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Perseverance of the Saints Defined
The fifth and final point of the doctrines of grace
is commonly referred to as the perseverance of the
saints. Other phrases that are used interchangeably to
express the same truth are "eternal security",
"preservation of the saints", and "once saved, always
saved". Simply stated, the doctrine of the perseverance
of the saints means that those who have been genuinely
saved by the power of God are also preserved by that
power, enabling them to persevere in holiness unto the
end. This truth implies that it is Impossible for a
genuine saint of God to lose the Lord's salvation and
finally perish in his sins.
The Second London Baptist Confession of 1677
expressed this truth in the following way:
"Those whom God hath accepted in the beloved,
effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, and
given the precious faith of His elect unto, can neither
totally nor finally fall from the state of grace; but
shall certainly persevere therein to the end and be
eternally saved, seeing the gifts and callings of God
are without repentance."
1
The New Hampshire Confession of Faith of 1833, to
which most American Baptists ascribe to, states:
"We believe that such only are real believers as
endure unto the end; that their persevering attachment
to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them
from mere professors; that a special providence watches
over their welfare; and that they are kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation."
2
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It is important to understand that the doctrine of
the saints final perseverance is like a coin with two
sides, each side necessary to the other in order to be
genuine. If we would look at a penny and see the
likeness of Abraham Lincoln on both sides we would at
once recognize it as a counterfeit. In like manner the
preservation of God's elect and the saint's perseverance
are inseparable; they go together like a hand in glove.
If perseverance is taught without the power of God's
preservation behind it, Arminianism raises its ugly head
and declares that a saint can lose his salvation which
is heresy. On the other hand, if preservation is taught
apart from the responsibility of perseverance in
holiness, Antinomianism and loose living abounds thus: "turning
the grace of our God into lasciviousness" (Jude 4).
Milburn Cockrell wrote:
"As I see it, perseverance involves two elements: on
the one hand, God's agency in preserving; on the other
hand, the saint's agency in persevering. Neither one of
these by itself is the doctrine, but both together
constitute the doctrine as set forth in Holy Scripture.
The operation of Divine grace upon the believer will
cause him to persevere unto the end, but this
perseverance is not without the believer' s own
continual activity."
3
"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same
shall be saved" (Matt. 24:13) is just as true as: "having
loved his own which were in the world, he loved them
unto the end" (John 13:1). The first Scripture is
emphasizing the need for the saints endurance whereas
the second is emphasizing the immutable love that Christ
has for His elect.
To illustrate how these two truths are necessary to
one another you will often find exhortations to the
saints' perseverance in holiness and God's power of
preservation in the same context of Scripture.
Jeremiah 32:40 states: "And I will make an
everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away
from them (preservation), to do them good; but I
will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not
depart from me" (perseverance). In one verse of
Scripture it is clearly stated that God will not turn
away from His elect on the basis of His covenant love
and that His elect will not depart from Him, because He
has put His fear in their hearts. Thus we see that God
preserves His people by insuring and enabling them to
persevere in holiness.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 states: "A new heart also will I
give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I
will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I
will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my
spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes,
and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." In the
new birth God gives a new heart which delights in the
commands of God and desires to obey them.
God not only preserves His children, but He has also
put His Spirit within them to enable them to walk in His
statutes.
John 10:27-29 declares: "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." True
sheep not only hear the voice of the Good Shepherd in
the effectual call, they also follow Him in
perseverance. They have been given the gift of eternal
life and are secure in the finished work of Jesus Christ
and the eternal love of their Heavenly Father. They
persevere by following and at the same time they are
preserved in the hand of the Father and the Son who are
one. To say that one of God's sheep, whom Christ died
for, who has been given eternal life, can be finally
lost is not only absurd but blasphemous in light of this
passage of Scripture. To affirm the apostasy of God's
elect sheep is to call Jesus Christ a liar and at the
same time declare that the Father's hand is not a safe
place to abide. Those who teach you can be saved, then
lost mist either deny this Scripture or "wrest, as
they do also the other scriptures, unto their own
destruction" (II Pet. 3:16).
Philippians 2:12-13 states: "Wherefore, my
beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now such more in my absence, work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which
worketh in you both to will and to do of his good
pleasure." Paul is exhorting believers to persevere
in salvation on the one hand, and then explaining the
power behind their ability to persevere on the other.
Both elements must be operating in order to have a
proper and balanced view of the perseverance of the
saints.
I Peter 1:5; 14-15 states: "Who are kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be
revealed in the last...As
obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according
to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which
hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation." If a professing saint does not
manifest some fruits of holiness in his behavior he can
have no assurance that God is keeping him by his power.
Baptists do not believe in the perseverance of sinners
in sin, but we do believe in the perseverance of the
saints in holiness!
Jude 20-21; 24 declares: "But ye, beloved,
building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying
in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God,
looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto
eternal life...Now unto him that is able to keep you
from falling, and to present you faultless before the
presence of his glory with exceeding joy." Here the
saints are exhorted to "keep themselves in the love of
God", yet realizing that God is keeping them and
preserving them from falling out of a state of grace.
It is sad, but true, that many Baptists have forsaken
the twin doctrines of perseverance and preservation
stressing only God's work of preserving at the expense
of the saint's responsibility to persevere. By so doing,
many preachers have given as false security to people
who have never had a genuine work of grace done in their
heart. While visiting, I often meet people who tell me
they made a religious profession when they were younger
and are now just "backslidden", yet "eternally secure".
At the expense of sounding harsh and critical I believe
many professors of religion are not "backslidden", but
lost. When I meet people who profess with their lips,
but lie with their life, I stand in doubt of them and
exhort them to: "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in
the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own
selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be
reprobates" (II Cor. 13:5)? It is not the
responsibility of any preacher to give assurance of
salvation to those who are persevering in sin and
wickedness, regardless of how loud a religious
profession they might make.
Milburn Cockrell hits the nail on the head when he
writes:
"The reason that some deny perseverance is because
their converts do not persevere. They often depart from
Christ and the church and return to a life of sin and
wickedness. The reason for this is because they made a
false profession under easy believism and decisional
regeneration. Modern evangelism produces stony-ground
hearers "which for a while believe, and in time of
temptation fall away" (Luke 8:13). Arminian Baptist
preachers are quick to say that such rebels against God
are Heaven-bound because they are preserved in Christ.
Their eternal security is in fact a security in sin and
wickedness. It is the teaching that you can do any thing
you want to and go to Heaven at last. To teach
preservation of the saints without perseverance is a
wretched and fatal perversion of the Scriptures!
