February, 2008
by: Jack Hughes
This is our last Calvary Review article addressing the T.U.L.I.P. mnemonic which represents major beliefs of reformed theology. The doctrines represented by T.U.L.I.P. were first isolated and addressed by the followers of Jacobus Arminius who disagreed with some of Calvin’s teachings. Later someone created the T.U.L.I.P mnemonic which has stuck to this day. In this Calvary Review we will address the “P” in T.U.L.I.P. which stands for Perseverance of the Saints or as some describe it eternal security.
The doctrine of eternal security or “perseverance of the saints” is an important and practical doctrine. Eternal security is the doctrine which says that once a believer is saved, he will always be saved. In other words, there is no way he can lose, forfeit, sin his way out of, or even voluntarily reject his salvation. This is not to deny that some think they are saved, but are really not, and end up perishing (e.g. Mt. 7:21-23).
The doctrine of eternal security is built upon the doctrines of man’s sin and salvation. Man is hopelessly lost. In every case, apart from the Holy Spirit’s intervention and the grace of God, man never seeks God. Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil and they refuse to come to the light (Jn. 3:19-20). This is what Paul meant in Rom. 3:10 when he says, “There is none who seeks after God.” Apart from God’s grace, fallen humanity will not seek God. Therefore, God takes the first step and seeks men.
Secondly, the doctrine of perseverance is built on the doctrines of salvation. God draws sinners to Himself. He illumines their minds to the truth. He grants them repentance and faith and they seek Him in response to His grace. Even before someone begins to be drawn to Christ, God has already predestined and chosen them for salvation before the foundation of the world. At the moment of salvation God causes many things to happen. The believer is justified, sanctified, redeemed, propitiated, forgiven, their sins are atoned for, they are transferred to the kingdom of light, changed into new creatures in Christ, born again, adopted, etc. All of these things are acts of God’s grace which is unearned and undeserved.
Scripture Often Used to Deny The Doctrine of Perseverance
Before looking at Scriptures which teach the perseverance of the saints, I thought it would be good to quickly survey some of the texts people have used in an attempt to refute perseverance. Probably one of the most common texts is Heb. 6:4-8 where the author of Hebrews says, “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”
One might interpret this text at first glance as saying that some, after they are saved, may fall away from the faith. Yet this is not what the text teaches. While we do not have time to go into great detail here, I will summarize why this text doesn’t teach that believers can lose their salvation.
First, none of the words are synonyms of salvation. The author of Hebrews is writing to those Jews who were in the church, who were 1) enlightened, they heard the Gospel of salvation and knew how to be saved, 2) they tasted the heavenly gift of salvation by associating with the believers in the church (notice they tasted but did not eat), 3) they were made partakers of the Holy Spirit in that they witnessed and experienced the Holy Spirit working in the lives of believers, (they weren’t indwelt nor did they receive the Holy Spirit), 4) they tasted of the good Word of God as they heard the teachings of Jesus preached, 5) and they were made to partake of the powers of the age to come which means they saw miracles being performed. While all of these things were true of believers in the early church, they are not necessarily terms that only describe the experience of believers.
Secondly, there is a clear switch between believers and unbelievers in the text. In vss. 1 & 3 the author of Hebrews is speaking of believers and uses the first person plural “Us” and “We” but in vs. 4 switches to “those,” “them,” “they,” and “themselves,” which tells us that the author of Hebrews is not speaking of believers any more but unbelievers. In vs. 9 the author of Hebrews switches back to talking to believers when he says, “But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you and things that accompany salvation.” The last phrase of vs. 9 also indicates that he was talking about things that did not necessarily accompany salvation.
Third, if it was true that a believer could lose their salvation, it is also true that they can never get it back again as the text says, “it is impossible to renew them again to repentance.” Ironically many who deny perseverance also believe you can lose and regain your salvation over and over again. Yet the text is clear that the state which those being discussed fall into is an irrevocable state of damnation. Other reasons this text cannot be denying perseverance will be discussed later.
