MUST FAITH ENDURE FOR SALVATION TO BE SURE? (Pt. 1)
by Pastor-teacher Tom Stegall
The Bible repeatedly
declares that God has only one requirement for lost, sinful mankind to be
saved. That requirement is simply to
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for one's salvation (John 3:16; Acts
16:31). This sole condition is
stipulated over 100 times in the New Testament. But is receiving God's gift of salvation really as simple as
believing in Christ? Or must you do
more than believe? Today, many
evangelical Christians adamantly affirm that salvation is by "faith
alone." Yet in the same breath,
they practically deny that Biblical truth by subtly redefining
"genuine" faith to include some necessary component of good works,
such as fruitful, holy living or faithful endurance to the end of your
Christian life. If these elements are
not present in your Christian life, then according to their theology, you are
not truly saved. Must your faith endure
and be fruitful for your salvation to be sure and secure? The answer is a resounding "YES"
according to the two historical, Protestant positions of Arminianism and
Calvinism. Though these two doctrinal positions
claim to be in opposition to each other, they both speak in near perfect unison
regarding the necessity of perseverance.
In the final analysis, each requires that your faith be fruitful and
enduring for you to ultimately be saved.
Is this what the Bible says?
Whether it’s the doctrine of
Arminianism dating back to Jacob Arminius and his followers in the early 17th
century, or the doctrine of Calvinism derived from John Calvin and his
followers in the 16th century, both teach that if your faith in Christ ceases
or fails at any point along your earthly path, then God considers you to be
lost and in need of His salvation.
Arminianism teaches that salvation can be lost if you lose your
faith. In such a case, your salvation
is never fully secure, and it is dependent upon your faithfulness. On the other hand, Calvinism teaches that if
your faith fails to endure to the end of your life, then it simply proves you
were never truly saved because you didn't possess "genuine"
faith. In either case, whether you lost
your salvation or proved that you were never really saved to begin with, your salvation
ultimately depends upon your faithfulness and endurance, instead of God's
persevering faithfulness to you. So
there really is no difference between Arminianism and Calvinism when it comes
to the ultimate requirement/s for salvation.
Undoubtedly, Calvinists will
balk at such an assessment, for they often boast that their system of salvation
is uniquely a grace-method of salvation, while Arminianism or any belief system
contrary to Calvinism is a works-approach to salvation.[1] With the Calvinists' objections in mind, I
have prepared a helpful exercise below that will illustrate the fact that there
is virtually no difference between the two theologies regarding the necessity
for perseverance in order to ultimately attain salvation. On the next pages are several quotations
addressing this subject from authors representing both Arminianism and
Calvinism. As you read each quote, try
guessing the theological persuasion of the writer. You can check your answers in the footnotes (and you may be quite
surprised by some of the answers!).
Arminian or Calvinist?
"The
only evidence of election is effectual calling, that is, the production of
holiness. And the only evidence of the
genuineness of this call and the certainty of our perseverance, is a patient
continuance in well-doing."[2]
"There
is no cleansing from sin, and no salvation, without a continual walking in
God's light."[3]
"There
is no valid assurance of election and final salvation for any man, apart from
deliberate perseverance in faith."[4]
"Let
us not then take refuge in our sloth or encouragement in our lust from the
abused doctrine of the security of the believer. But let us appreciate the
doctrine of the perseverance of the saints and recognize that we may entertain
the faith of our security in Christ only as we persevere in faith and holiness
to the end."[5]
"The
Scriptures repeatedly exhort us to persevere, to ‘hang in there.’ It is only the one who endures to the end
who will be saved."[6]
"Endurance
in faith is a condition for future salvation.