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Every doctrine must have its foundation in the
infallible Word of God. The reason why such a statement
is necessary may be traced to the current trend of
"professing Christendom" to exalt experience over
Scripture. The opponents of the final perseverance of
the saints usually point to the lives of false
professors, who have never experienced a genuine work of
grace in the heart, to establish their unscriptural
teaching of apostasy. The idea that a true child of God
who has been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus
Christ, sealed and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, can
somehow lose the lord's salvation, become a child of the
devil and finally perish in Hell is foreign to the
teachings of the Holy Scriptures. In fact, such an
assertion is blasphemous as it casts reproach upon the
unfailing purpose and promises of a Holy God. Christians
must ever be governed by the admonition in Isaiah 8:20
which states: "To the law and to the testimony: if
they speak not according to this word, it is because
there is no light in them." The Holy Scriptures are
literally filled with assertions that prove the saints
final perseverance by the preserving power of our
gracious God, of whom it is said: "For the LORD
loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are
preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be
cut off" (Psa. 37:28).
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Romans 8:28 states: "And we know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose."
Ephesians 1:11 states: "In whom also we have obtained
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the
purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will." II Timothy 1:9 declares: "Who
hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began."
From these passages of Scripture it is clear that the
entire machinery of salvation was carefully ordered by
God before the world began. By His own wise decree and
sovereign good pleasure He determined to save a
multitude of sinners out of Adam's fallen race. His
purpose included their election, redemption,
regeneration, preservation, and final glorification.
This fact is established by the Apostle Paul in Romans
8:29-39 where he emphatically states that God's elect
will infallibly be saved. Verses 38-39 state: "For I
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor
things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our lord." The reason
why the apostle could speak with such confidence is
because he understood that the purpose of God in
salvation is impossible to thwart or be overthrown by
men or devils. All of God's purposes will surely come to
fruition.
Those who teach that a man can be genuinely saved and
then lose the lord's salvation must either affirm that
God has no fixed purpose or that His original design was
not carried out and had to be altered. Regardless which
horn of the dilemma the Arminian finds himself on, he
must acknowledge that he believes the purpose and will
of God to be fickle and dependent upon the actions of
men. Such an assertion is false in light of Job 23:13
which states: "But he is in one mind, and who can
turn him? And what his soul desireth, even that he doeth."
Daniel 4:35 expresses the same truth by stating: "And
all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing:
and he doeth according to his will in the army of
heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none
can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?"
If God's purpose to save and preserve His elect could
be overthrown we could just as well suppose that God
Himself could be overthrown. If the purpose and will of
God can be defeated, then God Himself could be defeated.
Such are the logical conclusions drawn from the devilish
doctrine of the saints' apostasy. It strikes right at
the heart of the government, majesty, and dominion of
God. Regardless what the Arminian may falsely assert we
must believe the words of Jesus when He affirmed that
all the elect will be preserved according to the
unchangeable will of His Father in John 6:39-40 which
declares: "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 it up again at 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."
John Gill wrote:
"The final perseverance of the saints may be
concluded from the purposes and decrees of God; which
are infrustratable, and are always accomplished "The
Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?"
or make it void, and of no effect: and "His hand is
stretched out", to execute His purposes, and "who shall
turn it back" from doing the thing He is resolved on? as
He has "thought, so shall it cane to pass"; and as He
has "purposed, it shall stand" (Isa. 14:24; 27), though
there may be a thousand devices in the hearts of men and
devils, they can never counteract, nor undermine the
decrees of God."
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All of the perfections and attributes of God are
magnificently displayed in the perseverance of the
saints. The very nature of God Himself demands that He
keep His covenant engagements on behalf of His elect. We
will examine only a few of God's attributes to prove the
point in question.
The power of God insures that not one of the saints
will finally perish. Does God have enough power to carry
out His purpose of grace and protect His children from
final apostasy? I Peter 1:5 answers the question: "Who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
Paul the apostle expressed great confidence in the
lord's power to save and preserve in II Timothy 1:12 and
4:18 which state: "For the which cause I also suffer
these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know
whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day... And the lord shall deliver me from every
evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly
kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
How can anyone deny that the God who "upholds all
things by the word of his power" (Heb. 1:3) not have
enough power to preserve His children from Hell? Such a
denial questions the omnipotence of God and is
dishonoring to His character. Jude did not doubt for a
moment the lord's ability and power to uphold His
children when he wrote: "Now unto him who is able to
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless
before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy."
How could God have exceeding joy if even one whom He had
saved be finally lost?
The immutability of God assures that those whom God
loved "with an everlasting love" (Jer. 31:3)
shall never perish in their sins. God is unchangeable
and His love for His elect has been fixed and
unalterable through all eternity. Malachi 3:6 states: "For
I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob
are not consumed." James 1:17 states: "Every good
and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down
from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning."
To say that God could fix His affections upon an
individual by saving them and giving to them all the
benefits that flow from Christ's redeeming work, then
reverse that love, turn it into wrath and cast that
person into the Lake of Fire is to charge God with
schizophrenia. The true God never changes, but the God
of Arminianism is forced to change in accordance with
the actions of men. We could just as well suppose that a
baby could be "unborn" as to believe that God would
reverse the "new birth" and its benefits! Romans 11:2
and 29 state: "God hath not cast away his people
which he foreknew... For the gifts and calling of God
are without repentance." Salvation is definitely a
gift that God bestows. God is not an Indian giver who
one day gives salvation and then decides to take it
away.
The faithfulness of God insures that those He has
promised eternal life too will never perish in Hell for
their sins. I Corinthians 1:8-9 states: "Who shall
also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless
in the day of our lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by
whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus
Christ our Lord." I Thessalonians 5:23-24 declares:
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I
pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be
preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Faithful is he that
calleth you, who also
will do it."
II Thessalonians 3:13 states: "But the lord is
faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from
evil."
Abraham Booth wrote:
"The faithfulness and inviolable veracity of God give
further assurance of the saints's perseverance. The
rocks, though of adamant, shall melt away; the
everlasting mountains shall be removed; yea, the whole
terraqueous globe itself shall disappear; but the
faithfulness of God in executing his covenant, and the
veracity of God in performing His promises, are
unchangeable and eternal...Yea, He hath sworn by His
holiness, by the glory of all His perfections, that He
will be faithful to His covenant and promises,
respecting Christ and His chosen seed. So that if there
be immutability in the purpose of God, if any stability
in His covenant, if any fidelity in His promises, the
true believer shall certainly persevere. Rejoice, then,
ye feeble followers of the Lamb. The basis of your
confidence is firm and strong."
6
Well did King David write on his deathbed concerning
the faithfulness of God in spite of his own
shortcomings: "Although my house be not so with God;
yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my
salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to
grow" (II Sam. 23:5).
Finally, the wisdom and foreknowledge of God insures
that the saints will never perish. Acts 15:18 declares:
"Known unto God are all his works from the beginning
of the world." God wisely ordained the means both to
save and preserve all His elect from perishing. A wise
man makes sure that he has sufficient means to finish
when he sets out to build a house. In like manner, God
in wisdom has already arranged that all the members of
His family arrive in Heaven. In fact, He has already
reserved their arrival!
