PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS

This chapter we shall start our look into the perseverance of the saints. Are we kept securely saved by our own efforts whether by our own decisions to "hold on" or whether it be doing enough good that the balance be tipped in our favor - or is it God's work in us causing us to "stand firm"?

Calvinist teach that God's saints - also known as God's elect, can never be lost. Why this position? Because since salvation comes from a work God is doing in us - we can"t fight God's power.

The Arminian teaches otherwise. They believe a person can "fall from Grace" as they put it - Thereby losing all they had worked so hard for but now willingly making a decision to turn back to their original master - Satan, or by committing something displeasing to God and God as punishments takes their salvation from them.

Since - as they believe - the act of faith is man's doing unto salvation - something he has done to merit salvation - it only stands to reason he can now change his mind and turn back to his old ways undoing all that he had gained by all his good works.

That is the only logical conclusion that one can come to if one holds to the first four points of Arminianism where it is taught salvation is only a result of our accepting an offer from God and doing our best to turn the balance of good/bad in our life to our favor.

The opinion of the Arminian is this - "If you have the right to accept in the first place - you have the right to change your mind and reject God and salvation and just live any way you please." And of course they are right. But where they go wrong is that man does NOT have that right at all.

Calvinists know better. Calvinist know that no condition in man has any bearing on God's choosing him because scripture teaches unconditional election.  

JAMES 1:18 -- Of His own will He conceived us with the word of Truth

It then stands to reason that there is nothing he can do to undo his salvation once the Holy spirit is in us turning our thoughts and desires to God. With God in us we will never want to undo the influence of this Holy being in us. (Grace)

The Calvinist thinks this way - "Since it is the will of God that I am saved, and since God changes not - then obviously I BEGIN my salvation, I CONTINUE in salvation, and FINALIZE my salvation by entering heaven a saved person because God wills it so - and for no other reason. Note that continue my salvation implies an ongoing, continuous action to completion.

So, as usual we have two opposite beliefs. One is an opinion based on the reasoning of the carnal mind - a mind - as we have learned from previous study - that is at 'enmity with God," a mind "not subject to the law of God, nor can be." So how can you expect to get a fair and honest evaluation of God from such a mind?

Then we have the teaching of  CALVINISM (as called by the world) which is based on facts of scripture. Let's go to:

Philippians 1:6 -- Being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Who is the author of the good works mentioned here? I think it obvious the He mentioned in this verse, that begins the good work is God - not ourselves. And the promise is to continue till the day of Jesus Christ - the resurrection day when the saved will join Him in His heavenly kingdom

Again - note what is says - that good work was started by God - will be continued (a continuing process) by God and will be brought to fruitation by God. Another scripture we can look at:

PHILIPPIANS 3:20-21 -- Our citizenship is in heaven, from where also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our lowly body, that it may be fashioned like His glorious body according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.

Note to whom God gave the "all power" to - so that He could subdue all things to Himself (Man included)

Not also that our citizenship is not of earth - but heaven. We are but strangers and pilgrims traveling through a strange and hostile land. We will never be safe until we reach our own land of citizenship - heaven.

It is of course the Lord Jesus Christ that is given the "all power". The glorious one which the scripture tells us in:

JOHN 17:2  - Thou has given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him.

What could be plainer than that? There is no excuse for the error of the Arminian opinions what-so-ever. All you have to do is read and believe the Bible.

How many - and who will get eternal life? It is spelled out clearly in this scripture we just read. As many as God has given him. When was that? At the determinate counsel in eternity past.

Then going a bit further we have the blessed son of G0D state in the plainest of language in :

JOHN 6:39 -- This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all whom He has given Me, but raise him up in the last day.

Now what does it say here? Will SOME of those that have been given to the Son be lost - OR -

will none be lost? Read it - make sure in your own mind what it says.

Since salvation is of the Lord - the Lord's doing from start to finish then we can be assured that once we are saved by the power of God we will be kept saved by that same power - the power of God. Another scripture:

ECCLESIASTES 3:14 -- I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him.

Another absolutely clear picture of the truth of the perseverance of the saved by the power of God. We had absolutely nothing to do with getting saved and we have absolutely nothing with keeping saved, because salvation is by grace - that influence of God's Holy nature working in us that turns our thoughts and desires to God - which will result in our being saved. Let's see what John has to say as recorded in:

JOHN 10:28 -- I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand.

Who is "them" and "they" here? God's elect of course. And the promise is that none of His sheep shall ever perish. Who are the sheep? God's elect as we have seen from previous study.  

How long does salvation last? Will God's elect ever perish"?. Who do we believe - the Arminian with his opinion from a mind at enmity with God - or the words of God spoken to us through His Holy word - the Bible?

I will ask again the question I asked a minute ago. Who do we believe - the Arminian theory with their "falling from grace" - whether it be a deliberate act of ones mind in making a decision to "opt out" - or whether it be when one commits a sin worthy of condemnation thus losing their salvation, it makes no difference.  

Or - do we believe the Bible when it teaches that God before the foundation of the world chose certain people to be saved, then in each lifetime of those elected He seeks them out, saves them and keeps them saved through the influence of the Holy spirit working in them, then in the future - out in eternity - God will glorify those same people. We read all this sequence of events in:

ROMANS 8:29-30 -- For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.

