Must Faith Endure for Salvation to be Secure

Does your justification as a believer in Christ guarantee your practical sanctification? Must you as a believer in Christ experience a daily, progressive sanctification in order to be guaranteed salvation from the wrath of God? Does the fact of your future glorification and final salvation depend upon your walk with Christ and an earthly life of sanctification?

The answer to each of these questions is a resounding "YES" according to advocates of the centuries-old Calvinistic doctrine of the "perseverance of the saints," most popularly expressed today in the teachings of "Lordship Salvation." This unscriptural doctrine teaches that you must have a general pattern of progressive sanctification in your Christian life, or else this proves that you have never been truly saved from Hell.[1] This traditional doctrine of Calvinism is in contrast to the Scriptural doctrine of the three tenses of salvation and the eternal security of the believer.

The Bible teaches that a lost sinner who places his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for his eternal salvation is instantaneously saved by God's grace from the penalty of sin, namely eternal separation from God in Hell. This is the past tense of salvation. It occurs at a point in time. It is conditioned on a single step of faith. It results in a person being born again (regeneration), eternally set-apart to God in Christ (positional sanctification), and declared judicially righteous in the eyes of God (justification). God makes our justification permanent from the moment we first believe.[2]

God also desires born again believers to be saved by His grace from the power of sin and its damaging effects in their lives. This is the present tense of salvation. This occurs at points of time as the child of God takes steps of faith or walks by faith. This results in a person becoming practically righteous in the eyes of God and men (practical sanctification). God makes this practical sanctification possible for every believer, but it is not guaranteed, as we shall see later in this article.[3]

Finally, God promises all who've been justified that He will also save them by His grace from the very presence of sin one day. This is the future tense of salvation. It will occur at a point in time, at the moment of resurrection or the Rapture. It is conditioned only upon the step of faith which preceded justification. It results in the child of God being made perfectly righteous in the eyes of God (perfect sanctification), no longer possessing a sinful nature, and being permanently and completely transformed into Christ's likeness in body, soul, and spirit (glorification). This is promised to every believer from the moment of initial faith in Christ.[4]

Though justification and glorification are guaranteed by God, advocates of the doctrine of the "perseverance of the saints" claim that your practical sanctification is also guaranteed. The unfortunate result of this erroneous conclusion is that it subtly shifts the requirement for eternal salvation from simply faith in Christ's sacrificial death and bodily resurrection to faith in Christ's work plus an on-going life of faith and obedience.

Regarding the certainty of practical sanctification for every believer, Calvinist and leading Lordship Salvation proponent John MacArthur writes, "We have been justified, we are being sanctified, and we shall be glorified. No true believer will miss out on any stage of the process, though in this life we all find ourselves at different points along the way. This truth has been known historically as the perseverance of the saints. No doctrine has been more savaged by no-lordship theology. That is to be expected, because the doctrine of perseverance is antithetical to the entire no-lordship system. In fact, what they have pejoratively labeled "lordship salvation" is nothing but this very doctrine!"[5]

In another place, sounding perilously close to Roman Catholic soteriology, MacArthur states that sanctification "...is an experiential separation from sin that begins at salvation and continues in increasing degrees of practical holiness in one's life and behavior. Sanctification may be observable in greater or lesser degrees from believer to believer. But it is not optional, nor is it separable from other aspects of our salvation . . . There are not two kinds of righteousness – only two aspects of divine righteousness. Righteousness is a single package; God does not declare someone righteous whom He does not also make righteous. Having begun the process, He will continue it to ultimate glorification."[6]

Though MacArthur and other Calvinists claim that every genuine believer will experience progressive sanctification in his or her earthly life-time, the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:30 conspicuously omits any reference to sanctification between the guarantee of justification and glorification. Though it's true that God in His faithfulness never ceases working within the child of God to bring about greater practical sanctification (Gal. 5:16-17; Phil. 2:13), and though most believers do experience some measure of sanctification, this does not automatically guarantee that all believers will become sanctified or even progress in their sanctification, since that would require a continual volitional response of faith and yieldedness (Rom. 6:11-13, 12:1; Eph. 4:30, 5:18; Phil. 2:12).

