What shall we say to these things? "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). Jesus promises that he will build his church, and that all the powers of hell will not overcome it. Although resistance against the gospel has been constant, and although persecution against the church has been unrelenting, we can be confident that just as the Christian faith has survived in the past, it will continue to survive in the future. There is no need to worry and think, "Will Christianity be snuffed out eventually?" There is no need to fret and say, "Will the church lose its influence some time in the future?" And there is no need to entertain the possibility that the so-called progress in science and culture will ever strip the Bible of its relevance.

All the powers of hell will not overcome the church. The Christian faith is here to stay forever. It will never be destroyed. It will never be forgotten. It will never be replaced. It will never lose its influence. It will never lose its relevance. In fact, the Christian faith will not only survive, but it will prosper in whatever purpose Christ has for it. This is because Christ promises us more than survival – he promises that he will build the church. It is first a promise of progress. Thus the church will continue to mature, increase, and advance in accordance with the will of God. Nothing can stop us. Nothing can hinder us. We will fulfill all the good works that God has foreordained for us before the creation of the world.

Now, even an immortal man might fear defeat and death if he does not realize that he cannot perish. But once he understands and believes it, he enters into rest, and from within him rises an unquenchable boldness that delivers him from all the threats of his enemies. Likewise, a church that takes hold of Christ's promise moves from a religion of fear, of effort, of striving and self-preservation, into a religion of rest, of faith, and of great power and courage.

However, the "church" is not an abstract entity or idea, but it consists of the individuals that comprise it. Therefore, when we say that the church must take hold of Christ's promise, we are in fact saying that individual believers must take hold of it. In other words, they must learn to think this way about the church – that Christ will continue to build his church, and that the church will never fade or perish even though all the powers of hell come against it.

Instead of allowing their minds to be taken by their own perception of the current condition of the church and the strength of the threats against it, they must place the burden for Christianity's survival and progress back where it belongs, that is, on the promise of Christ. The Christian faith will survive and prosper not because we are wise enough, holy enough, or strong enough, but because God has promised to uphold it, and he is faithful to perform his promise. In order to instill this confidence in individual believers, so that the church as a whole may enter into a realm of faith and rest, we must proclaim and expound on this promise in our congregations, and Christians must take time to study, think, and talk about it.

It is a certainty that the Christian faith, or the church, can never be destroyed but will endure forever. But personalizing this confidence is what grants an individual believer liberation and effectiveness. Ironically, one of the greatest hindrances for a Christian to attain this personal confidence is the opposition from other people who claim to be Christians.

Some people are confident only to the extent that they are arrogant, and so when they see confidence in another, they do not know what to call it other than arrogance, because arrogance is all they know in themselves. If they are confident in their religion only as far as they are confident in their human ability, then their faith has never been in God's word in the first place. So blinded are they by their own tradition and prejudice regarding how a Christian ought to think and speak, that they would accuse someone like me as arrogant when I state that I am invincible because God's word is invincible. Unless they can show that I am in fact a non-Christian, so that my confidence is without foundation, their judgment toward me is in fact their attitude toward God's word.

My statement, therefore, stands as a witness against them, exposing their lying faith and false humility – these are the things that cannot stand against the powers of the enemy. Their judgment concerning me is correct only concerning themselves. Some of them even claim to believe that God's word is invincible, but their negative reaction to someone who personalizes this truth shows that they are liars. They can say that they have faith in God's word, but if they stumble when someone applies it, and if they are offended when someone personalizes it, then it shows that they are liars. They do not believe God's word. They react because one word from me disturbs their hold upon the minds of men, and throws their system into disarray. But they treasure tradition rather than Christ, and so they would even raise their hand to slay their own brother.

I mention this to illustrate a point. Whether it comes from non-Christians or professing Christians, I must not allow opposition to dictate my ministry agenda, or to derail me from what I know I must do. I will be held accountable for my decisions by the standard of the divine commission, and not by the standard of human reactions and criticisms. In all of this, I remain in perfect faith and rest, because I am confident in the promise of Christ and the call of God. There is nothing that anyone can do to hinder me apart from divine providence, or to destroy my flesh before the task is finished. My work will increase in strength and influence according to the will of God, and there is nothing that anyone can do about it, to diminish it or to undermine it. What is of God will stand, and what is not of God, I am more eager to see demolished than those who oppose me.

Although I am persecuted for expressing a personal confidence in God's word, I will gladly endure the opposition in order to remain an example to others, who may be inspired to likewise embrace and apply the divine promise in a personal way. Pharisaical religionists forbid them. They neither enter into rest themselves, nor permit others to enter. But the promise of Christ stands against them, and they cannot overcome it. They are powerless against me. They are powerless against us.

If they think they can make a difference, let them try it. Let them conspire and combine all their might. Their efforts shall not harm me, but shall turn out to further our cause. Long ago, God's word has given me knowledge and assurance of this. And as the years pass, experience has given us many illustrations of the same. They seethe and scheme, while I sleep soundly in faith and rest. They scream and strive and strike! But we pass through the mob and go on our way. Therefore, let us cast aside a lying faith and move beyond a false humility, and recognize God's word for what it is, and then boldly personalize it. And we can be even more confident about the fate of the church as a whole.

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