All of God - nothing what-so-ever to do with what man does for himself - we are just the recipients of what God decides to do in us.

Why is it that so many people will take unclear passages of scripture and try to nullify the super clear passages? It just is not right, nor a very Christian thing to do.

Can it be because they will not have salvation by God's sovereign grace - but will either have salvation by their own works - or none at all? And that's exactly what will happen - if you don't go by God's way - you will miss out - you will be the loser.

Take the words of Peter - who under the influence of the Holy Spirit was directed to say about the elect - in:

1 PETER 1:4-5 -- to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, garrisoned in heaven for you who are KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD through faith unto salvation, ready to be uncovered in the last time

Our inheritance is garrisoned (or protected) in heaven by the power of God through faith (which is given us by God) unto salvation.

No wonder Paul so enthusiastically said in:

2 TIMOTHY 1:12 - 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.

We can have that assurance too because of what Jesus prays in:

JOHN 17:11 -- 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.

We are predestinated to go to heaven because God elected us to glory. This is why the Thessalonians are assured in:

2 THESSALONIANS 2:14 -- Whereunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And we have that same assurance.

Heaven is our home. Remember I touched on this last time that this world is not our place of residence. Heaven is - and we are very unwelcome pilgrims passing through this hostile land under the control of an evil force that is not at all friendly with our homeland, or us - Satan.

The glory of that heavenly dwelling is ours inheritance because God freely wills it so by His grace. Let's confirm this in these scriptures:

EPHESIANS 1:1 - In Christ we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will.

ROMANS 11:7 - What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for: but election have obtained it, the rest were blinded

2 THESSALONIANS 2:13 - We are bound to give thanks for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.

No wonder that Paul, knowing the omnipotent creator had made him the object of eternal love should be able to say with all assurance.

2 TIMOTHY 4:18 - The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will PRESERVE me unto His heavenly kingdom.

Then Jude writes to the elect of God his own assurance in these words;

JUDE 1:1 - Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To them who are sanctified by God the Father and PRESERVED IN JESUS CHRIST, and called.

Notice the order of events here. You would think it would be - CALLED - SANCTIFIED - PRESERVED. But this order is correct and supports our belief that God knew way back in eternity past in His own mind and purpose WHAT He was going to do. We were set apart way back then in God's mind and purpose. Then at His determinate counsel He set us apart by separating our names from the rest of mankind (the none-elect) and put us in His special "Book of Life" of the elect. Then He has to preserves those He elected and makes sure nothing happens to them or that His plans are not thwarted and He lose some of those He elected to salvation. Then in the lifetime of each elect He calls them just as He planned. So you see the order as in this verse is correct. God knows what He is doing!!

So here in this verse it says we are set apart by God - then preserved in Jesus - or another word for preserved is persevered - how - in Christ - or by Christ.

Small wonder that Paul so confidently prays for the elect saints at Thessalonica as recorded in:

1 THESSALONIANS 5:23-24 - And the true God of peace sanctify you wholly, and your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calleth you, who also will do it.

Who is it that preserves the believer blameless until He comes for us? Who is it that is faithful? Who is it that will do this marvelous work of sanctifying then keep us?

Our Lord Jesus Christ Of course.

The saints persevere because Jesus perseveres!!  

We are not kept in small pieces either. We are kept as a complete unit - spirit, body and soul.

or as Jude says in his doxology at the end of his strongly worded epistle:

JUDE 1:24-25 - 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, to the only wise God (our Savior) be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.

Yes the saints will persevere because the Savior declares that He Himself will persevere on our behalf. He WILL keep them.

If perseverance depended upon fickle man with his fallen (depraved) nature he would be absolutely hopeless, he would fail miserably.  

Fickle means - shallow - no depth or substance to it. In other words - not something you can depend on at all.

So we could not depend on this fickle nature of ours for anything - not the least taking hold on God and His ways - and holding on 'til the end.

No - perseverance of us saints depends on irresistible grace - granted us because Christ died for us since the atonement we have by His blood is limited to us elect.

That election was not based upon some condition of good foreknown to be in us since - as the Bible says - "there is none good - no not one."

No - by the grace of God it was an unconditional election because no condition established by God could be met by man because man is totally depraved.

which means man is totally incapable of exercising good will toward God.

Man, is Wholly impotent to call himself to life or even free himself from the super-human power of the god of the dead - Satan.

If you look closely you see that all five of the points are entwined and agree with each other. Take away one and none of the rest can be true. This is why I say that if a person is weak or does not believe in any one of them - watch out for that person. For sooner or later he will drop all five and adhere to the Arminian theory - even if he may profess to believe in Calvinism.

This ends the study of the actual five points of Calvinism as the founding people wrote about them and meant them to be understood,. Remember these are not the only doctrines involved with salvation - redemption, conversion, sanctification, regeneration, and others showing how God works among His people. These points were coined by man so serve a purpose - but do not just get stuck within the boundaries of them.  

I will say this though - these five points do cover a lot of truth - so much so that if a person rejects the teachings behind them, they are rejecting a huge portion of scripture. A church or person that does reject the doctrines of Calvinism/doctrines of Grace would disqualify them as a church worthy of joining or having much to do with.