---
title: Matthew 24:13
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/matthew-24-13/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/matthew-24-13.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: Matthew 24:13
testament: NT
section: Gospels
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# Matthew 24:13

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

## JW Usage

Jehovah's Witnesses cite Matthew 24:13 ("He who has endured to the end will be saved") as a proof-text that salvation is never a settled possession but an ongoing process contingent on continued obedience, field service, meeting attendance, and loyalty to the organisation. The verse is deployed as a direct counter whenever a believer claims assurance of salvation — the Watchtower position holds that claiming certainty is presumptuous and that no one can know their final standing until they have proved faithful to the end. It functions as the cornerstone text for the JW insistence that salvation depends on endurance through human effort rather than on a completed divine verdict.

## Protestant Usage

The Protestant reading affirms that endurance is real and expected of genuine believers, but locates the power for endurance in God rather than in human performance. Philippians 1:6 says "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion," and John 10:28-29 promises that no one can snatch believers out of Christ's or the Father's hand. The question Matthew 24:13 raises is not "Will I be strong enough?" but "Is God faithful?" — and the answer is always yes. Endurance is God's work in the believer, not the believer's performance for God. The verse describes the perseverance of the saints — a perseverance that is guaranteed by divine preservation, not earned by human stamina. When paired with 1 John 5:13 ("I write these things so that you may know that you have life everlasting"), it becomes clear that the Bible offers both the call to endure and the assurance that God himself enables that endurance.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [You Can Know You Have Eternal Life](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/assurance-of-salvation.md) — 1 John 5:13 / John 5:24 [Salvation]
- [Repentance and Faith — The Two-Question Gospel Pivot](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/repentance-faith-gospel.md) — Acts 20:21 / Ephesians 2:8–9 / Acts 16:31 [Salvation]