MUST FAITH ENDURE FOR SALVATION TO BE SURE? (Pt. 3)
by Tom Stegall
God's only requirement for lost man to be saved is to
believe in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ for his eternal
salvation (Acts 16:30-31). In part two
of this series, it was shown that the certainty and security of salvation rests
entirely upon the grace of God (Eph. 2:8-9) and the finished work of Christ
(Rom. 5:9-10), not the saint's perseverance in faith and holiness, as the
tradition of Calvinism requires with its unscriptural doctrine of the
"perseverance of the saints."
Instead of the works-oriented approach of the "perseverance of the saints,"
the Scriptures actually teach the gracious, assuring truth of the
"perseverance of the Savior."
This third article will continue contrasting these two doctrines and
begin examining Biblical passages which reveal that one who has been genuinely
saved and is eternally secure may not necessarily persevere in faith and
holiness.
The Calvinistic notion that "real faith" always
perseveres precludes the realistic possibility that someone could genuinely exercise
faith in Christ and as a result be instantaneously and eternally saved, yet
thereafter not walk by faith so as to persevere to the end of their
earthly life. A genuine, saving faith
that is temporal is an impossibility according to the Calvinistic understanding
of the very nature of faith.
According to Calvinism, the spiritually dead soul of man
must be regenerated first before he can believe.[1] Faith is then wrongly assumed to be God's
gift to the unsaved, instead of the gift being strictly salvation itself.[2] According to the logic of Calvinism, faith
is the result of regeneration, rather than the means to it. As Calvinist and Lordship Salvation advocate
John MacArthur explains, "Believing
is therefore the first act of an awakened spiritual corpse; it is the new man
drawing his first breath. Because faith
is unfailing, the spiritual man keeps on breathing."[3]
The Calvinist reasoning on faith goes one step farther –
faith is not only God's gift to the unconditionally elect, but it cannot fail
to be fruitful and enduring since all of God's gifts are perfect (James
1:17). Thus MacArthur continues, "As a divine gift, faith is neither
transient nor impotent. It has an
abiding quality that guarantees its endurance to the end. The familiar words of Habakkuk 2:4, ‘The
righteous shall live by his faith’ …speak not of a momentary act of believing,
but of a lifelong trust in God."[4]
Similarly, Edwin Palmer writes, "But when we realize that faith is not man's gift to God, but is
rather God's gift to man, then we realize that man will never lose his
faith."[5]
Also, James White has recently written, "We are kept indeed by the power of
faith, but it is not a merely human faith, but a divine faith, a gift from
God! Why do some stumble and fall while
others persevere? Is it that some are
better, stronger, than others? No. The
reason lies in the difference between having saving faith and a faith that is
not divine in origin or nature."[6]
When "faith" is redefined in this manner to be
"faithfulness," the practical effect may have eternal
ramifications. If a person's trust is
in their "faithfulness" to Christ as the basis of their acceptance by
God, then they are actually not
trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and His work as their only hope of
eternal salvation. Consequently,
because of their misplaced trust, they may not even be saved! In such a case, a person may have
"faith in his faith" without actually having "faith in Christ
alone."
But, if you have truly trusted in Christ alone for
salvation, the effects of this false doctrine upon your Christian life may also
be tragic. Your assurance of salvation
may vacillate from day to day, depending upon your performance or spiritual
batting average. Assurance may
eventually be lost altogether due to chronic introspection and honest
consideration of your own frequent failures.
While there is certainly a place for questioning the legitimacy of our
salvation, the answer to such a question should be based solely upon the object
of our faith, whether it is Jesus Christ and His work alone, or whether it is
our efforts, our commitment, our church, etc.
Salvation, and assurance of that salvation, is NOT determined by the nature of faith ("saving
faith," "enduring faith," "genuine faith," "real
faith," etc.) or the productivity of our faith ("working
faith," "fruitful faith," etc.), as though salvation were
determined by a certain kind of faith, or amount of faith, versus
a certain object of faith – the Lord Jesus Christ! It is true that some people think they're
saved when they're not. They have a
false assurance of salvation. Yet, the
reason they are deceived is because they are trusting in the wrong object
for their salvation – someone or something other than Jesus Christ.
