Must Faith Endure for Salvation to be Secure

If the Gospel is worth believing and staking our eternal destiny upon, then it is also worth proclaiming frequently to others and defending earnestly against corruptions to it. This series of articles is being written with the intent of clarifying and defending one aspect regarding the Gospel of the grace of God. This series has dealt with the problem in Christendom of changing the sole condition for eternal salvation from faith alone in Christ alone to the condition of ongoing faithfulness toward Christ.

Many within Christendom affirm that sinners are justified by faith in Christ, but then they practically deny that affirmation by adding qualifications to faith, saying such things as, "Faith alone saves, but saving faith is never alone; it must also be fruitful and have good works attached to it, or else it is not genuine faith." Or, they often say, "Yes, faith alone saves, but your faith must endure to the end for you to ultimately be saved." When such qualifying statements are made, the Gospel is no longer the "good news" of what God has done in giving His Son to die for all of our sins and thus providing salvation freely to undeserving, helpless sinners who will receive it by personally believing and receiving what Christ has done for them. When such qualifications are placed upon faith, the Gospel is changed from the "good news" of what God has done for man to the "bad news" of what man must strive to do for God in order to be saved.

However, in contrast to this, when a sinner believes that Jesus Christ died to completely pay for all his sins, so that no other means of satisfying the holy justice of God is necessary, and he believes that God raised His Son from the dead, the Bible promises that such an individual has eternal life and will be saved. Romans 5:8-10 declares regarding sinners who have believed in Christ, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." Our entire salvation, whether past, present, or future, is based entirely upon the lasting, propitiatory work of Christ and the enduring faithfulness of God in fulfilling the promises of His Word. We are not saved by our persevering faithfulness as saints but by the persevering faithfulness of our Savior!

This reassuring truth was illustrated by the late grace-oriented Bible teacher, James H. Brookes, as he recounted the testimony of a dying Scottish woman. Permit me to quote him at length, as he writes:

A young minister was in the habit of visiting an aged Scotch woman in his congregation who was familiarly called "Old Nanny." She was bedridden and rapidly approaching the end of her "long and weary pilgrimage," but she rested with undisturbed composure and full assurance of faith upon the finished work of Christ. One day he said to her, "Now, Nanny, what if, after all your confidence in the Saviour, and your watching and waiting, God should suffer your soul to be lost?" Raising herself on her elbow, and turning to him with a look of grief and pain, she laid her hand on the open Bible before her, and quietly replied, "Ah, dearie me, is that a' the length you have got yet, man? God," she continued earnestly, "would have the greatest loss. Poor Nanny would but lose her soul, and that would be a great loss indeed, but God would lose His honor and His character. Haven't I hung my soul upon His 'exceeding great and precious promises'? and if He brak' His word, He would make Himself a liar, AND A' THE UNIVERSE WOULD RUSH INTO CONFUSION.

Brookes, commenting on this story, says,

This anecdote reveals the true ground of the believer's safety. It is as high as the honor of God; it is as trustworthy as His character; it is as immutable as His promises; it is as broad as the infinite merits of His Son's atoning blood. There has long been a sharp controversy between theological writers concerning the doctrine of "the perseverance of the saints," as it is called, but, like most controversies among true Christians, it is owing largely to a misapprehension or misapplication of the terms employed in the dispute. The question, properly presented, is not about the perseverance of the saints, but the perseverance of the Lord. If the saints were left to themselves, it is not only probable, but certain, that they would not persevere, but if the Lord perseveres in His purpose of grace, it is not only probable, but certain, that they will be saved. Inasmuch, then, as the phrase, "perseverance of the saints," is not found in the Bible, and as it may possibly turn our attention from the Saviour to ourselves, which is always fraught with evil, I prefer to think of the perseverance of the Lord in speaking of the believer's safety.[1]

Though the Bible teaches that God faithfully perseveres in keeping eternally saved all who have been genuinely born again, the traditional Calvinist doctrine of the "perseverance of the saints" teaches that your faith must endure to the end and manifest itself in good works in order for you to reach heaven's glory. This unscriptural doctrine teaches that genuine faith in Christ always, of necessity, perseveres to the end of one's earthly life. And if your faith in Christ doesn't endure to the end, then according to Calvinism, this simply proves that you never "truly" believed in Christ and you were never really saved. This is not a doctrine drawn from a careful exegesis of Scripture, but it is instead based on the philosophical deductions of Calvinistic tradition, as this article will show by examining several more biblical passages which reveal that a genuine child of God may not necessarily have a faith that perseveres to the end and manifests itself in practical holiness. However, with that said, let it also be stated most emphatically, this should never be misconstrued to teach that believers shouldn't persevere in the faith,[2] but only that they will not always do so and in fact do not need to do so in order for God in grace to keep them eternally saved.

