Tests are stressful. They put pressure on us to come up with the right answers. Too often, what we thought we knew shows itself to be the wrong answer when put to the test.
Two friends overslept and were late for their algebra class. They told the teacher that they had a flat tire. The teacher then put the students in separate rooms and asked the question: “Which tire was flat?” They failed the test.
The Gospel of John gives an example of those who claimed to follow Christ but failed the commitment test. It seems that initially Jesus accumulated a large crowd of followers. His teaching was magnetic and His miracles were amazing. He had just fed the hungry crowd of 5,000 men and their response was to make Him king.
However, the more He demanded, the more they walked away. They wanted a Messiah who gave everything and asked nothing. Their definition of what Jesus should be was structured by what they wanted, not by what Jesus was demanding. In the end, only 12 disciples were left and one was Judas. John chapter 6 begins with 5,000 and ends with 12 — and one of these is a devil (John 6:70–71). The dropout rate was tremendous. It still is.
Being a Christian involves making an initial commitment of faith and also staying the course. Life gives us tests that show us if our faith is genuine. They may take the form of a major change, a senseless tragedy, a deep hurt or an impossible situation.
Genuine faith holds on to Christ and pushes past the quitting points. It refuses to walk away. “Lord, whom will we go to? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
One Baptist seminary professor had a favorite saying he repeatedly told his students, “A faith that fizzles before the finish had a flaw from the first.” As Southern Baptists, we believe that once saved, always saved. It is a theology that is biblically correct. At the same time, a truly committed faith is one that stays the course and doesn’t allow the person to walk away.
Does your faith pass the commitment test? The right answer carries eternal consequences. “But the one who endures to the end will be delivered” (Mark 13:13b).
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