The Perseverance of the Saints

The Perseverance of the Saints


April 12, 2009
Pastor’s Study
“…holding forth the word of life” (Philippians 2:16a)

Introduction

The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), chapter seventeen, defines the perseverance of the saints in the following manner:

I. 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.
II. This perseverance of the saints depends, not upon their own free-will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ; the abiding of the Spirit and of the seed of God within them; and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof.
III. Nevertheless they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means of their preservation, 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 conscience wounded; hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.

In short, saving faith is faith that perseveres. Does the theological tradition, however, affirm this understanding of perseverance?


The Main Historical Positions

Classical Statements of the Doctrine

Saint Augustine was the first theologian to clearly articulate a doctrine of perseverance, in consequence of his views related to predestination. In his De Dono Perseverantiae (On the Gift of Perseverance), Augustine defines perseverance as “a divine gift by which an individual perseveres in Christ to the end of his life” (1.1; 6.10). The believer, however, is exhorted (in the Lord’s Prayer) to petition God for the gift of perseverance, as Cyprian makes clear in his De Oratione Dominica (2.4-7.15). Although Augustine concluded that none of the elect can perish, he, nonetheless, held that a man may consent to temptation and thus (of his own will) forsake God. By this, we infer that Augustine believed that some believers possessed spurious faith, but not the elect.

John Calvin concurred with Augustine that perseverance is “the gratuitous gift of God” and is not attributed to human merit in any way. Rather, God so disposes the believer’s will to good that genuine believers (to be distinguished from apostates in the mixed church) will persevere to the end. This assuring faith is based on God’s promises, union with Christ, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, and election. Calvin, however, taught that a believer could fall into sin. This “particular falling” of the saints was to be distinguished from a “complete defection.” And though a believer may succumb to temptation and fall into sin, he will not continue in sin and so fall from a state of grace. Apostasy, therefore, eventuates only in the lives of those whose faith is spurious.
Arminius held, initially, that the final perseverance of the saints is doubtful. Later, he concluded that the Church had never in toto adhered to the doctrine. Arminius, instead, believed that (on account of man’s free will) a believer could defect from the Savior and be eternally lost. With reference to John 10:28b – “neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” – he claimed that the sheep itself can freely depart from the shepherd.

Denominational Positions

Calvinist Churches

The canons of the Synod of Dort (1619) represent the Reformed sentiment regarding the perseverance of the saints. The canons, following Augustine and Calvin, describe perseverance as the gift of God that is intended to stimulate faith and piety in the believer, not pride and complacency.

God, through his faithfulness, preserves the believer to the end (1 Pet 1:5). The Father’s sovereignty, power, and love guarantee the believer’s continuance in faith (Rom 8:28-39) whereas the Son’s eternal priesthood secures the believer’s salvation (Heb 7:23-28). The Holy Spirit seals the believer, enabling him to persist in holy affection and thus assuring his preservation to eternal salvation (Eph 1:13-14).

Those who persist in sin, however, demonstrate the transient nature of their faith (1 John 3:3-6). On the other hand, true believers who temporarily succumb to sin, repent and continue in faith. In summary, Reformed churches ground the perseverance of the saints in God’s sovereign grace.

In Baptist history, the final perseverance of the saints is affirmed in the American Baptist Confession of Faith, the Charlestown Confession of 1689, which was modeled on the Westminster Confession and the London Confession. The New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1833) states that only genuine believers persevere to the end, for they are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.” John Gill and Charles Haddon Spurgeon also taught that those who are “truly regenerated” shall be “everlastingly saved.” The doctrine is summarized in the “Abstract of Principles” incorporated into the Fundamental Laws of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Greenville, South Carolina on April 30, 1858:

XIII. Perseverance of the Saints
Those whom God hath accepted in the Beloved, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere to the end; and though they may fall, through neglect and temptation, into sin, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach on the church, and temporal judgments on themselves, yet they shall be renewed again unto repentance, and be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

Congregationalists also espouse the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. In the Savoy Declaration of 1658, the Puritans (subsequently called Congregationalists) drew a line of demarcation between genuine believers and “temporary believers.” They affirmed that true believers persist in faith until the end because of the efficacious sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, the power of God, and the objective work of redemption which assures unfailingly the eventual salvation of the elect.

Arminian Churches

John Wesley believed that no believer could be certain of his perseverance until the end. Further, such assurance could well induce repose and libertinism. Methodists like James Porter later argued that the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints has no biblical basis. R. S. Foster made a similar charge, adding that the Bible reveals many cases of apostasy. John Hannah maintained that perseverance is contingent, that is, the believer must continuously choose to persist in faith and may fail to do so.

