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Perseverance of the saints

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perseverance of the saints (also called preservation of the saints[1]) is a Christian teaching that asserts that once a person is truly "born of God" or "regenerated" by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, they will continue doing good works and believing in God until the end of their life.

Sometimes this position is held in conjunction with Reformed Christian confessions of faith in traditional Calvinist doctrine, which argues that all men are "dead in trespasses and sins", and so apart from being resurrected from spiritual death to spiritual life, no-one chooses salvation alone. However, it must be distinguished from Arminianism, which also teaches that all men are "dead in trespasses and sins", and could not respond to the gospel if God did not enable individuals to do so by His prevenient grace.[2]

Calvinists maintain that God selected certain individuals for salvation, before the world began, and that he subsequently irresistibly draws only these selected individuals to faith in him and his son, Jesus. In support of this, they interpret John 6:44 as a statement that only those pre-ordained for belief in God are drawn to him, with an irresistible grace, as opposed to the Arminian interpretation that all are drawn to him by his prevenient grace, which individuals may resist. Calvinists also use their interpretation of Ephesians 1:4 and Philippians 1:4 in the writings of the apostle Paul as indication that God chose believers in Christ before the world was created, not based upon foreseen faith,[3] but based upon his sovereign decision to save whomever he pleased to save.[4]

The doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints is distinct from the doctrine of Assurance, which describes how a person may first be sure that they have obtained salvation and an inheritance in the promises of the Bible including eternal life. The Westminster Confession of Faith covers Perseverance of the Saints in chapter 17, and Assurance of Grace and Salvation in chapter 18. Perseverance of the Saints is also distinct from the related doctrine of eternal security, the former indicating security of sanctification/condition while the latter indicates security of (forensic) justification/salvation.

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  • Perseverance of the Saints: What is Reformed Theology? with R.C. Sproul
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  • The Faith That Doesn’t Fail
  • Doctrine of Salvation Part 18: Perseverance of the Saints - Calvinism
  • Perseverance of the Saints