How would the wisdom of God be displayed if He saved
an individual who He knew beforehand would not persevere
and fall away? The devil himself would be able to charge
God with folly if one of God's children could be saved
and then perish.
John Gill wrote:
"But where would be His wisdom to appoint men to
salvation, and not save them at last? To send His Son to
redeem them, and they be never the better for it, and to
send His Spirit into them, to begin a good work of
grace, and not finish it?"
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II Corinthians 1:20 states: "For all the promises of
God in him (Christ) are yea, and in him Amen, unto the
glory of God by us." Every child of God who is united to
Christ by faith has access to all the promises of God.
God has promised eternal life to all who will repent of
their sins and believe on His Son. John 3:16 states:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have (present tense) everlasting life." John
5:24 states: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath
(present tense) everlasting life, and shall not come
into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
Both of these verses state very plainly that God has
promised eternal life as a present possession to all who
believe on Christ. Eternal life is received the moment a
person believes on Christ. Eternal means forever, or
never ending. Also taught in these verses is the promise
of God that a believer will never be judged or condemned
for his sins. Believers have a positive promise of
"everlasting life", as well as a negative promise "and
shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from
death unto life." All these promises have been secured
by the blood shedding of Jesus Christ as Hebrews 9:12
and 15 state: "Neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the
holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us..
. And for this cause he is the mediator of the new
testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of
the transgressions that were under the first testament,
they which are called might receive the promise of
eternal inheritance."
Are we to suppose that God is a liar, or that He
didn't mean what He said? There is no way God could
promise eternal life to anyone if there was the
slightest hint that they would be able to fall away and
lose the Lord's salvation. Again, Arminians find
themselves on two
horns of a dilemma, they must either charge God with
lying, or they must deny the Scriptures that promise
eternal life to as many as believe Either way their
doctrine is found to be
false and heretical.
Arminians must cringe when the following Scriptures
are quoted or read to them: "And this is the promise
that he hath promised us, even eternal life" (I John
2:25). "And this is the record, that God hath given
to us eternal life , and this life is in his Son. He
that hath the Son hath life (a present possession);
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the
name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have
eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the
Son of God" (1 John 5:11-13).
We can be sure that if the Lord promises eternal life
to believers, He is worthy of our trust because it is
impossible for God to lie as Titus 1:2 states: "In
hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie,
promised before the world began." If Jesus said of
His sheep: "And I give unto them eternal life; AND
THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH, neither shall any man pluck
them out of my hand" (John 10:29), we can be assured
that he was speaking the truth regardless of what sane
slick-talking Arminian may say.
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Some of the strongest arguments for the saints' final
perseverance are drawn from an examination of the
believer's union and relationship with the Lord Jesus
Christ. The finished work of Jesus Christ serves as a
solid foundation for the saints' final perseverance. He
is the rock upon which our profession securely rests
(Matt. 7:24-25), thus enabling us to endure to the end.
The rains of affliction may come, floods of doubt may
arise, and the winds of temptation may blow against us,
but our position in Christ remains sure and steadfast.
Matthew 7:25 declares: "And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock."
The true believer who is depending entirely upon the
lord Jesus Christ is safe and secure in Him as Proverbs
18:10 declares:
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the
righteous runneth into it, and is safe." The songwriter
Edward Mote expressed this truth beautifully in the hymn
The Solid Rock:
"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus'
blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest
frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on
His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the vale.
His oath, His
covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming
flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then
is all my hope and stay.
When He shall cane with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I
then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness
alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other
ground is sinking sand."
There is a divine, indissolvable union that exists
between the believer and the Lord Jesus Christ. The
saints are said to be "in Christ", thus deriving their
spiritual life and protection from Him. Jesus told His
disciples: "because I live, ye shall live also"
(John 14:19). Our preservation is not dependent upon
what we do, but what Christ has already done and is now
doing. We can be assured that as long as Christ lives,
we shall live also because of our union to Him. Hebrews
7:25 states: "Wherefore he is able also to save them
to the uttermost that cane unto God by him, seeing he
ever liveth to make intercession for them." The only
way our position in Christ could be severed is if Christ
himself would be defeated by death, which is an
impossibility. He has the keys of Hell and death and is
said to be "alive for evermore" (Rev. 1:18). "For ye
are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye
also appear with him in glory" (Col 3:3-4). From
this verse it is clear that the union between Christ and
the believer affords protection and assurance of final
perseverance and glorification. Paul did not say "if you
hold on, you might appear with him in glory", but
rather, "ye shall appear with him in glory". In light of
this divine union that exists between Christ and the
believer, I would like to ask the Arminians the same
question Paul posed in Romans 8:35: "Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ?"
Abraham Booth wrote the following concerning this
sacred union:
"As it is written, Christ is our life. Your life is
hid with Christ in God. Your life is hid, like the most
valuable treasure in a secret place. With Christ;
committed to His guardianship, and lodged under his
care, who is able to keep that which is entrusted to his
hands. In God; the bosom of the Almighty is the sacred
repository in which the jewel is safely kept. Cheering
thought! For Jesus, the Guardian, will never be bribed
to deliver up His charge to the power of an enemy; nor
shall any sacrilegious hand ever be able, by secret
fraud or open violence, to rifle the casket where
Jehovah lays up His jewels. The life of believers is
bound up in the bundle of life with the Lord their God;
and the bond of that union shall never be dissolved. For
he that is joined to the lord is one Spirit with Him,
and, therefore, absolutely inseparable."
8
Another way in which to prove the saints' final
perseverance as it relates to the person of Christ is to
understand what Christ accomplished on the cross. The
Calvinist believes that Christ secured the salvation of
all His elect by bearing their sins and paying the
penalty of their sins in full, thus discharging and
blotting out the debt of sin they owed. The ransom price
He paid was His own precious blood, which satisfied the
requirements of the law and propitiated the wrath of the
Father. The finished work of a crucified and risen
Christ is all that is needed to save a sinner. No human
merit or goodness needs to be added in order to make the
sacrifice of Christ effectual. When Jesus Christ cried:
"It is finished," the work of redemption was
accomplished once and for all. Based on what Christ did,
believers are said to be "complete in Him" (Col. 2:10).
His sacrifice on the cross insured the salvation of all
the elect as Hebrews 10:14 declares: "For by one
offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified." The Arminian would have us believe that
a system of legalistic requirements and works are
necessary to insure our final salvation, thus logically
denying the sufficiency of the finished work of Christ.
I would like to ask the Arminian some questions. What
could anyone possibly add to the perfect sacrifice of
Jesus Christ to make them acceptable to God? Exactly
what must be added to Christ's sacrifice in order to be
assured of salvation? If Christ "appeared to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Heb. 9:26), and "the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin"
(I John 1:9), then precisely what sin or sins could
possibly separate the believer from Christ, seeing how
that Christ put away and cleansed all sins that were
past, present, and future? Finally, isn't the finished
work of Jesus Christ enough to save a sinner? These
questions should be answered in light of Romans 8:31-34
which states: "What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that
spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not with him also freely give us all
things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's
elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that
condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is
risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us."
