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Perseverance:
A Reformed and Biblical Doctrine
Scott J. Simmons
TAble
of Contents
1. Introduction....................................................................................... 2
2. Statement
of the Doctrine......................................................... 2
3. Defense
of the Doctrine............................................................... 6
3.1. The
Impossibility of Losing Salvation................................................. 6
3.1.1. Nothing
Can Separate Us (Romans 8:38-39)...................................... 6
3.1.2. Salvation
belongs to God.................................................................... 7
3.1.2.1. Peter (I Peter 1:3-5)........................................................................ 7
3.1.2.2. Paul (Ephesians 1:13-14)................................................................. 8
3.1.2.3. John (John 6:39-40; 10:27-29).......................................................... 8
3.1.3. Objections......................................................................................... 10
3.1.3.1. The Possibility of Apostasy (Hebrews 6:4-8)................................... 10
3.1.3.2. No Sacrifice for Sins (Hebrews 10:26-31)....................................... 11
3.1.3.3. The Sin unto Death (1 John 5:16-17)............................................... 13
3.1.3.4. Denying the Sovereign Lord (2 Peter 2:1)....................................... 15
3.1.3.5. The Book of Life (Ex. 32:32; Ps. 69:23).......................................... 16
3.2. The
Preservation of the Believer....................................................... 17
3.2.1. Biblical
View of Sanctification and Faith.......................................... 18
3.2.2. Biblical Proof for the Preservation of Faith...................................... 19
3.2.3. Objections......................................................................................... 21
3.2.3.1. Many in the New Testament Have Lost Their Faith (2 Timothy)...... 21
3.2.3.2. Salvation is Conditioned upon Perseverance (Col. 1:22-23;
Heb. 3:14) 21
3.2.3.3. Christ Will Remove Lampstands (Rev. 2:4-6).................................. 22
3.2.3.4. Leads to Immorality...................................................................... 22
3.3. Assurance
of Salvation....................................................................... 23
4. Significance for the
Life of the Church: Lordship Salvation and the Motivation to Obedience................. 24
5. Conclusion.......................................................................................... 26
6. Bibliography..................................................................................... 26
The doctrine of the
perseverance of the saints is an oft-maligned and misunderstood doctrine of
the Christian Church. At times it is
taught as if it were synonymous with “eternal security” or
“once saved always saved.”
At other times, it is understood in such a way as to deny the
possibility that a Christian might ever genuinely know he is saved this
side of heaven. The Biblical and
Reformed doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, however, avoids both
of these extremes. The Reformed
doctrine embraces the belief that genuine believers can never lose their
salvation. However, the Reformed
doctrine further maintains a genuine believer will necessarily be
sanctified in this earthly life. It
is certainly true that many believers go through periods of doubt and
sinful rebellion, and while some merely professing Christians may fall away
from their profession of faith, true believers will persevere. Genuine assurance of salvation can be
obtained as the Holy Spirit sanctifies the genuine believer.
The doctrine of the
Perseverance of the Saints, as stated in the Westminster Confession of
Faith (WCF) is:
They, whom God hath
accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit,
can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but
shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.
The
statement includes two principles: (1) that those who have been effectually
called cannot lose their salvation, and (2) that they will persevere in the
faith, being sanctified “until the end.”
The
Westminster divines were careful not to say that those who have
been effectually called will never fall or sin. Indeed they insisted that Christians can
fall into grievous sins; and, for a time, continue therein:
whereby they incur God’s displeasure, and grieve His Holy Spirit,
come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts, have their
hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded; hurt and scandalize others,
and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.
The
Confession therefore acknowledges that regenerated believers will fall and
will incur temporal, divine consequences for their actions. However, the eternal security of the
regenerated believer can never be challenged.
The perseverance of the
saints is guaranteed by God’s eternal decree—“the
immutability of the decree of election.” If God has decreed from eternity past who
will be saved, then nothing whatsoever may alter that immutable
decree. At the same time, the
perseverance of the saints is made possible by “the merit and
intercession of Jesus Christ.” Because of Christ’s atoning death,
the sins of God’s elect were imputed to Christ. When God brings one to faith, the
righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to him, such that God views him
fully clothed in the righteousness of Christ. As such, we are justified and saved by a
totally “alien righteousness.” The perseverance of the saints then is
not dependent upon human ability to maintain his faith or to live a life of
obedience (for every sin he commits has already been punished) but on God
and his mercy.
While the eternal destiny of
God’s elect is guaranteed by the election of God and the atoning work
of Jesus Christ on the cross, the believer’s knowledge and confidence
in his salvation is not immediately guaranteed. However, true believers may obtain this
assurance. As the WCF states,
genuine believers “may, in this life, be certainly assured that they
are in the state of grace, and may rejoice in the hope of the glory of God,
which hope shall never make them ashamed.” This assurance ought to be pursued by a
new believer. The WCF continues,
This infallible assurance
does not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may
wait long, and conflict with many difficulties, before he be partaker of
it.
However,
obtaining such assurance is possible as the Spirit enables, through
“the right use of ordinary means.”
It is certainly true that
some who profess Christian faith can and do fall from the faith. Some do so even after believing
themselves to have assurance of their own salvation. In fact, the WCF states that
“hypocrites and other unregenerate men may vainly deceive themselves
with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favor of
God.” Even genuine believers may be shaken in
their confidence by falling into sin.
