Reacceptance by Jesus and restoration for Peter meant he would have to endure to the point of death ( 21:18-19 ).īecause of the serious nature of renunciation in the early church, some Christians sought various means to ensure their endurance with God and their final acceptance into the kingdom of heaven. Yet restoration involved serious consequences. Peter's restoration was for Christians a model of hope beyond painful denial ( 21:15-17 ). But failure did not automatically mean their rejection in the manner of Israel's failure in the wilderness. They failed their Lord in times of persecution and temptation, just as Peter did during the dark days of the crucifixion ( John 18:10-11 John 18:15-18 John 18:25-27 ). The early Christians, however, were not superhuman. While the warnings seem most severe in Hebrews ( 2:1-3 5:11-6:8 10:26-31 ) a fact that has led many Christians to avoid reading the book their point is rooted in the firm conviction of the writer that with the power of Christ believers will be able to endure no matter what the circumstance ( 6:9-19 10:35-39 ) and persevere to the end ( 12:1-2 ). These examples supplied the raw materials for Paul and others to formulate clear warnings to Christians about turning or retreating from the way of faithfulness and authenticity of life (e.g., 1 Cor 10:1-12 Heb 3:17-19 ). The repeated failures of Israel to maintain faithfulness to God in the exodus and at later times provided the New Testament writers with forceful models of the nature of tragedy and unrealized hopes among God's people. Pictorial athletic imagery was used to summon Christians to faithfulness as they prepared themselves for the race of life (cf. Born in a context of hostility, persecution, and the death of their Lord and his disciples, the endurance of Christians in the face of persecution and temptation underlies most the New Testament.
Continuing Christian commitment in the face of difficulty.
0 kommentar(er)