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)

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

3) …not continue in the Word of Christ. (Jn. 8:31)

4) …not abide in Christ. (John 15:1-8)

5) …become disqualified in the race of the Christian life. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

6) ...resist God's chastening & correction unto the point of physical death. (1 Cor. 11:30-32)

7) …stray from the faith. (1 Timothy 1:5-6)

8) …shipwreck faith. (1 Timothy 1:18-20)

9) …fall away from the faith. (1 Timothy 4:1-3)

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. (1 Timothy 4:1-3) (NASB)

Here is yet another passage which teaches that it is possible for one who is saved to depart from his or her faith. The New American Standard translation is used above, because in this instance it translates the passage with greater precision. There are three parties described in this passage.[3] First, there are the demonic spirits who are the source of false doctrine. Second, there are the human false teachers who are called "liars" in v2, who are also the medium for the demonic false teaching. Finally, there are the human victims of false doctrine, who are actually the ones who fall away from the faith in v1. This passage issues a sobering warning that genuine believers may apostatize as a result of heeding false doctrine and false teachers (in this case probably unsaved false teachers), which all originates in demonic deceit.

This passage also provides an illustration of apostasy, since the Greek word for "fall away" in v1 is "apostesontai," which is the form of a Greek word from which we derive our English word "apostasy."[4] The term literally means to stand off, go away, withdraw, depart, desert, or fall away.[5] Though the term occurs fourteen times in the Greek New Testament, it is only used in the context of spiritual departure or apostasy in three passages (Lk. 8:13; 1 Tim. 4:1; Heb. 3:12).

The apostasy or falling away mentioned in this passage is predicted to occur “in the later times” (v1) and it will be characterized by legalism and asceticism, specifically forbidding marriage and abstaining from certain foods (v3). The "later times" does not refer to only the very last segment of the 2,000 years of Church history, as some might be prone to think. Rather, a careful study of Scripture reveals that the later times, or "last days," span from the apostles' generation all the way to Christ's return (2 Tim. 3:5, 4:3-5; Heb. 1:1-2; 1 Pt. 1:18-20; 1 Jn. 2:18). The apostles lived with the expectation of Christ's imminent return in their own lifetime.[6] They did not live with the belief that the Church Age would last 2,000 years and that Christ wouldn't return for two entire millennia. They believed they were living in the last times. Therefore, the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit's prophecy in 1 Timothy 4:1-3 could have occurred either within Paul and Timothy's generation, or any time subsequent to them.

Though this passage has application toward any asceticism throughout the Church Age, it is so specific in citing the precise form of false doctrine that its identification with Roman Catholicism seems hard to miss. What other professing Christian body has made it a matter of church policy and doctrine to forbid marriage and require holy days of fasting?! This prophecy undoubtedly describes the rise of that great apostate form of Christianity, Roman Catholicism, within the first few centuries of Church history.

Within the early church, genuine believers were falling away in apostasy through demonically inspired false doctrines, until there was a departure from "the faith" on such a grand scale that the "Mother Church" could no longer be identified as the true body of Christ, consisting of His own regenerated members. With succeeding generations of professing Christians, the percentage of those who at one time actually possessed "the faith" grew smaller and smaller. Eventually Christendom became engulfed with unsaved professing Christians who never had "the faith" to begin with in order to depart from it. As the ranks of succeeding generations swelled with people who never once believed the truth of the gospel but were reared on "doctrines of demons," the institutionalized church gradually became the receptacle of so much that is "antichrist." It eventually became the habitation for every foul and unclean spirit (Mt. 13:24-32; Rev. 17:1-18:4). Such is the heritage of Romanism.