However, they are never “utterly destitute of that seed of
God, and life of faith.” They will not fall away from the faith.
The doctrine of the
perseverance of the saints touches on three key concepts: a regenerated
believer cannot lose his salvation; he will continue in faith, being
sanctified until the end; and he may pursue and obtain assurance of his
salvation. Any Biblical defense of
the Reformed doctrine must do justice to all three of these concepts.
There is no shortage of
passages that teach that salvation cannot be lost. Perhaps the most dramatic would be Romans
8:38f:
For I am convinced that
neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the
future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
Here
it is clearly taught that there is nothing in all creation that can
possibly separate a genuine believer from God’s love. This would include the believer himself,
since he must be included in “anything else in all
creation.” God will never
withdraw his saving love from one who has been truly saved by God’s
grace.
It may be objected that the
phrase “love of God” could be taken as an objective genitive
rather than a subjective genitive.
In other words, Paul could simply be claiming that nothing can
separate Paul from the love he had for God rather than the love God had for
him. In this case, the passage reads
as Paul’s own commitment to not let anything come between him and
God, rather than the impossibility of being separated from God’s
love.
Grammatically, this is a
possibility, but the previous verse explains the context of Paul’s
statement. He claimed, “No, in
all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us”
(emphasis added). Here, Paul
explicitly mentioned whose love he was discussing—the love that God
has for us. Nothing can separate is
from that love, and so we are more than conquerors through Him.
Peter’s words in the doxology at the opening of
his first epistle are astonishingly clear:
Praise be to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new
birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or
fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by
God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be
revealed in the last time.
The
text claims that genuine believers have been given new birth into two
things: a living hope and an inheritance.
That inheritance is described as being an inheritance that is imperishable,
preserved or guarded in heaven for the believer. Here, the inheritance of salvation is out
of the hands of the believer.
Salvation belongs to God, and the inheritance we have been promised
is preserved in heaven.
Paul’s letter to the
Ephesians contains a similar claim regarding the guarantee of the
inheritance of salvation:
And you also were
included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until
the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise
of his glory (Ephesians 1:13-14).
Paul
insists that upon belief, the believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit, who
is a deposit guaranteeing the inheritance of salvation. Paul is emphatic that once the indwelling
Spirit seals the new believer, his inheritance is guaranteed.
In the course of His
dialogue with the Jews as recorded in the Gospel according to John, Jesus
makes the following claim about those who would believe in Him:
And this is the will of
him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but
raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone
who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I
will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:39-40)
According
to these verses, those who look on the Son and believe in Him are those
whom the Father gave to Him. Jesus
claims that He will lose none of these people. In fact, he made the promise that they
would have eternal life and “raise him up at the last day.” It is therefore not possible that someone
could look to the Son and believe in Him but then, for whatever reason,
lose his salvation and not be raised up on the last day. Were this a possibility, Jesus would not
be able to make the promise He makes in this verse. Certainly the life given would not be
eternal.
Later in the same Gospel,
while describing himself as the Good Shepherd, Jesus exclaims,
My sheep listen to my
voice; I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can
snatch them out of my hand. My
Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch
them out of my Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29)
In
contrast to those who are not His sheep, Jesus’ sheep listen to His
voice and they follow Him. The fact
that He gave them eternal life guarantees that they will never perish. After all, if those to whom God gave
eternal life were to perish, then the life that was given to them must not
have been eternal. Those who would
argue that believers can lose their salvation must say that Jesus gives
believers only the possibility of eternal life, not the reality
of eternal life. Yet Jesus
emphatically claims that those to whom He gives eternal life will never
perish. In fact, nobody can snatch
them out of His (or His Father’s) hands. Our salvation belongs to God (see also
Rev. 7:10; 19:1), and in as much as God cannot be robbed, the salvation of
all God’s elect is secure.
Some object to this
doctrine, believing that there are many passages that clearly teach that
salvation may be lost. However,
these objections are based on a failure to understand the passages in
question.
Hebrews 6:4-5 describes a group of hypothetical
people. It is evident that these are
hypothetical people rather than real members of the congregation because
the perspective of the passage changes from first person to third person in
vv. 4-8. In other words, the author
has broken from speaking directly to his readers, including them in
“us” and “we,” and is now adderssing
“those” who have fallen away.
The author is encouraging his readers “to press on to
maturity” citing what would happen to those who fall away from the
faith.
According to this passage, these hypothetical people
have been “enlightened;”
they have “tasted the heavenly gift;” they have “shared
in” (or “partaken of”) the Holy Spirit; and they have
“tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming
age.” The author says in verse
6 that once people have come to a point where they have gained these
things, if they fall away, they “cannot be brought back to
repentance.” Many interpret
this to say that, if a genuine believer falls away from the faith, he has
lost his salvation.
However, the text
never says that they can fall away from the state of being saved. In fact, none of the characteristics used
to describe these individuals require that they be saved. Philip Hughes, for instance, has noted
that enlightenment has been a reference to Christian baptism at least since
the second century, citing Justin Martyr’s First Apology as an example. Tasting the heavenly gift is more than
likely a reference the Lord’s table.
