If you were told that not only would you be freed but you would be given a larger home, or promoted to position of prominence, or given many riches, as you lay there about to be sawn in half by the jagged blade of a saw, would you deny Christ?

Some have never professed Christ in the first place or keep secret the fact that they trust the Lord Jesus for fear of a mere word or look they might endure from worldly associates. But what if every neighbor, every business, even the government and the religious world turned on you so violently that all your basic necessities were taken from you--home, clothing, food--so that you had to wander with nothing and scavenge for what little food you could find? Would you deny Christ then?

Hebrews 11: 35...and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38: (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

If you say, "I really don't know if my faith is strong enough to persevere in the face of such affliction."

To that I ask you, "Is it the strength of your faith which causes you to persevere when not faced with such affliction? Or is it the strength of the Lord who gave you your faith and preserves you through faith in him?