MUST FAITH ENDURE FOR SALVATION TO BE SURE? (Pt. 2)
By Pastor Tom Stegall
In the last article in this
series, it was demonstrated that there is no substantial difference between the
doctrines of Calvinism, Arminianism, and Catholicism when it comes to the
necessity for perseverance in a life of faith and holiness in order to be
eternally saved. Roman Catholicism and
Arminianism both conclude that if your Christian walk is unfruitful and does not
endure to the end, you will lose your salvation. Calvinism, on the other hand, teaches that
though you cannot lose salvation, if your faith is unfruitful or doesn't
endure, that simply proves you were never saved in the first place. In either case, meritorious works are
required for one's eternal salvation.
Calvinism's doctrine of the
"perseverance of the saints" teaches that those who are truly saved
will necessarily persevere in faith and holiness to the end of their Christian
lives. If either personal holiness or
endurance are not evident, then according to Calvinism, such a person is not a
genuine possessor of salvation, but only a professor of
salvation.
This is in contrast to the
Scriptural doctrine of the "eternal security" of the believer. The Scriptures are clear that once a person
has been regenerated by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone,
he shall never be in danger of God's condemnation or loss of salvation, but he
is kept eternally secure solely by God's grace and power, not due to any
fruitfulness or faithfulness on his part.
Thus, "eternal
security" is not equivalent with the traditional Calvinistic
doctrine of the "perseverance of the saints." In fact, some of Evangelicalism's most
popular Calvinistic leaders today are sharply distinguishing between the
"perseverance of the saints" and "eternal security" in
order to make room for "Lordship Salvation" and its gospel of works.
John MacArthur, a traditional
five-point Calvinist 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."[1]
Another leading Calvinist and advocate of the doctrine of
the "perseverance of the saints," John Armstrong, actually warns
against eternal security! He states, "I was asked the question about a year
ago by a group of pastors in Pennsylvania… 'What do you think is the one
doctrine that is the most destructive in the life of the church… today?' And I said, the doctrine of Eternal
Security."[2]
In explaining that "…perseverance… is the necessary
attribute of justification," Armstrong went on to say, "God justifies, but man must have faith
and he must obey…. Romans 2:13-14, when
it says the one who obeys the law is justified, it means exactly that. That is not a hypothetical verse, ladies and
gentlemen, the way many Protestants have read it. And when James 2:13-14 says, `The doers of the law shall be
justified,' it means the doers of the law shall be justified. That's why Paul and James are not in
conflict…. Let me suggest… [also]
Ephesians 2:8-10…. We are saved unto
good works. They're necessary
consequential works. Without them there
is no salvation. Right?"[3]
…Wrong! Dead wrong!!! The end result of this distorted doctrine of the
"perseverance of the saints" is a gospel of salvation by works. The reason this series is being written is
to correct this distortion of God's grace and set forth the true, Biblical
teaching on eternal security and perseverance.
Perseverance
of the Saints or Perseverance of the Savior?
So who does all of the work of
saving and keeping? Believers? God?
Believers with the help of God?
Must believers continually collaborate with the sanctifying grace of God
in their lives in order to maintain their faith and achieve final
salvation? That is what Calvinism
actually teaches. But notice that in
numerous passages of Scripture it is God alone who does the work of
saving, keeping, securing, and persevering:
In John 6:39, Christ
specifically says that He
will not lose any saint. "And
this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given
me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day."
In John 10:28-29, it is Christ and the Father who hold onto
believers and never let go, not believers who faithfully hold onto God. "And I give unto them eternal life;
and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my
hand. My Father, which gave them me, is
greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."
In John 17:11-12, it is Christ and the Father who do the
keeping. "Holy Father, keep
through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as
we are. While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept and none
of them is lost, but the son of perdition;[4]
that the scriptures might be fulfilled."
In Romans 5:9-10, it is strictly
the Person and work of Christ which
secures our future, final salvation.
"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be
saved from wrath through him. For if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much
more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." When it comes to the question of whether the
redeemed child of God will ever face the wrath of God in the future, the
inspired Word emphatically denies such a possibility based upon "his
blood" and "the death of his Son." Christ's blood and death are the only answer
for our sin-problem. Thanks be to God that the Holy Spirit does not say our
future deliverance is by our Christian life but "by His
life!"