Believers are said to be the purchased possession of
Jesus Christ in I Corinthians 7:20: "For ye are
bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body,
and in your spirit, which are God's." As the Good
Shepherd, Jesus laid down His life for His sheep, thus
insuring their salvation and everlasting life. Are we to
suppose that it is possible for Jesus Christ to lose one
of His precious possessions that He purchased with His
own life's blood? How could He possibly call Himself the
"Good Shepherd" if even one sheep that He died for and
promised to keep would finally be lost? Are we to
believe that the devil, who Christ defeated on the
cross, could somehow overcome the Good Shepherd by
rending one of His sheep out of the safety of the fold?
These questions are the logical conclusions drawn from
the Arminian doctrine of apostasy. Thank God that we
have the promise of the Good Shepherd who confidently
said: "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" (John
10:28-30).
The final proof of the perseverance of the saints as
it relates to the person of Christ is the intercessory
office He occupies as our Great High Priest. When Christ
ascended into Heaven to the right hand of the Father, it
was to plead the cause of God's elect and intercede for
them. We can be absolutely sure that the prayers of our
Righteous Advocate are always heard and never denied by
His Heavenly Father. He prayed in John 17 (verses 11 and
24) thusly: "And now I am no more in the world, but
these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father,
keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given
me, that they may be one, as we are...Father, I will
that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me
where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou
hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation
of the world."
Abraham Booth expressed this truth best when he
wrote:
"The intercession of Christ for His people, in the
heavenly sanctuary, affords another evidence of this
glorious truth. This intercession is founded on His
perfect atonement for all their sins: and it is a firm
foundation for that purpose. So that, notwithstanding
all the accusations of Satan lodged against them, not
withstanding all their weakness and all their
unworthiness, the intercession of Jesus the Son of God,
of Jesus Christ the righteous, must afford them the
highest security. For their Redeemer is strong, the lord
of hosts is His name, He shall thoroughly plead their
cause. And as every believer is interested in this
intercession, so Jesus, the Advocate, is never denied in
his suit. His plea is always valid, and always effectual
to the end intended: which is, as he expressly informs
us, that their faith fail not; and, that they may be
preserved from destructive evil. Our ascended Redeemer
is not, in this part of His mediatorial undertaking,
like a mere petitioner, who may or may not succeed; for,
to all the blessings He solicits on their behalf He has
a previous right. He can claim them, in virtue of the
promise made to Him and His spiritual seed, having, as
their substitute, fully performed the conditions of the
everlasting covenant. Yes, believer, the compassion of
Him who bled on the cross, and the power of Him who
pleads on the throne,
ascertain your final felicity."
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Philippians 1:6 states: "Being confident of this
very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." The
Holy Spirit of God is the one who begins the work of
salvation by quickening the dead sinner to spiritual
life in the new birth. At the point of regeneration the
Spirit of God begins to indwell the believer to continue
His work of progressive sanctification. This work is
faithfully carried out by the Holy Spirit until the
redemption of the body as Romans 8:11; 23 state: "But
if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead
dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead
shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that
dwelleth in you.. . And not only they, but ourselves
also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we
ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." The
believer can be assured of final glorification because
it is the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit to seal
them until that day as Ephesians 4:30 states: "And
grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed
unto the day of redemption." Thus, it is clear that
the Holy Spirit is active and responsible in the
believer's regeneration, sanctification, and ultimately,
their glorification. God has gone to great lengths to
insure that His "workmanship" does not end up in the
refuse pile of depraved mankind, which is the Lake of
Fire. The reason why Paul could write "being confident
of this very thing", is because he knew that God is a
wise master builder who always finishes a work in which
He begins. The Arminian notion of apostasy would lead us
to believe that the work begun by the Holy Spirit must
be finished by the believer. Paul soundly rebuked the
Galatians for believing such heresy when he wrote: "Are
ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now
made perfect by the flesh" (Gal. 3:3)? If the
Arminian theory of apostasy is true then we can
logically conclude that God does not have the sufficient
means or power to carry out what He started in the new
birth. That His "workmanship" can be overcome and
overthrown by sin and the devil. Such an idea is
repulsive to the Divine character of Jehovah of whom it
is written: "My counsel shall stand, and I will do
all my pleasure... I have spoken it, I will also bring
it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it"
(Isa. 46:10-11).
It is also important to understand that the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit is not temporary or
fleeting. He does not come to dwell one day and leave
the believer to fend for himself the next. Once the
Spirit of Christ takes up residence in the believer He
never leaves, but remains with the believer forever as
Hebrews 13:5 teaches: "For he hath said, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee." This eternal union
and indwelling of the Comforter to guide and teach the
believer was promised by Jesus Christ in John 14:16-17
which states: "And I will pray the Father, and he
shall give you another Comforter, that he may ABIDE WITH
YOU FOR EVER: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world
cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither
knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you,
and shall be in you."
Milburn Cockrell wrote:
Those who deny the perseverance of the saints teach
that a Christian can lose the Holy Spirit. This is
contrary to the words of Christ in John 14:16. They
teach that Satan is greater than the Holy Spirit, seeing
that Satan is able to evict the Spirit from the
believer's body...Those of us who believe in
perseverance do not deny that a saint may have many
struggles with Satan, but we maintain the saint will
persevere in the main in holiness and righteousness and,
at last, win the final victory over Satan because of the
influence of the ever-abiding Spirit!
10
Finally, perseverance of the saints, as it relates to
the work of the Holy Spirit, may be proven from the
teaching that the Holy Spirit is the earnest of the
believer's inheritance. Ephesians 1:13-14 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 that Holy Spirit
of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto
the praise of his glory." The earnest of the Spirit
is a pledge or a down payment and a foretaste of the
glory yet to be revealed. The earnest of the Spirit is
the promise that insures the saint's final perseverance.
Ron Crisp wrote:
"An earnest is a token payment that gives us a
foundation for confidence in the intentions of the
giver. An earnest is part of the whole. Our Saviour died
to purchase for us all spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3).
By faith we receive the Holy Spirit which as a gracious
gift comes to us through the work of Christ (Acts
2:32-33; John 7:39).An earnest is a promise of the
future. An earnest acts as a pledge that the rest of the
purchase or purchase price is forthcoming. Our Saviour
has purchased a wonderful inheritance for us (I Pet.
1:3-4). This includes a glorified body and a home in
heaven. We may be assured that because we have the
earnest of the Spirit that the rest of our inheritance
is sure to cane to us. Once the earnest is given the
giver cannot back out. In calling the Spirit an earnest
God offers us full assurance of His intention to glorify
every one of His people."