But according to Calvinistic teaching, though you may be
convinced that you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for your eternal
salvation, you may yet become equally convinced years down the road that you've
simply been self-deceived your entire Christian life. Your present faith may give place to doubts. Imagine, after a lifetime of apparent sweet
communion with God in prayer, your doubts overwhelm you and you become
convinced that you were just talking to yourself the whole time!! Imagine witnessing to scores of lost souls
throughout your life and even having the privilege of leading them to salvation
in Christ, yet due to possible spiritual infidelity towards the end of your
Christian life, you become persuaded that you're the one who's actually
perishing! Imagine eagerly awaiting the
Blessed Hope of Christ's return, only to realize that, in your case, it was a
false hope after all, since you didn't persevere to the end in faith and
holiness, and you are – after all – a mere professor of salvation and
not an actual possessor. If your
faith fails to endure, your "blessed assurance" of salvation can all
change in a moment according to Calvinism's doctrine of perseverance. Such is
the tragedy of false doctrine.
It is no wonder that so many Calvinists down through the
centuries have lacked complete assurance of salvation, especially upon their
deathbeds. One author states regarding
the most prominent Puritan theologian of the late 16th century, William
Perkins, "Believing in Christ to
Perkins means sooner or later to descend inside ourselves; the eventual result
is not merely introspection, but a doctrine of faith that could easily breed
legalism."[7] It is no wonder that he goes on to say, “…Perkins reportedly died `in the conflict
of a troubled conscience.'" [8]
Tragically, many other Puritans cried out to God for mercy
upon their deathbeds, being yet afflicted with the uncertainty that they were
numbered among God's elect. Even one contemporary Calvinist admits, "Most of the Puritans taught that
believers could not expect assurance until long after conversion, and only
after a life of extended faithfulness.
They tended to make assurance dependent on the believer's ability to
live at an almost unattainable level of personal holiness . . . As we might
expect, the Puritans' demanding preaching led to a widespread lack of assurance
among their flocks. Christians became
obsessed with whether they were truly elect, and many lapsed into morbid
introspection and despair."[9]
Even the original Calvinist himself, John Calvin,
apparently did not possess complete assurance of salvation. Writing in his will shortly before his death
in 1564, he still did not know with absolute certainty that he was one of the
"elect" because he hadn't persevered to the end yet, and thus he
could only wish for final salvation.
He declared in his will, "I
testify also and profess that I humbly seek from God, that He may so will me to
be washed and purified by the great Redeemer's blood, shed for the sins of the
human race, that it may be permitted me to stand before His tribunal under the
covert of the Redeemer Himself."[10] How tragic that he still did not know
whether it would be so "permitted" him or not, when in fact the Word
of God clearly states that God "is not
willing that any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9) and that He "desires all men to be
saved" (1 Timothy 2:4).
Lack of assurance due to the erroneous doctrine of the
"perseverance of the saints" has not only characterized Calvinists of
the past, but also of the present. For
example, traditional five-point Calvinist John MacArthur teaches that you may
not be saved if your faith fails in one of life's many trials. "Temptations
. . . and tests don’t weaken or shatter real faith – just the opposite. They strengthen it. People who lose their faith in a trial only
show that they never had real faith to begin with."[11]
Likewise MacArthur concludes that you are not truly saved
if you fail to properly receive church discipline. "The church discipline
process our Lord outlined in Matthew 18 is predicated on the doctrine of
perseverance. Those who remain hardened
in sin only demonstrate their lack of true faith. Those who respond to the rebuke and return to the Lord give the
best possible evidence that their salvation is genuine. They can be sure that if their faith is real
it will endure to the end – because God Himself guarantees it."[12]
And nearly all Calvinists who hold to the doctrine of the
"perseverance of the saints" will agree with MacArthur that if a
professed believer commits apostasy, it proves that person was never genuinely
saved. He says, "True believers will persevere.
If a person turns against Christ, it is proof that person was never
saved…. No matter how convincing a person's testimony might seem, once he
becomes apostate he has demonstrated irrefutably that he was never saved."[13]
But is all of this really
what the Bible teaches? Fortunately,
our faith does not stand on the shifting opinions of men, nor on
"historical theology" or religious traditions, but only upon the sure
footing of the inspired Word of God.
And the Word itself does not teach such ungracious doctrines. In part two of this series, it was
previously shown from Scripture that we are not kept secure because of the
power and persistence of our faith; even if it is "God-enabled"
faith. Rather, we are kept because of
the power and perseverance of God in His great faithfulness toward us (Lam.