Transcription

We come now to our last session in this series on the nature of Reformed theology, and we've been looking at the acrostic TULIP over the past few days, and we've made adjustments to the terms that are incorporated in it. In our last session we looked at the concept of irresistible grace, and I mentioned that I preferred the term effectual grace, and before I leave that altogether I just want to add a little concluding unscientific postscript to it by reading a brief entry from the "Westminster Confession of Faith, " which is a historic doctrinal standard of Reformed theology dating back to 17th Century England where we have this reference to the doctrine of effectual calling. It reads as follows: "All those whom God has predestined unto life, and those only, He is pleased in His appointed and accepted time effectually to call by His word and Spirit out of that state of sin and death, in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God taking away their heart of stone and giving unto them a heart of flesh, renewing their wills, and by His almighty power determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ, yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by His grace. " Now, I make this reference once again to the efficacy of the grace of regeneration not to continue holdover from our last session, but as a bridge, a transition to the final point of the acrostic TULIP, which brings us to the P in TULIP, and now I'm sure you'll be delighted to know I'm not going to change this letter. And the letter stands for the perseverance of the saints. However, even though I'm not changing the letter, I'm going to make a change in the word. I also think that that little catch phrase, perseverance of the saints, is dangerously misleading, because again it suggests that the persevering is something that we do, perhaps in and of ourselves. Now, I believe, of course, that saints do persevere in faith and that those who have been effectually called by God and have been reborn by the power of the Holy Spirit endure to the end, so that they do persevere. But they persevere not simply because they are so diligent in their making use of the mercies of God, but the only reason we can give why any of us continues on in the faith even till the last day is not because we have persevered so much as that is because we have been preserved. And so I prefer the term the preservation--the preservation--of the saints, because this process by which we are kept in a state of grace is something that is accomplished by God. Now we read this statement from the Confession about God's effectively calling us to faith that regeneration we call the divine initiative, and it refers to the first step in our transformation. Just as we enter into this world through the process of biological birth, rebirth does not refer to the whole of the new Christian life, but rebirth refers to the beginning of it, the very first step, the step that is accomplished by God's initiative when He quickens our souls from spiritual death to spiritual life. And so we call this divine initiative the beginning point. And it's the beginning that is performed, again as I say, by God. Now what does Paul write to the Philippians? He says that "He who has begun a good work in you will perfect it to the end. " Therein is the promise of God that what God starts in our souls He intends to finish. And so the old axiom in Reformed theology about the perseverance of the saints is this: If you have it, that is if you have genuine faith and are in a state of saving grace, if you have it, you will never lose it. And if you lose it, you never had it. Now we know that there are many, many people who make professions of faith who then turn away and repudiate or recant their profession of faith. As John writes in the New Testament there were those who left the company of the disciples, and John says of them, "Those who went out from us were never really with us. " Now they were with them in terms of outward appearances before they departed, before they left the cadre of Jesus disciples. They had made an outward profession of faith, and Jesus makes it clear that that's possible to do even when you don't possess what it is you're professing. Remember Jesus says, "This people honors Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. " And He even warns at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that at the last day of judgment many will come to Him saying, Lord, Lord, didn't we do this in your name? Didn't we do that in your name? And He will send them away saying, "Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you;" not that I knew you for a season and then you went sour and betrayed me. No, no, you never were part of my invisible body of the invisible church. The same kind of comments are made by Christ with respect to Judas, who is called "The son of perdition from the beginning. " And in His high priestly prayer Jesus prays that those whom the Father had given Him will never be lost, and that no one will ever snatch them out of His hand. And He thanks the Father that all that the Father gave to Him came to Him, and not one of them had been lost. And we could enumerate for the next several minutes a host of similar passages in the New Testament where that assurance is stated by the apostles that the people who are dwelling in Christ have a future, a future inheritance that has been established from the foundation of the world and that some day we will hear the Father say, "Come my beloved. Inherit the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. " But again the point I want to stress is that this enduring in the faith is not something that rests upon our strength. Even after we're regenerated we still lapse into sin, and not only into sin but into serious sin. And we say that it is possible for a Christian to be engaged in a very serious fall. And we talk about backsliding; we talk about moral lapses and so on. I can't think of any sin, other than blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, that a truly converted Christian is not capable of committing. We look for example at the model of David in the Old Testament where David was surely a man after God's own heart. He was certainly a regenerate man. He had the Spirit of God in Him. He had a profound passionate love for the things of God, and yet this man not only committed adultery but he also was involved in a conspiracy to have his lover's husband killed in war, which was conspiracy really to murder. And that's serious, serious business. And we see the serious level of repentance to which David was brought as a result of the words of the prophet Nathan to him. But the point is that David fell, and he fell seriously as the apostle warns us against having a puffed up view of our own spiritual strength by which he says, "Let him who thinketh he stands take heed lest he fall. " And we fall, and we fall away from grace, not that we fall out entirely, but we do fall away into very serious activities, none more serious than that of the apostle Peter who publicly with cursing, even after being forewarned, rejected Jesus Christ, swearing that he never knew Him--a public betrayal of Christ. He committed treason against His Lord. Do you remember that before that occasion when he was being warned of this eventuality, you know, Peter said this would never happen. He would never behave in such a manner. And do you remember the warning of Jesus? "Simon, Simon, Satan would have you and sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, so that when you turn strengthen the brothers. " Now, he fell, but he returned. He was restored. And so his fall was for a season. And that's why we say that true Christians can have radical and serious falls but never total and final falls from grace. Even in the church when people profess faith and become involved in very serious and egregious sin, sin so serious that they are involved in church discipline. And even with the process of church discipline that goes through several stages, the final stage of which is what? Excommunication. And I think it is possible; I think we know that it is possible for a person who is truly regenerate, a true Christian, to be so caught up in sin that that person is called to the church, is involved in discipline; they're suspended from the sacraments; they still don't repent all the way to the end of the list, which is excommunication where they are shut off from the fellowship of the body of Christ and are to be treated as unbelievers, to be declared as unbelievers by the church. Even that act of excommunication is done with the hope that the person is a true believer who is now engaged in a very persistent state of sin and that this final discipline of being cut off from fellowship in the body of Christ will be that which the Spirit of God uses to bring them to repentance. And we see that example found in the New Testament in the Corinthian situation with the incestuous man. You recall how the church was doing nothing about disciplining this man who was living a scandalous life until the apostle had to rebuke them and admonish them and command them to excommunicate him. What happened when he was excommunicated? He repented. And he applies for readmission to the church, and now the church won't let him back. And so Paul had to go back again and say now look, the whole purpose of that excommunication was to provoke him to repentance. Now that he's repented, let him back, even as Christ welcomed Peter back into the fold after his treacherous act of treason. So again, the sin of the Christian can be radical and serious, but never total and final. So how do we judge people who have made a profession of faith, in our presence perhaps, and then we've seen them later repudiate it. Well, the first thing you do is you make a judgment of charity, because you don't know the real state of their souls. That's the one disadvantage we have. I can't read anybody's heart. You can't read my heart, and I can't read your heart. We're called to be discerning and wise and look at each other's actions and evaluate and discern accordingly. But even by the best of your actions I don't know what your soul is, and you can't know what is in my soul. And so we are called to be exceptionally forbearing with one another and to have that charity that covers a multitude of sins among ourselves in the fellowship of the church. But God does read the heart. And when God says that a certain person never was in a true state of faith, we can rest assured that that person never was in a true state of faith. Now but what about if we happen to encounter somebody who is in the midst of a serious, protracted fall where they have repudiated the faith publicly? Can we then know that they're not Christians? No, because we don't know tomorrow. We don't know if they're still what David was before Nathan came to him. If anybody would have been by that bonfire when Peter says I never knew the Man, they certainly wouldn't have made the judgment that Peter was a Christian, because they were catching him while he was in the midst of this serious protracted fall. But we can still hope with people who have left us that it's temporary, and that they'll be back. And we just have to acknowledge that one of two things can be the case. One, either their initial profession was not authentic and not genuine; it was an empty profession of faith, and that they never were believers. Or that their faith profession was genuine and they'll be back. But we leave that to God at this point. But what the New Testament teaches us is that it is the Holy Spirit, again, who alone raises us from the dead. And He raises us unto eternal life. The whole purpose of God's election is to bring His people safely to heaven, so that what He starts He promises to finish. And He not only just initiates the Christian life, but the Holy Spirit as the sanctifier, the convictor, and the helper is there to help in our preservation. Now two important terms are told with respect to the work of the Spirit in the Christian's life that are related to this idea of the preservation. The one is that we're sealed by the Holy Spirit, and the second is we are given the earnest of the Spirit. Let's take the second one first. The term earnest of the Spirit is drawn from the commercial language of Biblical days, and the only thing I can think of that's a parallel in our own day would be what we call earnest money when somebody is going to purchase a home that when you make the initial contract you give a little bit of money as pin money or as a down payment, which is a promise that you intend to get your loan and close the deal and pay the rest of the balance due. And to show that you're in earnest you give this down payment. Now I know that there are people who have paid earnest money who fail to follow through. Maybe they weren't earnest in the first place, or maybe circumstances came along that made it impossible for them to go the rest of the way. But beloved, when God the Holy Spirit is given to you by the Father as an earnest, when the Spirit Himself who is indwelling you is the Father's earnest for your future, do you really doubt that the Father is going to fail to bring the final payment? We possess not a handful of dollars but the indwelling Holy Spirit of God Himself as God's promise to finish the job. And not only does He give us the earnest of the Spirit, but He seals us in the Holy Ghost. When God writes our names in the Lamb's book of life, He doesn't do it with an eraser handy, but He does it for eternity, and that He seals us in the Beloved for all time. Now, finally, one of the reasons why we have confidence in our future is not only because of the ministry of the Holy Ghost that I've just mentioned quickly in passing but most importantly because of the ongoing work of Jesus. Somehow we have a tendency or sometimes, I think, we have the tendency to think that when Jesus came and lived His life of perfect obedience and fulfilled all of the demands of the law that we have failed to fulfill and then by His passive obedience paid the price for our sins with His perfect atonement that He's done everything that we ever need Him to do for us, but we forget that when He ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand of God and enthroned as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, He was not just going for His royal realm, but He also entered into heaven as our great High Priest. And the chief function of our High Priest, as he tells us, is to intercede for us daily for the Father. Jesus prays for me, for my ultimate salvation. Not only did He pray for His disciples in John 17 that they would never be snatched out of God's hand, but He prays for us that we would be preserved. Now again, look at Judas and Peter. Both betrayed Christ. One was a believer; the other one wasn't. Both of their actions were repugnant in the extreme--total betrayal of Christ. Both were predicted by Christ. And when He told Judas what he would do, he ended those comments by saying to Judas, "What you have to do, do quickly. " And He dismissed him. But when He made the same type of prediction about the behavior of Peter, as we've already mentioned, "Satan would have you and sift you like wheat, " and so on, do you remember what He said? But Simon, I have prayed for you so that when you turned, not if you turn, so that when you turn, strengthen the brothers. My confidence in my preservation is not in my ability to persevere, but my confidence rests in the power of Christ to sustain me with His grace and by the power of His intercession for us that He is going to bring us safely through.