Only those who endure in faith will be saved for eternity."[7]
"Believing
in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for
obtaining that salvation…. therefore without faith no one has ever attained
justification, nor will anyone obtain eternal life 'but he who endures to the
end.'"[8]
"We
can never know that we are elected of God to eternal life except by manifesting
in our lives the fruits of election – faith and virtue, knowledge and
temperance, patience and godliness, love of brethren…. It is idle to seek assurance of election
outside of holiness of life."[9]
"We
cannot ‘earn’ our salvation through good works, but our faith in Christ puts us
in a special grace-filled relationship with God so that our obedience and love,
combined with our faith, will be rewarded with eternal life."[10]
"Holiness
in this life is such a part of our ‘salvation’ that it is a necessary means to
make us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in heavenly light
and glory."[11]
"As
the believer's salvation is received, not by an act of righteousness but by an
act of faith, so the believer's salvation is maintained, not by acts of
righteousness but by a life of faith . . . his security is never in doubt as
long as his faith in Christ is steadfast, for he is kept by faith."[12]
"Furthermore,
we are protected through faith. Our
continued faith in Christ is the instrument of God's sustaining work. God didn't save us apart from faith, and He
doesn't keep us apart from faith. Our
faith is God's gift, and through His protecting power He preserves it and
nurtures it. The maintenance of our
faith is as much His work as every other aspect of salvation. Our faith is kindled and driven and
maintained and fortified by God's grace.
But to say that faith is God's gracious gift, which He maintains, is not
to say that faith operates apart from the human will. It is our faith. We
believe. We remain steadfast. We are not passive in the process. The means by which God maintains our faith
involves our full participation."[13]
"Having
stressed the sovereignty and grace of God, it is also imperative to bring the
free will and responsibility of the believer into focus. God does not withdraw the power of choice
from the person who believes. By the
exercise of free will the believer becomes a child of God, and by the continued
exercise of free will he remains a child of God. To keep on believing is the believer's responsibility."[14]
"…although
the Bible tells us that we are kept by the grace of God, it does not encourage
the idea that God keeps us without constant watchfulness, diligence, and prayer
on our part."[15]
"Let
us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Objectively, the elect will persevere, and they who persevere are
elect. Subjectively, the individual is
elect only as he perseveres."[16]
"The
Spirit of God continues to work faith in the regenerate and they therein
persevere in good works, always struggling against the remnants of their
original sin whose guilt is pardoned but whose power is decreasingly felt until
destroyed at death."[17]
"My
sentiments respecting the Perseverance of the Saints are, That those persons
who have been grafted into Christ by true faith, and have thus been made
partakers of his life-giving Spirit, possess sufficient powers [or
strength] to fight against Satan, sin, the world and their own flesh, and to
gain the victory over these enemies, – yet not without the assistance of the
grace of the same Holy Spirit."[18]
"True
faith reveals itself in continual obedience to Christ's conditions for
salvation."[19]
"'To
believe' is 'to obey'. Obedience is the inevitable manifestation of true
faith…. True faith always manifests itself in obedience."[20]
"We
have seen that God's salvation covenant is a continuing covenant. And it is a monstrous deception to teach
that the continual sinner will be saved by a continuing covenant that demands
his continual obedience."[21]
"There
is a deadly and damnable heresy being widely propagated today to the effect
that, if a sinner truly accepts Christ as his personal Saviour, no matter how
he lives afterwards, he cannot perish.
That is a satanic lie, for it is at direct variance with the teaching of
the Word of truth. Something more than
believing in Christ is necessary to ensure the soul's reaching heaven."[22]
The
Five Points of Calvinism
As shocking as it may
seem for many Bible-believing Christians, when all is said and done, there is
no practical difference between Romanism, Arminianism, and Calvinism in
requiring faithful perseverance to make it to heaven! While many Calvinists readily acknowledge that Roman Catholicism
and Arminianism advocate a works-gospel, they remain spiritually blind to the
fact that the same error is endemic to their own system due to its unscriptural
doctrine of the "perseverance of the saints." The "perseverance of the saints"
is the fifth point in the "Five Points of Calvinism." The basic doctrines of orthodox Calvinism
have traditionally been summarized and set in contrast to Arminianism by the
acrostic TULIP.