This brings us back to the matter of the perseverance of the saints. In 1 Timothy 4:1 it says that "some" will fall away (apostatize) from "the faith." Do the people in v1 who fall away from the faith constitute genuine believers or mere professors? Since losing genuine faith and committing apostasy is impossible according to the Calvinistic doctrine of perseverance,[7] then the only explanation left to the Calvinist is to conclude that these individuals were never genuine believers. Anthony Hoekema holds this interpretation of 1 Timothy 4:1, explaining,

The word "faith," however, as is common in the Pastoral Epistles, is here used in the objective sense, as meaning the truth which is believed (fides quae creditur) rather than the act which appropriates Christ and his merits (fides qua creditur). What Paul is saying here is that in later times many will fall away from a profession of the Christian religion. Such a defection would not imply that these defectors had true faith to begin with.[8]

In contrast to this interpretation, several factors lead to the opposite conclusion that these were indeed genuine believers who fell from the faith. First, while it is true, as some Calvinists have correctly noted, that there is a technical distinction between personal faith ("faith") and the objective body of Christian truth ("the faith"),[9] it is not true that one who merely holds to "the faith" must possess something less than genuine personal "faith." In the 243 occurrences of the word for faith (pistis) in the Greek New Testament,[10] the word occurs with the definite article ("the faith") 129 times. Of the 128 occurrences of "the faith" outside of 1 Timothy 4:1, NEVER ONCE does this phrase describe someone who is not a believer or one with something less than genuine faith in God! In fact, in numerous passages the phrase in Greek, "the faith," doesn't refer to the objective body of Christian doctrine at all, but seems to refer only to personal faith![11] Therefore, one should not be so insistent that unsaved, unbelievers fell away from merely the body of Christian doctrine, rather than genuine believers falling away from personal faith.

Secondly, it should be noted that later in this same epistle, in 1 Timothy 6:10-12, the fine theological distinction between personal "faith" and "the faith" cannot be maintained. There, v10 has "the faith," v11 has simply "faith," and v12 in Greek has "the faith." In this passage, some had strayed from “the faith” (v10) by pursuing riches, and thus Timothy was to pursue “faith” (v11) as part of the good fight of “the faith” (v12). Clearly in terms of Paul's usage, and in God's mind, holding to "the faith" cannot be differentiated from having personal "faith."

Thirdly, the expression "the faith" occurs just one chapter later in this same epistle in 1 Timothy 5:8, where it says, "if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Here, the one who initially has "the faith" and ends up practically denying "the faith" is contrasted with an unbeliever! Clearly, the ones who had "the faith" were regarded by Paul (and the Lord) as actual believers, not unbelievers who only had "mental assent" but not "saving faith."

Fourthly, the fact that the individuals in 1 Timothy 4:1 fall away from the faith reveals that they once had the faith, for you can't fall away from something you never had. The word in 1 Timothy 4:1 for "fall away" (aphistemi) consistently conveys the idea of departure from a position once occupied. In all eleven occurrences of this word in the Greek New Testament where faith is not at issue (i.e. Lk. 8:13; 1 Tim. 4:1; Heb. 3:12), the meaning of this word is clearly that of a spatial departure from a position once held.[12] Therefore, it is most logical to conclude that in 1 Timothy 4:1, those who apostatized fell away from the faith they once possessed.

Finally, when Paul instructs Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:6 and 4:11 to continually remind the "brethren" of "these things" recorded in 4:1-5, he is effectively issuing a warning to these genuine believers not to fulfill the apostasy which the Holy Spirit predicts in 4:1. There is nothing in the context of this passage to indicate that genuine believers in Christ are immune to the apostasy mentioned in 4:1.