History

Church Father Augustine of Hippo taught that some of those whom God chooses to save by regeneration through water baptism are given, in addition to the gift of faith, a gift of perseverance ("donum perseverantiae") which enables them to continue to believe, and precludes the possibility of falling away.[5][6] He developed this doctrine in De correptione et gratia (c. 426–427 CE), explaining why some regenerated infants persevere in faith and good works, while others fall away from the faith.[7] Perseverance of the saints also predates Calvin in the teachings of Jovinian.[8]

The traditional Calvinist doctrine is one of the five points of Calvinism that were defined at the Synod of Dort during the Quinquarticular Controversy with the Arminian Remonstrants, who objected to the general predestinarian scheme of Calvinism. Arminianism teaches that salvation is conditioned on faith, therefore perseverance of the saints is also conditioned.[9]

The traditional Calvinist doctrine of perseverance is articulated in the Canons of Dort (chapter 5), the Westminster Confession of Faith (chapter XVII), the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith (chapter 17), and may also be found in other Reformed Confessions. Nonetheless, the doctrine is most often mentioned in connection with other salvific schemes and is not a major focus of Reformed systematic theology. It is, however, seen by many as the necessary consequence of Calvinism and of trusting in the promises of God.

Reformed doctrine

The Reformed tradition has consistently seen the doctrine of perseverance as a natural consequence to predestination. According to Calvinists, since God has drawn the elect to faith in Christ by regenerating their hearts and convincing them of their sins, and thus saving their souls by his own work and power, it naturally follows that they will be kept by the same power to the end. Since God has made satisfaction for the sins of the elect, they can no longer be condemned for them, and through the help of the Holy Spirit, they must necessarily persevere as Christians and in the end be saved. Calvinists believe this is what Peter is teaching in 1 Peter 1:5 when he says that true believers are "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." Outside Calvinist denominations, this doctrine is widely considered to be flawed.