Given that both baptism and the Lord’s supper are spiritual
sacraments, it is not surprising that the author would continue to say that
they have shared in or partaken of the Holy Spirit. They may have “tasted the goodness
of the Word of God” by hearing the word preached effectively. They may have tasted “the powers of
the coming age” by witnessing miraculous signs and wonders during
that apostolic age. There is every
reason to believe that these people were described as having become
communing church members who participated in the life and community of the
early church. There is no clear
indication, however, that they were saved members of the congregation. In fact, verse 9 seems to make clear that
they should not be thought of as genuine believers. The author expresses confidence of
“better things” concerning his readers—“things that
accompany salvation.”
Apparently, the author believed that the things he had mentioned in
vv. 4-6 could be obtained without having salvation, since “better
things than these” would include their salvation.
One should object
that, technically, the text does not say that they will never be brought
back to salvation; rather it says that they cannot be brought back to
repentance—that is, they will never again repent before God. Those who adopt the Arminian
position on perseverance must therefore admit that if this passage teaches
that salvation can be lost, it also teaches that once one loses his
salvation, he will never repent to gain it back. The individual will never again even seek
repentance, suggesting that the human will is prevented from repenting
should a believer fall away. This
view of the human will clearly contradicts the Arminian
doctrine of free will that is presented in Arminian
soteriology.
The Calvinist, however, believes that human will is bound to his own
sinful nature, so that he will not seek repentance unless regenerated by
the Holy Spirit. The status of the
one who falls away is no different than the one who never professes faith.
It is important to
note some uncertainties with this passage.
In particular, the author of Hebrews does not go into detail
describing what “falling away” entails. Certainly it includes a denial of the
Christian faith and a breaking away from God’s covenanted
community. However, Peter’s
sin of denying Christ three times was forgivable, for Peter was renewed to
repentance (John 21:15-25). From a
practical and pastoral perspective, it must be recognized that people say
many things at many times that do not reflect truthfully their
hearts’ beliefs, desires and intentions. People go through times of denial, even
betrayal, without necessarily committing the sin of apostasy.
Hebrews 10:26-7 teaches us
that “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the
knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful
expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of
God.” This is often cited as a clear indication that salvation can be
lost. Of course this does not state
that those who “keep on sinning” are saved. It says that they have “received
the knowledge of the truth.”
It may be that they profess to believe in the truth without
possessing genuine faith, so that in fact they are not genuine
believers.
However, the text seems to
present one more danger. The one who
continues sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth has “treated
as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant by which he was
sanctified.” Here it says, presumably, that this
person has been sanctified by the blood of the covenant. At least two responses can be made to
this claim. For one thing, hJgiavsqh (he was sanctified)
has no subject expressed. The text
may be read “by which it [that is, the covenant] was
sanctified.” This is an
acceptable translation grammatically and contextually; given the theology
of Old Testament sacrifices, blood can be seen as sanctifying the
covenant.
However, even if we grant
the translations found in the NIV and NASB, being “sanctified”
can simply mean to be “set apart.” It is not necessarily synonymous with
“saved.” For instance,
in 1 Cor. 7:14, Paul claims, “For the unbelieving
husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has
been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children
would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.” Clearly the intent of the word
“sanctified” here is not that the unbelieving spouse is
saved. The unbelieving spouse is
said to be “holy” because they are set apart and under the
influence of the church through the believing spouse. The same use of the word
“sanctified” may well be intended here.
Both Hebrews 6 and Hebrews
10 seem to assume a particular understanding of the covenant that has been
lost among many evangelicals today.
The book of Hebrews distinguishes between God’s covenanted
community (the visible church) and the sum total of all believers (the
invisible church). Hebrews 6 and 10
clearly state that professing believers may experience much of the life of
the church community, including baptism, the Lord’s supper, the
preaching of the Word, etc. In fact,
the author of Hebrews can (possibly) refer to them as being
“sanctified” by the covenant.
However, none of this requires them to be members of the invisible
church (see the parable of “the wheat and the tares” for a
confirming example). Nevertheless,
those who leave the covenanted community because of apostasy have lost that
covenantal relationship to the Lord and are prevented from being renewed to
repentance. Those who are
regenerated believers, those who possess “better things” that “accompany
salvation” (Heb. 6:9), will never lose their salvation; their
salvation belongs to the Lord.
At the close of John’s
first epistle, the apostle warns that us about a “sin unto
death,” or, as the NIV puts it, a “sin that leads to
death.” Those committing a sin
not unto death should pray and God will forgive them. Yet for those committing the sin unto
death, John says, “I am not saying that he should pray about
that.” Some would speculate
that this is referring to believers who have sinned so greatly (apostasy,
etc.) that they will not be able to receive God’s forgiveness any
longer.