If practical sanctification were strictly a matter of God's will, then every child of God would automatically progress in sanctification. But Calvinism and its resultant doctrine of Lordship Salvation have seriously distorted the teaching of Scripture by claiming that our glorification, or final salvation, is determined partly by our faith in God's work for us at Calvary and partly by our collaboration[7] with God's sanctifying work in us throughout our Christian lives. However, the terms of eternal salvation as presented in the Biblical Gospel simply involve trust in Christ's work on the cross, not trust in the Holy Spirit's present work within us.

In this sense, Lordship Salvation and its doctrine of the perseverance of the saints have changed the requirement for eternal salvation from faith alone in Christ alone to faith in Christ plus an entire lifetime of sanctified living. Tragically, the result is that the very Gospel of God's grace is changed. This article will continue to show that though God clearly desires the practical sanctification of every believer and has perfectly provided for such, this unfortunately does not follow in the life of everyone who's been genuinely justified by God.

The Bible actually teaches that it is possible for one who has been genuinely saved to …

1) …commit idolatry and apostasy. (1 Kgs 11:1-10)

2) …believe only for a while. (Luke 8:13)

3) ….not continue in Christ's Word. (John 8:30-31)

"And as he spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed"

The Bible clearly teaches that it is possible for one who has been genuinely saved to commit idolatry and apostasy, to not continue in faith, and also to not continue in the word of Christ as His disciple. John 8:30-32 is commonly misinterpreted by advocates of the doctrine of the "perseverance of the saints." They understand this passage as a warning to some people who only "appear" to believe in Christ (v. 30) but who are really unbelievers (vv. 33-59), since they may not "continue" in Christ's word and follow Christ as His disciples (vv. 31-32).[8]

J. Carl Laney expresses this typical, theologically-driven interpretation when he writes, "John records that as a result of this interaction Jesus won some adherents. Whereas the statement is rather straightforward, the concept of "belief" is more complex. Did the adherents really come to trust in His Person as Messiah and Son of God. Were they saved? Regenerated? It is suggested that those people had an intellectual understanding rather than personal trust. They had begun believing but did not continue in the faith. Those same Jews would later seek to kill Him. Their "belief" seems to have come short of regenerating faith."[9]

Likewise, the late Calvinist, James M. Boice, wrote concerning John 8:30-32, "Specific warnings are given to those who heard the gospel and appeared to trust in Christ, and yet were not truly saved. For example, Jesus said, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples" (John 8:31). This seems to say that perseverance on the part of the believer is the final proof of whether he or she is truly born again."[10]

Similarly, A.W. Pink indicates based on this passage that more than believing is necessary for salvation; one must also walk in obedience as a disciple of Christ to be eternally secure. "It is therefore incumbent upon us to take not of those passages which press upon us the necessity of continuance, for they constitute another of those safeguards which God has placed around the doctrine of the security of His saints. On a certain occasion "many believed on Him" (John 8:30), but so far from Christ assuring them that Heaven was now their settled portion, we are told "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, IF ye continue in MY word then are ye My disciples indeed" (v. 31). Unless we abide in subjection to Christ, unless we walk in obedience to Him unto the end of our earthly course, we are but disciples in name and semblance."[11]

These common misinterpretations are, first of all, the result of utterly disregarding the context of this passage. Jesus was speaking to large crowds in the temple (8:20, 59) in Jerusalem who had gathered for the feast of tabernacles (7:2, 37). The crowds were already divided in their opinions about the identity of Jesus (7:43). Among the audience whom Christ addressed, there were scribes and Pharisees present (8:2, 12-13) who were unbelievers and thus unsaved (7:48, 8:24). These unbelievers are distinguished in 8:33-59 from those in 8:30-32 who came to believe in Christ as He was teaching.

In the mixed crowd of believers and unbelievers, it was the unbelievers whom Christ addressed in 8:33-36, who mistakenly thought Christ was addressing them in vv. 31-32. This is why they responded in their self-deception by testifying that they were free, while in fact they were still in bondage to sin. These are the ones who sought to kill Christ (8:37-40). These are the ones whose father was the devil (8:41-44). These are the ones whom Christ, twice, explicitly declares were not believers (8:45-46). Therefore, to interpret these unbelieving men described in John 8:33-59 as being the same men who were twice described by the Apostle John as believers in 8:30-31 not only does violence to the context, but it creates an unnecessary and unscriptural contradiction between the testimony of John (vv. 30-31) and the testimony of Christ (vv. 45-46). It must also be emphasized that the conclusion that the people of vv. 30-31 truly "believed" in Christ comes from the apostle John, not the people's own profession or deluded evaluation of themselves.