Calvinists also believe that all who are born again and justified before God necessarily and inexorably proceed to sanctification. Failure to proceed to sanctification in their view is considered by some as evidence that the person in question was never truly saved to begin with.[10] Proponents of this doctrine distinguish between an action and the consequences of an action, and suggest that after God has regenerated someone, the person's will has been changed, that "old things pass away" and "all things are become new," as it is written in 2 Corinthians 5:17, and he or she will as a consequence persevere in the faith.

The Westminster Confession of Faith defined perseverance as follows:

They whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved. ─Westminster Confession of Faith (chap. 17, sec. 1).[11]

This definition does not deny the possibility of failings in one's Christian experience, because the Confession also says:

Nevertheless [believers] 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 (sec. 3).[11]

Theologian Charles Hodge summarizes the thrust of the Calvinist doctrine:

Perseverance…is due to the purpose of God [in saving men and thereby bringing glory to his name], to the work of Christ [in canceling men's debt and earning their righteousness ], to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit [in sealing men in salvation and leading them in God's ways], and to the primal source of all, the infinite, mysterious, and immutable love of God.[12]

— Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, 3.iii.ii.viii

On a practical level, Calvinists do not claim to know who is elect and who is not, and the only guide they have is the verbal testimony and good works (or "fruit") of each individual. Any who "fall away" are assumed not to have been truly converted to begin with, though Calvinists do not claim to know with certainty who did and who did not persevere.

Essentially, Reformed doctrine believes that the same God whose power justified the Christian believer is also at work in the continued sanctification of that believer. As Philippians 2:13 says, "It is God who is at work in you, both to will and work for His good pleasure"; thus, all who are truly born again are kept by God the Father for Jesus Christ, and can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace, but will persevere in their faith to the end, and be eternally saved. While Reformed theologians acknowledge that true believers at times will fall into sin, they maintain that a real believer in Jesus Christ cannot abandon one's own personal faith to the dominion of sin, basing their understanding on key scriptural passages such as Christ's words, "By their fruit you will know them"[13] and "He that endures to the end will be saved."[14] Similarly, a passage in 1 John says, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God."[15] The person who has truly been made righteous in Jesus Christ did not simply have faith at some point in life, but continues to live in that faith ([16]). This view understands that the security of believers is inseparable from their perseverance in the faith.[a]

Free Grace doctrine

The Free Grace or non-traditional Calvinist doctrine has been espoused by Charles Stanley, Norman Geisler, Zane C. Hodges, Bill Bright, and others. This view, like the traditional Calvinist view, emphasizes that people are saved purely by an act of divine grace that does not depend at all on the deeds of the individual, and for that reason (contrary to Calvinism) insists that nothing the person can do can affect their salvation. In the Free Grace view, saints can fall away (stop persevering) in both conduct and faith yet remain eternally secure.

Evangelical criticism

Both traditional Calvinism and traditional Arminianism reject Free Grace theology.[b][c] The former believes Free Grace to be a distorted form of Calvinism which maintains the permanency of salvation (or properly speaking, justification) while radically divorcing the ongoing work of sanctification from that justification. Reformed theology has uniformly asserted that "no man is a Christian who does not feel some special love for righteousness" (Institutes),[19] and therefore sees Free Grace theology, which allows for the concept of a "carnal Christian" or even an "unbelieving Christian", as a form of radical antinomianism. Arminianism, which has always believed true believers can give themselves completely over to sin, has also rejected the Free Grace view for the opposite reason of Calvinism: namely, that the view denies the classical Arminian doctrine that true Christians can lose their salvation by denouncing their faith.[d]

Free Grace theology maintains the middle ground of the permanency of salvation seen in Calvinism with the maintained belief that a believer can still give up their faith, choosing to live a life of unbelief. Both Calvinists and Arminians appeal to Biblical passages such as 1 Cor. 15:2 ("By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain"), Hebrews 3:14 ("We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first"), James 2:21–22 ("faith without works is dead"), and 2 Tim. 2:12 ("If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us").

Counter evidence

Calvinist interpretations

Some Calvinists admit that their interpretation is not without difficulties. One apparent consequence is that not all who "have shared in the Holy Spirit"[20] are necessarily regenerate. This is a consequence Calvinists are willing to accept since the Bible also says that King Saul had the "Spirit of God" in some sense and even prophesied by it,[21] but was not a follower of God. Calvin says,

God indeed favors none but the elect alone with the Spirit of regeneration, and that by this they are distinguished from the reprobate… But I cannot admit that all this is any reason why he should not grant the reprobate also some taste of his grace, why he should not irradiate their minds with some sparks of his light, why he should not give them some perception of his goodness, and in some sort engrave his word on their hearts.[22]

Some challenge the Calvinist doctrine based on their interpretation of the admonishments in the book of Hebrews, including several passages in the Book of Hebrews,[23] but especially Hebrews 6:4–12 and Heb 10:26–39.[24] The former passage says of those "who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come" that, when they "fall away", they cannot be "restored to repentance."[25] The latter passage says that if one continues in sin, "no sacrifice for sins" remains for that person but "only a fearful expectation of judgment."[26] The author of Hebrews predicts grave punishment for one who "has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace."[27]