This is certainly a
difficult passage, complicated by the fact that it does not define the
“sin unto death.” Yet rather than speculating about the nature
of that sin, it is necessary to look for clues within the context of the
epistle itself. It has long been known that this epistle
was written to refute a heresy that had divided the church. This heresy seems to have been both
doctrinal and ethical. Doctrinally,
it appears that John’s opponents were teaching a docetic
heresy—that is, a heresy which denied that Jesus Christ was truly
human. This is evidenced by the fact
that John’s opponents denied:
(1) that Jesus is the Christ (2:22), (2) that he is the Son of God
(2:23; 3:23; 4:15; 5:5,9-12), and (3) that Jesus Christ came in the flesh
(4:2; cf. 2 Jn. 7), effectively denying the
incarnation. Furthermore, they
denied that Jesus Christ “came by the water and the blood;”
rather, they held that He came “by the water only” and not by
the blood (5:5-8). The terms
“water” and “blood” are best interpreted as
references to Jesus’ baptism and crucifixion. In 1 John 5:5-8 in particular, it seems
evident the docetism they had embraced was adoptionistic.
The heresy seems to be similar to an ancient heresy taught by a man
by the name of Cerinthus, who taught that a
divine “Christ” descended upon a human Jesus at his baptism and
then departed him at his death.
The ethical dimension to
this heresy was two-fold. The
adversaries exhibited a lack of obedience and a lack of love. In 1 John
1:6-10, John describes the claims of his opponents as teaching that sin
does not affect one’s fellowship with God (1:6) and as claiming that
“we have no sin” (1:8).
I. Howard Marshall states, “It… seems that they did not
accept the validity of any commands given by Jesus.” It appears that John’s opponents
were antinomian, for they seem to have believed that they were above the
law of God and were without sin before Him, regardless of their behavior. Consequently, they had a cavalier
attitude toward sin and a seared conscience toward God (1:6; 2:4). Since they considered themselves to be
above God’s law, they exhibited a superior attitude towards other
people as well. Consequently their
lives could be characterized by a lack of love. They were liars because they claimed to
“love God” and “be in the light,” yet they hated
their brothers (2:9-11; 4:19). They
may have demonstrated a lack of charity towards the poor and needy in the
congregation (3:17).
The doctrinal and ethical
dimensions to this heresy would certainly suggest that those who embrace it
would be considered apostate. And 1 John 2:19 suggests that John’s
opponents were at one point church members.
However, the apostle says, “They went out from us, but they
did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would
have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to
us” (2:19). These opponents
may well have been church members, but they didn’t “really belong”
there. They weren’t genuine
believers; if they were, they would have stayed. The fact that they left proved that they
were never genuine believers.
However, their sin (which can be described loosely as apostasy) is
probably what John refers to as “the sin unto death.” It was committed by those who were merely
professing believers. As such, there’s no reason to think that John
is teaching that salvation may be lost.
In fact, 1 John 2:19 quite clearly states the contrary—those
who are genuinely saved, will “remain with us.”
Perhaps the strongest passage in support of the
possibility of losing salvation is found in 2 Peter 2:1, where Peter
claims,
But there were also false
prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.
They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the
sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on
themselves.
Here
there are some false prophets who introduce “destructive
heresies,” denying the Lord “who bought them,” resulting
in their own destruction. It appears
that those who are denying the Lord are people whom the Lord bought and
redeemed. If true, this would
certainly suggest that the false prophets were that the false prophets were
saved and had forfeited their salvation by teaching false doctrines.
One possible explanation is
that it may be that the Lord had only “bought them” in the eyes
of the false prophets. They believed
themselves to be saved, purchased by the Lord. This is a believable suggestion,
especially given the weight of Scripture which explicitly claims that
salvation cannot be lost. If the
Lord bought/atoned for these false prophets, then any sin they could
possibly commit has already been paid for by Christ’s death and
resurrection. For God to then punish
this redeemed person for his sins (whether they be apostasy, false
prophecy, or the like) would be to render Christ’s atoning death null
and void. It is a breach of
justice—double jeopardy in the fullest sense of the term—for
God to condemn someone for his sins if He has already condemned Christ in
his place. In fact, the substitutionary nature of the atonement, so clearly
taught throughout Scripture, would be rendered meaningless if such were the
case. If the doctrine of substitutionary atonement in Scripture is true, then it
is impossible for the Lord’s redeemed people to lose their salvation.
In an imprecatory section of
Psalm 69, David writes about his enemies, “May they be blotted out of
the book of life and not be listed with the righteous” (v. 28 [v. 29
Heb.]). Some believe that the fact
that someone’s name can be wiped from this “Book of Life”
proves that people’s salvation may be lost. However, David here is only referring to
his enemies, and there is no indication that they were ever saved. In order for this to be a proof text that
salvation may be lost, it must first be shown that they were saved. Many believe them to be saved since they
were once listed in the “book of life,” which they identify
with the Book of Life in Revelation. However, the RSV perhaps more
accurately translates this verse with “the book of the living.” In fact, the word translated
“life” (NIV, NASB) in Hebrew (µyYIj', “living”) is probably best viewed as an
adjective, not a noun. The LXX even
translates this as “ejxaleifqhvtwsan ejk bivblou zwvntwn”
(“Let them be blotted from the book of [the] living”). This is probably not a reference to the
Book of Life as described in Revelation.
It is simply David’s way of praying that these will die so
that they can be judged (“not counted among the righteous”).
A similar example can be
found in Exodus 32. After Moses
found the Israelites worshipping the golden calf, he went to the LORD and
asked that either God forgive them or blot his name from His book. The LORD replied, “Whoever has
sinned against me I will blot out of my book” (v. 33). He then punished the people with a
plague. Because the punishment that
God inflicted appears to be one of physical suffering and death, it may be
assumed that the book described here is the same described in Psalm
69. This is the book of the living;
to be blotted from that book is to die.
