called in a miraculous way, but time after time he had seen the operation of God’s spirit in the things he was privileged to perform and in angelic intervention on his behalf. But despite the intense hatred he encountered from both demonic and human sources, he did not let his faith waver nor was he turned aside from the work to which he had been called. He put his confidence in the Lord and in the resurrection hope.​—1 Cor. 15:14, 21, 22.

23. How do we know that Paul was not ashamed of his course of life?

²³ Paul was not ashamed of his course of life. As he told King Agrippa: “I could wish to God that . . . not only you but also all those who hear me today would become men such as I also am, with the exception of these bonds.” (Acts 26:28, 29; Rom. 1:16) Despite the trials he endured, he encouraged others to follow the same course. To the brothers at Corinth, he wrote: “Become imitators of me, even as I am of Christ.” (1 Cor. 11:1) He was not the type of person who went looking for trouble nor one who reveled in hardship or martyrdom as though it brought glory to the individual. Yet he stood firm for the truth. When he wrote the Thessalonians, he rejoiced that the good news did not result in speech alone, “but also with power and with holy spirit and strong conviction . . . and you became imitators of us and of the Lord, seeing that you accepted the word under much tribulation with joy of holy spirit.”​—1 Thess. 1:5, 6.

24. What blessings come from our demonstrating faith like Paul’s?

²⁴ Few of us will ever face all the trials Paul did. Yet we can all demonstrate faith like his. We can remember his encouraging words to the Hebrews: “Now we are not the sort that shrink back to destruction, but the sort that have faith to the preserving alive of the soul.” (Heb. 10:38, 39) Knowing that the tested quality of our faith works out endurance, we should be imitators of Paul as he was of Christ Jesus. By our faithful endurance despite the trials that come upon us, we know that in our case also the tested, enduring quality of our faith will be “a cause for praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”​—1 Pet. 1:5-7, 9; Jas. 1:2, 3.

Not Holding Our Lives Too Dear

1. What did Jesus say would happen to his followers in the “last days”?

IN JESUS’ long-range prophecy spanning 1,900 years, he foretold intensified persecution for his faithful followers in the last days. He warned: “People will lay their hands upon you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, you being haled before kings and governors for the sake of my name. It will turn out to you for a witness. . . . I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your opposers together will not be able to resist or dispute. Moreover, you will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death; and you will be objects of hatred by all people because of my name.”​—Luke 21:12-17.

2. (a) For what particular reasons do Christians not suffer? (b) But from what source can persecution be expected?

² Jesus did not say these things to discourage