Secondly, some commentators have misinterpreted this passage based on an artificial grammatical distinction.[12] They say the people who "believed on Him" (episteusan eis auton) in 8:30 were truly saved, but distinct from those people in 8:31 who were unsaved because they merely "believed Him" (NKJV, NASB, NIV; Greek, pepisteukotas[13] auto). The claim is made that the presence or absence of the Greek preposition "eis" makes all the difference between a belief that is genuine and a belief that is false. Supposedly the people in verse 30 believed "on" (eis) the very Person of Christ, whereas the people in verse 31 merely believed Christ's words and thus had something less than a "saving" kind of faith.

However, the need to distinguish true believers in v. 30 from pseudo-believers in v. 31 appears to be driven by a theological bias for the doctrine of the "perseverance of the saints" rather than Greek grammar. The word "believe" (pisteuo) often appears in the Gospel of John without the preposition "eis" or any preposition for that matter, and yet clearly in some cases the context indicates that genuine salvation is being addressed. John 5:24 is an example of this. There "believe" is used without any preposition. There Christ literally says, "… he who hears My words and believes Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life." [14]

Thirdly, John 8:30-32 is often misinterpreted due to the erroneous theological assumption that all believers in Christ must necessarily be disciples of Christ. However, continuance in the word of Christ only proves that someone is actively following Christ as His disciple, in addition to possessing eternal life. Scripturally, every true disciple of Christ is also a believer in Christ, but not every believer follows Christ as His disciple. It is for this reason that Christ uses a conditional statement in v. 31 to address those who were already believers – "If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed."[15]

The issue in John 8:30-32 is discipleship, not salvation – and there is a vast difference between the two! For example, salvation involves coming to Christ (Luke 14:26; John 6:35-37); discipleship involves coming after Christ in the sense of following Him (Luke 14:27). The issue in salvation is Christ's cross (1 Cor. 1:17-18); but discipleship additionally requires our cross (Luke 14:27).[16] For salvation, the condition is to believe in Christ (John 3:16; Acts 16:31); for discipleship the condition is abiding in Christ (John 8:30-32, 15:7-8). Salvation from Hell occurs at a point in time (John 5:24); discipleship is a process in time (Matt. 28:19-20; Luke 9:23 "daily"). Salvation involves what God gives to us (John 4:10; Eph. 2:8-9); discipleship involves what we give up for Christ (Luke 14:33). Salvation is free to us (Is. 55:1; Rev. 22:17); discipleship will cost us everything (Luke 14:28).[17] Salvation is "not by works" and is not a reward (Titus 3:5; Romans 4:4-5); discipleship will be rewarded by God one day "according to our works" (Matt. 5:11-12, 10:41-42, 16:24-27).

To muddle this distinction between a believer and a disciple is to change the requirement for salvation from simple faith in Christ to faithfulness towards Christ issuing in good works. The end result is a perverted gospel of faith plus works, rather than the simple Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Gal. 1:6-9). g

Part five of this series on perseverance will examine more N.T. 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] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991), p. 548, "It is hard to see how a doctrine which assures the believer of a perseverance in holiness can be an incentive for sin. It would seem that the certainty of success in the active striving for sanctification would be the best possible stimulus to ever greater exertion." See also, Edwin Palmer, The Five Points of Calvinism (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Co., 1972, enlarged ed.1980), pp. 76-79; Curt Daniel, Biblical Calvinism (Springfield, IL: Reformed Bible Church, n.d.), pp. 9-10; John Gerstner, Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth (Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1991), pp. 142-47.

[2] Lk. 7:48-50, 18:9-14; Jn. 3:3-16, 5:24; Acts 13:38-39; Rom. 3:24-28, 4:1-8, 5:1, 9a, 10a, 8:30; Eph. 2:5, 8; 2 Th. 2:13-14; 2 Tm. 1:9; Ti. 2:11, 3:5-7; Heb. 10:14; 1 Jn. 3:1-2a.

[3] Mt. 16:24-27; Jn. 8:32, 17:17; Rom. 6:1-13, 7:24-8:4; Phil. 2:12; 1 Th. 4:3-7; 1 Tm. 4:16, 6:12, 19; Ti. 2:12; Heb. 10:39; Jm. 1:21, 2:14, 4:12, 5:19-20; 1 Jn. 3:3.