11
Thus far we have proven that God the Father is for us
in His purpose of grace, His promises, and His
perfections. God the Son is for us in redemption and
intercession. God the Spirit is for us in regeneration,
sanctification, and glorification. Thus, the basis for
the saints' final perseverance is God Himself. As long
as God perseveres in holiness, we can be assured that
those who are united to Him by faith and abide in Him
will also persevere. To teach otherwise would cast
reproach upon the greatness and the glory of Almighty
Jehovah.
John Gill wrote:
"In a word, the glory of the three divine Persons is
concerned in the final perseverance of the saints; for
should they or any of them perish, where would be the
glory of the Father in choosing them to salvation? And
the glory of the Son in redeeming them? And the glory of
the Spirit in the sanctification of them? Respecting
them, their glory would be lost, should they come short
of heaven and happiness; but since the doctrine of the
saints final perseverance is bound together with this
threefold cord, which cannot be broken, the certainty of
it may be depended upon."
12
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The Bible clearly teaches that "Salvation is of
the lord" (Jonah 2:9). From beginning to end
salvation is a work of God on the behalf of unworthy and
helpless sinners. Salvation is a gift that God freely
gives to His elect through faith in the only begotten
Son of God, the lord Jesus Christ. In no way is
salvation dependent upon the works or merits of men.
Salvation is a gift for the guilty, not a reward for the
righteous.
Arminians are very inconsistent in their false
teaching of salvation by grace. They will readily pay
lip service to the idea that a sinner is saved by grace
through faith in Christ. Yet they believe that a person
is kept in grace by the virtue and power of their own
good works, faithfulness and their ability to "hang on".
Such an idea is completely foreign to the scriptural
teaching of salvation by grace, as it teaches a mixture
of grace and works which is contrary to Romans 11:5-6
which states: "Even so then at this present time also
there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise
grace is no more grace. but if it be of works, then is
it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."
The teaching is plain and simple; either salvation is
entirely of grace or it is entirely of works.
The Jews in apostolic times and the Arminians of our
day have one thing in common: they both believe that
they must somehow make themselves partially worthy of
salvation by the works of the law. Romans 11:3 describes
their condition thusly: "For they being ignorant of
God's righteousness, and going about to establish their
own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
The entire book of Galatians was written to refute the
idea that a man is saved partially by the gospel of
Christ and partially by the works of the law. This idea
is a perversion of the true gospel of Christ and is to
be rejected as false and heretical. Galatians 1:8
declares: "But though we, or an angel from heaven,
preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accursed." Galatians
2:16;20 state: "Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we
might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by
the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall
no flesh by justified... I do not frustrate the grace of
God: for if righteousness came by the law, then Christ
is dead in vain." In spite of such crystal clear
teaching from the word of God Arminians insist on trying
to mix grace with the works of the law.
Other Scriptures which clearly teach salvation by
grace apart from the works of men are abundant. The
following are only a sample of the many that could be
produced from the sacred Scriptures.
"Being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus:. ..Where is boasting
then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by
the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is
justified by faith without the deeds of the law"
(Rom.3:24;27-28).
"For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath
whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the
scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto
him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the
reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him
that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the
man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom
the lord will not impute sin" (Romans 4:2-8).
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; AND THAT
NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS,
lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing
of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which
he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our
Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be
made heirs according to the hope of eternal life"
(Titus 3:5-7).
The religion of Arminianism logically leads to
self-reliance rather than total dependence upon the
merits of Christ. It is the religion of Cain, who
thought he would be accepted by God through the works of
his own hands rather than by an acceptable sacrifice
offered in faith. God rejected Cain's notion of works
salvation just as he rejects the false teachings of
Arminianism. The Arminian idea of apostasy denies that
salvation is all of grace and therefore is to be
regarded as anti-Christian and unscriptural. "If
there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine,
receive him not into your house, neither bid him God
speed" (II John 10).
J.L. Dagg commented on the harmful teaching of
Arminianism in the following way:
"To reject the doctrine of final perseverance, tends
to fix the hope of salvation on human effort, and not on
the purpose and grace of God. If, in God's method of
salvation, no provision has been made, which secures the
safe keeping of the regenerate, and their perseverance
in holiness, their salvation is left dependent on their
own efforts, and their trust must be in that on which
success depends. All that God has done f or them, will
fail to bring them through, if this effort, originating
in themselves, be not superaided; and the eye of hope is
necessarily directed to this human effort, as that on
which the momentous issue depends. Thus the denial of
the doctrine draws of the heart from simple trust in
God, and therefore tends to produce apostasy. The just
shall live by faith. Simple trust in God, is necessary
to preserve the spiritual life; and to trust in man, and
make flesh our arm, is to fall under the curse, and draw
back to perdition. In our first coming to Christ, we
renounce all confidence in self, and put our entire
trust in the mercy and power of God: and in the same
faith with which we began, we must persevere to the end
of our course. Worldly wisdom may encourage
self-reliance, and regard it as necessary to success:
but the wisdom that is from above teaches us to renounce
and avoid it as ruinous to the soul."
13
BACK TO THE TOP
Arminian assaults upon the treasured doctrine of the
saint's final perseverance are numerous. Several of the
objections have already been addressed and refuted by
Scripture in preceding chapters. Many of the objections
raised by Arminians are not worthy of serious
consideration because they rest upon the false
foundation of salvation by self-effort and good works
rather than the free grace of God. Regardless of what
theological garb Arminians may dress their doctrines in,
the true nature of their system of faith denies
salvation by grace.
Because the nature of the present volume is not
intended to answer all the objections that Arminians may
raise, I will simply answer some of the more common
objections raised against the doctrine of the saint's
final perseverance. Should the reader desire to go into
more depth and detail the following works are heartily
recommended: Cause of God and Truth, by John
Gill; An Antidote Against Arminianism, by
Christopher Ness; A Systematic Study of Bible
Doctrine, by T .
P. Simmons; Eternal Security, by A.W.
Pink; and The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination,
by Lorraine Boettner.
1. The most common objection raised against the
saint's final perseverance is based upon experience
rather than Scripture. Arminians loudly assert that they
have been eye witnesses to the salvation of those who
have eventually denied the faith, repudiated
Christianity, and finally apostatized. They argue that
they know of people who were saved and then after a
period of time, they lost their salvation. "I saw
Brother so-and-so go to the altar, pray the sinner's
prayer, join the church, teach Sunday School, and live
for the lord for a time. But sin and the devil crept in
and they lost their salvation."
The answer to this objection is simple to explain
from the Bible. All that glitters is not gold and every
one who outwardly professes faith in Christ have not
been genuinely saved. The person described above may
have had an exciting "religious experience", without
ever being born of God. I am convinced from the
Scriptures that many professors of Christianity have
never had a work of grace done in their heart. Titus
1:16 declares: "They profess that they know God; but
in works they deny him, being abominable, and
disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." II
Timothy 3:5 states: "Having a form of godliness, but
denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
Jesus himself is going to condemn a multitude of
false professors of religion who even called Him Lord
and did works in His name. Matthew 7:21-23 states: "Not
every one that saith unto me, lord, lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will
of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in
that day, lord, lord, have we not prophesied in thy
name: and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy
name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess
unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that
work iniquity." I fear that many who believe that
salvation is partially by works will be weighed in the
balances and found wanting because they have been
trusting in themselves rather than the Lord Jesus
Christ.