U - Unconditional Election
I - Irresistible Grace
P - Perseverance
of the Saints
To properly understand the
Calvinistic doctrine of perseverance, one must understand these five points of
Calvinism. All five points are logically
interrelated. Calvinism teaches that
mankind is “totally depraved” in his sin, spiritually dead before God,
and therefore incapable of saving himself, which is all true to Scripture. However, Calvinism also interprets the total
depravity of man to mean "total inability." That is, a lost man is utterly incapable of
positively exercising his will, so that he is spiritually incapable of
believing in Christ unless the Holy Spirit first regenerates him and gives him
the gift of faith.
Based on this false assumption
that man is incapable of believing before he's born again, Calvinism then
reasons that God must have “unconditionally elected” only certain men
and women to be saved. This
unconditional election is made strictly on the basis of God's sovereign choice,
completely apart from man's volition or choice to believe in Christ.
Traditional Calvinism also
teaches that since God determined only a select percentage of mankind to be
elect and destined for salvation, it would be superfluous for Christ to
purchase the salvation of the non-elect when He died for sin on Calvary's
cross. Therefore, they believe Christ
provided a "limited atonement" by dying only for the sins of
the elect.
Next is the teaching of “irresistible
grace.” Since God unconditionally
chose certain people to be saved and Christ specifically paid for the sins of
these elect, God will work in their lives in such a way that they will be
irresistibly drawn to Christ. Apart
from man's volition, God draws them, regenerates them, gives them the gift of
faith, and they forever thereafter believe in His Son.
Finally, the "perseverance
of the saints" teaches that all whom God irresistibly draws to
regeneration in Christ will, of necessity, prove their election by persevering
in faith and holiness. Calvinism
concludes that the saint's perseverance in faith is guaranteed by God because
saving faith itself is a divine gift, and it must therefore be perfect and
enduring if it is genuinely of God.
Thus, Calvinism does teach the
eternal security of the believer, but that security is conditioned upon an
unfailing, fruitful, and enduring faith.
From God's standpoint, the salvation and security of the elect is never
in question, but from the human standpoint, it is conditioned upon faithful
perseverance to the end of one's earthly life.
This distinction between the
believer's security and his perseverance is repeatedly stressed in
the writings of Calvinists themselves.
For example, 19th century Calvinist theologian, Charles Hodge, stated,
"It must be remembered that what the Apostle argues to prove is not
merely the certainty of the salvation of those that believe; but their certain
perseverance in holiness. Salvation in
sin, according to Paul's system, is a contradiction in terms. This perseverance in holiness is secured
partly by the inward secret influence of the Spirit, and partly by all the
means adapted to secure that end – instructions, admonitions, exhortations,
warnings, the means of grace, and the dispensations of his providence."23
One of the clearest statements
on the Calvinistic distinction between the believer's security and his
perseverance comes from popular author and teacher, John MacArthur. He writes, "I am committed to the
biblical truth that salvation is forever.
Contemporary Christians have come to refer to this as the doctrine of
eternal security. Perhaps the Puritans'
terminology is more appropriate; they spoke of the perseverance of the
saints. The point is not that God
guarantees security to everyone who will say he accepts Christ, but rather that
those whose faith is genuine will prove their salvation is secure by
persevering to the end in the way of righteousness."24
Unfortunately, many
Bible-believing Christians have wrongly assumed that the Calvinist doctrine of
the "perseverance of the saints" is synonymous with the
Biblical doctrine of eternal security.
However, the two should not be equated. The Biblical doctrine of eternal security teaches that one who
has been truly regenerated by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone
shall never be in danger of God's condemnation or loss of salvation, but he or
she is kept eternally saved by God's grace and power. The Bible gives the comforting assurance to us as feeble sinners
that the security of salvation rests upon the faithfulness of God to us, not
our on-going faithfulness to Him. The
security of our salvation rests upon the gracious and merciful perseverance of
the Savior toward saved sinners, not on the perseverance of saints. For God to require otherwise would result in
a merit-based salvation that denies the utterly gracious nature of God's gift
of eternal life. g
In part two of this series on perseverance will provide
Biblical answers to two vital questions.
First, is the Biblical faith in Christ which saves us from Hell an
enduring, repeated activity, or is it an instantaneous act? Secondly, does final salvation depend upon
the perseverance of the saints, or the perseverance of the Savior, or both?
