Persevering as God’s Saints - Ryan Gladden
The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is a key tenet of Reformed theology. However, oftentimes it is a more controversial one outside of the Reformed camp or misunderstood in what it expresses. What I hope you will come to find is that the perseverance of the saints is a great comfort and reassurance that meets you where you have been, where you are now, and where you will be in the future. In a world where hope continually seems to be lost, may you find hope in the One who works in you to persevere to the end.
An oversimplified way to explain this doctrine is to say that if one has faith, they will never lose it, but if one “loses” it, they do not truly have faith. Additionally, the saints that are persevering, as expressed in the New Testament, are all those among God’s elect who have truly been redeemed by Jesus Christ and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. In looking at this doctrine, it is helpful to see how the Westminster Assembly (from which we have much of our ARPC Standards like the Confession of Faith and the Shorter and Larger Catechisms), explains the perseverance of the saints in its Scriptural basis through the ability of it, its causes, and the dangers of straying from it.
Where does this ability come from?
They whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually calledand sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.
Westminster Confession of Faith 17.1
The ability to persevere consists not in ourselves but in the One who has brought us into perseverance, God Himself (Phil. 1:6). This can be seen through the Westminster divines’ continual explanation of the ordo salutis (order of salvation) in the use of effectual calling and sanctification. In this, God’s children are a gift from the Father to the Son that will never be taken away (John 10:28, 29). As a matter of fact, not only are we, as God’s children, preserved from falling out of the state of grace (the state where we have the liberty and ability, by God’s grace, to either sin or not to sin) but we are also given the ability to persevere to the end through God’s grace (II Pet. 1:10). The perseverance given, however, does not give us the license to sin whenever we want because we may assume that we will be alright in the end. We must not live in the mindset of “I am here for a good time, not a long time.” Those who are truly born of God must not make a habit of sinning but rather should have theconstant desire to be fed by God’s Word, turn to repentance, and have faith in Christ (I John 3:9). By the grace of God, as wefollow down the difficult path of obedience, Christ can be trusted on in faith and we will one day obtain the outcome of ourfaith and the complete salvation of our souls.
What are the causes of perseverance?
This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ; the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God within them; and the nature of the covenant of grace, from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof.
Westminster Confession of Faith 17.2
Once again, the Westminster divines want to convey that this perseverance is not of man’s own free will, but rather the working of God in the lives of His people. Perseverance is brought to us because God in His immutable power and grace constantly intercedes on our behalf (John 17:11, 20; Phil. 1:6; II Peter 1:10). Moreover, there is an emphasis upon the Triune nature of God in the work of the perseverance of His saints. As it depends upon the work of the Father in His election and hesed(steadfast love) (Jer. 31:3); in the work of the Son, by giving us confidence through the sacrifice that He made on our behalf on the cross (Heb. 9:12-15; 13:20, 21); and through the Holy Spirit who dwells in and seals us as God’s elect, being the guarantee of our inheritance (John 14:16, 17; I John 2:27; 3:9). The effort must be made for us to see this working out within our own lives, lest we turn out to be one of the people described in I John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”
What are the dangers of straying?
Nevertheless they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the prevalency of corruption remaining in them, and the neglect of the means of their preservation, fall into grievous sins; and for a time continue therein; whereby they incur God’s displeasure, and grieve His Holy Spirit; come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts; have their hearts hardened, and their consciences wounded; hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves.
Westminster Confession of Faith 17.3
Despite the assurance of perseverance, it does not excuse the fact that a true believer may have a partial fall or temporary state of apostasy (a temporary withdrawal from faith and trust in God). You can find countless examples of this throughout Scripture of genuine believers falling for a time like King David (II Sam. 11:27; Ps. 51), the Apostle Peter (Matt. 26:70-74), and others. There are many ways in which we can fall through the temptations of Satan, the weakness of the flesh, the impact of the world, and the neglect of the means of grace (sacraments, reading Scripture, hearing sound preaching, prayer, fellowship, etc.). Falling into any number of these ways and towards unrepentant sin leads to various consequences and dangers of straying from the path of perseverance. One such consequence is the grieving of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30) which is a great mystery. John Calvin explains the Spirit’s holy grief in this way, “No language can adequately express this solemn truth, that the Holy Spirit rejoices and is glad on our account, when we are obedient to him in all things, and neither think nor speak anything, but what is pure and holy; and, on the other hand, is grieved when we admit anything into our minds that is unworthy of our calling.” A further consequence is that God may discipline us by taking away graces and comforts that weonce enjoyed for a time to bring us even closer to Him in the end (Ps. 51:8-12; Song of Sol. 5:2-4, 6; Rev. 2:4). Even further is the hardening of one’s heart where a person will sin without caring about its effects, to the point of even damaging and hurting others (Ps. 32:3, 4; 51:8; Isa. 63:17; Mark 6:52). Despite these dire warnings, notice the end of this paragraph, “and bring temporal punishments upon themselves.” Know that these judgments that are incurred from the sinful ways we can fall into are only temporal because the Father chose in love to bring our eternal judgments upon His Son, whereby we can be preserved and persevere in the end as His saints forever. Remember this, especially during this Christmas season where many of us celebrate the birth of that Son, who is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, into this world.