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Question 6

The ministers quoted Van Braght’s line, “These times are certainly more dangerous than the times of our fathers,” and tied it to “the flames of war” and the need for “steadfast endurance”; what does this suggest about God’s wisdom in allowing hardship versus ease, and how do comfort and prosperity test endurance in ways modern evangelical culture may underestimate?

Another way to ask: What might God be doing by allowing hardship instead of ease? How can comfort and wealth test a Christian’s endurance in ways many churches don’t take seriously?

Direct Answer Dean’s material suggests God may use hardship to clarify identity and strengthen endurance, while ease can quietly erode faith through distraction, worldliness, and loss of mission. Comfort tests endurance because it removes the external pressure that once forced believers to answer who they are and what they will suffer for.

Support from Transcript:

The ministers quote Van Braght: “These times are certainly more dangerous than the times of our fathers.”
They connect danger to conflict: “The flames of war seem to be mounting higher and higher,” and it “behooves us to make every preparation for steadfast endurance.”
Dean illustrates with Moravians: strong nonresistance under Zinzendorf, but Revolutionary War “reproach” helped lead many to “give up non-resistance” by the 1800s.
He contrasts persecution with freedom: when “everybody was against you,” identity is clearer; in America, the church wrestles with “Who are we?” and “What is the mission?”
Roth’s quote supports the idea that they could not escape “the snares of ‘the world’” even when politically free.

Discussion Follow-ups Where has ease in your life made obedience less urgent? How would you train “steadfast endurance” in a church that has not faced open persecution?

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