23 Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, reprinted
1989),Vol. 3, pp. 112-13.
24 John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1988),
p. 98.
Tom Stegall is a graduate of the Grace Institute of Biblical Studies and is the pastor-teacher at Word of Grace Bible Church in Milwaukee, WI
[1] "Arminianism
denies this doctrine of Perseverance, because it is a system, not of pure
grace, but of grace and works; and in any such system the person must prove
himself at least partially worthy." Lorraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination
(Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed Pub., 1932), p.187. "Arminianism is a "works
religion" at least to the extent that man must accomplish the good works
of repentance and faith . . . Calvinism is strictly a ‘not of works, lest any
man should boast’ religion (Ephesians 2:8-9) because it insists on giving God
all the glory for all that is good."
Duane E. Spencer, TULIP: The Five
Points of Calvinism in the Light of Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book
House Co. 1979), p. 84. See also, Edwin
H. Palmer, The Five Points of Calvinism
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Co., 1972, enlarged ed. 1980), p. 59 and
Daniel N. Steele and Curtis C. Thomas, The
Five Points of Calvinism (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed
Pub. Co., 1963), p. 22.
[2] Charles Hodge (Calvinist), Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, reprint 1994), p.
292.
[3] Guy Duty
(Arminian), If Ye Continue
(Minneapolis: Bethany House Pubs., 1966), p.141.
]
[4] Robert
Shank (Arminian), Life in the Son
(Springfield, MO: Westcott Pubs., 1960), p. 293.
[5] John Murray
(Calvinist), Redemption – Accomplished
and Applied (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1955), p. 155.
[6] Joseph
Kindel (Roman Catholic), What Must I Do
to be Saved? (Milford, OH: The Riehle Foundation, 1995), p. 79.
[7] R.C. Sproul
(Calvinist), Grace Unknown (Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1997), p. 198.
[8] (Roman
Catholic) Catechism of the Catholic Church
(Bloomingdale, OH: Apostolate for Family Consecration, 1994), article #161
(ellipsis added).
[9] Benjamin B.
Warfield (Calvinist) as favorably quoted by Lorraine Boettner in The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination
(Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed Pub., 1932), p. 309 (ellipsis
original to Boettner).
[10] (Roman
Catholic) Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth
(San Diego: Catholic Answers, 1993), p. 23.
[11] Walter
Marshall (Calvinist), as favorably quoted by A.W. Pink (Calvinist) in The Doctrine of Sanctification (Great
Britain: Christian Focus Pubs., 1998), p. 25.
[12] Assemblies
of God (Arminian) Position Paper, The
Security of the Believer (Springfield, MO: General Council of the
Assemblies of God, 1978), p. 3 (ellipsis added).
[13] John
MacArthur (Calvinist), Faith Works
(Dallas: Word Publishing, 1993), p. 185.
[14] Assemblies
of God (Arminian) Position Paper, The
Security of the Believer (Springfield, MO: General Council of the
Assemblies of God, 1978), p. 5.
[15] Louis
Berkhof (Calvinist), Systematic Theology
(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991), p. 548.
[16] Robert
Shank (Arminian), Life in the Son
(Springfield, MO: Westcott Pubs., 1960), p. 301.
[17] John
Gerstner's (Calvinist) definition of the Perseverance of the Saints, Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth
(Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1991), p. 147.
[18] Jacob
Arminius' definition of the Perseverance of the Saints, The Works of James Arminius. James and William Nichols (Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Books, reprint 1999) Vol.1, p. 664.
[19] Guy Duty
(Arminian), If Ye Continue
(Minneapolis: Bethany House Pubs., 1966), p. 65.
[20] John
MacArthur (Calvinist), Gospel According
to Jesus, p. 175 (ellipsis added).
[21] Guy Duty
(Arminian), If Ye Continue
(Minneapolis: Bethany House Pubs., 1966), p. 169.
[22] A.W. Pink
(Calvinist), as quoted by Iain H. Murray in The
Life of Arthur W. Pink (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth, 1982), pp. 248-249.