In Romans 8:29-30, it is God alone who accomplishes the
work of our salvation from start to finish.
There is absolutely no mention of man and God partnering together in the
earthly process of progressive sanctification, which Calvinists claim is
necessary for one to receive final glorification. "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."
In Romans 8:34, it is strictly
the death, resurrection, and intercession
of Christ which answers to all possible condemnation of God's
children. Again, no appeal is made to
the earthly life or on-going faith of the saint. "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is
even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."
In 2 Timothy 1:12, Paul was
confident that it was God who was able to keep what he had entrusted to
Him. "… for I know whom I have
believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day."[5] Our salvation and security is not
based on our ability to endure, nor on any ability which God might give
to us, but on God's ability to keep what lies within His power.
In 2 Timothy 4:18, it is simply the
Lord who preserves us unto heaven, "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve
me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
In Hebrews 7:25, it is Christ's continual intercession
that is stated to be the basis for our complete salvation. "Wherefore he is able also to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them."
In 1 Peter 1:3-5, it is God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
who keeps us saved by His power.[6] "Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us
again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to
an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
The Word of God abundantly and repeatedly
testifies that it is God who keeps His children secure through His own power
and grace. The moment a sinner fulfills
the simple Gospel command to "believe" in Christ for his salvation,
from that moment forward God accomplishes several irreversible, mighty, and
eternal works on his behalf. From the
moment a sinner first believes, the Holy Spirit permanently regenerates him
(Titus 3:5), indwells him (John 14:16), baptizes him into Christ's own body (1
Cor. 12:12-13), and seals him in Christ (Eph. 1:13). God also adopts him (Eph. 1:5), forgives him (Col. 2:13),
justifies him (Rom. 5:1), reconciles him (2 Cor. 5:19), redeems him (Eph. 1:7),
gives him everlasting life in Christ (Rom. 6:23), and guarantees his future
bodily glorification (Rom. 8:18-23).
None of these blessings are ever said to be lost or forfeited through
his disobedience, doubt, or even outright denial of Christ during his earthly
lifetime.
These salvation-blessings are
all promised to believers strictly on the basis of God's grace (Eph. 2:8-9) and
the work of Christ (Rom. 5:9-10). Thus
we are kept secure by God, not because we are so faithful to Him, but because
He is so faithful to us, and because He always keeps His promises. "If we are faithless, He remains
faithful, for He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. 2:13).
The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one condition
to fulfill for our eternal salvation, namely to believe in Christ alone. In Acts 16:30, the million dollar question
was posed, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" What
was the inspired reply in v. 31?
"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved…." But is
receiving salvation really as simple as believing in the Lord Jesus
Christ? Or must that faith endure in
order for our salvation to be sure? To
put it another way, did the Apostle Paul in Acts 16:31 really mean
"Persevere in believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and then thou shalt be
saved"? This is what the
Calvinistic doctrine of the "perseverance of the saints"
requires. And yet according to the
Bible, the faith in Christ by which God eternally saves us is pictured as a
one-time act, not an on-going activity.
There is perhaps no better book in the entire Bible for
illustrating the meaning of the term "believe" than the Gospel of
John. Believing in Christ for eternal
life was in fact the very reason for which this Gospel was written (John
20:30-31). The various forms of the Greek verb for believe (pisteuo) occur a
total of 255 times in the entire New Testament, and 106 of these are in the
Gospel of John alone.[7] That means over 40% of all New Testament
occurrences of this word in verb form are found in John's Gospel alone. No wonder John has traditionally been known
as "the Gospel of Belief." Three examples from John's Gospel will
demonstrate the simplicity of believing in Christ for eternal life.
In John 3:14-15, Christ used the account of the Israelites
in the desert looking to the brass serpent for healing (Numbers 21:5-9) as an
illustration of believing in Him for eternal life.
"And as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
All that was required of the Israelites was a look of
faith, and they were instantaneously and permanently healed. They were not required to keep looking at
the brass serpent for the rest of their lives in order to get healed or stay
healed or prove that they were initially healed! When a lost sinner places his faith in Christ for salvation, at
that instant, he graciously receives God's gift of eternal life and is
instantaneously born again (John 5:24).