[4] Rom. 5:9b, 10b, 8:17-23, 30, 13:11; 1 Cor. 3:15, 5:5; 1 Th. 1:10, 5:8-9, 5:23-24; Ti. 2:13; Heb. 9:28; 1 Pt. 1:5; 1 Jn. 3:2b; Rev. 21:3-4.

[5] John MacArthur, Faith Works (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1993), p. 177.

[6] ibid, p.110 (italics original, ellipses added). MacArthur's statement that "God does not declare someone righteous whom He does not also make righteous" treads an exceedingly fine line with the Roman Catholic doctrine of justification, which states that God only declares someone to be righteous or justified because he or she actually possesses practical righteousness. MacArthur's claim that infused righteousness always accompanies imputed righteousness, and that without infused righteousness one is not truly justified, is virtually indistinguishable from the official Roman Catholic definition of sanctifying grace, minus sacramental works as the means of God's grace. The Roman Catholic position states, "Infused into the very essence of the soul, sanctifying grace is a certain supernatural quality granted by God, without which we are not sanctified or assured justification and salvation." (The Catholic Encyclopedia, Robert C. Broderick, Editor, Thomas Nelson: Nashville, 1987), p. 541.

[7] Notice in the following statement by MacArthur the necessity of man's will continually collaborating with God's will in order to be kept secure, "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." John MacArthur, Faith Works (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1993), p. 185.

[8] D.A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991), pp. 347-48. Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1971), pp. 454-56. Merrill C. Tenney, John: The Gospel of Belief (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1976), pp. 146-149.

[9] J. Carl Laney, John: Moody Gospel Commentary (Moody Press: Chicago, 1992), pp. 162-63.

[10] James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith, Revised Edition (Intervarsity Press: Downers Grove, IL, 1986), p. 520.

[11] A. W. Pink, The Saint's Perseverance (Lafayette, IN: Sovereign Grace Pubs., 2001), p. 76.

[12] Edwin Blum, Gospel of John, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, eds. John Walvoord & Roy Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983), pp. 304-305. Frederic L. Godet, Commentary on John's Gospel (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1978), pp. 665-666. Elmer Towns, The Gospel of John: Believe and Live (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1990), p. 173. W.E. Vine, The Collected Writings of W.E. Vine, Vol. 1 (Nashville, TN: Nelson, 1996), p. 267. B. F. Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1967), pp. 132-33.

[13] Pisteuo in v31 is a perfect tense, active voice, participle.

[14] "he who . . . believes Him who sent Me" (pisteuon to pempsanti me). It may be further emphasized that if the people of v31 were distinct from those in v30, the use of the perfect tense, active voice of pisteuo in v31 hardly seems appropriate, since this indicates a personally-held and settled belief, rather than a fleeting one. For other N.T. examples of the perfect tense, active voice, participle of pisteuo without a preposition which also indicate "true" faith, see Acts 15:5, 16:34, 18:27, 19:8, 21:20, 21:25; Titus 3:8.

[15] This is a third class conditional "if" statement in Greek, meaning it is the condition of possibility; i.e. these believers might or might not have continued in Christ's word.

[16] John MacArthur, a leading advocate of the "perseverance of the saints" view, denies this distinction between a believer and a disciple, "Every Christian is a disciple" (The Gospel According to Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1988), p. 196. His refusal to accept this Biblical distinction leads MacArthur to a heretical conclusion regarding the cross of Christ. He says, "This paradox may be difficult but it is nevertheless true: salvation is both free and costly . . . Thus in a sense we pay the ultimate price for salvation when our sinful self is nailed to a cross" (ibid, p.140). Yet, in no sense do we pay for our salvation! Christ paid it all (John 19:30; Hebrews 1:3; 1 Peter 2:24)!

[17] MacArthur rejects the Biblical distinction between the freeness of eternal life and the costliness of discipleship by placing the cost of salvation upon the believer. "That is the kind of totally committed response the Lord Jesus called for. A desire for Him at any cost. Absolute surrender. A full exchange of self for the Savior. It is the only response that will open the gates of the kingdom. Seen through the eyes of this world, it is as high a price as anyone can pay. But from a kingdom perspective, it is really no sacrifice at all." (ibid, p. 141).