Roman Catholics describe perseverance as a potential power. The Council of Trent (1545-63) followed Augustine in referring to it as “gratuitous,” and followed Thomas Aquinas in positing that it is not meritorious and, therefore, no believer can be certain of his perseverance. The Council thus stated that if anyone claimed that a believer “cannot lose grace, let him be accursed.” Special help, then, is required for potential perseverance; we are not sure what this special help entails, however. On the other hand, the grace of final perseverance is the “coincidence of the state of grace with the hour of death.” God so designs that death comes when a man is persisting in faith. This view has never been defined by the magisterium but is the accepted teaching of the church.

Lutheran churches and the Church of England vacillate between the Arminian and the Calvinist views. They believe that some saints may apostatize.


Relevant Biblical Passages

Perhaps the most relevant biblical passages that support the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints are John 6:38-40; 10:26-30; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:28-39; and 1 Peter 1:5. In John 6:38-40, the writer says:

For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise him up again the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Here Jesus affirms that though many would reject him, yet those drawn by the Father (6:37, 44) will be saved. And Jesus will keep them secure till the resurrection of the righteous (v. 39). None will be lost, or more correctly destroyed (v. 39), because of (1) the Father’s sovereign grace in electing the believer (vv 37, 39, 44), (2) the Son’s providential care (vv. 39, 40), and (3) the believer’s persevering faith – he sees the Son and keeps believing on Him (v. 40).

John 10: 26-30 is perhaps the clearest teaching on the perseverance of the saints. The writer states:

But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.

Here Jesus says that genuine believers hear, obey, and imitate Him. They go where His Spirit directs them (v. 27). The elect are stirred up to “holy affection” when they contemplate the “excellencies of Christ” (to borrow expressions from Jonathan Edwards). In short, genuine believers persist in righteous living. And Jesus’ promise is to grant them life with Him forever: they will never be destroyed (Matt 10:28; 18:14; John 3:15). In all of these references, eschatological punishment is in view. Further, the double negative in the Greek is emphatic, stressing the impossibility of the believers’ ultimate ruin (v. 28a). But why this impossibility? Jesus attributes the believers’ preservation to His providential care (v. 28b) and the Father’s sovereign grace (v. 29).

In Ephesians 1:13-14, the writer states:

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

In verses 3-6, God the Father is extolled for electing his people in eternity; in vv. 6-12, the Son is magnified for redeeming his people in time; and in vv. 13-14, the Holy Spirit is adored for securing those believers until the eschaton. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work together to effect final salvation for the saints. With reference to the sealing of the Holy Spirit, we note that the ideas of ownership, authentication, protection, and preservation are all implied. And this preservation is until “the day of redemption.” Additionally, the word “guarantee” (arrabon) is a legal term that means deposit and commits the responsible party (God Himself) to fulfill the contract by making full payment.

In Romans 8:28-39, Paul argues for the perseverance of the saints based on God’s sovereign grace involving effectual calling, predestination, justification, and glorification (vv 28-30). Based on God’s omnipotence (v. 31) and His incalculable love (v. 32), the believer is assured of divine preservation. In vv. 33-34, Paul asserts that believers stand vindicated because of God’s justice – He has acquitted us and given us His Son, our eternal Savior and High Priest who is bringing us to glory. Finally, because of His wonderful love (vv. 35-39), the believer remains eternally secure and will persevere to the end.

Finally, in 1 Peter 1:5, Peter says that believers are “being kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” The word “kept” has military connotations, implying kept with a garrison (2 Cor 11:32) or divine fortification. Further, this keeping is related to the exercise of faith and eventuates in final salvation.

Other Doctrines that Impinge on the Doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints

We shall briefly consider this question by referring to the theocentric and theological bases of the doctrine. First, the doctrine is grounded in the sovereign grace of God the Father, which includes His love, faithfulness, and eternal purpose. His electing love is not fickle, but sure and everlasting; His faithfulness is demonstrated in preserving His saints; His eternal purpose is revealed in ordaining to eternal life those on whom He has set His love and in calling, sanctifying, and glorifying them (John 6:22-65; 1 Cor 1:18-31; Rom 8:28-39).

Also, the efficacious atonement of the Son and the believer's union with Him guarantee the believer’s final perseverance (John 17:12). Over two hundred times in the New Testament, the Scriptures emphasize this union with the Son, a union which suggests baptism into the body, intimate fellowship with Christ, life in the Spirit, and new identity. This idea of union is best worked out in Romans 6 and 8 where death to the old life and resurrection to new life in the power of the Spirit are stressed.

