The Perseverance Of The Saints
THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS
There are four primary views regarding the perseverance of the saints. The first three of these views have this perseverance dependent upon man and his strength. The fourth view presents God as the deciding factor in man's perseverance.
Church|View of Perseverance|
Roman Catholic|Perseverance is dependent upon the uncertain obedience of man.|
Lutheran|Perseverance is dependent upon man's continued faith.|
Arminian|Perseverance is dependent upon the will of men to believe and upon their own continuing good works.|
Reformed|Perseverance is dependent upon God.|
Perseverance is much more than eternal security. While eternal security states that salvation cannot be lost, the doctrine of perseverance says that the man who is saved will continue to manifest the evidence of that salvation in this life. Berkhof defines it as “that continuous operation of the Holy Spirit in the believer, in which the work of divine grace that is begun in the heart, is continues and brought to completion” (1971:546). This does not mean that everyone who claims to believe in Jesus Christ is necessarily saved. There are those who might be members of the church and who, for a time, exhibit the earmarks of the redeemed, yet they are not really a part of the family of God.
They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us. (1 John 2:19). When a person who has called himself a Christian falls away, it does not mean he has lost his salvation. It may be an indication that he was never really saved to begin with. Nor do the Scriptures mandate that all such false brethren fall away. Jesus told the parable of the wheat and the tares and how there would be unbelievers and believers together until the Second Coming.
1. A Confident Expectation: For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Php_1:6).
What is the work that was begun in the lives of the Philippians? In one sense, it was seen in the gifts they had given to Paul for the ministry. But in a larger sense, it was the work of God that was taking place in their lives to bring about those gifts. The Christian life is a work in progress, but it is a work that is headed toward a specific goal. Paul expresses his confidence that the work will be “perfected” — the Greek word evpitele,sei (epitelesei) suggests that the work will be “over-completed.”
Notice who is doing the work versus who is the recipient of that work. It is God who is doing the work and the work He is doing is “in you.”
2. A Dependence upon God's Faithfulness: But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3). The perseverance of the saints is dependent upon the faithfulness of the Lord. He is the One who will accomplish your strengthening and protection.
7 ...so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:7-9). This promise was given to the Corinthian believers. As we read through the epistle to the Corinthians, we can easily note that these people did not look blameless. They appeared to be anything but blameless. But that is because God was not yet finished with them. When we speak of the perseverance of the saints, there is a sense in which it is a misnomer. It is not really the perseverance of the saints that is described here. What we see in this passage and others like it is the perseverance of the Lord Jesus Christ. The saints do not persevere because they grit their teeth and struggle to successfully overcome every obstacle. They persevere because God is faithful. He has promised that He will bring us to perfection and He can be trusted to accomplish his promises. A promise is not stronger than the character of the one who makes the promise. If I promise something to you, it might not come to pass because I might fail you. But God never fails. He never falls down on the job. He never changes His mind. If He has promised you something, you can rest on His promise with complete assurance.
None of those who have been saved will ever be lost. You have God's word on that. If you belong to Him, then He will keep you and confirm you to the end.
3. A Dependence upon God's Power: Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy (Jude 1:24). The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints reflects a faith and a dependence upon the power of God. It is God who is able to keep you from stumbling. It is God who is able to make you stand as blameless in the presence of His glory. The same God who promised to save you also assures that He is able to keep that promise.