10) …deny the faith. (1 Timothy 5:8)

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Timothy 5:8) (NKJV)

According to this verse, not every denial of the faith is through doctrinal defection or heresy. Here it is through hypocrisy when our deeds don't befit our doctrine. In practice, if a Christian doesn't provide for the needs of his own family, he is worse than an unbeliever, because even unbelievers naturally care for their own. Many a true child of God has not actually persevered in the faith in this sense! The term for "deny" here (arneomai) is used repeatedly in all four Gospel's of Peter's denial of Christ (Matt. 26:70-72; Mk. 14:68-70; Lk. 22:57; Jn. 18:25-27). It is also the term used in the Epistles to describe the unsaved false teachers who deny Christ (2 Timothy 3:5; Titus 1:16; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 2:22-23; Jude 1:4). So it is possible for a genuine child of God to be just like the unsaved in denying the faith, and in a practical sense, be even worse than an unbeliever by not providing for the needs of his own family.

11) …cast off initial faith and follow Satan. (1 Timothy 5:12-15)

But refuse the younger widows; for when they have begun to grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, having condemnation because they have cast off their first faith. And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not. Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some have already turned aside after Satan. (1 Timothy 5:12-15) (NKJV)

There is no implication in this passage that Paul is addressing the conduct of young women in the church who merely professed Christ but didn't truly possess Christ. In order for these young women to have cast off their initial faith,[13] they must have had faith in the first place in order to cast it off! Furthermore, they are described as having turned aside to follow after Satan. The term for following "after" Satan (opiso) is also used throughout the four Gospels in the positive sense of following Christ as his disciple (Matt. 10:38, 16:24; Mk. 1:17, 8:34; Lk. 9:23, 9:62, 14:27). No doubt these young women were unwittingly following after the deceiver, as Scripture elsewhere indicates such a frighteningly real possibility even for genuine Christians (Matt. 16:23; 1 Tim. 3:6-7; 2 Tim. 2:25-26). As with 1 Timothy 5:8, this is probably another example of non-doctrinal apostasy for the true child of God.

12) …stray from the faith by loving money. (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:9-10) (NKJV)

Just as some denied the faith in 1 Timothy 5:8 by neglecting to provide for the physical needs of their own family, here in an opposite sense, it is also possible to stray from the faith by loving money and making the pursuit of it our ambition, rather than serving the Lord Jesus. The word for "strayed" in the Greek of v10 (apoplanao) occurs only one other time in the N.T., in Mark 13:22, where it is used of antichrists and false prophets in the future tribulation who will lead people astray by their deception. Many a genuine believer has been led astray from his faith in Christ by the love of money. This truth is also depicted by the third soil in Luke 8:14.

13) …stray from the faith by professing false doctrine. (1 Timothy 6:20-21)

O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge — by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you.

(1 Timothy 6:20-21) (NKJV)

This passage reiterates the previous warnings in 1 Timothy 1:5-6 and 4:1-3 about the dangers of doctrinal deviation. It should be noted from this passage that Paul considered Timothy personally susceptible to apostasy and warned him accordingly. There is no assumption here that since Timothy had genuine faith (2 Tim. 1:5) he was guaranteed to persevere in that faith to the end.

We have seen that, far from establishing the Calvinist claim that genuine faith always perseveres to the end in faith and holiness, the Scriptures teach it is possible for one who is genuinely saved to fall away from the faith, deny the faith, cast off initial faith, and stray from the faith. But even if we, as God's own redeemed ones, should fall from faith in these various ways, God still remains faithful! His grace does much more abound toward us (Rom. 5:20), there is still no condemnation for us (Rom. 8:1), there is still the guarantee of our future glorification (Rom. 8:30), He is still for us (Rom. 8:31), we are still justified in His sight (Rom. 8:33), the saving work of Christ still applies toward us (Rom. 8:34), He still loves us for Christ's sake and His promises are still true (Rom. 8:35-39), and He will not revoke His gift of eternal life (Rom. 6:23, 11:29). "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. 2:13). g

Part eight of this series will examine more N.T. passages which further reveal that a genuine child of God may not necessarily have a persevering or productive faith.

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] James H. Brookes, The Way Made Plain (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1967), pp. 194-95.

[2] A future article in this series will be devoted exclusively to answering the question, "why should every believer persevere in the faith?"