Perseverance is possible, therefore, because of new categories of power (as D. A. Carson has argued in Still Sovereign by Schreiner and Ware). The continuing intercessory work of Christ also confirms the believer in his calling. The Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration and sanctification are also related to the perseverance of the saints (John 7:37; 14:16; Rom 8:9; 1 Cor 3:16; 2 Cor 1: 22; Eph 1: 13-14; 4:5, 30).


Three Main Objections to the Doctrine

Objections Stated

The doctrine is incompatible with the freedom of the will.
The doctrine is negated by the apostasy of many believers in the Scriptures.
The doctrine promotes antinomianism.

Objections Refuted

1. The Scriptures consistently depict God as redeeming the elect, not with coercion but by
wooing, by convincing men of sin, by enlightening minds in the knowledge of Christ, by transforming wills, by persuading men to respond to the vocatio interna. Likewise, genuine believers, with transformed hearts, persist in holiness (not by compulsion but by God’s “working in them both to will and to do of his good pleasure”). See Philippians 2:13; Romans 6-8. At any rate, no man is entirely free, either before or after conversion. Perhaps Luther’s man between God and the devil illustrates this idea: before regeneration, man (notwithstanding the fact that he sins freely) is held captive by the tyranny of sin. Following regeneration, he becomes a slave of Christ, yet freely perseveres in faith.

Can genuine believers apostatize so that they are finally lost? Craig Blomberg argues that true believers are distinguished from apostates and impostors by their perseverance in good:
Like the three kinds of unfruitful soil, many will respond to his word with less than saving faith, be it (a) complete lack of positive response due to the enticement of evil, (b) temporary superficiality masquerading as true commitment, or (c) genuine interest and conviction about the truth that simply falls short due to the rigorous demands of discipleship. Like the fruitful soil, the only legitimate response to God’s word is the obedience and perseverance which demonstrate true regeneration.[1]

Impostors and apostates may appear to persist for a time. But “if they fall away, they demonstrate that they were not true disciples in the first place.” 1 John 2:19 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.” They may even appear to persevere their entire lives. The Lord’s indictment at the eschaton, however, is revealing, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matt 7:23).[2] In short, saving faith endures.

3. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints does not lead to carnal security. Romans 8:4 reminds us that God sent His son “in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” Paul states in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that we “are being changed into his [Christ’s] likeness from one degree of glory to another.” Indeed, the believer in the new dispensation is empowered to walk in holy love (Jer 31:31-34; Ezek 11:19-20; 36:26-27). We are not, however, positing sinless perfection in this present age. Believers live in eschatological tension – the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet.’ Nonetheless, the reign of sin has been broken so that believers can live victorious lives (Rom 6; 8:1-17; Col 2:9-15).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the perseverance of the saints is secured by God’s sovereign grace but in such a manner that the believer freely perseveres. Therefore, perseverance is both gift and duty (Col 1:21-23).



Sources Consulted

Books

Marshall, I. Howard. Kept by the Power of God: A Study of Perseverance and Falling Away. London: Epworth Press, 1969.
Schreiner, Thomas, and Ardel B. Caneday. The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001.

Articles
Beeke, Joel R. “Does Assurance Belong to the Essence of Faith? Calvin and the Calvinists.” The Master’s Seminary Journal 5.1 (Spring 1994): 43-71.
Carson, D. A. “Reflections on Assurance.” In Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives on Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace, eds. Thomas Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware, 247-76. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000.
Cook, Robert R. “Apostasy: Some Logical Reflections.” Evangelical Quarterly 65.2 (1993): 147-53.
Grudem, Wayne. “Perseverance of the Saints: A Case Study From the Warning Passages in Hebrews.” In Still Sovereign, eds. Thomas Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware, 133-82. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000.
Peterson, Robert A. “Preservation, Perseverance, Assurance, and Apostasy.” Presbyterion 22.1 (1996): 31-41.
_________. “God’s Preservation of His Saints.” Presbyterion 17.1 (1991): 40-57.
Ware, Bruce A. “Effectual Calling and Grace.” In Still Sovereign, eds. Thomas Schreiner and Bruce A. Ware, 203-27. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000.
Unpublished Theses
Mc Eachern, Alton Howard. “The Perseverance of the Saints.” Th. M. thesis, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1959.
Prassel, Jr., Calvin. “Atonement in Paul’s Theology as a Key to his Understanding of Perseverance.” Th. M. thesis, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1989.


[1] Robert A. Peterson, “Preservation, Perseverance, Assurance, and Apostasy,” Presbyterion 22.1 (1996): 38.
[2] Peterson, “Preservation,” 39.



"No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 3:11).