On-going faith is not required to complete the heavenly
transaction.[8]
When
the Lord Jesus encountered the sinful, Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar,
He used the analogy of drinking physical water to picture believing in Him for
eternal life. He said to the woman at
the well,
Whoever drinks of this water will
thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will
never thirst. But the water that I
shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into
everlasting life. The woman said to
Him, ‘Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.’
(John 4:13-15, NKJV)
In this passage Christ equates believing in Him with
drinking from the well (cf. Jn. 6:35).
People had to keep drinking from the well of Sychar to satisfy
their physical thirst, but Christ offered this woman a drink from the
well of eternal life which would leave her spiritual thirst quenched for
eternity. Christ was not teaching that
we must keep on drinking, and drinking, and drinking in order to either
maintain the gift of eternal life (Arminianism) or prove that we possess such
life (Calvinism). This understanding of
taking a single drink for eternal life is consistent with the salvation
invitation found at the very end of the Bible, "And whosoever wills,
let him take of the water of life freely"
(Revelation 22:17).
In John
6:31-35, the Lord Jesus contrasted the Israelites' continual eating of manna in
the desert to receiving Him by faith as the Bread of eternal life.
Our fathers did eat manna in the
desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth
you the true bread from heaven. For the
bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the
world. Then said they unto him, Lord,
evermore give us this bread. And Jesus
said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never
hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
(John 6:31-35, see also John 6:47-51).
The
contrast could not be more evident. The Jews here first failed to realize that
Christ was the Bread from heaven.
Secondly, they failed to realize that repeated consumption of this Bread
was not necessary to sustain life as it was with the Israelites in the
desert. Their confusion is seen in v.
34. There they ask Christ to
"evermore" (KJV) give them this Bread. The Greek adverb in v. 34 which modifies "give" is
pantote, which means "always" or "at all times."[9]
They presumed that this Bread must be constantly, repeatedly given and
constantly, repeatedly received in order to meet their need. They were still thinking of their ancestors
who had to consume manna daily because of their unsatisfied physical
hunger. Yet in v. 35, Christ promises
that if they would believe in Him, they would "never hunger." These Jews missed the point that the receiving
of eternal life and satisfaction of spiritual hunger were not to be had by
repeated consumption of some spectacular "Wonder Bread" but by a
solitary act of eating, or believing in the right object, the Lord Jesus Christ
– the Bread of eternal life.
Amazingly, some Calvinists have followed exactly the same
darkened, works-oriented reasoning of the unregenerate Jews whom Christ was
addressing. A.W. Pink declares the
necessity for continual appropriation of Christ in order to inherit final
salvation. He states, "God has purposed the eternal felicity
of His people and that purpose is certain of full fruition, nevertheless it is
not effected without the use of means on their part, any more than a harvest is
obtained and secured apart from human industry and persevering diligence. God has made promise to His saints that
"bread shall be given" them and their "water shall be sure"
(Isa. 33:16), but that does not exempt them from the discharge of their duty or
provide them with an indulgence to take their ease. The Lord gave a plentiful supply of manna from heaven, but the
Israelites had to get up early and gather it each morning, for it melted when
the sun shone on it. So His people are
now required to "labour for the meat which endureth unto everlasting life
(John 6:27)."[10]
But whether it was a look, a
drink, or the act of eating, the Lord Jesus Christ consistently portrayed faith
in Himself for eternal salvation as a simple act, rather than an on-going
activity. Unfortunately, many deny this truth by subtly admitting that while
faith in Christ is necessary for salvation, you must also continually hold on
to Christ in order to be saved. Yet the Bible pictures salvation
differently.
The ark of Genesis 6-8 was a
tremendous picture of God's salvation through Christ.[11] Just as the ark had one door to enter
(Genesis 6:16), so God has one door of salvation for sinners to enter, namely
Jesus Christ (John 10:9). Just as God
miraculously drew all the animals to the ark (Genesis 6:20), so God must
supernaturally draw all men to Christ before they can believe and enter the
door of salvation (John 6:44, 12:32, 16:8).