3:21-23). Though Calvinistic theology
denies it, the Scriptures clearly reveal that the faith of a genuine child of
God may, unfortunately, not be continuous, enduring, or fruitful. This is not due to any failure on God's part
to ceaselessly desire our practical sanctification; rather it is due to our own
stubbornness and infidelity in failing to cooperate with His sanctifying grace
in our lives. The Scriptures repeatedly
bear this out.
The
Bible actually teaches that it is possible for one who has been genuinely saved
to…
1) …commit
idolatry and apostasy. (1 Kg.
11:1-10)
But king Solomon loved many
strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites,
Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;
2 Of the nations concerning which
the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither
shall they come in unto you: for surely
they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in
love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred
concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when
Solomon was old, that his wives
turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the
LORD his God, as was the heart
of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the
Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 And Solomon did
evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. 7 Then did
Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill
that is before Jerusalem, and
for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8 And likewise did he for
all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. 9 And
the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God
of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, 10 And had commanded him
concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not
that which the LORD commanded.
Can a
man be genuinely saved and yet have 1,000 wives? Can a man be genuinely saved and worship false gods? Can a man be genuinely saved and even build
temples of worship to such demon-gods?
Most Christians today would denounce such a possibility with epithets of
"heresy"… "antinomianism"… and "cheap
grace." Admittedly, it is
revolting to consider that a genuinely redeemed child of God would actually
commit such things. Yet, the basis for
our doctrinal beliefs is not our emotions or personal opinions, but the Word of
the Living God – the Bible. According
to the Bible, saved Solomon was not only unequally yoked to an unbelieving
wife, which the Bible forbids (2 Cor. 6:14), but he had a thousand unequal yokes
upon him!
The
detrimental effect of such sin was predictable. The man whom God used to write
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon – saved Solomon – turned away
from the God of Israel in dreadful idolatry and apostasy. Solomon did not merely, passively comply
with the false beliefs of his numerous wives; he eventually embraced them as
his own, and how great was his fall! The inspired Word tells the woeful story
that "his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel" (v. 9)
so that "Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and
after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites" (v. 5). And 1 Kings 11:7 adds that he followed
"Chemosh, the abomination of Moab."
Regarding
these verses, one commentary states, "As
Solomon grew older he got farther away from God (cf. 1 Kings 11:33). Ashtoreth was a goddess of sex and fertility
whose worship involved licentious rites and worship of the stars. She was a vile goddess (cf. 2 Kings 23:13). Molech worship involved human sacrifices,
especially children, which was strictly prohibited by the Law (Lev. 18:21;
20:1-5). Chemosh worship was equally cruel and licentious." [14]
Nor did
Solomon merely have his internal affections diverted toward these false gods,
he actually had temples and shrines built in their honor (vv. 7-8)! One Old
Testament scholar, John Whitcomb, comments regarding Solomon's apostasy, "Let us attempt to picture the
situation that developed around Jerusalem during the last fifteen or twenty
years of Solomon's reign. It must have
been like Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., lined with the embassies
and legations of many nations – little islands of foreign culture within the
borders of the United States. A few
years ago I visited this section of our capital city and walked into a
fabulously beautiful Moslem mosque crowned with a white limestone minaret
piercing the sky above. The costly
structure was built with contributions from fifteen predominantly Moslem
countries of Africa and Asia, so that there, on that 30,000 square-foot portion
of American soil, the god Allah is officially honored! So it was during Solomon's declining
years. Shrines to pagan gods with
attending priests and guardian queens dotted the hills surrounding Jerusalem."[15]
It is
hard to imagine that a true child of God could commit the atrocities which
Solomon did – even following a ruthless deity like Milcom, otherwise known as
Molech.[16] The Old Testament vividly describes this
demon-god as requiring child-sacrifice by having babies burned to death upon
the fiery arms of his statue (Deut. 12:2-3, 29-31; 2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah
32:35; 1 Cor.10:19-21). Yet Solomon not
only walked[17] after
Molech (v. 5), but he actually built a house of worship for him (v. 7)!
Surely all of this constitutes the worst form of apostasy
imaginable! No doubt that in Solomon's
polytheism, he still retained a place for Yahweh, the one, true God of Israel,
alongside Ashtoreth, Chemosh, Molech, and other false deities. But advocates of the Calvinistic doctrine of
the "perseverance of the saints" should not find any solace in the
fact that Solomon did not appear to renounce his faith in Yahweh entirely, at
least in a confessional sense. Surely
there is no virtue in holding only to a creedal belief in Yahweh while
simultaneously denying Him in one's heart and committing spiritual adultery
with many other gods. Few wives would
say to their cheating, polygamist husbands, "You mean you still want me
too, in addition to your five other wives – oh, what a relief that you still
desire to stay married to me along with all those other women!" Solomon represents a frighteningly real
example of an eternally secure child of God who practically apostatized from
the faith, and who did not persevere in personal faith and holiness.[18] So, the Bible actually teaches that it is
possible for one who has been genuinely saved to commit idolatry and apostasy.
