no water. 12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare [that] I will render double unto thee;

Prisoners of Hope

We are prisoners just as Jesus was but look at the precious hope as He clung on and was obedient unto death even the death of the cross. He came out on the other side and so will you. Our only escape is suffering. Do you feel trapped in consequence from embracing the truth? You will ultimately anyway, you will feel like escaping. You need to endure with Jesus as a prisoner of hope.

Hebrews 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. 38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if [any man] draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Amen.