The debate over these passages centers around the identity of the persons in question. While opponents of perseverance identify the persons as Christian believers, Calvinists suggest several other options:

  • These passages are not clear enough to describe a regenerate person (or "true Christian"), and thus they do not describe the situation of a true believer. Instead, the persons in question may well have been part of the church community and had the advantages concomitant with that membership (citing the benefits of being a member of the covenant community in the Old Testament mentioned in Romans 3:1–4 and 9:4–5) without being truly "saved"—as with King Saul. In an effort to corroborate this interpretation, they also cite such passages as 1 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." However, this interpretation also has difficulty with verse 6 which states that it is impossible "if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance."
  • These passages can refer to a regenerate person, but what is described is not a loss of salvation (because they believe other scriptural passages say that this is impossible), but instead a loss of eternal (or millennial) rewards.
  • The author is employing hyperbole to effect positive change in his audience's behavior, possibly referring to Christians leaving fellowship in Hebrews 10:25.
  • The passages refer to Jewish Christians who were reverting to Judaism.
  • The passages refer to the rejection of the covenant community as a whole, not individual believers (Verbrugge).

In general, proponents of the doctrine of perseverance interpret such passages, which urge the church community to persevere in the faith but seem to indicate that some members of the community might fall away, as encouragement to persevere rather than divine warnings. That is, they view the prophets and apostles as writing "from the human perspective", in which the members of the elect are unknowable and all should "work out [their] own salvation"[28] and "make [their] calling and election sure,"[29] rather than "from the divine perspective", in which those who will persevere, according to Calvinism, are well known. The primary objection to this Calvinist approach is that it might equally be said that these difficult passages are intended to be divine warnings to believers who do not persevere, rather than a revealing of God's perpetual grace towards believers.

Interpretations of Hebrews 6:4–6

Hebrews 6:4–6 is said by some[30] to be one of the Bible's most difficult passages to interpret, and may present the most difficulty for proponents of the Eternal Security of the Believer. The passage is understood by some to mean that "falling away" from an active commitment to Christ may cause one to lose their salvation, after they have attained salvation either according to the Reformed or Free Grace theology. However, numerous conservative Bible scholars do not believe the passage refers to a Christian losing genuinely attained salvation.

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

  • One interpretation holds that this passage is written not about Christians but about unbelievers who are convinced of the basic truths of the gospel but who have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. They are intellectually persuaded but spiritually uncommitted. The phrase "once enlightened"[31] may refer to some level of instruction in biblical truth. "…have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away…" could be a reference to those who have tasted the truth about Jesus but, not having come all the way to faith, fall away from even the revelation they have been given. The tasting of truth is not enough to keep them from falling away from it. They must come all the way to Christ in complete repentance and faith.[30]
  • A second interpretation holds that this passage is written about Christians, and that the phrases "partakers of the Holy Ghost", "enlightened", and "tasted of the heavenly gift" are all descriptions of true believers. Some passages, including Hebrews 6:4–6 and 10:23–31, are taken by some to suggest that a 'saved' person can lose their salvation. Others see them as severe warnings which do not include the loss of salvation, but in many cases fiery judgment for those who were never saved and only playing at Christianity.[32]
  • A third interpretation maintains that Hebrews 6:4-8 describes only those who temporarily backslide in their faith, and does not address the issue of the loss of salvation. This interpretation is well presented in an exegetical outline of the book of Hebrews found on the website of Ariel Ministries, a Messianic-Jewish organization founded by Arnold Fruchtenbaum in 1971. Some advocates of this position claim that the passage says that those who experience the five spiritual privileges mentioned in verses 4 and 5 cannot lose their salvation and then be saved again later (i.e. be "restore[d]... again to repentance") because that would require a recrucifixion of Christ (v. 6), thus rendering ineffectual his initial propitiatory death, putting Him to open shame. This position maintains that the Greek word used for "repentance" in verse 6 refers to "salvation repentance" rather than "repentance to restore fellowship." Supporters of this interpretation also cite the overall context of chapters 5 and 6 as evidence for their position: chapter 5 concludes with a rebuke to the recipients of the epistle for wasting time, dawdling in spiritual infancy, while chapter 6 begins with an exhortation not to continue wasting time as spiritual infants, but to "press on to maturity."
  • Biblical theologian David DeSilva writes that "Many interpreters are driven to treat this passage as either a 'problem passage' or crux for a specific theological or ideological conviction."[33] DeSilva agrees that the passage cannot refer to "saved" individuals since the author of Hebrews views salvation as the deliverance and reward that awaits the faithful at the return of Christ. Those who have trusted God's promise and Jesus' mediation are "those who are about to inherit salvation' which comes at Christ's second coming.[34] He argues that the passage refers to unbelievers who have received God's gifts and have benefited from God's grace, yet still remained skeptics.
  • Biblical theologian B. J. Oropeza suggests that those who read and listened to this letter had experienced persecutions in the past, and the author of Hebrews acknowledges that some church members had become apostates. The several terms in Hebrews 6:1–6 are to stress that these former apostates had experienced conversion-initiation; there is no place in the New Testament, for example, where unbelievers or fake Christians explicitly share in the Holy Spirit as did these former members. The author of Hebrews thus rhetorically stresses that despite all these benefits and experiences that confirmed their conversion, they fell away; and now he warns the hearers of this message that in their present state of malaise and neglecting church gatherings, the same thing could happen to them. The consequences of apostasy without restoration are portrayed as dire (Hebrews 6:7–8; Hebrews 10:26–29; Hebrews 12:15–17).[35]