2) …believe only for a while. (Luke 8:13)
Now the parable is this: The seed
is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the
devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should
believe and be saved. 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and
these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation
fall away. 14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have
heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to
perfection. 15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and
good heart, having heard the word, keep it,
and bring forth fruit with patience.
This is
the parable of the four soils, representing four different responses and
conditions of heart toward the seed of God's Word. Calvinistic interpretation sees only the fruitful, fourth soil in
v. 15 as representing the true believer, while soils 1-3 represent the
unsaved. All parties would agree that
the first soil represents unsaved people who have the word taken out of their
hearts by Satan, "lest they should believe and be saved."
Lorraine
Boettner explains the typical Calvinist view of the second soil in v. 13, "Some fall away from a profession of
faith, but none fall away from the saving grace of God. Those who do fall have never known the
latter. They are the stony-ground hearers,
who have no root in themselves, but who endure for a while; and when
tribulation or persecution arises, straightway they stumble. They are then said to have given up or to
have made shipwreck of that faith which they never possessed except in
appearance."[19]
Similarly,
contemporary Calvinist James White writes, "Many
are those who make professions not based upon regeneration, and the
"faith" that is theirs will not last. Jesus taught this truth in the parable of the soils in Matthew
13:3-9, 18-23. Some of the seed that
was sown resulted in immediate growth.
But the growth produced no fruit and did not last. These are those who have false, human faith
that does not last. But those with true
faith produce fruit and remain."[20]
But do
the second and third soils in Matthew 13:20-22 and Luke 8:13-14 describe
unsaved people, who only profess faith in Christ but do not possess
genuine faith in Christ? Luke 8:13
clearly says that the people represented by the second soil "receive the
word with joy" and "for a while believe," though they fall away
due to persecution. Logically, those in
Luke 8:13 appear to fulfill the condition for salvation stated in Luke 8:12,
namely they "believe." The Holy Spirit-inspired text actually says
in v. 13 that they "believe."
It does not say that they "professed" to believe, or lacked
"genuine" faith, or "appeared to believe," or only had
"human" faith, etc. The only
reason someone would reject the plain testimony of the Holy Spirit here is
because it doesn't fit their theology.
"Faith" may not endure.
Yet,
some Calvinists object that the people described in v. 13 cannot be saved
because they "have no root" in themselves. According to this interpretation, the root
represents the presence of regenerated life from God within the soul of the
believer. However, the phrase "have
no root" (Gr. hrizan ouk exousin) should not be understood in an
absolute sense to preclude the very presence of a root, but rather in the
qualified sense of "no depth of
root." It is for this reason that
the New American Standard translation of Luke 8:13 says, "…and these
have no firm root." This
harmonizes better with Christ's teaching about the second soil in the parallel
passage of Matthew 13:5. He says of the
second soil, "Some fell upon stony
places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because
they had no deepness of earth." Likewise, Christ also taught in Luke 8:6 that “…some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it
was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture." In both Matthew 13:5 and Luke 8:6, the rocky
soil received the seed, it germinated, and then "sprung up." This certainly indicates the presence
of life, not its absence! The
second soil teaches us that faith in Christ may not persevere.
Similarly,
the people represented in the third soil (v. 14) reveal that believers may not
have a fruitful faith. These people did
not bring forth fruit to perfection because of the cares of this life. The Calvinist interpretation would say that
no genuine spiritual fruit had even begun growing because they were never
originally saved. However, v. 14 does
not say that there was no fruit present, but only that it became "choked
out" and did not come forth "to perfection." Unfortunately, the second and third soils
describe an all too common condition today among many Christians who are
genuinely saved but are not spiritually fruitful in the midst of persecution
and temptation. This passage clearly
reveals that it is possible for "real faith" not to persevere or be
fruitful. Only a person's 400 hundred
year old, preconceived theological bias would change what the prima facie
reading of this passage indicates.
So, the Bible not only teaches that it is possible for one
who has been genuinely saved to commit idolatry and apostasy, but also to be
unfruitful and believe only for a while. g
Part four of this series will examine more N.T. passages
showing that a genuine child of God may not necessarily persevere in personal
faith, yet such a one is still secure in Christ.
