The perseverance of the saints
A Reformed Baptists we pride ourselves in being people of the Book. The Bible is the basis of everything we
believe. There are however some Biblical
doctrines that some find difficult to understand and, even more, to
believe. One of those doctrines is the
subject of our study. Reformed believers
hold that if someone is truly saved, they cannot lose their salvation. We believe that, because faith is a gift from
God, and God cannot be unfaithful to Himself, every believer will enter eternal
life.
It is a doctrine that gives the believer great hope. We know ourselves, none of us are perfect. As R C Sproul once said ‘if the believer could lose their salvation, they would.’ Because we are all sinners, but sinners saved not on the basis of our own works, but saved sinners by the perfect and complete work of Christ to whom God has united for eternity.
The perseverance of the saints
The true believer will persevere in the faith and receive
eternal life
1. Believers
cannot fall away
It is important that we understand
that it is not us who holds onto God, but God who holds onto us. This is why we are unable to fall away. In John 10:28-29, Jesus makes
this statement: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish,
and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is
able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” Jesus says, I hold them and My Father holds
them. Because of this, no one, not even
they themselves, can snatch them out of Our hands, because the Father is
greater than all.
The question here is not: can the true believer fall away? The question, according to Jesus is: ‘Is anyone stronger than God?’ Because God is the one who holds each and every one of His children in his hand, and unless you are stronger than God, that is where they will remain. Jesus makes it clear, “My Father…is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” With that, the discussion should be over, if God holds us and no one can snatch us out of His hand, we are eternally secure.
Paul is so confident about this that in Philippians 1:6 he says “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” ‘I have no doubt’ Paul says, ‘none what so ever, that God who began the good work of bringing us to faith, will complete the job by us finishing in faith.’ It ultimately stand or falls with the faithfulness of God. Can God be trusted? Because then they cannot fall away. In 2 Timothy 2:19 Paul says “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His’ and ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity’”. God knows who are His, he has sealed them by His Holy Spirt, and none of them will fall away, but they will all depart from iniquity, that is to say, they will all turn from their sin and remain in the faith till the end.
This doesn’t however mean that everyone who says that they are a believer really is. While every true believer, saved by the grace of God, will persevere and receive eternal life, there are many, who even come here and are amongst the believers, who are not truly believers. God has not given them the grace of salvation, but they try and give the impression that He has. The enjoy some of the benefits of the fellowship of believers, they seek the hope that only believers have, but they themselves are not believers. Of them 1 John 2:19 says “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” They have given the impression that they are believers, perhaps even convincing the believers that they are saved, but God knows His own and will show his grace unto eternal life only unto His own. Therefore, they (who pretend) will not remain.
2. The
believers will turn from sin
It is true that believers can and do sin.
There are, sadly, many examples in the Bible, and in our lives, that
Christians sins, and often even grievously.
This will result in discipline and chastisement for the believer. Psalm 89:31-32 reminds us of
this: “If they violate My statutes and do not keep my commandments, then
I will punish their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with
stripes.” But while disciplined by the Lord, it is in order that we
will not be ‘condemned along with the world’ Paul says in 1
Corinthians 11:32. The 1689
Baptist Confession of faith says: ‘Though many storms and floods arise and
beat against them, yet they shall never be able to take them off that
Foundation and Rock which by faith they are fastened upon’. Yes, moments of unbelief, yes, temptations by
Satan, yes, uncertainty about the will of God, these things we may experience,
but yet they will never fully and finally fall, they will return to the Lord in
obedience.
But while the believer cannot ultimately fall away, our sin does cause great sadness to the Lord. In Isaiah 64:1-12 Isaiah prays to the Lord, because the discipline of the Lord was greatly severe on His people because of sin. So much so that in v9 he pleads with the Lord ‘Be not so terribly angry, O Lord…we are all your people’. Paul warns in Ephesians 4:30 that our sin grieves “the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” But notice, Isaiah reminds the Lord ‘we are all your people’ and Paul says (notice the tense) that we ‘were sealed for the day of redemption’. While we sin and this cause displeasure to God and grieves the Spirit, the believers are still his people and remains sealed for redemption.
Under God’s discipline our comforts and graces will be impaired, the 1689 Baptist Confession says. After David’s great sin with Barsheba, he pleads with the Lord in Psalm 51. Notice v10 & v12 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me…restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Clearly David experience great anguish and trouble spiritually within himself because of his sin, but notice, this drove him to the Lord, not away from the Lord.
While I say that, it is possible that, for a time, the believers heart may be hardened, resulting in our conscience being wounded. An example of this is found in Psalm 32:3-4 where David says “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.” Our sin may even cause harm to others, as was the case with David. Because of his sin with Barsheba, the child died, we are told in 2 Samuel 12:14. Yet David did repent. That is what Psalm 51 is all about.
But perhaps the most striking example of repentance from sin is found in Peter, who walked with the Lord, promising never to deny Him, but then denied Him, not once, but three times according to Matthew 26:70-74 after the Lord’s death. After the resurrection, we see the Lord coming to Peter in Luke 22:61-62, and when the Lord stood before him, he remembered his sin. V62 tells us “And he went out and wept bitterly.” We know those tears were not simply emotional, because Peter continued to become one of the greatest preachers of the time. They were true tears of repentance.
That’s the reality of every believer. We sin! But we will repent! The true believer will not fall away completely, although they may fall deeply and grievously, they will always return. Why is this, not because believers are better people than the rest, but because God keeps those who belong to Him, and that is our final point this morning.
3. The
believers are kept by God
Our perseverance in the faith is not because we so strongly hold onto the
Lord, but because He so strongly hold on to His own. The promise of Romans 8:30 is
that “those whom He predestined he also called, and those whom He called
he also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.” He
predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son, He called us
effectually to faith, He justified us through the offer of Christ’s death, and
therefore He will glorify us in His presence for ever. He will ensure that none of His own will fall
away! As Romans 9:11 & 16
confirms “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good
or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of
works but because of him who calls—…So then it depends not on human will or
exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”
God’s love is unchangeable, and by it the merit of Christ is transferred to all those who have been united to Him by God’s grace through faith. There can be no doubt about this. As Romans 5:9-10 declares: “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.” In John 14:19 Jesus says “Because I live, you also will live.”
The fact is, God is under obligation to save everyone for whom Christ died. Hebrews 6:17-18 states “So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”
So how does God keep us and sanctify us to remain in the faith and ultimately be saved? By sanctifying us through His Spirit, according to 1 Peter 1:2 and by “God’s seed” which abides in us according to 1 John 3:9.
God has promised an everlasting covenant with those whom He
chose and saved. And says Jeremiah
32:40 He will keep it. “I
will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from
doing good to them. And I will put the
fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.”
Believers cannot fall away. Not because they are able to keep themselves, but because God cannot lie and is able to keep them as He has promised. Ultimately, the question isn’t “Will the saints persevere?” The question is really: “Is God faithful to what He has promised?” Because God promised to keep everyone of His own, and if He cannot keep them, if they are able to slip out of His grasp, it is God who is unfaithful, because He promised. The eternal hope of the believers is secured in the hands of the ever faithful God, they will persevere to the end.
Amen