And just as it was God Himself who shut the door of the ark and secured
its occupants (Genesis 7:16), so God seals us in Christ and eternally secures
our salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30).
Once aboard the ark, its
occupants may have lost their faith in the ark's ability to save them from the
storm of God's judgment; yet the ark would have continued to keep them secure,
despite their loss of faith. It was not
the passengers' ability to continually hold onto the ark which guaranteed their
salvation; it was the integrity of the ark and its ability to withstand the
waves of God's wrath that secured them.
Salvation should never be likened to someone outside the ark who
realized it was seaworthy and then determined to faithfully clutch its sides in
an effort to be saved from the rising floodwaters. This is a Christ + works approach to salvation which will
surely end in eternal perdition. In
contrast, Biblical faith and salvation is likened to one who enters the door of
the ark by a step of faith, trusting in the ark's ability to save him, even
before seeing the impending judgment.
Once inside, he can rest secure from threat of destruction. This is the Christ + nothing
approach to salvation, which is the only approach consistent with God's
grace. The Word of God declares the
wonderfully gracious truth that once a sinner has believed in the Lord Jesus
Christ alone for his eternal salvation, God keeps that person secure in Christ
forever, even if that person should falter due to unfaithfulness.
Calvinistic
Faith
But Calvinists who advocate the
doctrine of the "perseverance of the saints" deny this simple
truth. Calvinism misconstrues God's
sole condition for salvation by making faith in Christ a perpetually
unresolved, lifelong condition. In the
definitions of the doctrine of the "perseverance of the saints"
given by Calvinists themselves, the constancy of God's saving protection is
directly correlated to the constancy of faith.
For example, Edwin Palmer
declares, "The term perseverance of the saints emphasizes that
Christians – saints, as Paul calls them in his letters – will persevere in
trusting Christ as their Savior. They
will not turn on and then turn off, but they will continue believing
forever. Thus they will always be saved."[12]
Referring to Calvinism's
doctrine of "perseverance," John Gerstner writes, "Theologically
speaking, it refers to the fifth point of the Calvinistic doctrinal system that
true Christians will continue in faith and holiness forever."[13]
Finally, as Lorraine Boettner
explains, "…the elect are secured on both sides. Not only will God not depart from them, but
He will so put His fear into their hearts that they shall not depart from Him."14
Tragically, as a result of
linking the constancy of faith with the constancy of salvation, God's sole
requirement for salvation is actually twisted from simple "faith"
into "faithfulness," and the result becomes "another
gospel" of works (Galatians 1:6-9).
g
14 Lorraine Boettner, The
Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian &
Reformed Pub., 1932), p. 201.
Part three of this series on perseverance will begin
examining the Biblical passages which show that a genuine child of God may not
necessarily persevere in faith, though God in His great grace and faithfulness
always perseveres in keeping His saints saved from His wrath.
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] John
MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1988), p.98.
[2] As quoted
by Dave Hunt in What Love Is This?
(Sisters, OR: Loyal Pub., 2002), p.404.
[3] Ibid.
[4] The son of
perdition was Judas Iscariot. He was not
an example of someone who once believed in Christ and then stopped believing
and as a result lost his salvation (Arminianism) or thus proved that he was
never saved to begin with
(Calvinism). Judas never
believed, and consequently he was never saved.
There are no passages of Scripture stating that Judas ever believed at
any time in his life. However,
Scripture does indicate that Judas was an unbeliever from the beginning (John
6:64, 70-71; 13:10-11).