The book of Revelation does
refer to a “Book of Life.”
In this book are written the names of those who “belong to the
lamb” (Rev. 13:8). Their names
have been there “from the creation of the world” (Rev.
17:8). In these two verses, those
who are not in this book will be astonished and worship the beast; the text
assumes that those who are in the book of life will not worship it. In Rev. 20:11-15, those whose names are
written in the Book of Life escape judgment according to what they have
done as recorded in the “books;” instead, they enter the New
Heavens and New Earth (Rev. 21:27).
Only those whose names are not in the Book of Life suffer from
judgment according the “books.”
In Rev. 3:5, in fact, the overcomer is
told that his name will never be blotted from the book of life, and
“everyone born of God overcomes the world” (1 John 5:4).
The doctrine of perseverance teaches us much more than
the fact that salvation can’t be lost. In fact, dispensationalists such as Zane
Hodges will gladly affirm the doctrine of “eternal security”
while denying the perseverance of the saints, adding that Christians may
indeed become apostate and remain saved. The doctrine of perseverance also
acknowledges that those who have been regenerated by God’s Holy
Spirit will persevere in faith—they will not give up on their
God-given faith. Of course, this
perseverance is not based on human effort, but upon the sanctifying work of
Holy Spirit. The Spirit who
regenerates will also sanctify—He will not abandon God’s
children as orphans (John 14:17).
Perhaps, therefore, describing this concept with the
term “preservation of faith” or even “preservation of the
believer” might more accurately express the Biblical and Reformed
approach to the doctrine of perseverance.
Louis Berkhof warns, “We should
guard against the possible misunderstanding that this perseverance is
regarded as an inherent property of the believer or as a continuous
activity of man, by means of which he perseveres in the way of
salvation.”
The term “preservation of faith” suggests that God is the one
who preserves the believer in faith and sanctification; it is not man who
manufactures his own continual faith and obedience.
It will be helpful to lay a theological foundation
before citing Biblical proof for the doctrine. It is important to show that
sanctification, as well as regeneration, is an act of God’s grace, not human effort, and faith itself is
God’s gift. During His prayer
in John 17, Jesus prays, “Sanctify them by the truth; your
word is truth” (John 17:17).
Jesus is clear that God is the one who sanctifies, and He sanctifies
through His Word. Paul attributes
the work of sanctification to the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:16). Paul is even more explicit in 1
Thessalonians 5:23-4, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify
you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he
will do it.” God is the one
who sanctifies, and He is the one who keeps us blameless. God himself is the one who will be
faithful in that task.
Perhaps the most dramatic
expression of this doctrine is found in the book of Galatians. Paul had planted churches throughout
southern Galatia on his first missionary journey, and many were
saved. Paul had taught them the
doctrine of justification by faith alone during that journey, but Judaizers had come behind him and were teaching his
converts that now they have been converted, they must submit to
circumcision and at least some of the Mosaic law. Paul is emphatic in his denial of this
teaching. He calls it a false gospel
(1:6-9), and states that those who teach it have been cut off from Christ
(5:4). Paul expresses his
frustration over their failure to denounce this false gospel by exclaiming,
“I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the
Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with
the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”
(Gal. 3:2-3) Paul is claiming that
they should have known that they are sanctified in the same manner they
were justified—by faith in God and His gospel message through the
Spirit.
Of course, this does
not mean that it is impossible for us to disobey the Holy Spirit once we
are saved. Even Paul acknowledges
that it is possible to quench (1 Thess. 5:19) or
grieve (Eph. 4:30) the Holy Spirit.
Our sinful nature is still with us, hanging like a “body of
death” over our lives (Rom. 7:24-25).
It is this sin nature that makes it impossible for us to sanctify
ourselves; because of it we at times resist sanctification. However, the Holy Spirit has regenerated
us, causing us to delight in obeying Him at the core of our regenerate
being (Rom. 7:22). The Holy Spirit
will continue to sanctify us by transforming us, renewing our minds that we
might die to the sin nature and live for Him (Rom. 12:2; Phil. 1:6).
It must also be acknowledged
at the outset that faith is a gift of God.
Paul says emphatically, “For it is by grace you have
been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). Here it seems clear that faith is
considered to be a gift of God.
However, some will object that tou`to (“this”) is neuter and
therefore pivstew" (“faith”) cannot be its antecedent, since it is
feminine. However, it is possible
(though not common) for a pronoun to refer to the so-called “natural
gender” of its antecedent rather than to its grammatical gender. Yet even if “this” does not
refer to “faith” then it must refer to something else, and all
the other possible antecedents are either feminine or masculine. Therefore, one must suggest it refers to
something like the “salvation process.” If so, however, this
“process” would certainly include faith. So, even if one objects to this verse as
proof that saving faith is God’s gift on grammatical grounds, it
still stands as proof on contextual grounds. This interpretation is confirmed in Rom.
12:3, where Paul calls us to
think of ourselves “in accordance with the measure of faith God has
given you.”