The fact is, someone who has been genuinely born of
God, been given the gifts of repentance and saving faith
will persevere and continue to abide in Christ. A true
believer will overcome the world, the flesh, and the
devil through the gift of faith given in conjunction
with the new birth as I John 5:4-5 declares: "For
whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this
is the victory that overcometh the world, even our
faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that
believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" The
righteousness of Christ, which is imputed to the
believer can never be abolished or taken away as Isaiah
51:6 states: "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and
look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall
vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like
a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like
manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my
righteousness shall not be abolished." Because the
believer has been declared righteous through faith in
the blood of Christ he can be absolutely assured that he
will persevere. Job 17:9 states: "The righteous also
shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands
shall be stronger and stronger."
If a person literally denies the faith that they
supposedly embraced, it is a sure evidence that they
were never saved to begin with. I John 2:19 is very
clear in supporting this conclusion: "They went out
from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been
of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but
they went out, that they might be made manifest that
they were not all of us." False professors of
religion may experience a moral reformation of character
for a time, but because a new nature was not implanted
within them, they often return to the slop and vomit of
their old sinful ways. Peter exposed the false teachers
and professors of his day in II Peter 2:20-22 by
stating: "For if after they have escaped the
pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled
therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them
that the beginning. For it had been better for them not
to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they
have known it, to turn from the holy commandment
delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them
according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his
own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her
wallowing in the mire." Knowing all there is to know
intellectually about the person and work of Jesus Christ
is to no avail unless you have been given spiritual life
by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit. The empty
orthodoxy and ritualism of most modern day professors of
religion is described in Matthew 12:43-45, which states:
"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he
walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth
none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from
whence I came out; and when he is cane, he findeth it
empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh
with himself seven other spirits more wicked than
himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last
state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall
it be also unto this wicked generation." False
professors of religion may endure in their profession
for a time, but eventually they will wither and die as
the Parable of the Sower so graphically illustrates in
Luke 8:13: "And that which fell among thorns are they,
which,,when they have heard, go forth, and are choked
with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and
bring no fruit to perfection." How different are false
professors from true believers! Luke 8:15 states: "But
that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and
good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring
forth fruit with patience."
Because the objection under consideration is raised
so often, it behooves the true believers to "be careful
to maintain good works" (Titus 3:8) and follow the
admonition of II Timothy 2:19 which states: "Nevertheless
the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal,
The lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one
that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
2. The second objection that is often raised by
Arminianism against the saint's final perseverance
reveals the true corruption of their legalistic
religious system. Arminians will often say: "If I
believe I was eternally secure, I would go out an sin
all I want without restraint or fear of punishment." I
would expect a lost person void of spiritual discernment
to make such a statement, but never a man who professes
to be saved by the grace of God. God's grace teaches the
believer to deny ungodly lusts and enables him to hate
sin and fight against it. Titus 2:11-12 states: "For
the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared
to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly, in this present world." A True child of God
who has had the "love of God shed abroad in his heart
by the Holy Ghost" (Rom. 5:5) will desire to honor
God by a pious life rather than look at his security as
an excuse for sin. Paul answered this objection in
Romans 6:1-2 by stating: "What shall we say then?
Shall we continue to sin, that grace may abound? God
forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any
longer therein?"
True believers are constrained to serve the Lord from
a principle of love rather than a slavish fear of
punishment. I John 4:16-19 declares: "And we have
known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is
love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and
God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may
have boldnesss in the day of judgment: because as he is,
so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but
perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath
torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We
love him, because he first loved us." Arminians must
abide in a system of standards and requirements forged
by men in order to feel as though they are serving God.
In reality they are serving men out of a principle of
fear and bondage. If a person has been genuinely saved
he gladly puts on the yoke of Jesus Christ and serves
the lord because his heart has been changed and the
ability to love the Lord has been implanted internally.
II Corinthians 5:17 states this truth beautifully: "Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new." Even though I am secure and complete in Christ
it does not give me liberty to sin, rather Christ gives
me the liberty to serve and the ability to love. It is
the innermost desire of the soul of a saved man to
please the Lord in all things, not to dishonor Him by
sinning.
If the Arminian is sincere in offering this objection
it is a sure evidence that he has not learned what free
grace and salvation in Christ is all about. Salvation is
not merely a deliverance from the penalty of sin. Christ
is not merely a fire escape from Hell. Salvation is also
a progressive deliverance from the power of sin, which
ultimately results in deliverance from the presence of
sin in the glorified state. The true believer longs to
be transformed daily to the image of Christ and looks
forward to the day when sin and the flesh will be
forever banished from his life. Romans 7:22-25 states: "For
I delight in the love of God after the inward man: But I
see another law in my members, warring against the law
of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of
sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am!
who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I
thank God through Jesus Christ our lord. So then with
the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the
flesh the law of sin."
3. The third objection raised by Arminianism is that
perseverance of the saints leads to unfaithfulness and
neutralizes the exhortations aimed at the responsibility
to persevere. This is an illogical objection based on an
attempt to pit one doctrine of Scripture against
another. No person who truly believes the doctrines of
grace will deny that the saint is responsible to obey
the commands of Scriptures and the exhortations to
persevere in holiness.
A.W. Pink soundly refuted this objection by stating:
"What strange logic is this: because I am persuaded
that God loves me with an unchanging and unquenchable
love therefore I feel free to trample upon His revealed
will, and have no concern whether my conduct pleases or
displeases Him. Because I am assured that Christ, at the
cost of unparalleled shame and suffering, purchased for
me eternal redemption, an inalienable inheritance,
therefore I am encouraged to forsake instead of to
follow Him, vilify rather than glorify Him. That might
be the theology of devils, and those they possess, but
it would be repudiated and abhorred by any one renewed
by the Holy Spirit. How preposterous to argue that
because a person believes he shall persevere to the end,
that he will therefore despise and neglect everything
that promotes such perseverance. Such an argument as the
above is tantamount to saying that because God has
regenerated a soul He now requires no obedience from
him, whereas one of the chief ends for which he is
renewed is to capacitate him for obedience, that he may
conformed to the image of His Son."
14
Some of the most godly and faithful people ever to "adorn
the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things"
(Titus 2:10) firmly believed the blessed truth of the
saint 's final perseverance. It was the grace of God
that led the Apostle Paul to faithfully labor and endure
hardship for His lord as I Corinthians 1 5:10 states: "But
by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which
was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured
more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace
of God which was with me."