Objections

The primary objection put against Perseverance of the Saints is that its teaching may lead believers to sin freely, if they know they can never lose their salvation, without fear of eternal consequences. Traditional Calvinists see this charge as being justly leveled against the Free Grace doctrine, which does not see sanctification as a necessary component of salvation, and in the controversy over Lordship salvation, traditional Calvinists argued against the proponents of the Free Grace doctrine. Traditional Calvinists, and many other non-Calvinist evangelicals, posit that a truly converted heart will necessarily follow after God and live in accordance with his precepts, though perfection is not achievable, struggles with sin will continue, and some temporary "backsliding" may occur.

Arminian view

The central tenet of the Arminian view is that although believers are preserved from all external forces that might attempt to separate them from God, they have the free will to separate themselves from God. Although God will not change his mind about a believer's salvation, a believer can willingly repudiate faith (either by express denial of faith or by continued sinful activity combined with an unwillingness to repent). In this manner, salvation is conditional, not unconditional as Calvinism teaches.

Traditional Calvinists do not dispute that salvation requires faithfulness. However, Calvinists contend that God is sovereign and cannot permit a true believer to depart from faith. Arminians argue that God is sufficiently sovereign and omnipotent to embed free will into humanity, so that true Christians may exercise free will and fall away from the saving grace they once possessed.[e]

Roman Catholic view

The 22nd Canon of the Decree Concerning Justification of the Council of Trent (Sixth Session, 13 January 1547) has this to say regarding perseverance: "If anyone says that the one justified either can without the special help of God persevere in the justice received, or that with that help he cannot, let him be anathema." In this canon, the Council reaffirmed that perseverance absolutely requires divine help—a divine help that is fully sufficient.

Respecting these parameters, Catholics can have a variety of views as regards final perseverance. On questions of predestination, Catholic scholars may be broadly characterized as either Molinists or Thomists. The views of the latter are similar to those of Calvinists, in that they understand final perseverance to be a gift applied by God to the regenerated that will assuredly lead them to ultimate salvation. They differ from Calvinists in but one respect: whether God permits men to "fall away" after regeneration. Thomists affirm that God can permit men to come to regeneration without giving them the special gift of divine perseverance, so that they do fall away. Calvinists, by contrast, deny that an individual can fall away if they are truly regenerate.

Lutheran view

Like both Calvinist camps, confessional Lutherans view the work of salvation as monergistic in that "the natural [that is, corrupted and divinely unrenewed] powers of man cannot do anything or help towards salvation",[37] and Lutherans go further along the same lines as the Free Grace advocates to say that the recipient of saving grace need not cooperate with it. Hence, Lutherans believe that a true Christian – in this instance, a genuine recipient of saving grace – can lose his or her salvation, "[b]ut the cause is not as though God were unwilling to grant grace for perseverance to those in whom He has begun the good work… [but that these persons] wilfully turn away…"[38]

Free Grace view

Free grace advocates criticize perseverance of the saints, because they claim that perseverance puts assurance in good works.[39] Free grace advocates believe that believers are promised eternal security, but that God does not promise perseverance.[40] However, those who do not persevere will face temporal discipline and loss of rewards.[41]

Comparison among Protestants

This table summarizes the views of four different Protestant beliefs.

Calvinism Lutheranism Arminianism Free Grace
Perseverance of the saints: the eternally elect in Christ will certainly persevere in faith.[42] Falling away is possible,[43] but God gives gospel assurance.[44][45] Preservation is conditional upon continued faith in Christ; with the possibility of a final apostasy.[46] Falling away from the faith is possible, however God promises eternal security.[39][40]

Notes

  1. ^ See also 1 Cor. 15:2; Hebrews 3:14; James 2:14; 21–22,26; Romans 1:17
  2. ^ Traditional Calvinist Tony Lane writes: "The two historic views discussed so far [Traditional Calvinism and Arminianism] are agreed that salvation requires perseverance [in faith]. More recently, however, a third view has emerged...according to which all who are converted will be saved regardless of how they then live."[17]
  3. ^ Arminian scholar J. Rodman Williams says of this view: "Any claim to security by virtue of the great salvation we have in Christ without regard to the need for continuing in faith is totally mistaken and possibly tragic in its results...A doctrine of "perseverance of the saints" that does not affirm its occurrence through faith is foreign to Scripture, a serious theological misunderstanding, and a liability to Christian existence".[18]
  4. ^ See conditional preservation of the saints
  5. ^ R.C. Sproul, an influential Calvinist,[opinion] disagrees, expressing God's sovereignty over salvation as follows: "If God has decided our destinies from all eternity, that strongly suggests that our free choices are but charades, empty exercises in predetermined playacting. It is as though God wrote the script for us in concrete and we are merely carrying out his scenario.[36]