If it is true that
faith is a gift of God and that sanctification is an act of God’s
grace, then should a genuine believer not persevere in the faith, God must
have either taken back the faith He gave to the believer or failed in His
attempt to sanctify the believer.
There are many passages that demonstrate God’s ability and
commitment to preserve the faith of the believer and sanctify him during
his earthly life. For instance, Paul
in Philippians states his confidence that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until
the day of Christ Jesus” (1:6).
The work of sanctification is God’s work, and He promises to
finish the work that He begins when He saves people.
In much the same manner as
in Paul’s letter to the Philippians, Paul encouraged the Thessalonians
in 2 Thess. 3:3-4, “But the Lord is
faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you
are doing and will continue to do the things we command.” Paul had much confidence that the Thessalonian church would persevere in the faith. Yet this confidence was not in the Thessalonian church.
His confidence was “in the Lord” because He is the one
who “is faithful.” The
preservation of the saints is grounded in the very character of God himself,
who is faithful to protect His children so that they will persevere.
Some of the strongest
statements to this effect occur in John’s first epistle. In 1 John 3:9, he writes, “No one
who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in
him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.” Later on, he writes “We know that
anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God
keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him” (1 John 5:18). It is questionable whether the NIV should
have translated the present tense verbs here with such continual force, but it may be
fitting to the theological problem John was addressing. John here is emphatically claiming that
no regenerated Christian sins (or continues to sin). The fact that this Christian was
regenerated prevents him from sinning; God does protect him from the evil
one. Understanding the situation of
this epistle discussed earlier will prevent one from thinking that God
prevents Christians from sinning at all; rather, God will protect
His children from falling into the kind of heretical beliefs and practices
adopted by John’s adversaries.
Ultimately, Berkhof is right to say that, because of our union with
Christ and because of His continual mediatorial
work, God will not fail to save those whom He effectually calls. In Heb. 7:25, the author claims,
“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God
through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Christ’s intercessory work on our
behalf guarantees our salvation—so much so that if it is possible for
genuine believers to not ultimately be saved, then Christ has failed to
provide intercession for us. So, Paul can approach death without any
shame and with complete confidence, not because of His own effort, but
because He “knew in whom [He] believed” (2 Tim. 1:12). No matter what evil may await him, he can
boast, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring
me safely to his heavenly kingdom” (4:18).
Perhaps the most notable objection to the doctrine of
perseverance is to bring up the numerous people mentioned in Paul’s
letters to Timothy who were said to have lost their faith or destroyed the
faith of others. Paul said that Hymenaeus
and Alexander “shipwrecked their faith” (1 Tim. 1:18-20). In Paul’s next epistle, Paul
mentioned that Hymenaeus along with Philetus “wandered away from the truth” by
teaching a heretical view on the resurrection which “destroy[ed] the
faith of some” (2 Tim. 2:17).
Alexander opposed Paul’s message and thus did Paul a great
deal of harm (2 Tim. 4:14-15). Demas deserted Paul because he “loved the
world” (2 Tim. 4:10).
In response, it must be noted again that many people
have made professions of faith who are not genuine believers. Such is clear in the New Testament as
well as in experience. It may well
be that these individuals who turned from the Christian gospel to heretical
teachings never truly had a genuine faith.
It could be that their faith was largely superficial, and therefore
they were easily seduced by heretical teachings (see the parable of
“the sower and the seed” for a
confirming example of this). In
fact, in 1 John 2:19, quoted earlier, John states that if they were genuine
believers, they would not have left the faith.
Near the opening of his letter to the Colossians, Paul
writes that Christians have been reconciled by Christ’s physical body
through death for the purpose of presenting them holy in God’s
sight. However, he provided one
condition—“if you continue
in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in
the gospel.” A similar
emphasis can be seen in Hebrews 3:14.
“We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the
end the confidence we had at first.”
Some claim that
these verses assume that some may not continue in their faith, and
therefore they will lose their salvation.
However, it must be admitted that Paul and the author of Hebrews are
addressing churches, and some of the members of those churches may only
profess faith; they may not yet possess genuine faith. Certainly some of those may fall away
from their profession. At the same time,
it must also be stated that for genuine believers, there is no conflict
here with Reformed theology. All the
elect will by God’s grace continue in their faith, and as a result,
they will be presented before God “without blemish and free from
accusation.” It is only those
who persevere that are genuinely saved.
In Revelation 2, John recorded Christ’s words as
He addressed the church in Ephesus.
Jesus had a scathing rebuke for them. They had lost their “first
love.” If they refused to
repent, Jesus says, “I will come
to you and remove your lampstand from its
place.” Some may infer from
this that people in the church of Ephesus were once believers and lost
their faith. If they refuse to
repent, their salvation will be lost.
However, it must be recognized that Jesus is speaking to the church
as a whole, not to individuals in it, and the “lampstand”
represents the church of Ephesus, not individuals (Rev. 1:20). On a corporate level, a church may be
judged. However, there’s no
reason to believe that individual believers in that church to have lost
their salvation. When Israel was
exiled to Babylon as a corporate judgment, believers were exiled along with
nonbelievers. Likewise, when a
church “lampstand” is removed,
individual believers will find fellowship elsewhere or plant another
church.