[1] Duane E.
Spencer, TULIP: The Five Points of
Calvinism in the Light of Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Co.
1979), p.89; John Gerstner, Wrongly
Dividing the Word of Truth (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1991),
pp. 140-41.
[2] See George
Zeller's articles "What is the Gift of God?" Pts. 1-2 in the
July/August & September/October 1999 editions of the Grace Family Journal
which directly address this very issue.
[3] John
MacArthur, Faith Works (Dallas: Word
Publishing, 1993), p. 69.
[4] John
MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1988), p. 173 (ellipsis added).
[5] Edwin H.
Palmer, The Five Points of Calvinism
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Co., 1972, enlarged ed.1980), p. 70.
[6] James R.
White, The Potter's Freedom
(Amityville, NY: Calvary Press, 2000), p. 292.
[7] R.T.
Kendall, Calvin and English Calvinism to
1649 (Great Britian: Paternoster Press, 1997), pp. 53, 75.
[8] Ibid.
[9] John MacArthur, Faith Works (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1993), p. 161. (ellipsis added)
[10] Norman F.
Douty, The Death of Christ, Rev. and
Enlarged (Irving, TX: Williams & Watrous Pub. Co., 1978), p. 176.
[11] John
MacArthur, Faith Works (Dallas: Word
Publishing, 1993), p. 186 (ellipsis
added).
[12] Ibid, p.
192.
[13] John
MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1988), p. 98 (ellipsis added); see also Louis
Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand
Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991), pp. 548-49; Lorraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination
(Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed Pub., 1932) p. 187; Curt Daniel,
Biblical Calvinism (Springfield, IL:
Reformed Bible Church, n.d.), p. 10; John Gerstner, Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth &
Hyatt Pubs., 1991), p. 221; A.W. Pink, The Saint's Perseverance (Lafayette, IN:
Sovereign Grace Pubs., 2001), p. 77.
[14] The Bible
Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck
(Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), p. 508.
[15] John C.
Whitcomb, Solomon to the Exile: Studies
in Kings and Chronicles (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1987), p.18. It is no wonder that Whitcomb identifies
Solomon's transgression as actual "apostasy" when he titles this
section of his commentary, "Solomon's
Apostasy."
[16] Though some
scholars maintain a slight distinction between Molech and Milcom [Keil &
Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old
Testament, Vol. 3 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Pubs., 1996), p. 119; The International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia, Vol.3, Geoffrey Bromiley, gen. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 1986), p. 401] most scholarship acknowledges that they are practically
synonymous [see The New International
Dictionary of Biblical Archeology, eds. E. M. Blaiklock and R. K. Harrison
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1983), p.320; The
Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B.
Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), p. 508; The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, O. T. ed. Charles Pfeiffer (Chicago:
Moody Press, 1987), p.322; Robert L. Hubbard, Everyman's Bible Commentary: First & Second Kings (Chicago:
Moody Press, 1991), p. 68; The New
Unger's Bible Dictionary, R.K. Harrison, ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988),
p. 488; Howard F. Vos, Bible Study
Commentary: 1, 2 Kings (Grand Rapids, MI: Lamplighter Books, 1989), p. 84;
Leon J. Wood, Israel's United Monarchy
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1979), p. 330.]
[17] In 1 Kings
11:5, the Hebrew text literally says that Solomon "walked after"
(yalak achar) these gods. This is an
expression in the Old Testament for the actual worship of idols (Jer. 2:5, 2:8,
9:14, 16:11; Ezek. 16:47). Thus, the
NET Bible translates v. 5, "Solomon worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte
and the detestable Ammonite god Milcom."
Furthermore, 1 Kings 11:33 also implies that Solomon was involved in
"worship" (Heb. shachah) of these false gods along with his fellow
Israelites.
[18] There is no
conclusive evidence that Solomon's life ended in either a "state of
disgrace" (apostasy) or a "state of grace" (perseverance).
Though the book of Ecclesiastes reflects Solomon's perspective sometime later
in his life, it must also be admitted that neither Ecclesiastes, 1 Kings, 2
Chronicles, or any other Old Testament book records his actual beliefs and
perspectives leading up to, and immediately prior to, his death.
[19] Lorraine
Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of
Predestination (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed Pub., 1932),
p. 191.
[20] James R.
White, The Potter's Freedom
(Amityville, NY: Calvary Press, 2000), p. 292.