4. The fourth objection that is most commonly raised
is: "What about all the Scriptures that address our
human responsibility to persevere?" Scriptures like: "If
ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed"
(John 8 :31); "But Christ as a son over his own
house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the
confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the
end. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the
beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end"
(Heb. 3:6,14); "Follow peace with all men, and
holiness, with out which no man shall see the lord"
(Heb. 12:14).
The answer to this objection is very simple, we
believe exactly what these verses teach! Obedience and
faithfulness to Christ are conditions of discipleship
that give evidence that a person has been genuinely
saved. A holy life gives evidence that we have been
chosen in Christ (Eph. 1:4), and called by His grace (I
Thess. 4:7). If a person possesses no fruits of
righteousness and holiness it is a sure evidence that
they have never been born again!
5. Finally, Arminians often point to the Scriptural
examples of David, Peter, and Judas in an attempt to
establish the doctrine of apostasy and overthrow the
doctrine of the saint '
s final perseverance.
David was "a man after God's own heart", who had been
quickened by the Word of God, and had the assurance that
he would "dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Psa.
23:6). Arminians argue that David lost his salvation
when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and
orchestrated the murder of Uriah the Hittite. None will
deny that these were wicked sins committed by a man who
was backslidden and out of fellowship with God.
David's joy and fellowship were taken away but his
position as a child of God was unaltered. This fact is
evident by observing that David was the recipient of
Divine chastisement for his sins. If David had lost his
salvation he would never have been chastened by his
Heavenly Father. Hebrews 12:6 states: "For whom the
Lord loveth he chasteneth
, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."
David did not pray for God to restore salvation unto
him, rather he prayed: "Restore unto me the JOY of thy
salvation" (Psa. 51:12). If David had really lost the
lord's salvation it would have been impossible for him
to be restored and saved again according to Hebrews
6:4-6 which is a hypothetical passage which states: "For
it is impossible for those who were once enlightened,
and have tasted (cf. Heb 2:9) of the heavenly
gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And
have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the
world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them
again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves
the Son of God afresh."
It is true that Peter denied the Lord three times in
a moment of weakness and cowardice. Yet the lord had
previously interceded for Peter so that his faith would
not fail. Peter did not fall out of grace, he fell into
sin but was graciously restored to the lord and greatly
used of God. Peter never denied the lord again
after this.
T.T. Eaton comments on the passage in Luke 22:31-32
thusly:
Peter's denial and Christ's words to him, "When thou
art converted, strengthen thy brethren," we find cited
to establish the doctrine of apostasy. But it must be
borne in mind that conversion is not the same as
regeneration. Conversion is a turning round, so that a
man may be said to be converted as often as he goes
wrong, while regeneration gives him a new nature, and
this can take place but once. That Peter did not fall
from grace is evident from Jesus; saying to him, "But I
have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.".. . Since
the Father hears Christ always, he heard him when He
prayed for Peter, and so his faith did not fail; and as
a proof that it did not, after the denial, he "went out
and wept bitterly." And that same Saviour who prayed for
Peter, prays to day for all true Christians that their
faith fail not and therefore in no case will it fail.
15
The example of Judas poses no difficulty at all.
Judas was never saved by the grace of God. He was
a companion of Christ but never a partaker of Christ.
John 6:70-71 states: "Jesus answered them, Have not I
chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake
of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that
should betray him, being one of the twelve." It is
obvious that Judas was not included in the Covenant of
Grace from John 17:12 which states: "While I was with
them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that
thou gayest me I have kept, and none of them is lost,
but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be
fulfilled." Judas fell from his office as an
apostle, but he never fell from salvation. It is
impossible to fall from something that you don't have!
Judas never experienced the grace of God in the new
birth. He was a lost church member!
To conclude this section, I would like to pose sane
questions to the Arminian who believes that a true saint
of God can apostatize and be lost forever. I have asked
these questions several times but I have never received
a concrete, scriptural answer. How many sins does a
child of God have to commit before he loses his
salvation? Specifically what kind of sins does he have
to commit in order to lose his salvation? Is there a
list of the sins of apostasy clearly posted somewhere?
Finally, which brother or sister in the denomination is
responsible to judge that a person has truly
apostatized? If apostasy was taught in the Scriptures
then the Scriptures would give clear answers to these
questions! Isaiah 8:20 declares: "To the law and to
the testimony: if they speak not according to this word,
it is because there is no light in them."
"Not as the world, the Saviour gives:
He is no
fickle friend;
Whom once He loves, He never leaves,
But loves him to the end.
Though thousand snares
enclose his feet,
Not one shall hold him fast;
Whatever dangers he may meet,
He shall get safe at
last.
The spirit that would this truth withstand
Would pull God's temple down,
Wrest Jesus' sceptre
from His hand,
And spoil Him of His crown.
Satan
might then full victory boast,
The family might
wholly fall;
If one believer may be lost,
It
follows, so may all.
But Christ, in every age, has
proved,
His purchase firm and true;
If this
foundation be removed
What shall the righteous do?"
BACK TO THE TOP
After having gone to great lengths to prove the
perseverance and preservation of the saints from the
Scriptures, it is now necessary to point out some
glaring inconsistencies that are currently running
rampant in various Baptist circles.
Many Baptists would give their hearty assent to what
has been written thus far concerning the perseverance of
the saints. Yet, it is illogical as well as unscriptural
to believe in the final perseverance of the saints while
denying and rejecting the other four points of the
doctrines of grace. The saints final perseverance has
for its source and foundation God's eternal decree of
unconditional election. The saint's final perseverance
was secured by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on
behalf of the elect. The saint's ability to persevere
comes as a result of the effectual call of God and the
implantation of a new nature which is a sovereign work
of the Holy Spirit apart from the corrupt free will of
man. Hebrews 12:2 states: "looking unto Jesus the
AUTHOR AND FINISHER of our faith..." Many Baptists
believe that Christ is the finisher of our faith but not
the author. Those Baptists who preach eternal security
and free-willism at the same time are speaking out of
both sides of their mouth in a most inconsistent manner.
If the free will of man is instrumental in getting a
sinner into Christ then it logically follows that the
same free will can get the sinner out of Christ.
A.W. Pink wrote:
"Moreover, they who so hotly deny unconditional
election, particular redemption, and effectual calling,
must in order to be consistent, deny the eternal
security of the Christian... If I have by an act of my
own volition brought myself into a state of grace, then
it clearly follows that I am capable of forsaking the
same. If the "free will" of the sinner first inclines
him to exercise repentance and faith, then obviously he
may relapse into a state of confirmed impenitence and
unbelief."
16
Thus, Arminian Baptists find themselves on two horns
of a dilemma. If they deny total depravity,
unconditional election, particular redemption, and
effectual calling, they must of necessity also deny the
saint's final perseverance. All of the doctrines of
grace form a harmonious whole. They stand or fall
together. It is inconsistent to embrace one of the five
points and not all. In order for Arminian Baptists to be
consistent they should at once deny their treasured
doctrine of eternal security and embrace the heretical
teaching of the possibility of falling from grace.