Berkhof has noted that some
object to the doctrine of perseverance believing that such a doctrine would
only increase one’s license for sin.
However, a proper understanding of the gospel message should
indicate otherwise. In fact, hidden
within this objection appears to be a desire to coerce moral behavior out
of the threat or fear of punishment.
It is assumed that if one believes and thus fears that he may lose
his salvation if he becomes too disobedient, he will make a stronger effort
to live morally. Should one take
away the threat of eternal damnation, he has taken away any reason to be
moral. Yet not only does this kind
of objection fail to understand the true nature of regeneration, but it
also inevitably resorts to the lowest sort of moralism
that Paul abhorred. This kind of
objection betrays an incentive towards righteous behavior based on fear and
coercion; Christians must conform to the law, and if they fail too
terribly, they will be damned.
Paul, on the other hand, unequivocally affirms that
“there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus”
(Rom. 8:1). The motivation of fear
and law do nothing to increase righteous behavior (Col. 2:23). In fact, they only increase one’s
desire to sin (Rom. 5:20; Rom. 7:7-8; Gal. 3:19). The law is powerless to generate
obedience in the believer; the believer is therefore regenerated by the
Spirit to keep the law, not out of fear of condemnation, but out of a
renewed desire to display gratitude to His Savior (Rom. 8:3-4),
“stirring up the grace of God that is in them.” The law does function positively
therefore as a “rule of life” precisely because the threat of
condemnation has been taken away.
The fact is that a justified believer is free from fear
of eternal punishment for disobeying God’s commands (Rom. 6:14; 1
John 4:18). He has already been
declared righteous by virtue of Christ’s obedience. In fact, it is God’s kindness that
leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4), and the reality of our forgiveness and
assurance of salvation is a far more powerful motivator than fear. Berkhof writes,
“It is hard to see how a doctrine which assures the believer of a
perseverance in holiness can be an incentive for sin. It would seem that the certainty of
success in the active striving for sanctification would be the best
possible stimulus to even greater exertion.”
At
the same time, there is a Biblical fear that a Christian may undergo. Times of persistent sin in our lives may
cause us to question whether or not we are in fact saved. A genuine believer never needs to fear
losing his salvation or falling under God’s judgment, but all
professing believers are called to, with fear and trembling, work out their
salvation (Phil. 2:12-13). There is
the possibility that believers might have false confidence in their
salvation.
Peter encouraged his readers at the beginning of his
second epistle to “be all the more
eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things,
you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal
kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The author of Hebrews also writes,
“We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in
order to make your hope sure” (Heb. 6:11). These commands assume that it is possible
for one’s calling, election and hope to be at one time unsure, and it
gives professing believers hope that they can be made sure. It presupposes that it is possible for
one who is elect to become assured that he in fact is elect. Many do profess Christian faith and have
a false assurance of their salvation.
In time, these will fall away from the faith. Theoretically, this could happen to any
professing Christian. However, it is
not necessary therefore to abandon all hope of gaining assurance of
salvation. This assurance may not
come immediately, but with prayer and the sanctifying work of the Holy
Spirit, it may be obtained (see Heb. 3:14; 10:22)
John’s first epistle reveals the apostle’s
desire that genuine believers become assured of their salvation. As has been discussed earlier, John in
this epistle was refuting the teachings of false teachers who had left the
church (probably in Ephesus) and were trying to deceive those who remained
(1 John 2:19, 26; 3:7). John’s
actual readers were the faithful who had not been taken captive by this
false teaching; instead, John’s readers had overcome them (1 John
2:12-14, 20-21, 27; 4:4). John wrote
to the faithful members of the church to give them assurance of their
salvation—“that you might know that you have eternal
life” (1 John 5:13). John knew
beforehand that his readers were faithful to the Biblical gospel, and he
sought to provide them with both an assurance of their salvation and the
theological tools to oppose the false teachers. In fact, John had no real need to teach
them; they already had all the knowledge they needed. However, the wake of a church split
caused by false teachings can leave many in emotional and psychological
turmoil. John’s letter gave
them the comfort and confidence they needed to set their hearts at rest in
His presence (1 John 3:19).
At the same time, persistent unrepentant sin may cause
one to rightly question his own salvation.
His assurance of his own salvation may waver. Paul warns the Corinthian church, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in
the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in
you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Cor. 13:5) It is
necessary for the believer to undergo self-examination; this self
examination is a part of dying to the self, as pat of the sanctification
process.
A fierce debate as has been taking place in
dispensational circles for some time over the issue of “Lordship
Salvation.” Two sharply divided positions have
developed. The main proponent of the
“Lordship” side today has been John MacArthur. The main proponent of the so-called
“non-Lordship” side has been Zane Hodges, who is expanding on
the tradition of Charles Ryrie.
Given the strong division between the two positions, it
is tempting to take sides in their debate and agree with one or the other
proponent. However, it must be
remembered that this debate that is within dispensational circles, and with
good reason. At the core, they are
debating the proper way in which dispensational theology ought to be
understood. For instance, while many
Reformed individuals have sympathized with John MacArthur,
MacArthur himself writes,
Some have supposed that my
attack on no-lordship theology is an all-out assault against dispensationalism.
That is not the case. It may
surprise some readers to know that the issue of Dispensationalism
is one area where Charles Ryrie, Zane Hodges, and
I share some common ground. We are
all dispensationalists.