[5] Some
interpret this verse to mean that God is able to keep or protect that which was
"entrusted to me until that day" (RSV, NET Bible). The Greek literally states that "…He is
able to protect ‘my deposit’ or ‘my entrustment’ (ten paratheken mou) until
that day." Those who interpret
this deposit to be the Gospel ministry which God had entrusted to Paul base
this on the contextual references to the gospel in v. 11 and v. 14. Those who interpret this to mean Paul's
entrustment of his eternal destiny, or the deposit of the welfare of his soul
into the safekeeping of God, base their interpretation on the contextual
reference to salvation in vv. 9-10 and on the normal sense of v. 12, namely
that God was able to protect what resided with Him rather than with Paul. This has been the traditional translation
and interpretation (KJV, NKJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[6] Calvinists
cannot insist upon constancy of believing from v. 5 simply by the presence of
the phrase "through faith" (dia pisteos). In v. 5,
"faith" is a noun, and grammatically it does not indicate either kind
of action or time of action, as a verb would indicate in Greek. However, even Calvinists must concede that
grammatically the word "kept" (phrouroumenous) is a passive
voice participle, meaning that God is the subject actively involved in the work
of keeping, and believers are the passive recipients of His act of
keeping. Verse 5 is not teaching that our constancy of faith
determines God's constancy of protection in keeping our final salvation secure.
[7] These
figures are based on the Nestle-Aland 27th edition Critical Greek Text. The Robinson-Pierpont Majority Text varies
slightly with a ratio of 246/100, while the Scrivener Textus Receptus has it
248/100.
[8] Some "perseverance" advocates cannot
let the simplicity of Christ's statement here stand unmolested. Amazingly, one such author transforms simple
faith into a work, "A more careful
study of Numbers 21 reveals that Jesus was not painting a picture of easy
faith. . . . In order to look at the bronze snake on the pole, they had to drag
themselves to where they could see it.
They were in no position to glance flippantly at the pole and then
proceed with lives of rebellion."
John MacArthur, The Gospel
According to Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1988), p.46 (ellipsis
added)
[9] Louw &
Nida define pantote as "duration of time, with reference to a series of
occasions – 'always, at all times, on every occasion.'" (67.88) Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Nida,
eds. Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies,
1988).
[10] A. W. Pink,
The Saint's Perseverance (Lafayette,
IN: Sovereign Grace Pubs., 2001), pp.65-66.
[11] Some who advocate the necessity of the saint's
perseverance for final salvation have used the example of the ship in Acts 27
to establish their doctrine. See Thomas
R. Schreiner & Ardel B. Caneday, The
Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance & Assurance
(Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2001) pp. 209-12; Continuing in the Faith: The
Perseverance of True Believers (Middletown, CT: Middletown Bible Church,
n.d.) p. 5. They teach that though God
promised that no one aboard the ship would perish (vv22-25, 34), the passengers
still needed to heed Paul's warning to stay aboard (v31) if they would
ultimately survive. They make this
analogous to eternal salvation by teaching that once a person is saved by God,
he or she must heed God's warnings in the Christian life to stay aboard the
ship of faith so as to not perish eternally outside of Christ (overboard). As most commentators recognize, Acts 27 is a
passage dealing with the relationship between divine sovereignty and human
responsibility. However, in contrast to
the Ark in Genesis 6-8, neither the immediate context nor parallel passages of
Scripture indicate that eternal deliverance from God's wrath is also in
view. Therefore, to use this passage to
establish the doctrine of "perseverance" for salvation is
illegitimate. Secondly, the passengers
on board do not represent believers who have been regenerated but who must also
persevere in faith to remain saved and on board the ship of faith. Apart from Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus (v2),
it is likely that the other 273 passengers were all unsaved men who had never
come to faith in Christ, or even a profession of faith (v37). In contrast, the eight souls inside Noah's
ark pictured only those who had "found grace in the eyes of the Lord"
(Genesis 6:8; 7:1), in sharp contrast to all the spiritually and physically
lost who were outside the ark (Genesis 6:5, 7:21-23; 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter
2:5). Thirdly, the means of
preservation for the passengers was actually not the ship, which broke apart
(vv 41, 44), but the island of Mileta (27:26, 44; 28:1). Fourthly, the passengers actually swam to
their physical salvation after the ship broke apart (vv 42-44), hardly a
picture of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone apart from any works.
[12] Edwin H.
Palmer, The Five Points of Calvinism
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Co., 1972, enlarged ed.1980), p. 68.
[13] John H.
Gerstner, "Perseverance," in Baker's
Dictionary of Theology, pp. 403-04., as quoted in The Reign of the Servant Kings by Joseph C. Dillow (Miami Springs,
FL: Schoettle Pub. Co., 1992), p. 17.