References

  1. ^ Sproul, R. C. (April 22, 2017). "TULIP and Reformed Theology: Perseverance of the Saints". Ligonier Ministries. Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021. I think this little catchphrase, perseverance of the saints, is dangerously misleading. It suggests that the perseverance is something that we do, perhaps in and of ourselves. ... So I prefer the term the preservation of the saints, because the process by which we are kept in a state of grace is something that is accomplished by God.
  2. ^ Picirilli, Robert (2002). Grace, Faith, Free Will. Randall House. p. 155. ISBN 0-89265-648-4.
  3. ^ Piper, John (9 July 2013). "Five Reasons to Embrace Unconditional Election". Desiring God. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  4. ^ Sproul, R.C. "TULIP and Reformed Theology: Unconditional Election". Ligonier Ministries. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  5. ^ Hägglund, Bengt (2007) [1968]. Teologins historia [History of Theology] (in German). Translated by Gene J. Lund (4th rev. ed.). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. pp. 139–140. ISBN 978-0758613486.
  6. ^ Wilson, Kenneth (2018). Augustine's Conversion from Traditional Free Choice to 'Non-free' Free Will: A Comprehensive Methodology. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum 111. pp. 150, 160–162, 185–189. ISBN 978-3-16-155753-8.
  7. ^ Wilson, Kenneth (2018). Augustine's Conversion from Traditional Free Choice to 'Non-free' Free Will: A Comprehensive Methodology. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum 111. pp. 184–189, 305. ISBN 978-3-16-155753-8.
  8. ^ Schaff, Philip. "History of the Christian Church, Volume III: Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 311–600 – Christian Classics Ethereal Library". ccel.org. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  9. ^ Picirilli, Robert (2002). Grace, Faith, Free Will. Randall House. p. 204. ISBN 0-89265-648-4.
  10. ^ Grudem, Wayne, Systematic Theology, p. 788
  11. ^ a b Perseverance of the Saints
  12. ^ Hodge, Charles. "Systematic Theology." Web: 20 March 2010. Systematic Theology, 3.16.8
  13. ^ Mt 7:16,20
  14. ^ Mt 24:13
  15. ^ 1Jn 3:7–9
  16. ^ Rom 1:17
  17. ^ Exploring Christian Doctrine: A Guide to What Christians Believe, 216
  18. ^ Renewal Theology: Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective, 2:133-34
  19. ^ "John Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion – Christian Classics Ethereal Library". ccel.org. 3.6. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  20. ^ Acts 10:44–48
  21. ^ 1Sam 19:23–24, 11:6
  22. ^ Calvin, John. Commentary on Hebrews 6:4 Commentary on Hebrews 6:4
  23. ^ Heb 2:1–4, 3:6,12–14, 4:12–13, 6:4–12, 10:26–39, 12:25–29
  24. ^ Various scholarly positions are given in Oropeza, B. J. “The Warning Passages in Hebrews: Revised Theologies and New Methods of Interpretation.Currents in Biblical Research 10 (2011): 1–21.
  25. ^ 6:4–12
  26. ^ 10:26b–27a
  27. ^ 10:29
  28. ^ Phil 2:12
  29. ^ 2Pet 1:10
  30. ^ a b "Does Hebrews 6:4–6 mean we can lose our salvation?" Got Questions Ministries. Oct. 10, 2009.
  31. ^ 6:4
  32. ^ Herrick, Greg. "Assurance of Eternal Security." Bible.org. Oct. 10, 2009.
  33. ^ DeSilva, David A. "Hebrews 6:4-8: A Socio-rhetorical Investigation (Part 1)", Tyndale Bulletin’ 50.1 (1999) pp. 33–57.
  34. ^ Heb 9:28
  35. ^ Oropeza, B. J. Churches under Siege of Persecution and Assimilation: The General Epistles and Revelation. Apostasy in the New Testament Communities, Volume 3 (Eugene, OR: Cascade/Wipf & Stock, 2012), pp. 30–70.
  36. ^ Sproul, R.C. (2011). Chosen by God. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-8423-0282-1.
  37. ^ Formula of Concord: Solid Declaration, art. ii, par. 71
  38. ^ Formula of Concord: Solid Declaration, art. xi, par. 42
  39. ^ a b Lazar, Shawn (2 April 2020). "Five Differences Between Perseverance of the Saints and Eternal Security – Grace Evangelical Society". Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  40. ^ a b Wilkin, Bob (22 May 2020). "The Perseverance of the Saints – Grace Evangelical Society". Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  41. ^ Stanley, Charles (1990). Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. pp. 81, 116–118. ISBN 0840790953.
  42. ^ The Westminster Confession of Faith, Ch XVII, “Of the Perseverance of the Saints.”
  43. ^ "Once saved always saved". WELS Topical Q&A. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2015. People can fall from faith. The Bible warns, "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall" (! Corinthians 10:12). Some among the Galatians had believed for a while, but had fallen into soul-destroying error. Paul warned them, "You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace" (Galatians 5:4). In his explanation of the parable of the sower, Jesus says, "Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in time of testing they fall away" (Luke 8:13). According to Jesus a person can believe for a while and then fall away. While they believed they possessed eternal salvation, but when they fell from faith they lost God's gracious gift.
  44. ^ "Perseverence of the Saints (Once Saved Always Saved)". WELS Topical Q&A. Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2015. We cannot contribute one speck to our salvation, but by our own arrogance or carelessness we can throw it away. Therefore, Scripture urges us repeatedly to fight the good fight of faith (Ephesians 6 and 2 Timothy 4 for example). My sins threaten and weaken my faith, but the Spirit through the gospel in word and sacraments strengthens and preserves my faith. That's why Lutherans typically speak of God's preservation of faith and not the perseverance of the saints. The key is not our perseverance but the Spirit's preservation.
  45. ^ Bruce Demarest, The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation (Crossway, 1997), pp. 437–438.
  46. ^ “Many Arminians deny the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Bruce Demarest, The Cross and Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation (Crossway, 1997), p. 35.