Arminian Baptists in our day have more in common with
Catholics, Methodists, Charismatics, and Campbellites
than they do with their Baptist forefathers. I challenge
the reader to carefully examine the theology of Baptists
from the past. They will be surprised to find that
Spurgeon, Graves, Booth, and Gill were thoroughly
Calvinistic in their soteriology.
Another inconsistency among Baptists is teaching
eternal security apart from the saint's responsibility
to persevere in holy living. Many Baptist churches have
literally hundreds of members on their church rolls who
are unfaithful and lost, yet are never disciplined or
excluded by the church. I often wonder why Baptists who
believe in the truth of the perpetuity of the Lord's
church do not also believe in the saint's perpetuity in
holiness. I am in full agreement with those who say:
"If you're saved
you must live it and endure to the end." This is
precisely what the Scriptures teach. In fact, the entire
book of Hebrews is an exhortation for believers to "hold
fast the profession of our faith without wavering" (Heb.
10:23). Hebrews 10:38-39 declares: "Now the just
shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul
shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them
who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe
to the saving of the soul." If a person draws back
from his profession it is sure evidence that they have
never been born of God! A true child of God will not
"draw back unto perdition." It is freely admitted by the
author that the saint '
s of God are prone to wander and fall into sin.
Yet, this is not the settled condition of a true saint
of God as Micah 7:8 states: "Rejoice not against me,
O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in
darkness the LORD shall be a light unto me."
Proverbs 24:16 states: For a just man falleth seven
times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall
into mischief." There should be a progression in
holiness in the life of the saint of God as Proverbs
4:18 declares: "But the path of the just is as the
shining light, that shineth more and more unto the
perfect day."
Because few Baptists believe that good works and holy
living are the evidences of saving faith, churches are
being filled with false professors. As a result, the
sinners in the pew must have their fleshly natures
entertained by worldly music, exciting stories, and
silly jokes in order to keep them caning back so they
will keep putting money in the offering plates. I am
convinced if Baptists would go back to the "old paths"
of the Book, and preach the flesh withering doctrines of
total depravity and God's sovereignty there would be a
spiritual revival. Much of the present day foolishness
would be replaced by the power and presence of God in
our worship services. In II Timothy 4:2-3, Paul told
Timothy what the spiritual atmosphere of Christianity
would degenerate into: "For the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own
lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears f ran
the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." That
day has arrived! Men have cast off the doctrines of
grace and replaced them with the fables of free-willism
and easy-believism.
C.B. Spurgeon saw the changing spiritual atmosphere
in the last century which caused him to write:
"Compared with what it used to be, it is hard to win
attention to the Word of God. I used to think that we
had only to preach the gospel, and the people would
throng to hear it. I fear I must correct my belief under
this need...We all feel that a hardening process is
going on among the masses."
17
Another inconsistency that has subtly crept into
Sovereign Grace Baptist churches is the increasing use
of Arminian methodology in evangelism. Many hold to a
Calvinistic creed, yet are practicing Arminians.
Gimmicks are used to entice people to come to church.
Entertainment has replaced solid doctrinal preaching.
The invitation system has degenerated into emotional and
psychological appeals in order to get outward results.
The terms of the Great Commission have been reversed by
placing the emphasis of evangelism in the church service
rather than in the world. A Charismatic type of
excitement and frenzy is encouraged to the point that it
would be hard to determine the Baptists from the
Charismatics in some churches. Baptists today have more
in common with the methods of C.G. Finney, a rank
heretic of the last century, than they do with the
apostles who simply called upon men to repent and
believe the gospel!
C.H. Spurgeon commented in 1890 on the new style of
exhortation being used by preachers seeking a response
from their hearers in the following statement:
"The gospel is, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved." If we think we shall do
more good by substituting another exhortation for the
gospel command, we shall find ourselves landed in
serious difficulties. If, for a moment, our improvements
seem to produce a larger result than the old gospel, it
will be the growth of mushrooms, it may even be the
growth of toadstools; but it is not the growth of the
trees of the Lord."
18
Baptists need to return to the old path of relying
upon the power of the gospel and the sovereign work of
the Spirit to make the truth effectual in the heart! I
Corinthians 2:2-5 states: "For I determined not to
know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear,
and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching
was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your
faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God."
I realize that some may disagree with what has been
written. I offer no apologies for what I perceive to be
glaring inconsistencies among the people who call
themselves Baptists. If the current trends continue it
will produce disastrous results in our churches. May God
give us grace to follow the admonition of Proverbs
22:28: "Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy
fathers have set." It has always been the trademark
of true Baptists not only to preach the truth in love,
but also to expose error and heresy. Romans 16:17-18
declares: "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them
which cause divisions and of fences contrary to the
doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they
that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their
own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive
the hearts of the simple."
END NOTES
Click On the Highlighted Area To Return To Your
Reading.
-
Lumpkin, W.L.,
Baptist Confessions of Faith (Vally
Forge: Judson Press, 1979) pp. 272-273.
-
Ibid, p 365.
-
Cockrell,
Milburn, The Perseverance of the
Saints, Part I (Mantachie, MS: Berea Baptist
Banner, February 5, 1989) p. 39.
-
Cockrell,
Milburn,
The Perseverance of the Saints, Part II
(Mantachie, MS: Berea Baptist Banner, February 5,
1989) p. 48.
-
Gill, John,
A Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity
(Streamwood, IL: Primitive Baptist Library, 1977) p.
407.
-
Booth, Abraham,
The Reign of Grace (Swengel, PA: Reiner
Publications, 1976) P. 234.
-
Gill, John,
A Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity
(Streamwood, IL: Primitive Baptist Library, 1977) p.
407.
-
Booth, Abraham,
The Reign of Grace (Swengel, PA:
Reiner Publications, 1976) P. 237.
-
Ibid., p 236.
-
Cockrell,
Milburn, The Perseverance of the
Saints, Part I (Mantachie, MS: Berea Baptist
Banner, February 5, 1989) p. 40.
-
Crisp, Ron,
A Study Guide on the Person and Work of
the Holy Spirit, p. 37.
-
Gill, John,
A Body of Doctrinal and Practical Divinity
(Streamwood, IL: Primitive Baptist Library, 1977) p.
409.
-
Dagg, J.L.,
Manual of Theology (Harrisonburg VA:
Gano Books, 1982) p. 299.
-
Pink, A.W.,
Eternal Security (Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Book House, 1981) p. 100.
-
Jenkens, Charles,
Baptist Doctrines (Watertown, WI:
Baptist Heritage Press, 1989) pp. 589-590.
-
Pink, A.W.,
Eternal Security (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Book House, 1981) p. 96.
-
Murry, Ian,
The Forgotten Spurgeon (Carlisle, PA:
The Banner of Truth and Trust, 1986) p. 16.
-
Ibid,
p. 95.
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