MacArthur goes on to state
that, “It is in the practical outworking of our dispensationalism
that we differ.” The issue of Lordship Salvation, then is
a debate among dispensationalists concerning the practical outworking of
their theological system. It is not
a debate in which Reformed Christians ought to take sides.
MacArthur’s works are
primarily an attempt to convince his fellow dispensationalists to stop
fabricating sharp divisions between notions such as faith and works, law
and gospel, justification and sanctification. In particular, he laments the way his
fellow dispensationalists have created “a great gulf between grace
and law”
and assigned either grace or law to varying dispensations—Law (only)
was in operation under Moses and grace (only) is in operation under
Christ. By contrast, MacArthur teaches that both grace and law are operational
in every dispensation, and he insists that all of Jesus’ teachings be
understood as applying to this dispensation without assigning some to the
future millennial kingdom.
Most of the time, MacArthur’s
soteriology is largely in agreement with much of
Reformed theology, and he careful to distinguish between justification and
sanctification while calling them both acts of God’s grace. However, at other times, he makes
confusing and unfortunate statements that seem to make good works and
sanctification a demand of the gospel message. For instance, while justly criticizing
his fellow dispensationalists, he has made some unfortunate claims. In an attempt to erase the “great
gulf” between law and grace, MacArthur
writes that “Jesus’ gospel demanded surrender to His
lordship.”
He criticizes Hodges for not believing that “surrender is a binding
requirement in the gospel call to faith.” He seems to be suggesting that the gospel
itself makes demands and requirements, thereby mixing law and gospel, even
while claiming to maintain the distinction.
MacArthur acknowledges that
faith is a gift of God and that salvation is by faith alone apart from
works. However, in an attempt to reject the
purely cognitive and objective notions of faith taught by Hodges and
others, he rejects the notion that faith is “antithetical to works
[and] obedience,”
and he identifies faith with “seeking God.” In another book, he even writes that
“‘Believe’ is synonymous with ‘obey’ in John
3:36” and cites Hebrews 5:7 as another proof-text that they are
synonymous. He seems to be seeking to add a
subjective quality to saving faith, including surrender and devotion to
Him, but in so doing he seems to mix faith and obedience together, even
while professing to deny the practice. He does this to such a degree that
Paul Schaeffer can write that MacArthur is
vulnerable to the charge that he is giving saving faith a “moralistic
and human-centered focus.”
Regarding the relationship between justification and
sanctification, he writes, “At justification we surrender the principle of sin and self
rule. In sanctification we
relinquish the practice of
specific sins as we mature in Christ” (emphasis his). In this instance, both justification and
sanctification described as human acts of either surrendering or
relinquishing. Certainly MacArthur
does not believe that justification is a human work. However, perhaps in his attempt to refute
the idea that sanctification does not necessarily follow justification, he
has become careless in his statements.
Perhaps unwittingly, he has made statements that leave one to think
that sanctification is a requirement or demand to us of God’s grace.
The Reformed position stands in contrast to these
opposing dispensational views. Reformed thinkers can consistently maintain
a distinction between law and grace without identifying them with
dispensations of time and without making good works a requirement of
grace. Faith and surrender ought
both to be considered gracious gifts and the only proper response to the
offer of grace when the condemnation that comes from the law is
understood. At justification, God
not only pardons the believer’s sins, but he imputes to us the
righteousness of Christ so that when God looks at believers He sees them
clothed in His righteousness. As
such, there is no threat of condemnation to those who are justified (Rom.
8:1). Obedience is not a requirement
of God’s grace; obedience is the result of God’s grace. From a human perspective, it may be seen
as voluntary,
adopted as a “rule of life” to be an expression of our
gratitude to God for our forgiveness.
From a divine perspective, sanctification is inevitable,
since God’s sanctifying work necessarily follows His regenerating
work.
The practical application of the doctrine of
perseverance, therefore, frees us from being motivated by the threat of
condemnation, guilt, or manipulation.
While all people do have a duty to obey, failure to obey the law
will never result in the condemnation of the true believer. Genuine Christians have the freedom,
therefore, to obey it because of the love for Him that God has created in
their regenerated hearts. Therefore, there is no need to use
tactics of fear and manipulation to coerce Christians to obey God’s
law. Instead, the proclamation of
the gospel message, applied to real-life situations, will minister to the
Christian heart, and motivate obedience as the Holy Spirit uses the message
to accomplish His work.
There
are many other areas in which the doctrine of the perseverance of the
saints may be applied. However,
space prohibits discussing all of these.
The perseverance of the saints is one doctrine that, while is often
maligned in the church, is precious to those who embrace it. To a Christian, the knowledge that
salvation cannot be lost is a great comfort. To know, beyond this truth, that God will
preserve him and will continue to sanctify him throughout his earthly life
is an exhilarating joy. Christians
can and do certainly fall in to grievous sins, and may continue in them for
a time. Yet even when Christians
undergo God’s discipline for these sins, there is comfort and joy in
knowing that this discipline is for the benefit and sanctification of the
believer. Never again need the
Christian fear God’s eternal wrath and condemnation, and this freedom
motivates continued obedience by God’s Holy Spirit.
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