Traditional Calvinist view

Free Grace view

  • Charles C. Ryrie (1989, 1997). So Great Salvation: What it Means to Believe in Jesus Christ. Moody Publishers. ISBN 0-8024-7818-2
  • Charles Stanley (1990). Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?. Oliver-Nelson Books. ISBN 0-8407-9095-3
  • Charles C. Bing (1991). Lordship Salvation: A Biblical Evaluation and Response. GraceLife. ISBN 0-9701365-0-1
  • Joseph C. Dillow (1992). The Reign of the Servant Kings: A Study of Eternal Security and the Final Significance of Man. Schoettle Publishing Company. ISBN 1-56453-095-7
  • Michael Eaton (1995). No Condemnation: A New Theology of Assurance. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 0-8308-1888-X
  • Chuck Smith (1996). Living Water: The Power of the Holy Spirit In Your Life. Harvest House Publishers. ISBN 963-218-647-8
  • Norman L. Geisler (1999, 2001). Chosen But Free: A Balanced View of Divine Election, 2nd ed. Bethany House Publishers. ISBN 0-7642-2521-9
  • Robert N. Wilkin (2005). Secure and Sure: Grasping the Promises of God. Grace Evangelical Society. ISBN 0-9641392-7-8
  • Lou Martuneac (2006). In Defense of the Gospel. Xulon Press. ISBN 1-59781-867-4
  • Phillip M. Evans (2008). Eternal Security Proved!. Lulu Enterprises, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4357-1615-5

Arminian view

  • W. T. Purkiser (1956, 1974 2nd ed.). Security: The False and the True. Beacon Hill Press. ISBN 0-8341-0048-7
  • Robert Shank (1960). Life in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Perseverance. Bethany House Publishers. ISBN 1-55661-091-2
  • I. Howard Marshall (1969, 1995 Rev. ed.). Kept by the Power of God: A Study of Perseverance and Falling Away. Paternoster Press. ISBN 0-85364-642-2
  • David Pawson (1996). Once Saved, Always Saved? A Study in Perseverance and Inheritance. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-61066-2
  • Robert E. Picirilli (2002). Grace, Faith, Free Will. Contrasting Views of Salvation: Calvinism and Arminianism. Randall House Publications. ISBN 0-89265-648-4
  • Frederick W. Claybrook, Jr. (2003) Once Saved, Always Saved? A New Testament Study of Apostasy. University Press of America. ISBN 0-7618-2642-4
  • French L. Arrington (2005). Unconditional Eternal Security: Myth or Truth? Pathway Press. ISBN 1-59684-070-6

New Perspective view

  • Don Garlington (1994, 2009). Faith, Obedience, and Perseverance: Aspects of Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Wipf & Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1606088258
  • B. J. Oropeza (2000, 2007). Paul and Apostasy: Eschatology, Perseverance, and Falling Away in the Corinthian Congregation. Wipf & Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-55635-333-8
  • B. J. Oropeza (2011). In the Footsteps of Judas and Other Defectors: Apostasy in the New Testament Communities, Volume 1: The Gospels, Acts, and Johannine Letters. Wipf & Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1610972895
  • B. J. Oropeza (2012). Jews, Gentiles, and the Opponents of Paul: Apostasy in the New Testament Communities, Volume 2: The Pauline Letters. Wipf & Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1610972901
  • B. J. Oropeza (2012). Churches under Siege of Persecution and Assimilation: Apostasy in the New Testament Communities, Volume 3: The General Epistles and Revelation. Wipf & Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1610972918
  • Scot McKnight (2013). A Long Faithfulness: The Case for Christian Perseverance, Patheos Press. ISBN 978-1-62921-469-6.

Confessional Lutheran view

Catholic view

Multiple views

  • Herbert W. Bateman IV, editor (2007). Four Views on the Warning Passages in Hebrews. Kregel Publications. ISBN 978-0-8254-2132-7
  • J. Matthew Pinson, editor (2002). Four Views on Eternal Security. Zondervan. ISBN 0-310-23439-5
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