[3] The KJV and NKJV do not translate v2 accurately, giving the impression that there are just two parties involved, namely the demons and the false teachers who themselves fall away from the faith. However, Greek scholars are in virtual unanimous agreement that the human "liars" of v2 are actually separate from their victims who fall away from the faith in v1. Henry Alford, The Greek Testament, Vol. III, with revision by Everett F. Harrison (Chicago: Moody Press, 1958), p. 335. Gordon D. Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, New International Biblical Commentary (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988), p. 97. Homer A. Kent Jr., The Pastoral Epistles, rev. edit. (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1982), pp. 143-45. George W. Knight, Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1992), p. 189. A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. IV (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, n.d.), p. 578. Eugene Stock, Practical Truths from the Pastoral Epistles (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1983), p. 227. Marvin R. Vincent, Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. IV (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, n.d.), p. 244. W.E. Vine, The Collected Writings of W.E. Vine, Vol. 3 (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1996), p. 175. Kenneth Wuest, The Pastoral Epistles in the Greek New Testament, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Vol. II (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1952), p. 66.

[4] The Greek word in v1, apostesontai, is the third person, plural, future tense, middle voice, indicative mood, form of aphistemi. The word aphistemi is a compound word made up of two Greek words, the prepositional prefix is aph, coming from apo, which means "away," and the root word is histemi, which means "to stand." Literally apostasy is "standing away" from a position once held or occupied.

[5] W. Bauer, A Greek -English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, translated by W.F. Arndt and F.W. Gingrich; revised and augmented by F.W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), pp. 126-27. H.G. Liddell and R. Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, rev. and augmented by H.S. Jones and R. McKenzie, with a Revised Supplement by P.G.W. Glare and A.A. Thompson (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 291. J.H. Thayer, The New Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1981), p. 89.

[6] After the time of Christ's death, the apostles and first century believers are always described in the N.T. epistles as expecting the Rapture to occur in their own lifetime. This is especially evidenced by the use of 1st & 2nd person pronouns (I, we, us, you, your, etc.) in prophetic passages dealing with Christ's return. See 1 Cor. 1:7-8, 15:51-52; Phil. 1:6, 10, 3:20; Col. 3:4; 1 Th. 4:15-17; 2 Th. 2:1; 1 Tim. 6:14; Ti. 2:12-13; Jm. 5:7-9; 1 Pt. 1:13; 1 Jn. 2:28, 3:2-3. There is no sense from these passages that the return of Christ was a far-off event in the understanding of these first generation Christians.

[7] Anthony A. Hoekema, Saved by Grace (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989), p. 248. John F. MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1988), p. 98.

[8] Anthony A. Hoekema, Saved by Grace (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989), p. 249. See also, Norman L. Geisler, Four Views on Eternal Security, J. Matthew Pinson, Gen. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), p. 91.

[9] Gordon H. Clark, Faith and Saving Faith (Jefferson, MD: Trinity Foundation, 1990), p. 32.

[10] Using the Nestle-Aland 27th edition Greek New Testament.

[11] See for example, Mt. 23:23; Lk. 18:8; Acts 3:16, 15:9, 16:5; Rom. 3:30, 4:14, 4:19-20, 10:17, 11:20, 12:6, 14:1; 1 Cor. 13:2; 2 Cor. 1:24, 4:13; Gal. 2:20, 3:14, 3:23, 3:25-26; Eph. 3:17, 6:16; Phi. 1:25, 3:9; Col. 2:12; 1 Th. 1:3; 2 Th. 3:2; Heb. 4:2, 6:12, 11:39; Jm. 2:14, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26; 1 Pt. 5:9.

[12] See Lk. 2:37, 4:13, 13:27; Acts 5:37-38, 12:10, 15:38, 19:9, 22:29; 2 Cor. 12:8; 2 Tim. 2:19. Even in 2 Tim. 2:19, where believers are told to "depart from iniquity," the context deals with the subject of separation from false teachers. It reveals that Timothy was to "shun" (2:16) the false teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus and to "cleanse" himself from these dishonorable vessels in God's house (2:21). Undoubtedly, Timothy was once in the proximate company and fellowship of these two men, but now he was commanded to "depart" from them and the iniquity associated with them (2:19).

[13] "First faith" in v12 is the literal translation of the Greek expression "proten pistin." The NASB and NIV translations, "previous pledge" and "first pledge" are highly interpretative and "dynamic" translations; and they actually convey the erroneous and unscriptural idea that faith is a pledge to God.