So what is the interpretation of Heb. 6:4-6 then? The interpretation is that when Jews in the first century heard the Gospel, came into the church, heard the preaching, saw the miracles, enjoyed the fellowship and after having received the highest degree of testimony to the truth of the Gospel, and then rejected that truth and turned back to Judaism and the sacrificial system, “it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”
Others have cited Heb. 10:29 which says, “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” The text goes on to explain the terrors of suffering God’s judgment. Some have noted that the one being judged is the one that was sanctified. In other words he was once saved but now is not saved and judged. Yet this is easily solved when you look at the nearest antecedent to “he” and note that it is “the Son of God.” The text might be paraphrased, “How much severer punishment do you think the unbeliever will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which the Son of God was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” Jesus was sanctified or set apart unto death so that sinners might be saved, by rejecting Jesus, they reject their own salvation. Jesus in Jn. 17:19 says, “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.” Jesus is the one who was sanctified in order to save sinners.
There are other texts that are used to reject the doctrine of perseverance. One such text is Mt. 24:13 which says, “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved” (see also Mt. 10:22 & Mk. 13:13). It is argued that if we are saved but we fail to endure we will lose our salvation. Yet all believers persevere to the end because God perseveres through them as we shall see below. All of the systems that deny perseverance end up teaching works salvation. They claim to believe that a person is saved by grace but they are kept by works. A person must obey or must confess after sinning in order to secure their salvation. This is to deny salvation by grace and puts all of the responsibility upon man to make sure he is saved.
Scriptural Support for the Doctrine of Perseverance
In Jn. 6:37 Jesus says, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” Here we are told that when God the Father gives someone to Jesus for salvation they are not cast out. Then in vs. 39 Jesus says, “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” Jesus affirms that when someone is given to Him by the Father to save, all of them are kept and raised up at the last day.
In Jn. 10:27-30 Jesus describes Himself as the good shepherd and says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall 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. I and the Father are one.” Jesus makes it clear that not one of His sheep are ever lost or stolen from salvation.
In Rom. 8:29-30 Paul makes it clear that salvation is an act of God, not man, and that God not only saves but makes sure all that are saved are also glorified. He says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” Notice that God does everything.
In I Cor. 1:8-9 Paul speaking to the Corinthian believers encourages them by reminding them that Jesus “shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Paul says in Eph. 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Believers are sealed until the day of redemption. In Phil. 1:6 Paul says, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (see also I Thess. 5:23-24; I Pet. 5:10; Jude 1:1). All of these texts teach a believer perseveres because God perseveres in the believer to save them. Perseverance is not a work of man, but God.
Theological Support for the Perseverance of the Saints
Finally, and possibly most compelling, are the theological implications which make losing your salvation impossible. If someone could lose, hand back, walk away from, or sin so they lose their salvation, they would have to undo the work of God. They would be predestined, chosen, foreknown unto salvation and then have to become un-predestined! This is clearly an impossibility as it is rooted in the eternal, unchangeable decree of God. They would have to be un-adopted, un-sanctified, un-regenerated, born again backwards, un-redeemed, un-justified, un-forgiven, un-atoned for, their eternal life would have to become temporary life, etc. All these actions are all done by God and they are irrevocable.
It is absurd to think, as some do, you can lose and regain your salvation over and over again. Consider that view in light of the doctrines of salvation just mentioned above. Clearly salvation would become a work of man, not God. Yet the greatest theological blow would fall on the atoning work of Christ. The believer is perfectly forgiven and atoned for through faith in Christ, but if they could commit a sin that would cause them to lose their salvation, it would be to deny His perfect atoning work. It would mean that Jesus’ sacrifice was not sufficient for all sins. Thus, perfect atonement and forgiveness in Christ would have to be denied. So these are some of the reasons that John Calvin and Bible believing Christians throughout the ages have taught and believed in eternal security or the perseverance of the saints.